never polished a car

[dilo_attax]

what polish shall i use and you guys recommend? i was thinking "autoglym" but heard there better ones out there, anyone can point me to a direction? cheers

[Alex]

first of all clay bar it

followed by some decent polish, at the moment i'm using genuine bmw stuff and its ace

ive also got some wax which i apply after the polish

[dilo_attax]

first of all clay bar it

whats that?

followed by some decent polish, at the moment i'm using genuine bmw stuff and its ace

price? do i get it from dealers?

ive also got some wax which i apply after the polish

what one?

cheers dilo

[harry_p]

i still like autoglym super resin polish. a good standard polish that always gives decent results.

the thing with most polishes is that you need to work them over the paint. if it's swirled, scratched or dulled, a simple wipe over and buff off isnt going to make much difference.

meguires do a clay kit, basically a lump of clay like a lump of white bluetac and a bottle of quick detailer which acts as a lube.

wash and dry the car, squirt of the detailer, rub the clay bar over the bodywork. you can feel and it working as it pulls contaminants off the paint, leaving it glassy smooth. after that polish it, as said i still like autoglym but there's loads of others out there, and what you use depends on the state of your paint. add a sealant too over the top if you like.

no doubt someone will be allong soon to suggest you buy a binbag of microfibre towels hand woven by thai virgins, and the finest dodo cum polish for 11 million pounds

[Alex]

Basically a clay bar removes pollution, crap thats in the air, small bits of tar and crap stuck to your paint and all sorts of things

if your after the best finish a clay bar is a must, i never thought they would do much but they make a massive amount of difference

a clay bar is a piece of clay which usually comes with a bottle of "lube " you spray the lube on the car and rub the clay bar backwards and forwards, you will here a cutting noise once this has stopped all the crap is removed and you can see all the dirt on the end of the clay, make sure you fold the dirt in when you want to get rid of the muck of the clay bar.

this is the clay i used

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Meguiars-Quik-Cla ... dZViewItem

the bmw stuff can be bought at the dealers for around £6 per bottle,

both the polish and wax were bmw items, although i want to try some of the real expensive stuff next

my car when i bought it, the paintwork was as rough as a badgers arse it was awfull







with a few washes loads of polishes claybaring, wax. detailing the small nuts and crannys, complete with some freshly refurbed 15" bbs i got this finnish















any excuse for pics

[Alex]

no doubt someone will be allong soon to suggest you buy a binbag of microfibre towels hand woven by thai virgins, and the finest dodo AKA gooey stuff polish for 11 million pounds

Oh microfiber cloths are a must, once you have used them there is no going back, makes polishing so much easier and not take as long

[ImysE30]

no doubt someone will be allong soon to suggest you buy a binbag of microfibre towels hand woven by thai virgins, and the finest dodo AKA gooey stuff polish for 11 million pounds

Oh microfiber cloths are a must, once you have used them there is no going back, makes polishing so much easier and not take as long

Ritz has one of these and i think The_Diddler has one too

I just wash and dry, can't be doing with all this waxing and polishing malarky

[e21wadey]

Is there any advantage in using a clay bar over a cutting product such as Autoglym Paint Renovator? When I was a lad I don't think clay bars were invented...

My recently acquired Cab's paint was as Alex described his 318is was when he got it, rough with tar spots etc but after a day of using Autoglym Paint Renovator followed by Super Resin Polish then Autoglym High Definition Wax, I have similar results, a really smooth finish to the paintwork and an excellent shine. Is using a clay bar easier than a cutting compound or does it give better results? Just interested to know?

[pacerpete]

Cillit bang is your friend !

[robbo86]

You can use a clay bar limitless times without damaging your paint. Something cutting like paint renovator is good for a while, however eventually you will rub down to primer/bare metal.

[e21wadey]

You can use a clay bar limitless times without damaging your paint. Something cutting like paint renovator is good for a while, however eventually you will rub down to primer/bare metal.

Good point...

[Alex]

i used to tcut and use abrasive products on my chromie and after 2 year paint was wearing away around the sunroof very slightly on the edge so i stopped useing them after that

clay bar is the way forward

[harry_p]

clay is a good first step, it pulls the contaminants off and they sink into the soft clay.

it's a lot less work than using an abrasive paste all over, less likelyhood of causing damage either through polishing through paint, or rubbing a contaminated cloth over the paint.

if the paint still needs a fairly abrasive product after claying, it'll be so much easier as you're starting with a smooth surface, not having to try and polish through all the crap on the paint first.

i was a massive clay sceptic, but decided to give it a go and was seriously impressed. it doesnt need doing often, but the way i usually tell is when i can see tiny streaks appearing as i buff in the polish, as it sticks to tiny bits of debris you cant even see on the paint.

clay is particularly usefull for pulling off industrial fallout such as iron filings etc.

[Chase007]

Cillit bang is your friend !

I luv too clit bang

[robbo86]

Not clayed before. Whats the order then?

Wash
Clay
Polish
Wax???

[harry_p]

yep

[aj_mckay]

Exhaust looks good Alex - glad you put it on now i bet...?

[Alex]

Exhaust looks good Alex - glad you put it on now i bet...?

i wish i had put a standard one on next year i will put it back to normal and possibly contact beardymat and see if he will put the valance back to normal along with that towing eye rust

[Blitz]

Exhaust looks good Alex - glad you put it on now i bet...?

i wish i had put a standard one on next year i will put it back to normal and possibly contact beardymat and see if he will put the valance back to normal along with that towing eye rust

Whats wrong with it?

[pac1982]

Cant go wrong with a good mop but this should only be done by someone who knows what they are doing as you can burn though the paint in seconds

[Alex]

Exhaust looks good Alex - glad you put it on now i bet...?

i wish i had put a standard one on next year i will put it back to normal and possibly contact beardymat and see if he will put the valance back to normal along with that towing eye rust

Whats wrong with it?

dont know i'am just a standard freak, its a bit loud on long journeys too, it does sound nice though,

[Felix79]

My old man has had is own business as a car valeter since 1993. I know over the years he's changed the chemicals he's used but he still uses autogylm.

The process dad has taught me is

1. Use TFR ( Traffic Film Remover )

2.Wash off TFR

3.Use a car shampoo and use a seperate spounge for the windscreen

4.Wash off

5.Shammy

6.Polish

7.Buff

8.Colapse!

[E30Gheko]

All that clay bar and polish sounds like a whole load of faff!! Results look great Alex but I don't think I could ever be arsed! I give my car a clean regularly but that's as far as it goes.

How much would I have to pay someone to do a decent polish?

[Alex]

i like doing it so... i like it looking as factory fresh as possible

[E30Gheko]

Part of the reason I don't is I have nothing worth polishing yet and precious little spare time! When I can get the 325 road worthy it's paint might be worth polishing.

[gooner1]

All that clay bar and polish sounds like a whole load of faff!! Results look great Alex but I don't think I could ever be arsed! I give my car a clean regularly but that's as far as it goes.

How much would I have to pay someone to do a decent polish?

Just slap some decent sounds, on and treat it as a mini workout
mate..

[dilo_attax]

my car just came out the painters, ill use the bmw dealer stuff and see how it goes what wax u using alex?

[Alex]

bmw wax and polish

[StuBeeDoo]

For as long as I can remember, all my cars have only ever been polished twice a year - spring and autumn. Some years it may be only once and some it doesn't happen at all.
All I ever do is wash the car with any proprietory car shampoo in cold water (warm or hot takes the wax off).
When waxing I use a non-abrasive wax - most polishes have a certain amount of abrasive in.
In my opinion, expensive stuff such as Meguairs(sp?) is for show cars that don't live in the real world.

[d6dph]

I only polish my car twice a year too Stu. The rest is maintenance.

Any polish will contain abrasives, A wax or sealant should be totally safe to apply as many times as your little arms can cope with

I'm not going to go into too much detail on my cleaning regime, But if it's fresh paint you need to leave it a while to release all of its gasses before you seal it wit a wax.