Detailing on a budget?

[m4tt274]

fair enough, just i have used a sponge on mine a couple times and cant say that i have totally fucked my car...

[Jayzlife]

Have a read:-
http://www.carcleaningguru.com/why-y...-wash-your-car

There is no excuse really not to use a mitt as they are cheap as it is. I would only use a sponge cut into sections to apply some tyre dressing or plastics.

[moxy89]

Depends what sponge i use the dodo juice supernatural sponge which is epic and pretty much the same as a mitt, but yes normal sponge create swirls and plently of them. Im currently a detailer and in the process of getting a brand new unit so i can work on cars for like 3 days.

[m4tt274]

How do you rate those kent car care wash mits? they are blue and look like big noodles.

[Jayzlife]

I've had a few of them noodle mitts now, there not the best as they don't really have a pile so to speak. I have used them on my paintwork before when I've had to. My lambs wool mitt is looking a little worse for wear now aswell could do with getting a new one.

For a cheap mitt I would go:-
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washin.../prod_452.html

eBay is always worth a look though and also Halfords have a 3for2 so may be worth getting a mitt, autosol metal polish & SRP.

Eurow microfibres are also decent for the price can be had cheap on eBay.

[Pricklep]

^ thats the mitt i use. Its lovely and soft, haha.

I just use a cheaper one for the alloys.

[moxy89]

persoanlly just go on cleanyourcar and get a £8 lambswool mitt..

[m4tt274]

Just ordered one of those mitts, the look good!
And reference to the Kent noodle mits, asda have them in for £3, worth a shout for the OP.

[Jayzlife]

Sponge can be relegated to the wheels or cut into sections to apply some tyre gel now

For £3 a Kent mitt is good for the wheels, a cheap wax is FK1000p and it's last at least 6months and will make cleaning the wheels a lot easy next time round. It can even be used on the body if needed.

Lots of good products out there.

[m4tt274]

I had a wash mitt before, i had a meguiars one ive had for a few months, its just a bit tired.

[Gashman]

Asda for micro fibre clothes and drying towels, eBay for polish pads. Buckets b&q.

With regards to products I brought a brand new autoglym kit of eBay for £30 had everything I needed including various cloths, might be worth a look as you can get exceptional value for money.

Here's mine after a clean



If you wanna get a good finish for super cheap, buy triplewax car shampoo and autoglym aqua wax, with give a great shine and is super quick and easy

[Davyy]

Thanks for all the huge detailed responses..

Just been to asda to buy the basic equipment, two buckets (£1ea) a sponge for the wheels (33p), an extra thick microfibre drying towel (£3) and 6 microfibre clothes (£3)..

So my spend is just under a 10er so far.

Going to buy one of the lambs wool mits as above, some iron-x as one of my alloys is caked is brake dust..

Need to choose shampoo, polish, detailer etc now.


I did enjoy cleaning the car so i'll certainly get into the top end of it when I can afford it.

[Pricklep]

Originally Posted by Davyy

Thanks for all the huge detailed responses..

Just been to asda to buy the basic equipment, two buckets (£1ea) a sponge for the wheels (33p), an extra thick microfibre drying towel (£3) and 6 microfibre clothes (£3)..

So my spend is just under a 10er so far.

Going to buy one of the lambs wool mits as above, some iron-x as one of my alloys is caked is brake dust..

Need to choose shampoo, polish, detailer etc now.

Iron x ftw. I dont use it on every wash though.



I use megs gold shampoo.

[Jayzlife]

Good start.

Get some Autosmart tardis to de-tar the car aswell best on the market. IronX your paint work aswell gives brilliant results.

Shampoo I rate Dodo juice born to be mild but heard good things about auto finesse lather anything which is PH neutral though will do for now.

Polish as said for a all rounder like auto finesse tripple for £8 it really is good stuff, a good Applicator pad will help, Megs ones are good.

Quick detailer Demonshine 50/50 with water is a very cheap and good product, spray on and wipe down with a mircofibre also doubles up as a clay lube when you get to it.musually on offer in Asda or tesco.

Wax or sealant, there is a few good ones out there. You will want some decent protection after all that hard work. On a flamed this would look awesome:-
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/vi.../prod_312.html

The durability isn't great on Vics though. AGHD is a great starter wax tbh.

This is one of my favourites spray on waxes for ease and good results:-
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...auba-jett.html

For a spray on sealant:-
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...ough-coat.html

[Gashman]

I really rate autoglym super resin polish, never tried any of the more expensive brands though

[Jayzlife]

SRP is a good product, Tripple is just a more modernised version of it.

All depends what you want from a polish I suppose, some polishes have better cutting ability than others some have more fillers so will make your car look very slick for a while.

Prima amigo is a great product and can used after polishing and before waxing to leave the paint looking brilliant:-



All depends how at you want to go with it I suppose.

[Davyy]

Thanks guys..

In basic terms, can anyone quickly cover the main jobs/purposes of each product / stage?

[Jayzlife]

I will give it a go.

Bescially before polishing and waxing/sealing you want to get the paint work as clean as possible, people usually class this as prep.

So prepping the car. First off should always be rinsing this will get rid of the loose dirt etc to prevent you rubbing it all into your paintwork and causing swirls. This is why a mitt is best.

The 2BM(2 Bucket Method) one bucket with just water, one with warm water with your shampoo in. First dunk into the shampoo bucket start washing car panel at a time, then dunk your mitt into the water bucket to release all the dirt and small grit etc. Then re dunk into the shampoo and so and so. This is to keep the mitt clean and also your nice shampoo water clean and grit free.

Rinse down after that. All the little black dots on the car will be road tar and it will need removing so this stage is de-tar. Either with a mircofibre or mircofibre applicator squirt or spray on the tar remover leave for a minute and then wipe down. Rinse car again after.

Next you can Iron x if you like followed by claying, if you don't have any time you can skip this stage. IronX is simple just spray on watch it work it's magic then rinse off. As for claying this should always be followed by polishing as it could marr the paintwork.

Onto polishing - Car should be dry so a decent drying towel is handy. Polished bliss gives good details on the amount required 2-3 pea sized amounts are good on a applicator. I do one panel, move onto the next panel once I've finished that go back to the first panel and buff it off. You can use this method for waxing aswell. I class half a roof/bonnet as 1 panel. Polishes vary and some contain fillers which will simply fills swirls and small scratches, some will cut which means they will try and remove slight swirls and scratches.

Then glazing if you wish, again you don't have it skip it.

Now wax or seal - depending on the product you go with use the apply 2 panel remove 1 panel method I mentioned above. A good wax is always good as this would of taken you long time to get to so making sure it protected well is always good. This will also help when you come give it a quick detail or re-wash it.

Sometimes with Wax less is more so apply in thin layers as it will be easier to buff afterwards, you can apply layers though so 2-3 layers will a good lasting finish.

That's a quick insight which will give good results. Detailing can go really OCD if you like and you can become addicted.

Don't forget the wheels and tyre dressing will finish it off really nice. A detailed car without tyre dressing is lazy and everyone can spot it.

Wheels ideally should be done first so you don't flick brake dust etc onto your freshly done paintwork. I'm no expert or pro I'm just a OCD car washer

[Davyy]

Cheers mater, very helpful!

[Jayzlife]

Oh one thing Halfords is good for is the Megs endurance tyre gel. One of the best on the market and lasts along time.