Shining your car up

[rippedoffagain]

How do folks get their cars to look shiny and new? Obviously there's wash and wax, but whenever I do mine, it always looks streaky and dull.

Is it all about certain products? Maybe applied in a certain order with a different array of sponges and cloths?

Forgive my ignorance, but I've come to accept that I don't actually know how to clean and car properly, and figured it's probably about time I learned.

[ITSv40]

How many years have you got to listen to all the different methods. Everyone has thier own way.

Best bet is watch a few Youtube vids and scout around the detailing forums.

[Delta66]

My method is;

1 - wash the car as you normally would and then do a clay bar clean;

https://youtu.be/Yi-5WY39ZOE

which gets rid of the last of the dirt. That makes the car very smooth to the touch and improves the adherence of the polish. You need to wash the car again to get rid of the clay bar residue.

2 - polish with a decent polish and I have used Autoglym for years. Just their standard resin polish, after a clay bar clean, will last for at least 6 months.

[Bonefishblues]

Originally Posted by Delta66

My method is;

1 - wash the car as you normally would and then do a clay bar clean;

https://youtu.be/Yi-5WY39ZOE

which gets rid of the last of the dirt. That makes the car very smooth to the tough and improves the adherence of the polish. You need to wash the car again to get rid of the clay bar residue.

2 - polish with a decent polish and I have used Autoglym for years. Just their standard resin polish, after a clay bar clean, will last for at least 6 months.

OP, this is good, but I'd take the trouble to put a layer of wax on top. Collinite's durable and cheap.

[Delta66]

Do you mean you would wax onto of the polish? The Collinite goes on ontop?

In between my twice a year clay bar wash and polish, I use a car wash that puts out a fine spray of water (you can put your finger right up to the nozzel and feel the water is misted rather than blasted out of the lance). The brushes live in tubs of water to keep them clean. Then the final once over is with a wax/water mix that you can see causes water to pool on the paint work and just bead and run off the windows.

I never thought of putting wax over the polish after the clay bar wash and polish.

[Bonefishblues]

Originally Posted by Delta66

Do you mean you would wax on top of the polish? The Collinite goes on ontop?

In between my twice a year clay bar wash and polish, I use a car wash that puts out a fine spray of water (you can put your finger right up to the nozzel and feel the water is misted rather than blasted out of the lance). The brushes live in tubs of water to keep them clean. Then the final once over is with a wax/water mix that you can see causes water to pool on the paint work and just bead and run off the windows.

I never thought of putting wax over the polish after the clay bar wash and polish.

Yes, exactly that.

[Delta66]

Ok, so in effect I do that with the Ehrle UltraProtection paint protection spray. I wash the car; spray on water with foam, brush with foam and rinse with the paint protection for £3.

[Bonefishblues]

Originally Posted by Delta66

Ok, so in effect I do that with the Ehrle UltraProtection paint protection spray. I wash the car; spray on water with foam, brush with foam and rinse with the paint protection for £3.

Yes, you do.

[T5Sweep]

Always use a sealant after polishing.

[Sasha94]

There are a plethora of products available for this, my routine is usually

Dodo Juice Apple iFoam snow foam
Auto Finesse Lather shampoo in 1 bucket and clean rinse water in another bucket
Auto Finesse Imperial wheel cleaner and CarPro Iron-X to remove Iron filings
Once that is all jet washed off it’s time to dry the car and if needed, polish. I have a Dual Action and a Rotary polisher but you could get a glaze like 50.cal Cover Up or Auto Finesse Ultra Glaze to fill the light swirl scratches in for temporary effect.
After you’ve done that, you Wax/Seal the car up then apply tire shine.

Interior is a whole different list!