Car cleaning/detailing beginner

[Phil3822]

Hi all, I have inherited a Porsche 944 which has been stored outside. Although the body work is reasonable I need to give it a good clean in and out. I have no idea what products to use though or where to get them from. The car is white in colour, although an off white! The seats are fabric and a kinda red colour.

I have always had the local car wash centres do my cars but want to do this one myself.

Can anyone suggest products, guides and advice as well as where to order stuff from.

Thanks.

[forge197]

Firstly http://www.detailingworld.co.uk is a massive resource on car cleaning and detailing.

I would look at getting a good quality shampoo, auto finesee do a nice range of good value products that are nice to use and a good start, I'd consider some nice drying towels, couple of buckets, grit guards and mitts. I have quite a collection of products and a lot of it is dependant on budget and how far you want to go.

For wheels for example i would do

For initial deep clean I would use iron-x and use some brushes to agitate, once the wheels are clean then I'd use a sealant to help protect them something like poorboys wheel sealant.

For upkeep I'd use Auto Finesse Imperial as a wheel cleaner and iron-x when bad, but iron-x will strip the sealant you've applied so that would need reapplying.

Bodywork I'd rinse,, wash with two bucket method which is a bucket with the soap and a bucket to rinse the mitt, rinse and then dry with a drying towel, if you are not wanting to do the whole clay thing right now consider using autoglym aqua wax as part of you drying process this can have a great result, basically after the rinse you spray aqua wax on as you dry and it leaves it all nice and shiny with a small amount of wax protection that lasts a couple of weeks.

For windows I am a big fan of sealant technology here, you'd need a good glass polish, IPA or carpro eraser and a sealant I user nanolex urban glass sealent on my side window and ultra glass sealant on the front process is clean glass and dry, polish with glass polish wipe down with eraser or IPA the apply sealant wait to haze buff off and leave to cure, the results are great and it will last many months and the window stay cleaner longer.

Are you just wanting it clean or do you want it to sparkle and have really smooth paint?

I buy from http://www.i4detailing.co.uk and http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk, cyc have a nice loyalty scheme too as well as eBay and also bought from the personal sales section on detailing world.

Recently took this

From this



To this


Needs a proper machine polish as quite swirly and as per my other post I have some products arrive to help with this shortly. I am awaiting my new car before I detail a Porsche as don't see the point of doing my current Porsche so I just do a basic clean on that for now.

A lot of products are personal preference and what works for one doesn't always work for another.

[Phil3822]

Many thanks for taking the time to write that post. Very helpful. In terms of budget, I dont want to spend too much over £100 to get started. I would also like to have one place where I can get all of what I need.

Currently the car is in reasonable condition for age. The wheels for example are not as shiney as they would have been and would probably need more than a clean. I dont know really.

I will try some of your suggestions though for sure, I am trying to compile a list of what my regime should be. As in what I should do plus I am trying to compile a shopping list of exactly what I need for each step.

I really am a newbie when it comes to this sort of thing. Thanks again.

[forge197]

My initial shopping list would be

2 x buckets - B&Q or similar
2 x scratch shield - CYC

To get started maybe consider something like this contains a range of products to get going I would also add in something to polish glass and maybe another buffing and drying towel, iron-x, detailing brushes and wheel sealant. Be a good start and if you enjoy it then look at some more specific for the job products.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/complete- ... d_873.html

Reckon should get all that for around £100,

[Phil3822]

Thats great thanks. Only question I have is about the polishing phase. I notice shampoo and a wax product but I always thought polishing came between shampoo and wax.

Also, I am interesting in using a clay bar, is it worth it? If I am going to do this I want to make it simple but do it properly. The whole process that is. At the same time I have to consider this is an older car which has not been very well looked after so cant expect miracles.

Thanks again

[forge197]

It might become more than £100

Clay bar is totally worth it if you are going go the whole detail job then a quick detailer as a lube and some clay will give a lovely finish.

then the process would be

Rinse
Clean with a shampoo
Rinse as you are claying not much point drying in my view
Clay use a good lube!!
Cleanse - HD Cleanse or similar
Glaze (optional)
Wax
Admire

The proposal of a clay changes the shopping list of course!!

Once clayed and well waxed and protected does make it much easier to clean subsequently.

[Phil3822]

The clay I am looking at says to just use water as a lube. Its a Bilt Hamber. Feel free to suggest something different. Also, I am unaware of the cleansing and its purpose. Again, really appreciate your replies as this is an unknown area to me.

[sam]

well I am certainly no 'Mr Buffty' but I think the product manufacturer you mention gets good reviews in certain areas, but looking at your other thread I think it will be a long time before you will need to compare the merits and de-merits of particular clay bar manufacturers. I hope things work out well for you in your inherited car.

[Phil3822]

lol, I have already scrapped the clay idea for this car. Was thinking about my motorbike though. This car will get a wash at best for the minute. I am interested in learning more about detailing etc.

[forge197]

Bilt Hamber not used myself but has a good rep on Detailing World and yes they say water is fine as a lube for that particular clay, though most recommend using a quick detailer as it's a bit more slippery.

The cleanse is used to prep the paint and give a good base for the wax you could omit the glaze and go straight to Wax after the cleanse if you so desired it just can give a bit extra to the finish not an essential step.