what other products do i need?

[craig92]

what other products do i need?
I have slowly been buying cleaning products for my car for the last few month and im getting pretty obsessed with keeping my car clean haha.
I have the following products so far:

Turtle wax ice shampoo
bug and tar remover
turtle wax black box (black spray detailer, pre wax cleaner and carnauba wax)
armour all shield protective wax stuff
glass cleaner
alloy wheel cleaner
armour all shield for wheels
armour all interior protectant

dual washmitt with bug/tar scrub thing on other side
3 microfibre cloths
microfibre drying cloth
waffle weave glass cloth
3 sponge applicators for wax

I also use my products in that order if anybody wants to correct me haha.
on pay day i will be getting a clay bar and maybe a sealant wax with some more microfibre cloths.

anything else i need to buy or do i have everything?

 

[Jjay]

Hey, different people prefer different products and use different methods. I personally don't touch turtle wax with a barge pole. I normally use dodo juice, menzerna, auto glym, poorboys, zaino, zymol and soon il have a lovely collection of swissvax.

But basically I would have
Shampoo
Clay
Paint cleaner
Compound
Polish
Wax
Sealant
Alloy cleaner
Wheel polish
Wheel sealant
Tyre cleaner
Tyre gel/shine
Metal polish
Trim gel or other vinyl protection product
Leather care (If got leather)
Window cleaner
Maybe glass polish too

What ever product you want to use then use. It's personal preference.

I'd have a good wash mitt, sheep skin normally great. LOADS of microfibres (I have 20) drying towels, plenty of applicator pads. Wheel brushes Etc.

 

[JE_GT]

Invest in a decent pressure washer and snow foam lance

I have a Nilfisk one and its great. Better reviews than Karcher etc.

I generally use Autoglym, Meguairs, Poorboys & Dodo Juice products. Never used Turtle wax.. you should get yourself a decent wash mitt (meguairs or dodo juice) & a lot more microfibres, drying towells & applicator pads etc. Can never have enough imo.

 

[Jjay]

The auto finesse range are also very good including their new avalanche product. That stuff is good!

 

[craig92]

There was a sale on turtle wax when i first went to get my product, but i've slowly started to get other brands.
I have a pressure washer so i was thinking about getting a snow lance, i will slowly get all that stuff Jjay

 

[JMR]

Iron X
For dissolving iron based contaminants before claying.

Surprising how much you will get off.
Particularly on the rear and wheels

 

[craig92]

I thought iron X was just for wheels :/

 

[Jjay]

No you can use it on the body as long as you don't fully let it dry or it will stain paintwork

 

[JMR]

Perfect for paintwork craig.

It will bleed off purple.
Stand there with the hose and a cloth ready to wipe it off after a couple of minutes

It will make your claying job so much easier when you've done this and de-tarred the bodywork.

 

[craig92]

ok i'll give iron x a try
so is this the correct order for washing?

pressure washer
snow foam/shampoo
pressure washer again
dry car
iron x
de-tar
dry car
pre wax cleaner
carnauba wax
polish
iron x wheels
alloy cleaner
armour all wheels
clean windows

missing anything important or doing anything in wrong order?

 

[benmc]

I normal clean like this bud

Pressure washer rinse
Snow foam
Rinse off
Iron x
Rinse off
Tar remover
Rinse
Shampoo
Rinse
Clay
Rinse
Dry
Polish (3 stages, but I normally just use werkstatt 3 in 1)
Buff off
Hard wax

Do alloys while I do car ..

 

[benmc]

By hard wax I mean normal wax just not a spray sealant

 

[JMR]

1.pressure washer
2.snow foam
3.pressure washer rinse
4.rinse
5.iron x
6.wipe off and rinse
7.de-tar
8.wipe off and rinse
9.shampoo, two buckets, wool washmitt
10.rinse
11. ?? clay ??
12.rinse
13.dry car, with microfibre drying towel
14.pre wax cleaner
15.polish
16.carnauba wax

5.iron x wheels (same time as paint)
5.alloy cleaner (same time as paint)
17.armour all wheels (last job)
18.clean windows (very last job)

missing anything important or doing anything in wrong order?

Ordered.

 

[craig92]

cheers JMR. whats the difference between step 3 and step 4 tho? pressure washer rinse and rinse? and also the difference between step 1 and step 3?

 

[JMR]

1.snow foam
2.pressure washer rinse
3.shampoo, two buckets, wool washmitt (1st wash)
4.pressure washer rinse
5.iron x
6.wipe off and rinse
7.de-tar
8.wipe off and rinse
9.?? clay ??
10. ?? rinse ??
11.shampoo, two buckets, wool washmitt (2nd wash to make sure its totally clean)
12.rinse
13.dry car, with microfibre drying towel
14.pre wax cleaner
15.polish
16.carnauba wax

5.iron x wheels (same time as paint)
5.alloy cleaner (same time as paint)
17.armour all wheels (last job)
18.clean windows (very last job)

Sorry Craig,
Ignore the last list, I noticed I'd left a couple of errors in.
Above is my way on a full decontamination clean.
Of course I'd have to fit machine polishing in with No 15.

 

[craig92]

thanks. i've copied that into notepad and saved it haha

 

[MattG]

reading all this is makng my cleaning routine of:
1.rinse
2. shampoo
3. rinse again
4. drym

seem abit pathetic and embarassing to be honest

 

[craig92]

Haha nothing wrong with that routine. I do that plus some armour all wax to finish when I cba. I'm going to just keep doing that 5? Step method until spring cos washing the car in winter just seems like such a waste of time lol

 

[MattG]

I think come summer im gonna learn how to do abit more and just keep adding to it really, i use dodo juice products which i got from monster detail which im really pleased with. i use to think cleaning cars was boring but now even though im not extreme cleaining my car the hour i do spend on it its pretty satisfying.

 

[MovingShadow]

I normal clean like this bud

Pressure washer rinse
Snow foam
Rinse off
Iron x
Rinse off
Tar remover
Rinse
Shampoo
Rinse
Clay
Rinse
Dry
Polish (3 stages, but I normally just use werkstatt 3 in 1)
Buff off
Hard wax

Do alloys while I do car ..

I've done some modest detailing with a handfull of products (Kenotek) but this is a little bit more hardcore than I'm used to :shock:

Only if I had a driveway or a garage but living on a dualway busy street I have to go to a selfcarwash and improvise with some of my products, although they don't actually allow using other cleaning products others than the services they provide.