# Kit Needed For A Decent Wash.



## christurbo (Mar 6, 2005)

Well this is probably one of the first cars that I want to actually wash myself properly. I have my cars valeted at my place of work, however I want to do this for myself now.

I purchased last night:

Microfibre Wash mitt x 2
Microfibre Wash pad
Microfibre Polish applicator
Microfibre Buffing cloth x 2
Microfibre Towels
Brushes
Buckets x 2 [two bucket method]
Megs Gold Wash
Dodo Clay
Autoglym Super Resin Polish
Dodo Juice Blue Velvet Wax
Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner
TurtleWax Tyre Shine
Autogym Glass Polish
Autoglym Leather Cleaner/Balm

Is there anything I am missing?


----------



## Abe (Sep 6, 2010)

The market is saturated with so many products and from so many manufacturers its difficult to recommend specific brands/products.

How heavily soiled does your car tend to get?

You have products for a wash, polish and wax. I'd consider looking at pre-wash products, things like a snow foam or citrus pre-wash that you can apply to the car using a pressure washer or pump sprayer that will start to break down the crud on the Car before you start washing it.

A two bucket method is recommended and is proven as a good way to carry out the wash.

When claying, make sure to use a good amount of lube so as not to marr the paint.

I'd also look at a wheel sealant - something to deter brake dust and road muck from sticking hard to the wheels. There are specific products out there to remove tar and iron deposits.

Good luck and post up photos


----------



## christurbo (Mar 6, 2005)

I do 300 - 400 miles a week [motorway mostly] so it can get a fair amount of crud accumulated.

Thanks for the tips I will look into the pre wash.


----------



## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

Abe said:


> The market is saturated with so many products and from so many manufacturers its difficult to recommend specific brands/products.


Quite, and there's not a lot to choose between them so the world of detailing is pretty much a world of trends and "in" products.



Abe said:


> A two bucket method is recommended and is proven as a good way to carry out the wash.


Proven? How?



Abe said:


> When claying, make sure to use a good amount of lube so as not to marr the paint.


Or clean the paint by means that don't involve dragging any trapped crud over the paint and avoid marring entirely. Just because a product is available, it doesn't mean that it could or should be used.

But yeah, I'd say your kit list pretty much covers everything you're likely to need and a few you don't.


----------



## RockKramer (Feb 15, 2012)

Remember if your paint is in really good condition there is no need to polish after washing, just dry and wax. Use the Super resin polish if you need to remove slight blemishes then apply your wax. Take a look at Dodo's Red Mist... After washing and drying your waxed car, spray on Red Mist and wipe off... There is plenty of info about it on Dodo's site and detailing sites.


----------



## Abe (Sep 6, 2010)

ScoobyTT said:


> Abe said:
> 
> 
> > A two bucket method is recommended and is proven as a good way to carry out the wash.
> ...


Surely from the simple fact that after using a mitt or sponge and by cleaning it out thoroughly in clean water prior to going back to the shampoo bucket before going back to the car again that you are removing a lot of the dirt from the mitt or sponge that you just removed from the car rather than mixing the dirt in with your clean shampoo and not wiping that dirt back on your car...


----------



## christurbo (Mar 6, 2005)

Some good advice on here.

My TTS had a Superguard treatment done 2 weeks ago. Will this affect how I should approach it? I.e polish/clay/wax?


----------



## LordG71 (Jan 10, 2012)

christurbo said:


> I purchased last night:
> 
> Microfibre Wash mitt x 2
> Microfibre Wash pad
> ...


How much is all that lot? :?


----------



## RockKramer (Feb 15, 2012)

christurbo said:


> Some good advice on here.
> 
> My TTS had a Superguard treatment done 2 weeks ago. Will this affect how I should approach it? I.e polish/clay/wax?


DO NOT POLISH IT... No need to with the Superguard treatment. Polish is abrasive and will remove it. Just wash, dry and wax.


----------



## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

christurbo said:


> My TTS had a Superguard treatment done 2 weeks ago. Will this affect how I should approach it? I.e polish/clay/wax?


Throw away the polish and the clay! Unless you want to abrasively remove the treatment that's just been applied.



Abe said:


> ScoobyTT said:
> 
> 
> > two bucket method .... Proven? How?
> ...


But that's _not _a simple fact, merely a regurgitation of the postulated reasoning for doing it. Here are some other logical assertions which rely less on belief that something is doing what it claims to do:

1. Nearly all of the material that's going to do any damage to your paint will be picked up by the sponge/mitt whilst you're dragging it across the paint. 
Thought experiment: do you truly believe that the very first swipe with a sponge/mitt somehow does less damage because the sponge started clean? It's lifting and dragging the dirt that's on the car across the car. Whether you rinse your sponge/mitt in shampoo or clean water makes NO difference to that.

2. You can see when a sponge/mitt is dirty before you reapply to the car. This ability remains intact if you're using one bucket.

3. Rinsing the sponge in the first bucket is just as effective. Non-soluble denser-than-water particles will sink. Non-soluble less-dense particles (such as organic matter) will float. They will do this when you rinse in the second bucket so are just as likely to re-attach to the sponge/mitt. Water-soluble matter is water soluble and so it makes no difference to that whether you use one bucket or two. Any particles of any density that remain caught in currents around the sponge/mitt are just as likely to be caught by it when removing it, whether it's dunked in the shampoo bucket or a rinse bucket.

3. If you're agitating your sponge/mitt in a bucket you potentially disturb any dense matter that has sunk to the bottom. The above comment on particles carried in currents applies equally to the second bucket as the first, so it makes no difference whether the particles are disturbed from the bottom of your shampoo bucket or your rinse bucket.

4. When dunking your sponge/mitt you might re-attach any floating particles. So it doesn't matter which bucket they are in. The chances are bucket-independant.

5. If your car is dirty enough that you can't effectively rinse a sponge in a shampoo bucket and see that it's clean before re-applying it to the car, you've got bigger problems than the need to rinse the sponge.

The two bucket method is a waste of time, water, and a bucket.


----------



## Jac-in-a-Box (Nov 9, 2002)

ScoobyTT said:


> The two bucket method is a waste of time and water.


And a bucket  

Dave


----------



## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

Jac-in-a-Box said:


> ScoobyTT said:
> 
> 
> > The two bucket method is a waste of time and water.
> ...


 :lol: :lol: never used the two bucket method


----------



## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

Jac-in-a-Box said:


> ScoobyTT said:
> 
> 
> > The two bucket method is a waste of time and water.
> ...


A good point, well made. Post edited! :lol:


----------



## christurbo (Mar 6, 2005)

I did my first '2 bucket wash' today with some megs gold.
The polish and clay has been banned due to the fresh Superguard.

I didnt have time to apply the Dodo Juice Blue Velvet wax but managed to put a tester layer on half of the bonnet.

Typical British weather meant that it hammered down on my way home driving from Birmingham this afternoon but showed how great this wax is! Excuse the crappy iPhone pic in low light but you get the point.










I will get some decent pics when wax has been applied.


----------



## RockKramer (Feb 15, 2012)

Good lad holding off with the clay and polish... You can see from your tester area that if your paint finish is good wax is all you need. A couple of layers, perfect. You'll probably only need to wax 3-4 times a year. Some people use a different wax for the winter months, something like Collinite No.476S Super Double Coat wax which is very durable but not give the ultimate glossiness off other waxes like dodo. Now and again you may want to strip all the product off to start afresh. Dodo Lime Prime or AutoGlym high definition cleanser will get you back to a clean paint surface ready for waxing.
Your Phantom Black Pearl will look amazing when you're done.


----------



## christurbo (Mar 6, 2005)

Thanks for the advice - this morning my bonnet looked odd. Half of it has aload of frozed water drops the other had hardly anything!

Its a glorious day, unfortuantetly I am in work instead of finishing the job!


----------



## christurbo (Mar 6, 2005)

I finally managed to apply the Dodo Juice. It's great stuff to apply and offers a mirror finish. Water completely repels the paint surface.


----------



## TTchan (Mar 24, 2012)

Looks beautiful....i will get mine like that one day :?


----------



## RockKramer (Feb 15, 2012)

Fabulous work Chris... How long did it take, neighbours think you mad/OCD?


----------



## christurbo (Mar 6, 2005)

I am happy with it. The time consuming part was the prep work [cleaning / drying /etc]. The wax is easily applied and removed. It took about 2 1/2 hours for everything. I didn't need to polish due to the Superguard all ready applied.

Oh and I even dodo juiced my iPhone! The screen is like silk!


----------

