# Cleaning order/guide?



## swfblade (Apr 24, 2007)

Does anyone have a definitive Car cleaning guide, as in which order/what to do? I mean in a "stage 1: wash 2:Clay bar" etc format?


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## sirmattylad (Feb 6, 2009)

There are loads of those type of posts on here, just put it in search bar. But wouldnt say there is a single 'definitive' guide, it's all about personal choice, opinion, time constraints etc. 8)


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## swfblade (Apr 24, 2007)

Yeah I tried searching, always do, but I was after some sort of guidance with respect to it.

What I'm trying to ask for is something like the following;


Hose down car[/*]
Wash car with whatever shampoo[/*]
is this where I then Clay bar?[/*]
Polish with xyz[/*]
Wax?[/*]
In the past I've always gone for 1,2,4 and then maybe an extra Gloss finish on that (use AutoGlym mainly - shampoo, Resin Polish, extra Gloss Protection). But trying to find out where I would use clar bar in the sequence and if I should wax/howoften.


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## Tim G (Feb 16, 2005)

Thats correct mate. Wash, dry & then clay. I think its recommened to rewash after the clay & then you can polish, wax etc.

Yes you should wax at the end of everything to seal in the finish & add some depth to the paint 8)


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## oldhipp (Feb 7, 2009)

Google autopia car care.


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## swfblade (Apr 24, 2007)

Sweet cheers TimG.


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## shurcomb (Jan 6, 2007)

You can also try the clean your car forum for info on washing etc..

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27

And yep, agree you should wash after the claying.


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## swfblade (Apr 24, 2007)

ok, so with BVF coming up, just wanted to clarify what I'm going to do to the car;


Wash with Autoglym Shampoo and a Megs Mitt.[/*]
Dry with a Megs drying towl.[/*]
Clay bar.[/*]
Re-Wash with Autoglym Shampoo and a Megs Mitt.[/*]
Dry with a Megs drying towl.[/*]
Polish with Autoglym SRP using some Megs Pads.[/*]
Finish up with Autoglym EGP.[/*]
Does this sound like a good job, or should I also use a Wax at the end?

I also have some swirls, but figured the Autoglym SRP will help with that and to be honest, that will need looking at later.


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## steve o (Dec 5, 2006)

As has been said, alot is down to personal choice, but the majority do it the same way.

You've pretty much got it right :
1) Wash
2) Dry
3) Clay
4) Wash
5) Dry
6) Polish
7) Seal
8) Wax
9) Wax again
10) Wax again if you're really OCD!!!

It is a long process and most people will spend 2 full days doing a proper job once a year and cut out various steps for the rest of the year.

As for your swirl question, SRP won't take swirls out. Believe it or not, SRP is a very VERY low cutting level and the reason it gives such a good gloss is its full of fillers. So your swirls will go away, but they'll come back in a month or so once the fillers have washed out. This is why you see so many people franticly polishing their cars every month!!! Its just not necessary if you do it right first time.

When you're at the polishing stage, if you want to do it right, you need to use a machine polisher and professional cutting and finishing polish (don't ask me for a preference, there's hundreds! I use menerza). These polishes have no filling agents what so ever, so the result you get is a genuine one where you know you're looking at flat paint and not scratched paint with filler in it!!!

You then need to seal the paint with a good sealant. EGP is good and long lasting, so if you have that, use it, its good. But then you should protect your sealant with wax. A good wax. And this is the only thing you should need to maintain.

Many people wash and polish, then leave the car not really understanding they're removed all their protection through polishing, then wonder why they need to polish again next month! Its because you're not protecting your paint!

You need to have a good coat or 2 of wax, then maintenance thereafter should only need be wash, dry and quick wax spray (weekly), then every other month wash, dry apply a new layer of wax.

Once you've machine polished, unless you don't look after your paint, you shouldn't really need to machine polish again, but you will need to at least hand polish every 6 months and clay maybe every 12 months to remove any embedded road grime, then reapply your seal and wax layers.

Hope that makes sense.

Again, alot of it is personal choice and some people do more or less than the next man.

For me, I do all 10 steps once a year and machine polish for the first time.

I then just wash, dry and quick spray wax weekly (spray wax takes about 15 minutes to apply to whole car and protects your proper wax from wearing off too quickly).

Every 2 months or so, I'll wash dry and proper wax to keep a good depth of shine and protect my seal and paintwork.

Every 6 months or so, I'll remove all layers with a hand polish, re seal and complete rewax

Once a year I'll remove all layers with a polish, clay, reseal and complete rewax.

Any road grime should not get to your paint if you wax properly.

You won't get further swirls or scratches if you wax properly and wash properly (ie; 2 bucket or no bucket method with snow foam).

Sorry for the long post.
Again, just my choice of what I do.

Steve.


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## swfblade (Apr 24, 2007)

Mate, no probs, that's an excellent guide!

Many thanks, I'll go get a wax and get a better polish after BVF.

Thnx again


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## steve o (Dec 5, 2006)

Cool, if you like autoglym stuff, the hi-def wax is really good! I love it!

Also, don't get me wrong about SRP, its a good polish for general stuff, but for that first proper go, you really should get a pro polish without filler and get it machine polished. After that, SRP is a good polish to keep on top of things (just remember to reseal and wax after!).

Steve.


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## swfblade (Apr 24, 2007)

Yeah will do, just off on Holiday after BVF, so dont really want to spend out on a polisher until I'm back.

Thanks again.


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## colster (Oct 30, 2008)

James, I emailed autoglym yesterday about this. I have been using srp and ultra gloss protection but for our dark colour car, srp has been superseded by ultra deep shine which they say has actually been specifically formulated to remove the swirls and hazes on dark paint. They also said you don't need UGP or wax after but I would still do it.

I'm going to give that a try before I machine polish mine.


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## swfblade (Apr 24, 2007)

Interesting Colin, cheers.

I thought that UDS was for darker cars? I didn't really think that Denim Blue Pearl was that dark, to be honest, but I guess it depends on opinion.

Let me know how it goes mate.

(ps. I got the pics you wanted, I'll get em up shortly)


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## colster (Oct 30, 2008)

swfblade said:


> Interesting Colin, cheers.
> 
> I thought that UDS was for darker cars? I didn't really think that Denim Blue Pearl was that dark, to be honest, but I guess it depends on opinion.
> 
> ...


Will do. I got the idea from this thread viewtopic.php?f=2&t=144799

Also bought some HD wax off ebay (over £10 cheaper on ebay than halfords) so will try that as well.

I use this guide http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/generalImg/guide.gif

By the way, what is BVF?


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## dean2403 (Jun 30, 2009)

Many people seem to have different variations of essensially the same proceedure. I recently bought some products from a company called The Ultimate Finish (http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk). The customer services rep was very helpful and gave me the following tips:

Wash with shampoo, bucket & grit guard and a wash mitt.

Dry - chamois, drying towel or synthetic chamois (or Aqua Gleam filter!)

Clay - different grades depending on how often this is done and whatcondition the paintwork is in. Clays require lubricants. Auto-Clay from Bilt-Hamber uses water as a lube, all the others require a quick detailing product such as Born Slippy or Quik Detailer (Megs)

Paintwork Cleanser such as Lime Prime (Dodo Juice) or Paintwork Cleanser(Sonus)

Wax (such as Supernatural) or Sealant (Meguiars #7 or Sonus SFX-3 FinalFinish) If there are extra scratches / swirls that require more effort to remove goto a heavier cutting compound such as Poorboys Swirl Removers: SSR 1 Polish,SSR 2 is Light Cut, (same as the Dodo Juice Lime Prime) SSR 2.5 is MediumCut same strength as Sonus SFX 1 and Meuiars DA Cleaner Polish #83 and SSR 3which a heavy cut (Meguiars #4 or #84)

Or try this link for a more detailed approach; http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/Stor ... ?PageId=42

Hope this helps out.


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## swfblade (Apr 24, 2007)

colster said:


> Will do. I got the idea from this thread viewtopic.php?f=2&t=144799
> 
> Also bought some HD wax off ebay (over £10 cheaper on ebay than halfords) so will try that as well.
> 
> ...


Cheers mate.

BVF = British Volkswagen Felstival. It's a huge VW show set in the Malvern Hills, open to all VAG water and air cooled. Got show & shine, Trade stands, a big tour of Malvarn (Rundfahrt) and loads more. Its a brilliant show, nay social event, I've been going for years, always camp out Friday & Saturday night.


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