Car wax and shine
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Bold statement by Carbuyer 
I would not recommend anyone to use clay if you are not prepared to repair scratches with a rotating car polisher. Clay will almost always scratch you car (think about it: you drag sticky metal and rubber on the paint). If you have a well taken care of car, it will be more than enough to use chemicals to remove metal and rubber from the paint.
Also, remember that polish and wax are two different products. You can skip the polish if you think detailing is boring (or not necessary), but you can't skip the wax.
I would not recommend anyone to use clay if you are not prepared to repair scratches with a rotating car polisher. Clay will almost always scratch you car (think about it: you drag sticky metal and rubber on the paint). If you have a well taken care of car, it will be more than enough to use chemicals to remove metal and rubber from the paint.
Also, remember that polish and wax are two different products. You can skip the polish if you think detailing is boring (or not necessary), but you can't skip the wax.
Thanks for that advice Agmuns !!!...see now my first post !...what polish / wax is the best then ??Bold statement by Carbuyer
I would not recommend anyone to use clay if you are not prepared to repair scratches with a rotating car polisher. Clay will almost always scratch you car (think about it: you drag sticky metal and rubber on the paint). If you have a well taken care of car, it will be more than enough to use chemicals to remove metal and rubber from the paint.
Also, remember that polish and wax are two different products. You can skip the polish if you think detailing is boring (or not necessary), but you can't skip the wax.
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Don't remove the link. The advice was good, they were not wrong (clay works very well)
I just added that people have to think before they follow a tip about dragging clay around a dirty car you can clay with a light clay bar and should be fine. As long as you use the proper methods (snow foam, 2 bucket etc) to get rid of as mush dirt as possible and avoid swirls. then just use a decent glaze rather then machine if you want. Not a perfect finish but good enough for a bi weekly detail i think
lol no i mean once done with a light clay bar can glaze etc and keep topped up every couple weeks or once month.
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Clay Bars are indeed excellent; so long as you think ahead and use carefully:-
1. Never use on a dry surface ~ Always use a lubricant first.
2. Never use a bar if it has been dropped on the floor ~ We are talking of removing micro marks on paint or glass so something picked up from the floor is going to be horrendously massive compared to what you want to remove on the vehicle.
3. Never use in a circular motion ~ Circular motion applies stress and does not cover the area to be cleaned evenly. Always use either up and down or left to right..... and keep spraying lubricant throughout.
4. Never apply to much pressure ~ You will damage the paintwork if you do. You just need to apply a light pressure and you will feel the small contaminants. Carry on pressing lightly until the surface feels smooth.
5. Brush off with a dry lint free cloth and move on to the next surface.
1. Never use on a dry surface ~ Always use a lubricant first.
2. Never use a bar if it has been dropped on the floor ~ We are talking of removing micro marks on paint or glass so something picked up from the floor is going to be horrendously massive compared to what you want to remove on the vehicle.
3. Never use in a circular motion ~ Circular motion applies stress and does not cover the area to be cleaned evenly. Always use either up and down or left to right..... and keep spraying lubricant throughout.
4. Never apply to much pressure ~ You will damage the paintwork if you do. You just need to apply a light pressure and you will feel the small contaminants. Carry on pressing lightly until the surface feels smooth.
5. Brush off with a dry lint free cloth and move on to the next surface.
You've got literally thousands of products that you can work with. I've chosen the following ones for washing/waxing (even if the coating I use is not technically a wax).
Thorough wash (about twice a year):
- Prewash with Bilt Hamber Surfex HD (This is a solvent-based degreaser that will remove old wax)
- Remove metal particles and rust with Dodo Juice Ferrous Dueller (There's always a bit of rust particles on car)
- Remove tar and bugs with tar remover
- Wash with Dodo Juice Born to Be Mild car shampoo (This is a good general purpose car shampoo)
- Apply Soft99 Fusso Coat on painted surfaces (I chose this as it lasts a long time and is very water repellent)
- Apply Finish Kare Hi-temp Paste Wax FK1000P on wheels (You could use this for whole car, but I'm using it only for my wheels)
- Apply Gtechniq C4 on plastic trim (Keeps the black plastic parts good looking for a long time, quite pricey)
- Apply Softcare Car Textile Protector on the seats (makes cloth seats water repellent, only car textile protector I've ever used, previous car had leather seats)
Standard wash (about once a month or more often):
- Remove tar and bugs with tar remover
- Prewash with Bilt Hamber Auto Foam (very popular, only pre-wash I've used, but supposed to be good)
- Wash with Dodo Juice Born to Be Mild car shampoo (This is a good general purpose car shampoo)
- Wash wheels with Bilt Hamber Wheel Cleaner if needed (only using this if normal wash didn't remove everything)
- Finish with Soft99 Fusso Coat Speed & Barrier Hand Spray (this product matches my last step product)
I know this sounds like an overkill for many. Some others would say that's not enough as I don't use a clay bar and I don't polish (polishing is basically sanding using a very fine grit) the car. Maybe I'll get braver at some point and learn to use a clay bar, but I've understood that for polishing it would be best to get a proper machine...
i get my car on friday so im going to be doing a half decent detail on saturday
snow foam
chemical guys clean slate (get rid of the crap the dealer used)
iron remover (not brought yet but thinking dragons breath)
also need some new wheel cleaner
light clay bar
poorboys black hole glaze
chemical guys butter wet wax
carpro hydro 2 spray water repellent
and in a month or so i will use dodo juice purple haze
i want to use the fuso but im going to wait until sep/oct and hire a bay at the local detailing shop as i dont have a garage. plus i enjoy the cleaning every few weeks (gets me out the mad house)
snow foam
chemical guys clean slate (get rid of the crap the dealer used)
iron remover (not brought yet but thinking dragons breath)
also need some new wheel cleaner
light clay bar
poorboys black hole glaze
chemical guys butter wet wax
carpro hydro 2 spray water repellent
and in a month or so i will use dodo juice purple haze
i want to use the fuso but im going to wait until sep/oct and hire a bay at the local detailing shop as i dont have a garage. plus i enjoy the cleaning every few weeks (gets me out the mad house)
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Sorry, didn't see this question until now. I don't want to recommend any polish or wax, because it is a never ending project to find the perfect combo. Every detailer has his/her own favourite products.
However I can say what I have been using on my current cars and my experience so far.
My Candy Red Focus used to get Swissvax Shield for a period of time, but I changed to Swissvax Concorso a couple of years ago. I also tried to switch from Shield to Swissvax Glacier on my white 108. I love working with Swissvax because it is very easy to work with and it the results are really good. My experience so far is that Shield is more than good enough for me and it was unnecessary to buy Concorso and Glacier.
Also, I'm thinking about switching to PolishAngel Master Sealant during winter (for both my cars) and keep the Swissvax during the summer. The reason is that carnauba wax is not as lasting as a synthetic coating. Considering i put the winter protection on in september and are not able to put summer protection on until april, I need something that last longer than wax.
Another ongoing project I have is to try Meguiars Liquid Wax on one half of the 108 bonnet, and the Swissvax Glacier on the other half to see which last longer. Liquid Wax is a very cheap product and is beading more than Swissvax that are sheeting (more than Liquid Wax). I prefer sheeting because i don't want the rain drops to stay on the car (beading), but a friend of mine tried the Liquid Wax and said it was really good. I obviously cannot vouch for that, but I'll give it a go. No need to buy expensive products for a cheap car if the cheap products works fine.
So how is it working for me? This is one of many pictures I took of my 4 year old Focus when it had no protection this spring (I took several images to document the paint in a detailing forum). Important information is that I never use clay or polish with cut, but use chemicals and a Swissvax polish with no cut instead.
Does this mean the products I use will work for you, and that your brand new 3008 will look just as good after 4 years if you use Swissvax? No, not really. But hopefully you get some ideas based on my experience, and I hope that will inspire you to find products you like
This is true. There are so many aspects here that what might be best for me might not be for you:
- How easy is it to apply?
- How shiny or glossy does it look?
- How well does it repel water?
- How long until you need to apply the wax/sealant again?
- How much does it cost?
I use the Fusso Coat because it lasts ridiculously long on the car and I know that I get busy (lazy) sometimes. I try to clean the car thoroughly in the spring when changing the tires (if not too cold) and again in the autumn.
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I try to use as little chemicals as possible inside the car. But if the roof (on the inside) really need cleaning, I would have tried to first vacuum clean it, then spray very little all purpose cleaner on the roof and use a clean moist (not wet!) microfiber cloth to wipe it carefully off.
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