StickyMicky

it took me 2 weeks to clean my engine properlly lol

BradN

Is that the Turtle Wax shampoo that is supposed to help with drying by sheeting the water when you rinse? I've tried this sort of stuff and I hate it. I always keep the scoob wet while i'm washing especially in the sun (it's black) so that it doesn't get any drying streaks. After leathering off I wax. I'm a bit lazy and like the result of Turtle Wax Extreme Polish. Spray on, wipe over and then buff. You can even use it in direct sunlight. It's no substitute for a quality carnuba but it'll probably be raining the day after I wash it and I commute in and out of London.

r32

Dont use a polish use a glaze .............. a polish gets its shine by smoothing the surface of whatever you polish, bit like french polishing wood. A glaze gets its shine by adding a shine on top of the paint, a bit more like applying varnish to wood to get it to shine.
Always makes me wonder, people will spend tens of thousands on a nice motor and then not lay out perhaps a hundred notes to keep it looking good.
Use Swissol or Zymol glazes not polish.
One other tip why spend hours waxing your motor only to wash 80 to 90% of the polish off next time. Both Swissol and Zymol do shampoos that wont wash you hard applied waxes off.
STEVE..................................

Roy.

Problems arising from washing and waxing in direct sunlight is usually down to poor technique / products, trust me i don't stop washing because it's sunny.

All thanks to Mark Underwood,

1. clean wheels
2. rinse car down
3. do impact areas (get all those bugs off the front) do lower edges of front doors/rear bumper (basically where the tyres through up all the road muck)
4. rinse car again, and keep it wet
5. start on the side in the sun and work your way round finishing at the cool side, all the time rinsing gently keep the bubbles / water running down body work
6. dry using aqua blade and bath towel.

This washing and drying takes no longer than 20mins tops!! Drying typically 5mins inc. my friends Skyline (big car!)

Polishing using Swissol i can leave it on the car whilst i do all the detailing inside and out, the final wipe is the reward, and it never bakes on..

Price?? my friend uses Autoglym, Red and Gold typically £16. Swissol Waxes start from £40 that will give you 45/50 applications on a Subaru sized vehicle, definatley not ten times the price!

Roy.

p.s. washing and waxing today..
p.p.s keep an eye on the members section over the coming months for examples / victims

New To Scoob

Quick Q whilst we're on hte subject of cleaning, does anybody have a good way of getting rid of those annoying bits of water (in the grille etc) that causes you to smaer the wax/polish everywhere, so far I've been spending ages going round with kitchen roll and drying all of those little nooks and crannies.

John.

Roy.

EBRWRX, yhmp

Regards, Roy.

Neil W

I used to use Autoglym products and thought that it did an awesome job. That was until I parked next to another silver Scoob that had the Swissol treatment. I could not believe the difference between the two identical coloured cars. It made mine look a totally different colour, dull etc..

I now use Swissol products and yes the initial outlay is expensive but once over that, it doesnt seem much more than other products when replacing individual parts.

Since using swissol it has made cleaning the car an extremely easy job and the results are superb every time. No need for a chamios, just water blade and soft towel, much easier. I even enjoy it when it rains just watching the rain bead up and run straight off.

Anyway this is just my opinion of course!

Fulham71

Would that be mine Neil

Scoobybits

yeh and i will not be using auto glym again... crackin stuff (imho)Meguiars.

S@m

Have to agree, its been 6 months since I last waxed using zymol but I use thier shampoo every weekend and the rain still beads beautifully plus its kept its shine

I know.... its a crime to have left it so long but I've been busy with other things

Mark.

Wonder Wagon

1, pull up at petrol station

2, hand over money

3, lower aerial

4, Insert token and wait



































ps I dont do that ok I'm not a muppet

cw42

iTrader: (1)

I was using Mer from halfords for a while, and before that autoglym, until I got shown what meguiars can do
1.wash car with autoglym car shampoo
2.hydraplane off excess water/ towel dry (use the wifes best bathroom towel, they love it )
3.clay bar and aplication spray the whole car (only once in a while)
4.wax with meguiars
5.polish off
no mess no fuss, easy to apply, even easier to take off, and paintwork is like glass
chris.

Fulham71

How to prepare your car with SWISSOL Wax

PLEASE NOTE: These instructions are for all the SWISSOL waxes bar Mystery & Divine. If you have Shield wax, instructions are also included here on how to use Paint Rubber (Clay Bar)..

Firstly make sure that you are fully prepared and remember that preparing your car to Concours standard, takes time & patience. The secret to a car detailing, being thorough & methodical. Remember too, that the waxing is the finale.... the icing on the cake! Cleaning the paintwork etc takes time, but you will find that as you go through each stage the paint becomes smoother, gains lustre etc. The wax provides extra gloss & feel to the paint as well as protection.

Start by wetting the car using a pressure washer or hose & then hand wash the car using a washcloth (small white towel in the kit) & the car bath provided. Rinse the vehicle & leave wet. Taking the Paint Rubber (clay bar) allow to stand in some hot water to soften for a few minutes. Then place the clay in the palm of your hand & starting with the roof, move the clay over the painted surface in a back & forth motion. Using wet finger tips gently feel the paint surface before and after using the clay. It will not have the pimply feel to the paint that it had before starting & but will be super smooth after claying it. Always keep the surface of the paint well lubricated with water or the quick finish supplied, otherwise the clay will stick to the paint. Proceed from the roof to the bonnet & boot & then on down to the doors & lower extremities. Pay particular attention to tar spotting, on the lower halves of the doors. If you have a stubborn tar spot just press the edge of the clay & rub somewhat harder & the tar will disappear. When you have finished, there is no need to wash the car again unless you really want to, as any clay smudges will disappear when using the cleaner fluid. If your Kit does not include a clay bar, then please ignore there above instructions regarding its use. Then dry car with an old clean very soft towel which has been washed without softener.

The next stage is cleansing.
This operation removes further dirt build up from the paint & any remnants of clay from the paintwork. The bottle you have will provide around four to six complete applications! Using the white applicator squirt on some Cleaner Fluid & work in & over the paint in an area of say 1 sq. metre. Allow the product to dry briefly (max 30 seconds) buff with the brown terry towel. Do not waste time getting out every mark from the paint... you’ll never do it. As soon as you have done one area, move onto the next area. As you have clayed the car, the cleansing operation is very quick & more of a wipe on wipe off scenario. When done stand back & admire the resultant gloss & feel of the paint. Always feel paint with the back of your hand and knuckles & never with dry or greasy fingertips. The paint will feel silk soft & super smooth. Before we move on, always ensure that all the shut lines have been cleaned. Open doors & clean door jambs etc etc.




The final stage...waxing
Take the black wax applicator & you will see that it has two distinct surfaces. One side is cloth & the important side is sponge. This is the side we are going to use for waxing... in other words it’s a case of sponge side down. Open the lid of the wax & you will see a white shive. Remove this shive to expose the wax. Now taking the black applicator sponge side down, twirl it across the surface of the wax to load it. Now starting with the roof wipe the applicator in a back & forth motion without pressing so as to spread the wax across the paintwork. If you **** your head to one side you will see the wax leaving a type of greasy film on the paintwork. Continue applying wax to all the paintwork, all light clusters front & rear, number plates & to the wheel rims. Remember the wax you are using has in excess of 10 times the wax content of a normal off the shelf preparation !! Remember too that the wax pot will provide 45-50 complete waxings... APPLY VERY SPARINGLY. Apply wax in the shade if possible. If you have no shaded area it is perfectly possible to wax in direct sun light.

Once you have applied wax to the above-mentioned surfaces, store the wax applicator in a clear poly bag (a sandwich bag will suffice). Expel the air & seal it. Move the car into direct sunlight to aid curing.

Now go and take a break. After a while take the black terry towel & fold it in half & in half again. Place the towel pad on the roof & with your hand and outstretched fingers, move the pad in a back & firth motion over the dried (hazed) wax surface.

You will now see the most awesome gloss & be able to feel very “soft” paint. When all done leave the car standing in direct sunlight for around 2 hours. This will deepen & enhance the gloss. Now taking the black terry towel again, very briskly but gently feather dust the surface again. Stand back and admire your handiwork & the resultant gloss.

Regular maintenance
Generally speaking the Cleanser Fluid stage is done only once every Six months. During normal weekly washes you also do not have to re wax the vehicle, you merely jet wash, Shampoo & dry for a gloss finish. Regular waxing is recommended i.e. once a month. However the more wax layers that are built up on the vehicle over time the more protection it will have & the better the gloss finish will be. In addition it will also be easier to clean.


Washing Instructions
Wash all terry towels & the white square applicator with the ordinary wash at 30 to 40 degrees C. Allow the towels & applicator to air dry.

The black wax applicator is best stored in a sealable sandwich bag. This keeps the applicator moist & ready for next use. Once the level of the wax has dropped in the pot, you can store the pad in the pot (this is what we do).

Should the black applicator dirty (say through dropping on the floor) hand wash in lukewarm water & then rinse thoroughly. Once towels & pads are dry, store them in the storage bag that came with your kit.

yorkmeister

Go to hand car wash place full of immigrants, pay £7. Sit in car whilst they wash and wax it. Easy.