scoobylover

Once upon a time, circa late 90s i owned an sti5 and spent, what at the time felt like the most expensive car cleaning starter kit from Mark Underwood (iirc) aka the wax wizard.

This contained various bottles of what i remmeber being like a very strong t-cut, a polish, some glass cleaner, dash cleaner, 2 applicators, 2 towels all for around 100 quid (one of the earliest scoobynet offers iirc).
Whilst the inital exterior clean took 2 x 4 hour shifts to get all the muck off, then add two coats of polish, i was amazed when i put one of the towels on the bonnet and it just slid off... Water would run off faster than a hooded teenager from a passing police car.

Having returned to a car i would actually like to clean instead of a family bus, i am looking for something similar to the above, i dont want to spend a months mortgage payment on car cleaning products, power tools and a host of potions to turn the garage into the next set from lord of the rings, but i would like a decent starter kit that would contain everything need to er well start and not need a load of bolt ons to actually do the job and drive the price to the national debt of Argentina.

Ive looked at a couple of sites ive seen mentioned here and found them a little overwhelming for the cleaning, sorry i mean detailing virgin, its almost like an age 18+ warning should be on the front of the site! Are the resulting magazines for this on the top shelf in brown paper bags?
Where i have managed to navigate past the detailing pornography i came across a product range so diverse and complicated i left the site wondering if i should just wander down to halfrods and buy something i recognised, this i did, got a wonderfully coconut smelling green polish from zymol, and apart from the great smell i couldnt recommend it for anything but sniffing, certainly as a car polish it ranks right up there with jelly on my car cleaning product meter.

any thoughts?

Rich @ PB

iTrader: (3)

Given everything you have said, I've tried to condense down a care routine for you that ticks all boxes in terms of the car, your setup, budget, etc...

Wash (ideally every week)

Advanced Car Wash Kit - Advanced Car Wash Kit - Polished Bliss Car Care and Detailing Kits (choosing the Blackfire shampoo)

Decontaminate (once or twice a year, spring and autumn are the best times)

Step 1 - Autosmart Tardis & Accessories (to remove tar spots, tree sap, etc) - Autosmart Tardis - Autosmart Car Care and Detailing Products

Step 2 - Meguiars Quik Clay Kit (to remove industrial fallout, soot, etc) - Meguiars Quik Clay Kit - Meguiars Car Care and Detailing Products

Polish (after claying, thus done once or twice a year)

To correct swirl marks and other light to moderate defects (fine scratches and etching) on your car, we recommend a two stage process starting with Menzerna Intensive Polish in conjunction with Lake Country German CCS Light Cut Pads. Working small areas at a time using moderate pressure should enable you to correct around 95% of the defects present in just 1-2 attempts per panel. Any remaining defects should then be partially hidden and the overall finish refined with Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish in conjunction with Lake Country German CCS Polishing Pads. Working small areas at a time using light pressure should enable you to partially hide any remaining defects and maximise the gloss in just a single attempt per panel. You should be aware from the outset that although this method will yield very good results, it will require a reasonable amount of elbow grease!

Menzerna Intensive Polish - Menzerna Intensive Polish - Menzerna Car Care and Detailing Products
Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish - Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish - Blackfire Car Care and Detailing Products
Lake Country German CCS Pads - Lake Country German CCS Pads - Lake Country Car Care and Detailing Products
Poorboys Super Thick & Plush Towels - Poorboys Super Thick & Plush Towel - Poorboys Car Care and Detailing Products

Protect (apply a fresh coat at least every 3 months)

Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection - Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection - Blackfire Car Care and Detailing Products
Blackfire Ultimate LSP Applicator Pad - Blackfire Ultimate LSP Applicator Pad - Blackfire Car Care and Detailing Products
Luxury Deep Pile Buffing Towel - Deep Pile Luxury Buffing Towel - Polished Bliss Car Care and Detailing Products

The above routine has been adoptd by many members on here with a great degree of success and positive feedback, and our own direct experience tells us that it works a treat on Subaru paint. I hope that helps! Example images of the finish the above products produce...

scoobylover

Thanks for the highly informative and detailed response PB, what i perhaps should have said is that i have bought a bmw rather than a scoob, just in case that changes your products based on the thicker paint etc.

Rich @ PB

iTrader: (3)

No problem, most of the above stands - please just confirm what colour it is, and whether or not you can see obvious swirl marks in the paint, and I'll then make a few tweeks to the above advice.