OK I have my Tin Hat and Bullet Proof Vest on.
I have never ever detailed a car, I only ever use a Jet wash at the nearest service station I should add my Sport is an 08 and lives in Spain, however its kept under cover and has only done 65000 kilometres this is circa 40,000 miles.

I have over the years bought a clay bar, clay cloths - from someone on this Forum, Poor boys Pink wheel cleaner etc, this is still in the original wrappers and untouched and some Mer that I had used a while back to remove some of the bonnet of My Disco TD5.

Anyway, I must admit, I did use some Auto Glym Spay Detailer and a Microfiber rag (saw a video about this on U-tube) when I got back to Spain a couple of weeks back, obviously this was after my usual Garage jet wash, and I thought the car looked pretty good.

However, I found a link to detailing world, apparently I did it all wrong, and used the wrong type of detailer spay I should have snow foamed the car clay cloth, wax, then detailer etc Can I please ask, is there any real benefit from doing all this malarkey, basically will I notice a BIG improvement in the car or not, would the car look any better for it? In Spain - 2018 F Pace - Frightened away from the Sports due to crank failures
Gone - A couple of RRS, A couple of Disco's. However thinking of another Sport.

In short SRE - Yes. Especially on darker colours, Greys, Blues, Blacks, Greens etc

Whether you see it worth the effort or not is another matter.

For me, its a bit of a guilty pleasure, I've spent hundreds (probably thousands ) on detailing products and can turn out a great finish, problem is I'm time short. I tend to do a panel every week or so, then seal in my work with a wax/sealant, then move on to the next one.

There's no doubt (for me) that snow foaming and a jet spray before letting a mitt in contact with the paint goes a long way to reducing the number of scratches/swirls inflicted. I'm sure this is something that will spilt the 4x4 community down the middle, but for me, I enjoy doing it and will continue to do so. You've only got to look at some of the professionally detailed cars posted up on here over the recent months to see just how god the finish can look  ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass

BC, this was mine the other week.
http://www.rrsport.co.uk/forum/topic38461.html
I may try the clay cloth treatment on one of the doors and see if there is an improvement. In Spain - 2018 F Pace - Frightened away from the Sports due to crank failures
Gone - A couple of RRS, A couple of Disco's. However thinking of another Sport.

Looks great SRE but up close, I bet you have lots of micro scratches that are 'dulling' the shine

To be honest, a proper soapy blast with a jet spray, a decent wash with a wool/microfiber mitt, claying (cloth or original clay bar) followed up with a treatment of Autoglym's SRP then a quick detailier will leave a cracking finish and 'fill' most of the minor scratches. (Apply SRP with a foam pad and get a microfiber cloth for the detailing spray )

Get your butler/maid to try that routine next time and I recon you'll be over the moon  ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass

detailing is ok if done (propper) can look worse if not with plenty of buffer trails etc

I do it myself for special occasions. Otherwise when Ive got a new car Ive had the gtechniq treatment and its lasted for a couple of years (or more) and makes it easy to wash. Just a quick wash/dry and it looks really good. People often comment how much I must have "polished it" but in reality its just been towel dryed. Same for the wheels. They just wipe clean

So I do think its worth protecting the paint with something long term to save maintenance in future.... cheers
bogie

2008 RRS 4.2 Supercharged HST

SRE wrote:

[ snip ]

However, I found a link to detailing world, apparently I did it all wrong, and used the wrong type of detailer spay I should have snow foamed the car clay cloth, wax, then detailer etc Can I please ask, is there any real benefit from doing all this malarkey, basically will I notice a BIG improvement in the car or not, would the car look any better for it?

Here's a link to some photos I posted yesterday.. you can clearly see the 'micro scratches' that Beancounter mentions in the paintwork.. and also how it looked after I removed all of those.

The problem is, is that the 'swirling' creates a 'V' shape in the lacquer.. this then causes the reflection of light to bounce in some "random" direction, causing paint reflections to start looking flatter and flatter over time.. once the swirls are removed, the light then reflects off of the depth of the paint properly and you then get the full effect of what was meant to be, creating a nice deep shine.

Here's a (kinda) 50:50 of the bonnet of that 2008 black Fiesta in the post I linked to.. although I missed the mark slightly with the camera flash, you can hopefully get the idea on the state of reflections





Cheers..

Ian

YES  2014.5 SDV6 AB Dynamic ... Fuji /Santorini Pan roof and 22's
2013 Porsche Boxster S 3.4
2014 Audi A3 S line Quattro
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