I doubt anyone goes to the lengths I do when cleaning cars, but over the years I have strived for perfection. When I sold my M5 2 weeks ago it was 4 years old, had done 74,000 miles and was still described by others as being in mint condition. My Range Rover Sport Supercharged will also be getting this style of treatment.

For anyone who is interested, here's what I get up to!

This is aimed at UK people but the weblinks could still be used.

All web links for products at the bottom:

Equipment used for weekly washing: (Or when I feel it needed it)

3 buckets
Meguiars Lambswool wash mitt (£10)
Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo (better than anything I have ever used, we live in a hard water area and this stuff always produces a thick suds) (£15)
AutoGlym synthetic chamois plus a normal chammy £(10)

Process:

I hose down the car with a soft spray pattern hose gun, like a rose spray (Hozelock blue gun from Halfords with the big end on it) The soft pattern allows the water to wash down the panels and take off surface dust and dirt, whereas a hard spray simply bounces off and is less effective.

Fill the buckets as follows:
1st. Meguiars solution as per the bottle instructions (You CAN do the whole car with only 1 gallon as it says!)
2nd. Warm water for rinsing the mitt
3rd. Warm water for the chammy

After rinsing the car and alloys wash down a panel at a time with the mitt. (The mitt's deep pile draws the dirt off the paintwork and therefore goes a long way to eliminate swirl marks made by sponges as they drag dirt across the paint surface)
After each panel rinse the mitt in the second bucket - prevents dirt ruining your wash solution bucket and of course cleans the mitt.
Don't forget the inside edges of the doors and boot.
Once the car is done rinse again with the soft pattern spray.
Dry the body work with the synthetic chammy (I find it doesn't drag on the paint like a normal one and MAYBE doesn't erode the wax finish as much)
Use the normal chammy for round the doors and boot where the other may get marked or dirty
Use remaining wash solution to do the alloys, I use a normal sponge to prevent the mitt being ruined by brake dust
Rinse and dry alloys with an old towel
Dress tyres with your preferred tyre product
Dress the black plastic work with Meguiars listed below

Equipment used for Waxing/ Polishing (Every 3-5 months depending on season)

Meguiars Clay bar (£12)
Meguiars 3 stage paint system 3 bottles all for (£24)
Meguiars Gold Class Clear coat liquid wax (£13)
Meguiars Gold Class Trim detailer (for all the black stuff inside and out , first aid box, engine bay, wiper arms, boot shut area etc) (£6 )
Meguiars Gold Class Leather cleaner and conditioner (£7 )
Meguiars applicator pads (£3)
Cheap 100% Cotton towels (x3) (£10?)
Meguiars Ultimate Wipe (used for final hand finish buffing) (£6) (Now called supreme shine micro fibre)
Porter Cable Random Orbital Polisher See below for prices (Shipped from USA)
Sonus pad kit for PC-ROP see below (Also from USA)
Rainex (£6) Halfords

About every 6 months I will clay bar the car to make the paint smooth as glass, I also do the windscreen.
Using the Random Orbital Polisher I apply the Stage 1 Paint cleaner to get the dirt out of the paint.
Then I'll apply the Stage 2 Paint polish to bring out the colour depth.
Then I apply either the Stage 3 Carnauba Wax or the Gold class liquid wax.

At each stage I use the machine to apply the product then wipe/polish off with a clean cotton towel, then final buff using the Ultimate Wipe. (Without the machine you'd use the foam applicator pads but it takes longer)
I apply Rainex to all the windows as it makes a phenomenal difference in the rain and winter months.
I apply wax polish to the alloys as this helps prevent brake dust build up and makes weekly cleaning much easier

If you wish to buy all the kit I bought then here's how:

www.meguiars.co.uk

Some Meguiars stuff can be bought from Halfords in the UK now, but its a limited range - use the Meguiars forum from the website to hear about the best ways to use products etc. I have heard the new product called NXT Tech Wax range is good too.
Porter Cable Random Orbital Polisher 7424

Web site:

www.autopia.com

the polishing kit with the pads and polisher you need are here:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/son-daspol-kit.html

Cost £99 plus shipping (mine was $68 which is about £37)

Then, from Screwfix (UK only) you'll need the 110V power transformer and a 110V extension. The product codes are:

www.screwfix.com

16691 - 14mtr 110V extension cable £9.95

16158 - 3KvA 110V transformer £53.42

19947 - 110V plug to attach to the polisher £1.20

Total cost £ 64.57 (delivery free over £50!)

Total cost of the project is £ 200.

The results are very much worth it and saves so much time.

Hope that's of interest to someone! L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

Last edited by RRUK on Tue Aug 23 2005 1:26pm. Edited 1 time in total

I've just voted to say you've lost the plot but it is an impressive routine.

How much of this would you recommend for a brand new car? Is it a good idea to do the whole routine before it ever gets a chance to get dirty or is the showroom finish it should have when you collect the car good for a few weeks before you need to get polishing.

Does the wax and polish you use depend on the colour of the car?

Also, a friend has recommended Zymol to me. Any feedback on that product range would be appreciated. It seems to be a similar range to the Maguiars.

Keith 4.4HSE Buckingham Blue
Alpaca Premium Leather, Rhodium
Dynamic Pack, PTI

I freely admit I probably HAVE lost the plot!

With regards to a new car I can only tell you what I plan to do with mine (as this will be my first ever brand new car...but what a place to start!)

The factory/dealer will apply a wax coat but I doubt it will be of great quality and longevity. It will almost definitely be Autoglym too, ok, but not great. Personally I plan to give it a good coat of wax sealant as soon as I get it, including the alloys. I want to protect the car as early as I can before I start to use it much, afterall, what better time than when it's new?

The way to tell if your car needs more work is to get a small plastic sandwich bag on your hand and slide your fingers over the paint after washing & drying it. If you can feel lots of little bumps (Like grains of sand feeling) then your paint has ingrained dirt and it will need clay barring and possibly a paint cleaner (Please never use T cut, it's so abrasive and SO bad for the paint) Then polish and wax.

Remember, polish is not the same as wax, one brings out the depth of your paint colour, the other seals it in and protects the paint. YOu HAVE to wax after a polish, otherwise it won;t last long at all.

The Wax I use can be used on all colours of clear coat paint finishes. I don't rate coloured polish/waxes as they are all in one products and I am not keen on those.

I have heard good reports on Zymol, but never used it. I have heard the PROPER Zymol, (not from Halfords) is expensive and the Halfords stuff is no good. It's a shame Meguiars is now available in some Halfords stores as I think it de-values a terrific product. Autoglym products become a long and distant memory once you have use Meguiars...trust me on that. L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

Will you put your first coat on top of the Autoglym dealer finish or strip that off and start from scratch?

Keith 4.4HSE Buckingham Blue
Alpaca Premium Leather, Rhodium
Dynamic Pack, PTI

RRUK,
I need to lie down and have a rest after reading all that, youve made me feel tired.
Its a Simple wash and wax for me, but do admit to washing mine more than any other car I have owned. Its out there somewhere. Second V10 Treg on the drive at the moment.

keith wrote:

Will you put your first coat on top of the Autoglym dealer finish or strip that off and start from scratch?

Keith

Actually, you're right, I'd probably use the Meguiars Stage One Paint Cleaner first to be sure I was going to polish and wax a fresh surface.

I like to be thorough.  L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

Isnt it nice tp be able to talk about cleaning and upgrading and not about problems with the RRS, which seem to be very few and very minor around the place. Its out there somewhere. Second V10 Treg on the drive at the moment.

Agreed.

It does seem like a lot of the "faults" are more about just being blokes and not reading the manual or not understanding how the cars work.

It is also interesting that no matter how much designing is done, there is always something not quite perfect - like the sill scraping issue. It would be nice for LR to recognise this problem and fit the sill plates as standard on a >£50K car. I don't suppose any amount of Maguiars will protect them adequately.

Keith 4.4HSE Buckingham Blue
Alpaca Premium Leather, Rhodium
Dynamic Pack, PTI

I have had an idea on the sill issue, see the post about it. L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

Had a look at the website. Looks interesting but I actually like the look of the sill plates. I believe the sill plates just stick on so presumably you couldn't do both and put the sill plates on top of the film.

Keith 4.4HSE Buckingham Blue
Alpaca Premium Leather, Rhodium
Dynamic Pack, PTI

I see no reason why you couldn't place the LR version on top of the film. It will be just as secure as sticking it directly onto the paint, plus with the added bonus that it can't mark the paint at all, as the film will protect it. L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

Just one question RRUK,

Fancy going off roading this coming weekend? 11 XFR

08 RRS TDV8 HSE with the good bits taken off the first RRS

05 RR Sport TDV6 HSE Rimini Red (Rimini Brown at events), Stormer wheels (original 19's for events), PTI, towpack. TV tuner (now driven by an employee)

1923 Ford Model T (serious ground clearance)


FFRR TDV8 Vogue my07 (wife won't let me use it in case I go to Salisbury with VA in it)

plus some other bits n' pieces

I would were I not flying to Malaysia...oh, and also if I had a RRSport to use!

I may pamper my car, but it will be pressed into regular off road trips, it won't be a soft roader that's for sure. As soon as I have it, it'll be in the woods helping me drag trees about! L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

wow rruk your expected delivery keeps moving up, i hope i get as lucky with my order.

Biggles wrote:

RRUK,
I need to lie down and have a rest after reading all that, youve made me feel tired.
Its a Simple wash and wax for me, but do admit to washing mine more than any other car I have owned.