Exhaustive Guide: Car Detailing Basics

Prabhagar · Mar 31, 2017

These look amazing for the price quoted. I had paid Rs 260 on a lightning deal (normally ~ Rs 400) for Crab Wash Mitt which is very good after around 6+ months of use. I have always wished it needed denser strands as you can see in the picture below. These Sobby ones are tempting me a lot [:)]

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CRACING · Mar 31, 2017

Prabhagar said:

Oh, I forgot to mention it. Crab wash mitt is also good, plus it has net in the sides for easy removing bugs and debris. Denser strands would be better but its fine as long as inner cloth doesn't harm/scratch the paint.

I have tried Sobby mitt today evening and it worked perfectly. Chenilles are soft and holds sufficient water+shampoo mix for wet cleaning. I enjoyed washing my car and cannot wait for another wash. [:D]

kkn13 · Apr 7, 2017

Honda has offered me a free wax polish for loyalty-whatever at my next service
Should I go ahead and do it? My car is anyways 7 years old and paint has a bunch of scratches etc because of cycling kids and unruly traffic :(

CRACING · Apr 7, 2017

kkn13 said:

Have you applied any expensive wax or sealant to your car paint? If so, I don't advice to accept the offer, because if they use wax containing polishers or polishing applicator pads, then it will strip your existing wax layer.

If your car has no wax coating and you have no plan to do it yourself, then you can go ahead. Just make sure they clean the car and apply the wax with clean applicator pads.

However, removing scratches or swirls depends upon which product they use and how they do it. Polish + wax product removes minor swirls but this is only possible by machine. Wax is usually applied by hand and some products can fill minor swirls and hide them until several washes.

bharatbharija · Apr 15, 2017

Due to the close proximity of my currently alloted parking to an under construction flat, my car's hood now has multiple paint drops on it. I tried washing, ONR, and steam wash, but nothing helped. How do I remove that without damaging the paint ?

CRACING · May 12, 2017

K2 Car Care products - Purchase Review

K2 Car Care products - Purchase Review

Hello,

I have been looking for products from K2 brand since long and finally bought some products now. K2 is a Poland company and they make plenty of car care and oil products. This brand is well known in EU and Russia. However, here only car detailing products are available now and I got K2 Ultra Wax made of Carnauba and synthetic polymers, Fox Anti-fog spray and Vizio Plus Invisible Wiper Blade aka Anti-rain from Paytm. Today I have received the products and all look premium and promising.

K2 Ultra Wax - This paste wax isn't too hard nor liquidy, so it should be easier to apply. Product is said to last longer but I don't expect more then a month. MRP is Rs. 590 and its listed in Paytm for Rs. 546. I got it for Rs. 464 with 15% cashback.

K2 Vizio Plus - I have been using Rain-X Original and its about to finish. The same isn't available in online stores now so I had to buy alternative. Lets see how it works. MRP is Rs. 395 and its listed in Paytm for Rs. 365. I got it for Rs. 310 with 15% cashback.

K2 Fox - Also bought this as a alternative to Proklear Anti-fog. Cost is same as Vizio Plus.

I will soon try to compare these with my existing products and post results here.

K2 Ultra Wax vs Megs M26, Megs Black Wax, Mother's Syn Wax, Auto Finesse Tripple AIO
K2 Fox vs Proklear Anti-fog
K2 Vizio Plus vs Rain-X Original

There are many more products from K2 available in Paytm (Link) and the same seller has Menzerna, Armor All & etc products too. Note: I thought to buy K2 bold which is tyre shiner and protectant but it contains silicone polymers so left it. Correctly I'm using Proklear TTD which is a water based protectant.

Product Snapshots:

Thanks...
Best Regards

CRACING · May 25, 2017

Howdy, Friends!

I have recently made a DIY thing for my pressure sprayer and wanted the share the same here. I think you all know about pressure sprayer but it doesn't generate foam for snow foam car washing or prewash. However, we can make this possible by modifying the pressure sprayer and get decent amount of foam. I have split the DIY into two. 1. Foam Nozzle. 2. Hole in the suction pipe of pressure sprayer. Both are made to generate foam out of pressure sprayer and we get best results when combined. Of course, its unmatchable with foam lance electric car washer.

Foam Nozzle - This is a aerator to create foam in front of nozzle and is attached to the brass nozzle tip of pressure sprayer. To make this, I have used vicks box and cotton mesh. Drill/cut 30mm hole in one cap and 8mm hole (or the size of sprayer nozzle) to the other cap. Place the mesh between two caps and press them together.

Hole in the suction pipe of pressure sprayer - By doing this, the shampoo mixes with air to provide more pressure through nozzle and it creates more foam compared to foam nozzle. However, compressed air will be lost quickly so you'll need to pump more often. Make 1 or 2 pin size hole(s) in the top of suction pipe and test the foam before/if doing additional holes. Note: I have two pressure sprayers and I have made this modification to one. If you have single sprayer, then you'll have to think twice because this modification isn't reversible.

This DIY was first done by Coolash and other members in GH forum so credit goes to them. Also thanks to Proklear for their idea on Foam Nozzle.

Below are the test shots of snow foam from Proklear SFC and Valet Pro Snow Foam. I have used 10ml solution into 500ml water for each product and vehicle has been washed with clean water between all the tests. MPS (Short for Modified Pressure Sprayer) has pin hole/puncher in the top of suction pipe and nothing else. Details about foam nozzle is given above.

Proklear SFC + Foam Nozzle

Proklear SFC + Foam-Nozzle + MPS

Valet Pro Snow Foam + Foam Nozzle

Valet Pro Snow Foam + Foam Nozzle + MPS

As you can see, Valet Pro SF creates more foam especially on MPS but it doesn't hold longer and dries quickly so its good for prewash only. Proklear SFC has slightly less foam (May be a little more solution or warm water gives better results) but soapy water stays on surface and we can use mitt without the need of additional shampoo mix. I couldn't test cleaning abilities of both products but in previous washing experiences, I think both products are similar. Once dried or buffed, Proklear SFC gives smooth and shiny finish, may be due to wax contents. On the other hand, I don't like Valet Pro SF because with the same amount of dilution, its very strong (More chance of stripping wax/sealant) that requires lot of water to clean the residue otherwise it leaves dull finish and also it has unpleasant smell.

Feel free to ask me any queries regarding this DIY. If you have already done this, please share details and feedback here.

Thanks...
Best Regards

Prabhagar · Jun 30, 2017

Credits: I was able to get this far in my first detailing step only because of TAIger CRACING who patiently answered all my dumb questions over PM and email. A thousand thanks to you, my detailing Guru. Needless to say, Dr Mudhan is a gem in this area and I have already gone through this whole thread, twice.

Products Used:
Being a newbie to detailing, I had lot of discussions back and forth with CRACING, from deciding what steps to follow and skip, what products to use and how to use them. I was initially planning to just wax my car without any other preparations, just to see if waxing is my thing. I learned from him that wax without polish will not be effective on my 1 year old car which was never detailed before. So I went ahead and purchased the below products which costed around Rs 2000 from Paytm (Links are only provided for product info):
- Shampoo: Armor All Heavy Duty Shampoo
- Polish: Meguiar's Ultimate Polish
- Wax: Meguiar's #26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax
- Polish/Wax Applicator Pads: Meguiar's Foam Pads
- Microfiber Towels (Polish): Sobby MF Towels 380 GSM
- Mircofiber Towels (Wax): Sobby MF Towels 440 GSM

Process:
Wash: Used product in full strength dilution of 6 full caps in about half bucket water. It cleaned stubborn dirt much better than my regular shampoo (Armor All Ultrashine). Also noticed more water left behind on the body unlike ultrashine which has some water beading due to wax presence. I used 2 MF towels (my old car wash towels) to wipe down all of the water.
Polish: I remembered to prime the applicator pads before application. Squeezed a little polish on to the pad and then applied to a small 2x2 ft panel in circular motion, overlapping a couple of times with mild pressure. Once applied to a panel, I removed the it using Sobby 380 GSM towel before moving on to next panel. The wipe off was not as easy as I thought and it felt little sticky and it left some oily/hazy look on the panel. It was not very bad so I moved on to the next panel but reduced the amount of polish on the pad. After application/wiping of individual panels, I buffed off the whole car with a new MF towel, after which all the haziness went away and looked neat.
Wax: This was the most enjoyable piece of my detailing experience. Application of wax was butter smooth and so was buffing, using the thicker 440 GSM towel. I followed the same 2x2 ft panel by panel application but delayed the buffing so that wax gets to haze. With a finger swipe test, I figured out panel #1 was ready to buff off after I applied wax to panel #3. Sometimes I delayed buffing due to bigger panels but even then it was easier to buff off. Compared to polish, I used much less of the product during waxing. After finishing the whole car, I did a final buff with the same towel (it still felt like unused) and completed the ceremony.

Observations:
- Visually the shine levels were same as what I used to get with Armor All UltraShine but physically it felt a lot different. Body panels feel very very slippery and soft to the touch and they easily reveal the wax treatment they enjoyed. Dust and dirt goes away very easily (one jealous bird pooped right after I finished waxing).
- My hands felt little dry and sticky (no pain though) during and polishing. I will have to buy a pair of gloves for the next time.
- Smell of wax is very nice which increased my interest levels.
- Roof panel was not so easy to reach. A small step stool will be needed next time.
- Left over water droplets from ORVMs and under doors. Used MF to remove them as they appeared.

Attaching some pictures and a quick walkaround video. Looking forward to valuable feedbacks from all the guru's here [:)]

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_yRZcyb8Rs&feature=youtu.be

CRACING · Jul 2, 2017

Hello Prabhagar,

Thank you for all the kind words. You did an excellent job, and I really appreciate the time you spent on this. [clap]

Thanks again...
Best Regards

Akash1886 · Jul 2, 2017

Prabhagar said:

That's one inspiring and informative post. Lazy bums like me will surely be getting much help from this. The results are surely outstanding as a 1st timer. The color glows beautifully now. Wish it remains as beautiful always. Today I too got my car's rubbing and polishing done after the painting job done earlier this week. Also, I really have a liking towards this particular color of the Tiago. Wonderful efforts!

Regards

Akash

Driveright · Jul 2, 2017

Prabhagar said:

Credits: I was able to get this far in my first detailing step only because of TAIger CRACING who patiently answered all my dumb questions over PM and email. A thousand thanks to you, my detailing Guru. Needless to say, Dr Mudhan is a gem in this area and I have already gone through this whole thread, twice.

Products Used:
Being a newbie to detailing, I had lot of discussions back and forth with CRACING, from deciding what steps to follow and skip, what products to use and how to use them. I was initially planning to just wax my car without any other preparations, just to see if waxing is my thing. I learned from him that wax without polish will not be effective on my 1 year old car which was never detailed before. So I went ahead and purchased the below products which costed around Rs 2000 from Paytm (Links are only provided for product info):
- Shampoo: Armor All Heavy Duty Shampoo
- Polish: Meguiar's Ultimate Polish
- Wax: Meguiar's #26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax
- Polish/Wax Applicator Pads: Meguiar's Foam Pads
- Microfiber Towels (Polish): Sobby MF Towels 380 GSM
- Mircofiber Towels (Wax): Sobby MF Towels 440 GSM

Process:
Wash: Used product in full strength dilution of 6 full caps in about half bucket water. It cleaned stubborn dirt much better than my regular shampoo (Armor All Ultrashine). Also noticed more water left behind on the body unlike ultrashine which has some water beading due to wax presence. I used 2 MF towels (my old car wash towels) to wipe down all of the water.
Polish: I remembered to prime the applicator pads before application. Squeezed a little polish on to the pad and then applied to a small 2x2 ft panel in circular motion, overlapping a couple of times with mild pressure. Once applied to a panel, I removed the it using Sobby 380 GSM towel before moving on to next panel. The wipe off was not as easy as I thought and it felt little sticky and it left some oily/hazy look on the panel. It was not very bad so I moved on to the next panel but reduced the amount of polish on the pad. After application/wiping of individual panels, I buffed off the whole car with a new MF towel, after which all the haziness went away and looked neat.
Wax: This was the most enjoyable piece of my detailing experience. Application of wax was butter smooth and so was buffing, using the thicker 440 GSM towel. I followed the same 2x2 ft panel by panel application but delayed the buffing so that wax gets to haze. With a finger swipe test, I figured out panel #1 was ready to buff off after I applied wax to panel #3. Sometimes I delayed buffing due to bigger panels but even then it was easier to buff off. Compared to polish, I used much less of the product during waxing. After finishing the whole car, I did a final buff with the same towel (it still felt like unused) and completed the ceremony.

Observations:
- Visually the shine levels were same as what I used to get with Armor All UltraShine but physically it felt a lot different. Body panels feel very very slippery and soft to the touch and they easily reveal the wax treatment they enjoyed. Dust and dirt goes away very easily (one jealous bird pooped right after I finished waxing).
- My hands felt little dry and sticky (no pain though) during and polishing. I will have to buy a pair of gloves for the next time.
- Smell of wax is very nice which increased my interest levels.
- Roof panel was not so easy to reach. A small step stool will be needed next time.
- Left over water droplets from ORVMs and under doors. Used MF to remove them as they appeared.

Attaching some pictures and a quick walkaround video. Looking forward to valuable feedbacks from all the guru's here [:)]

.

View attachment 227990

View attachment 227991

View attachment 227992

View attachment 227993

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_yRZcyb8Rs&feature=youtu.be

its a joy to see the results after gruelling washing and rubbing [clap]

.Wonderful that you are at the job from the beginning as small things like this would mean a lot in the long run in the upkeep of the cars external beauty !

vicks619 · Jul 3, 2017

first of all, I would like to thank all the contributors in this thread for their valuable feedback.
I have bought a new silver dzire last week and its standing in open without any cover. I would like to protect it from from now itself so that I don't have to put extra efforts in restoring it to factory finish later. I have following products with me whihc i used on my older car
1)) karboon wash and wax shampoo Balaji Karbonn ultra car wash & wax shampoo 500ml car scooty bike scooter shampoo: Amazon.in: Car & Motorbike
2) Nulon scratch and swirl remover
3) Nulon cleaner wax
4) Nulon tyre dresser
5) Nulon glass cleaner
Basically I ordered the folwlwing kit:
Nulon Automagic Car Care Set-Car Care Set - Nulon India Ltd.

I finished off the shampoo and I believe interior dresser too as I am not able to find the interior dresser bottle as of now

I have one used jopasu duster from old car and one brand new as well.

I would like to learn from experts here what should be my routine plan from this point onwards. Should I keep using the product mentioned above or create a new fresh kit with products mentioned in this thread.

What should be my next step. detailing? if yes how. I have this in my mind

step 1 : use existing shampoo to wash the car
step 2 : buy poor boys white diamond glaze and apply
step 3 : buy poor boys EX-P sealant and apply
step 4 : buy collinite 845 and apply
or skip step 2-4 and use existing nulon cleaner wax

and after detailing what should be my daily routine

Please guide me with your valuable comments and opinion

vicks619 · Jul 6, 2017

Is there a need to clay as The car is just 15 days old from factor oven

CRACING · Jul 6, 2017

Hello @vicks619,

Congrats on purchasing a new car. [clap]

Car detailing subject is vast so I suggest you to read detailing guides, discussions, reviews as much as you can before proceeding. The products you have used seem unfamiliar to me and I'm afraid they might harm your new car finish so I suggest not to use them. You have to consider car care products that are not only effective but also safe.

Let me start with detailing:

First you'l have to thoroughly clean the car and prepare it for detailing. Wash the car with strong shampoo (i.e Armorall Heavy Duty Car Wash) using high dilution ratio then recommended. Don't use shampoos that contains wax or gloss enhancer when you are about to detail. If you don't have car washing mitt, check out Sobby Wash Mitt or Crab Mitt and you'll also need half a dozen microfiber cloths for prewipe, buffing, final wipe.

Once the car is clean from loose dirt, use soft clay (i.e Bilt Hamber Autoclay Soft) to remove above surface contamination, it might be optional for new cars but if you use it, the polishing works effectively and bonding of protection layer will be better. Use Proklear RAW as clay lube or water also works fine.

Once the paint surface is prepared, you have two options; One is easy, time saving but you may not get desirable finish or durability. Second option is difficult, time consuming, expensive but results will be better and durable. Choose wisely.

Option 1 - Get AIO product which contains cleaners, polishers and wax in one. i.e Meguiars White Wax, Poorboys Polish With Carnauba, Poorboys Polish with Sealant, Auto Finesse Tripple All in One, Menzerna Power Protect Ultra or etc.

Option 2 - You have to use separate products for polishing (i.e Meguiars Ultimate Polish) and wax (Meguiars Yellow Wax, Meguiars NXT 2.0, Poorboys Natty’s Paste Wax, Collinite 845 or etc). Glaze is a optional product but it doesn't help much or make difference to new paint. Some experts say glaze hinders bounding of wax to paint.

Apply the products using microfiber or foam pads, i.e Meguiars Foam Applicator Pad or Mothers Microfiber Applicator Pad.

For extra protection, you can apply spray wax over existing wax. i.e Optimum Car Wax, Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer, Proklear SX, Formula 1 Premium Fast Spray Wax.

This ends the car body detailing work. Thereafter you have to take care of finish and protection layer. Regularly use wash and wax products (i.e Proklear WAW, Proklear RAW CX, Proklear SFC) and spray wax once in 2-3 weeks, to will boost existing wax layer. Don't use low quality or worn mitt/washing cloth, contaminated water, high pressure washer, strong shampoo, rough cleaning techniques and etc, as it would strip the protection layer. Jopasu duster or any dry dusting is not advisable.

After 2 months, you'll have to reapply the standalone wax. To do so, wash the car throughly with strong shampoo and apply whatever wax you have with applicator pad. Use polish and claybar once or twice a year only.

For interior detailing, clean the surface using good cleaners (i.e WaveX PLVR) or APC and apply waterbased protectants (i.e Meguiars Natural Shine, Chemical Guys Natural Shine Dressing, Chemical Guys V.R.P, Proklear TTD and etc).

For tyre detailing, clean them with good shampoo or tyre cleaners but I don't recommend using any protectants or dressers. Read here for more details. If you still want to, then use above said waterbased products only.

Hope I have fulfilled your queries. If you have any doubt, feel free to ask me. [:)]

Thanks...
Best Regards

Suryaputhra · Jul 6, 2017

@vicks619, as CRACING said the products you are selected will definitely harm your new car that's what my opinion. Read this 20 page thread I believe this the best thread on car detailing all time.

-suryaputhra

Exhaustive Guide: Car Detailing Basics

Prabhagar

V10

CRACING

V10

kkn13

Suspended

CRACING

V10

bharatbharija

V4

CRACING

V10

CRACING

V10

Prabhagar

V10

CRACING

V10

Akash1886

Honoured Member

Driveright

V6

vicks619

V4

vicks619

V4

CRACING

V10

Suryaputhra

V10