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Car Wash - Do I need a PHD?

jotaking

Well-known member
Joined
1 Jun 2012
Messages
651
Right...

Call me "old school", I thought I was doing the "tip top" car wash using Autoglym shampoo, resin polish and then the occasional HD Wax.
The HD wax is incredible! Not only does the paint look perfect, if the car every gets wet the water beads off like a charm.

I was quite content with the products and methods that I was using, however, this has changed since browsing the Gtechniq website. I have started to doubt my choices and have been wondering what these new products are all about?

Ceramic coatings, primers, clay...the list goes on. All sold in tiny bottles for exorbitant prices! I had a quote of £950.00 to do the full "detail" hit. :eek:

What is the difference? :?:

My current regime of wash every 2-3 weeks and a polish and wax 2-3 times per year seems to do the trick. Do I need to spend £950.00 for the ultimate protection? Or is it just bunkum appealing to the OCD in us all?

For £950 wouldn't it be better to go down the paint protector film route? At least this will protect against stone chips??

Can anyone enlighten me?

TIA
 
If you are happy with what you are doing, stick with it. You can go totally banana's with cleaning and buffing products if you want to, and some will swear by them, and others will say they are a waste of money. Use a good shampoo, a good sheepskin wash mitt, a decent polish and wax every 3 or 4 months and keep the tar spots and tree sap at bay with a clay bar once a year. IMO, that's all you need to do. That's what I do and my car lives outside, and I think it looks great. I see some cars that have been buffed so much, that if it was mine, I'd be terrified to use the thing in case it got dirty.
 
IMO its 90% in the preparation. The main thing your regimen is missing is to cleanse the paint of sap, tar etc which is where claying comes in. The Meguiars clay kit from Halfords is fine.

Then the next bit would be swirl/scratch removal using a compound polish, before finishing with waxes/glazes etc.

I think there is a lot of snake oil involved in many products, or marginal gains for OCD concours and cotton buds types, but for a daily driver?....
 
Look at the G3 clay mitt in Halfords, so much easier to use plus you can use your normal shampoo in a bucket of water as the lubricant. Much cheaper than buying a 'special' spray.
 
the autoglym clay kit is more complete and is only a couple of quid more.
I recommend it :thumb:
 
jotaking said:
Right...

Call me "old school", I thought I was doing the "tip top" car wash using Autoglym shampoo, resin polish and then the occasional HD Wax.
The HD wax is incredible! Not only does the paint look perfect, if the car every gets wet the water beads off like a charm.

I was quite content with the products and methods that I was using, however, this has changed since browsing the Gtechniq website. I have started to doubt my choices and have been wondering what these new products are all about?

Ceramic coatings, primers, clay...the list goes on. All sold in tiny bottles for exorbitant prices! I had a quote of £950.00 to do the full "detail" hit. :eek:

What is the difference? :?:

My current regime of wash every 2-3 weeks and a polish and wax 2-3 times per year seems to do the trick. Do I need to spend £950.00 for the ultimate protection? Or is it just bunkum appealing to the OCD in us all?

For £950 wouldn't it be better to go down the paint protector film route? At least this will protect against stone chips??

Can anyone enlighten me?

TIA

Here's my 2 peneth. I had both my 911 and brand new Macan professionally polished and detailed last summer. For sure they looked amazing and I would do it again once in a while when/if light swirls reappear.
But I feel I can get 95% close myself on a Sunday morning with my selection of Maguires products. If you're after that last 5% it's gonna take loads more time and effort for a small reward.
I'd stick to your current cleaning regime tbh :thumb:
 
Gottans said:
Look at the G3 clay mitt in Halfords, so much easier to use plus you can use your normal shampoo in a bucket of water as the lubricant. Much cheaper than buying a 'special' spray.
+1 love this mitt it's so much easier! I use the G3 detail spray to give extra lube, to be honest I like most of the G3 products plus poor boys.
 
+1 for Bilt Hamber clay 200g for £10.

As others have said there's plenty of products and videos available to allow the enthusiast achieve 80%+ of what a pro detailer can achieve.

I was going to take my car to a pro detailer and decided instead to invest in some good towels, cloths, wheel whoolies etc and start with a good washing regimen. I will try a few polishes, sealants and waxes and figure out the limits that I want to take the whole process to but as we have 2 other daily hacks in the household I figure none of it will go to waste. Also, and probably more importantly, I enjoy doing it.

I might even venture in to ceramic/nano coatings like Carpro Cquartz or Gtechniq if I feel confident that I can prepare the car to the necessary level. If my car was a brand new or mint supercar that would cost huge amounts to respray and fix chips and scratches then I might consider PPF but it isn't so it's not worth it FOR ME to spend the money.
 

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