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Washing & detailing regimen. Advice,tips,tricks needed!
Hello everybody,
I am pretty new to the forum but I have a large interest in detailing my car (and the ones owned by the rest of my family).
So i devised a routine for washing/detailing (detailing every 3-4 months) and a flowchart as a cheat sheet if I got off track. For a normal wash I use Maguiar's ultimate wash & wax with a microfibre mitt and the two bucket system (with grid guards) and I follow the steps every one follows on this forum.
For detailing, I use the following flowchart (hold on, this might get a bit complicated):
- Washing the car with gold class shampoo and conditioner
- Claying the car (if the surface feels rough, but i do it anyway just to be safe on not scratching the clear coat with the other steps)
- Deep crystal paint cleaner applied with soft applicator pad (to remove any organic compounds that have migrated into the clear coat/paint)
=> I do this step because I work at a refinery and I park my car right next to the flare system which burns the organic compounds produced in the refinery (only parking space; the flare is where everything is burned in case of a calamity + it is located in the port of Antwerp, which means a lot of sand particles (clay) are present in the atmosphere by passing trucks and trains + brake dust from the trains and said trucks).
Next stop: Inspecting the paint.
1. If no scratches are found or any paint imperfections:
a) Polish with deep crystal polish on a finishing pad using the maguiars DA polisher (MT310, the others were not available)
b) seal in the shine with Ultimate wax using an even coat applicator pad
c) adding an extra layer of carnabau wax (deep crystal carnabau wax) using a fresh even coat applicator pad.
2. light scratches, some swirlmarks:
a) Ultimate polish with finishing pad on DA polisher OR compounding pad on DA polisher (if the finishing pad does not yield the desired results)
b) Polish with deep crystal polish on a finishing pad using the DA polisher
c) Ultimate wax with even coat applicator pad
d) deep crystal carnabau wax with even coat applicator pad
3) Moderate scratches and swirlmarks
a) Ultimate compound using a compounding pad on DA polisher
b) Ultimate polish using a finishing pad on DA polisher
c) Deep crystal polish using a finishing pad on DA polisher OR applicator pad
d) Ultimate wax with even coat applicator
e) deep crystal carnabau wax with even coat applicator
4) Heavy scratches: you can feel the outer edges of the scratch with your finger nails
at this point, I will go to the garage and let them respray/touch up that area.
For cleaning the wheels, I use:
- hot rods all wheel cleaner
- spoke brush
- wheel face brush
- endurance tire gel with tire applicator pad
- brake dust barrier
- angled paint brush to clean the wheel nuts
The plastic trim is treated with ultimate black (applied with an applicator pad), this is done to protect the black plastic against the violent UV rays (my believe is that UV blockers inside the plastic decay over time, resulting in plastic that looks faded and dry, as a result it becomes more fragile as the UV rays damage the bonds between the polymers inside the plastic).
I use the deep crystal polish to nourish the paint/clear coat a bit as it is my understanding that this does not contain any abrasives, just oils to enhance the shine and feed the paint/clear coat (please let me know if I am wrong).
I use this flow chart for any vehicle (my own, my brothers, my parents, my grandparents and aunt).
And now to my question(s):
Is this detaling flow chart a bit over the top ? what would you guys recommend ? Any suggestions are welcome
With kind regards,
Matthias
I am pretty new to the forum but I have a large interest in detailing my car (and the ones owned by the rest of my family).
So i devised a routine for washing/detailing (detailing every 3-4 months) and a flowchart as a cheat sheet if I got off track. For a normal wash I use Maguiar's ultimate wash & wax with a microfibre mitt and the two bucket system (with grid guards) and I follow the steps every one follows on this forum.
For detailing, I use the following flowchart (hold on, this might get a bit complicated):
- Washing the car with gold class shampoo and conditioner
- Claying the car (if the surface feels rough, but i do it anyway just to be safe on not scratching the clear coat with the other steps)
- Deep crystal paint cleaner applied with soft applicator pad (to remove any organic compounds that have migrated into the clear coat/paint)
=> I do this step because I work at a refinery and I park my car right next to the flare system which burns the organic compounds produced in the refinery (only parking space; the flare is where everything is burned in case of a calamity + it is located in the port of Antwerp, which means a lot of sand particles (clay) are present in the atmosphere by passing trucks and trains + brake dust from the trains and said trucks).
Next stop: Inspecting the paint.
1. If no scratches are found or any paint imperfections:
a) Polish with deep crystal polish on a finishing pad using the maguiars DA polisher (MT310, the others were not available)
b) seal in the shine with Ultimate wax using an even coat applicator pad
c) adding an extra layer of carnabau wax (deep crystal carnabau wax) using a fresh even coat applicator pad.
2. light scratches, some swirlmarks:
a) Ultimate polish with finishing pad on DA polisher OR compounding pad on DA polisher (if the finishing pad does not yield the desired results)
b) Polish with deep crystal polish on a finishing pad using the DA polisher
c) Ultimate wax with even coat applicator pad
d) deep crystal carnabau wax with even coat applicator pad
3) Moderate scratches and swirlmarks
a) Ultimate compound using a compounding pad on DA polisher
b) Ultimate polish using a finishing pad on DA polisher
c) Deep crystal polish using a finishing pad on DA polisher OR applicator pad
d) Ultimate wax with even coat applicator
e) deep crystal carnabau wax with even coat applicator
4) Heavy scratches: you can feel the outer edges of the scratch with your finger nails
at this point, I will go to the garage and let them respray/touch up that area.
For cleaning the wheels, I use:
- hot rods all wheel cleaner
- spoke brush
- wheel face brush
- endurance tire gel with tire applicator pad
- brake dust barrier
- angled paint brush to clean the wheel nuts
The plastic trim is treated with ultimate black (applied with an applicator pad), this is done to protect the black plastic against the violent UV rays (my believe is that UV blockers inside the plastic decay over time, resulting in plastic that looks faded and dry, as a result it becomes more fragile as the UV rays damage the bonds between the polymers inside the plastic).
I use the deep crystal polish to nourish the paint/clear coat a bit as it is my understanding that this does not contain any abrasives, just oils to enhance the shine and feed the paint/clear coat (please let me know if I am wrong).
I use this flow chart for any vehicle (my own, my brothers, my parents, my grandparents and aunt).
And now to my question(s):
Is this detaling flow chart a bit over the top ? what would you guys recommend ? Any suggestions are welcome
With kind regards,
Matthias
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