Rinse
Foam, Leave to dwell.
rinse
foam again and then wash with 2 bucket method while foam is on car.
rinse thoroughly
clay - no need to dry before claying. one panel at a time (Max) with lube/clean shampoo, wiping each panel down as you go with a microfibre cloth
rinse
dry
polish
wax
This I will do twice yearly, too much?!
Last edited by Irvysan on Thu Aug 06, 2015 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
3t3p wrote:Interesting never thought to refoam and wash with foam still on car. May try that.
My annual regime is in my thread Meg's two day thread.
My regime doesn't involve any machines so it's safe to do twice a year. Monthly I will do the Same minus the claying, it only takes 2/3 hours including alloys. I can't get round to doing this at the moment with my Rocco because of the weather at the moment [emoji23]
Topcat1910 wrote:Here is the order that I use for cleaning
Please feel free to use it or change it as you see fit
1. Hose the car off using a jet wash or hose. This is to remove any large bits of dirt before snow foaming. You can also use your wheel cleaner at first to begin the wheel cleaning process. ensure you jet under the wheel arches
2a. APC (all purpose cleaner) the bottom panels, leave for 5 mins before jet washing it off this should help remove and stubborn dirt. You want to remove as much dirt as possible before washing as reduces the risk of inflicting swirl marks.
2. snow foam. Try and allow to dwell as long as possible, however do not allow the snow foam to dry on to the paint as it will induce water marks. if its hot, only allow the foam to dwell for 5 mins. if its cool and overcast you can allow longer.
3. Wheels and door shuts. I do these while the snow foam is dwelling. starting with one of the front wheels and move around the car doing the backs of the alloys using a wheel brush and then moving onto the faces. also do the wheel arches. then move along to door shuts, rear wheel, rear boot doors, exhaust. repeat the process up to bonnet.
4. Bonnet and engine bay. Lightly spray the engine bay with a dedicated engine de-greaser or acid free wheel cleaner (its more or less the same stuff) and allow to dwell for a couple of mins. agitate any areas that need it. whilst this is dwelling, wash under the bonnet and around headlight rings. also a good time to do grills etc with a small detailing brush if you have one. Then rinse the engine using either a hose or jet wash. do not go too close to the fuse box or ecu with high pressure as this will damage them then you'll be up shit creak!! Once the engine is clean, spray with an engine dressing such as Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber care whilst the engine is still wet, and then allow to dry naturally.
5. Rinse off the snow foam.
6. Wash car using 2 bucket method. make sure you have your grit guards in your buckets. It may be best to check your wash mitt for any contaminants before washing. Only wash in straight lines. do not wash in circular motions. If anything is on your mitt it may induce swirls. circles in paint are much harder to remove that straight lines!!
7. now you have a couple of option to dry the car. You can use drying towels, Aqua wax or an air dryer.
with towels, place the towels on the paint and pat dry.
using aqua wax. spray a clean damp microfibre with aqua wax and remove any water. Again do not go in circles, just straight lines.
Air dryer. Basically this is a dog dryer. this is my preferred method as the least amount of time i touch the paint the better. plus it will remove water from light rings and trim which can cause issues when polishing
Make sure every part of the car is dry including door shuts and alloys
8. decontamination of paint
This stage only really needs doing every 6 months or so. usually in spring and autumn. claying the paint can be done either during or after the washing process. cut the clay bar into quarters and kneed into a patty about 1 inch x 1 inch. use the suds from your wash mitt as the lubricant and use straight line motions to remove contaminants in the paint. ensure that both the clay and paint are wet when doing this. no pressure is needed and you will be able to hear the contaminants being picked up. Inspect the clay after doing each panel. If brown, kneed the clay until it becomes white again. if you drop the clay you MUST throw it away. don't not re-use it. Thats why you must cut the big bar into quarters.
The other way is to wash and dry and then use your clay lube in your kit and repeat the above but this is wasting product as far as i'm concerned.
The use your Purple rain. Use this on every surface on the car. It is safe to do so but again don't allow to dry on the paint. You will notice that the product will change colour to purple. This is the chemicals drawing out any iron particles in the paint which can cause unsightly stains. leave on for about 10 mins and then hose off.
Dry again.
9. Polishing. Using whichever product you like to use, put a small amount on your applicator and use straight lines to apply to one panel at a time then buff off. you may get away with doing this by hand, but best results can be obtained using a machine polisher. If you need to use one, give me a shout and i'll come and show you.
10. sealant. Follow the directions on your preferred sealant. This will add longevity to protection of paint and also adds gloss
11. Wax. Wax adds depth to the paint and gives a wet look finish. Again apply as per instructions, but remember you don't need a lot, just enough so that the paint hazes. any more and youre wasting product. Remember the drag test. Once cured, buff off very lightly with a clean microfibre. If its too hot the wax will not cure so its best to apply when its cool and out of direct strong sunlight. repeat if necessary but usually allow 3 hours before doing so
Whilst the wax is curing, make a start polishing, sealing and waxing alloys as per paint. apply tyre dressing.
12. plastic trim. several products are good for this. 3 of my preferred ones are. G-Techniq C4, Autofinesse Revive or Chemical Guys trim Gel. the C4 is expensive but will give you about 2 years of not having to dress your plastics. Revive is excellent but you must use sparingly and allow to dry fully before getting wet. Trim Gell is very thick and sticky. apply as per instructions and remove any excess product.
13. Windows. You can buy G-Techniq Glass cleaning kit. This consists of a polymer based glass sealant with is claimed to last up to 20,000 miles. Ive got this on mine and it is superb. Not a bad price at about £25. The other option is to use G-Techniq G6 glass cleaner. This is probably one of the best none polymer based glass cleaners i've used. at £8 for 500 mls its not cheap but you only need a bit and does not smear.
Next, stand back and admire your hard work. Rub your aching back and have a brew and something to eat
Above process should take you about 7 hours
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Hope you dont mind I quoted your post here, I always like to see how other people clean their cars
