Request: A Professional Cleaning Guide.

[Roccy Balboa]

Hi,

I've got a Scirocco GT in Pure White on order, and before I receive it id like to know the ins and out of an extensive clean. I had a lupo previously that was pretty neglected, and want to take extra care of my new baby.

If somebody could point me to a step by step guide, including the likes of clay barring, waxing, polishing; I'd be very thankful!

Cheers!


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[whiteDevil_170]

Look in the detailing / cleaning section.
And join up over on detailing world.

[ash.mtl]

I'm sure Devil will agree, Detailing / cleaning can become an additive yet very satisfying thing.
if you've got a new roc on the way then you've got a clean unmarked blank canvas to take care off.
If not then you may want to start looking at what the paint needs.
New or not defo give it a good claying , this is a fantastic way to remove unwanted contaminants on your paintwork.
Good wash with a quality shampoo ( Angelwax and Auto Finesse are 2 I use ) then I and I'm sure devil will agree can highly recommend an auto finesse drying towel. Then go with the clay. Once clayed your paintwork should feel as smooth as glass. This hopefully highly reducing the chance of scratching your paintwork ,then a good old polish if needed followed by a good wax. Especially in the winter the wax will not only enhance the look of your car but create a barrier between the weather and your paint .as devil pointed out scroll through the detailing section and get over to Detailing world. The above is just a quick piece of personal advice , as with anything everyone out there could advise different products and procedures .

[Roccy Balboa]

Thanks devil, and thanks ash! Very new to detailing (very!) so I'm pretty much going off of research with no real experience. Yeah the car is new with auto glyms life shine added to the exterior and interior!

My main concern was damaging the life shine layer. What would you recommend to do with it in this scenario.

Really appreciate the help guys!


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[whiteDevil_170]

Auto glym life shine.
Unless you got it for free or seriously reduced price it's a waste of money. The kits are available for like £20 -30 to do it your self. A simple polish will remove what they have put on the outside. You'd be better off spending the money that vw charge for it going to a professional detailer and getting it detailed. And getting a ceramic coating put on.

There's lots of info in the detailing section so just have a look through. Detailing world also has all the info you would ever need .

[Roccy Balboa]

Too late haha!

It was mainly for the interior, just for peace of mind. Would it be a bad idea to maybe coat the car after receiving it to protect that layer they have added?

Or just let it run its course and top up when needed?


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[moulin12]

Detailing enthusiasts would typically want the strip everything off a new car, to ensure all containments have been removed. But as a sealant has been applied, I'd be inclined to leave it and see how it goes: you'll know when the product is breaking down - the water beading will start to diminish.

I would simply top-up the paint finish protection occasionally with an easy to apply wax, something life Auto Finesse Glisten, which is a crossover wax-detailer product, and then look to do a complete re-seal later in the year. When you do, then the detailing method provided by Topcat1910 in this thread more or less describes the standard method: http://www.sciroccocentral.co.uk/forum/ ... 31&t=19132" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Peeps will always have their exact preferences on how to go about it: myself, I wouldn't bother polishing a new car unless I was looking to undertake paint correction: ''polish' in itself on a new car, beyond applying a sealant and a wet-look wax, has always seemed pointless to me.

Of course, if you start claying (or, to some extent, rigorously applying polish) then your going to remove the applied sealant. So for now I would simply snowfoam followed by a gentle two-bucket wash. You should be aiming to avoiding damaging the paint surface as much as you are looking to protect it, so the importance of fully jetting off and the careful use of materials (e.g. lambs wool mitt, strictly with the 2 bucket method) can't be emphasised enough.

To avoid corrosive and hard to shift water spots, always pat dry the car. Microfibre madness Dry Me Crazy towels are great drying towels: http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog ... ducts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or else you can simply use a de-mineralising vessel :-) (see above thread).

Whilst I'd leave the paint largely alone for a time (with just a wax top-up), I'd keep on top of the wheels and all plastic trim, and would use PH neutral products - with the possible exception of an alkaline product on the wheels for hard to shift spots. I'd reseal the wheels with a rim sealant - e.g. Wolf Rim Sealant or AF's mint rims - as well as apply protection to all black plastic.

[Roccy Balboa]

Thanks very much, that's exactly what I'm after moulin! never waxed a car, so will get looking. As I said before, very very little experience in detailing; but looking forward to starting on the new roc!

Just for the gruelling wait for the build! Given an estimate of the 1st of March, ordered last week.. So expecting a little longer! Impatient isn't even the word


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[moulin12]

Your very welcome.

Rather than trawl through detailing world to get a PhD in detailing, the polished bliss site has some simple do's and don'ts, as a start: http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog ... dvice.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've always found the guys at PB very helpful and friendly, without looking to push product on you.

Detailing can be an expensive, almost addictive hobby, but there are some absolutes, like thoroughly jetting down the car to ensure all loose dirt has been removed (preferably, after snow foaming) and then gently washing your new baby using the two-bucket method! For people that think the two-bucket method over-kill I'd invite them to hose their car down thoroughly,
try the two bucket method and look at the tiny bits of grit in the rinse bucket: ordinarily, that's what you'd be scrubbing your car with.

Then it's just a case of a wax top up, as far as the paint goes.

As a minimum:

Wash buckets with grit guards: " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gyeon mitt (lovely...): http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog ... -mitt.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Conditioning shampoos (doesn't strip sealant or waxes): for example http://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/index. ... ampoo.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wax: there are so many out there, but if the car is new or recently detailed, and has been sealed, then I would apply a short term wax type such as http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog ... isten.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I'd use the more traditional, carnauba wax forms if I was looking to get me over the winter or didn't plan on washing and reapplying the wax too often.

You need some nice microfibers and at least one drying towel. As recommended, MM Dry Me Crazy for the drying towel (amazing wicking for such a size), whilst I like Gyeon and Polished Bliss's own products for the various microfibers used in waxing, general cleaning etc (have a look through the PB site, and which provides details).

For rim sealant, wheel cleaning accessories, plastic protection - all there on the PB site. Happy to suggest if you've got this far!

If you wanted to push the boat out then:

- Karchers from Halfords

- Snow gun and snow foam kit: http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog ... erZ000FLK1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(Avalanche snow foam is more runny than some, which is my preference).

Initial outlay hurts a bit, but then it's just consumables! As I say, at it's simplest - jet down, two-bucket method, wax (no need for polish, imo), but would look to protect the wheels as well.

[Roccy Balboa]

Cannot thank you enough! Already purchased the karcher and the lance, what would you recommend for a thicker snow foam?

Last favour (promise!), would it be possible for you to recommend a decent alloy cleaner, I've come across iron x, but not sure what to look for!



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[ash.mtl]

Some good info there from moulin roccy, is the basic things such as two bucket method etc that really do make a difference , pretty much most the products you find on a site such as polished bliss will be off good quality and the site is split into categories such as
Washing
Drying
Polishing etc etc so you have a better idea of what your looking at.as I think we've all said on here brand recommendations are obviously personal opinions and preferences as I said earlier if you ordered from polished bliss you can't go far wrong I started pretty much on meuiars then moved to auto finesse and now iv got a right mixture as I'm finding what I like from each company and you will too. Good luck with the new addiction

P.S for alloys I can highy recommend a set of wheel woollies they really are amazing , product wise I use auto finesse imperial for cleaning and then Angelwax bilberry to seal them , products like iron x decontaminate so are worth using but are not stand alone wheel cleaners

[moulin12]

Some good info there from moulin roccy, is the basic things such as two bucket method etc that really do make a difference , pretty much most the products you find on a site such as polished bliss will be off good quality and the site is split into categories such as
Washing
Drying
Polishing etc etc so you have a better idea of what your looking at.as I think we've all said on here brand recommendations are obviously personal opinions and preferences as I said earlier if you ordered from polished bliss you can't go far wrong I started pretty much on meuiars then moved to auto finesse and now iv got a right mixture as I'm finding what I like from each company and you will too. Good luck with the new addiction

P.S for alloys I can highy recommend a set of wheel woollies they really are amazing , product wise I use auto finesse imperial for cleaning and then Angelwax bilberry to seal them , products like iron x decontaminate so are worth using but are not stand alone wheel cleaners

The wheel woollies and imperial - me too! The wheel woollies are bloody pricey for what they are, but wouldn't be without them! I use imperial if I feel I need to, though would prefer to use an APC (e.g. same stuff as used on the paintwork) so I don't strip the sealant off. Similarly, I use Iron x occasionally (always when I do a full decontamination), but feel that it's probably harsh on sealants. I've been using Wolf rim sealant, but I'm not too sure of its durability (though the paint sealant version seems to do its job - going to try Gtechniq EXO next).

Roccy -

Imperial is essentially a strongish cleaner, whilst iron x is an iron decontaminater. If you want to see how iron x is used, have a look halfway down this page (but note, only use on paint if you're preparing to apply new sealant!) http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/blog/201 ... d-new-car/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

edit: I have tried AF's Revolution soap as softer alternative to imperial but wasn't impressed - seemed to do the same job as a all purpose cleaner.

Regards thick snowfoam - GYEON Q2M FOAM - it's certainly thick, and reasonably sticky.

Again, don't hesitate to call Rich at PB - I never feel that I'm being pushed products (in fact, he sometimes ends up talking me out of them...).

The one thing I've never been able to solve to my satisfaction is exterior plastics - and which are killed over time by exposure and general cleaners. I've got some Swiss Wax Plastic Protection to try but, surprisingly enough, repeated sprays with that old favourite Back to Black seems to work best.