Just Bought A Bunch Of Stuff To Clean The Car...

[Steven33]

I would suggest that this is backwards. You can't polish with a sealant - the sealant is in no way abrasive and has no filling properties either. Your EGP is also not a good basis for wax, you should reverse your method and wax then seal.

To the OP - if you're looking to keep your car in top order the most basic step you should introduce is the two bucket method, preferably with grit guards fitted to both.

Hi mate, perhaps I didn't word that the right way, of course you can't polish with autoglym ego, I meant after I have polished the car I seal it with egp. As for the order of sealant/ wax I've varied over the years and I've found sealant first to protect the paint and wax on top to protect the sealant and add depth. Asked a few guys I know who are professional detailers and they recommended sealant then wax, I think though it is very much dependant on the colour too, lighter colours, especially silver, work great with a sealant, whereas darker colours benefit much more from a few good layers of wax

[martyntdci]

i think you will find that most people use either a sealent or wax after a polish, not both..... as they can conflick together on the paintwork....

[Steven33]

i think you will find that most people use either a sealent or wax after a polish, not both..... as they can conflick together on the paintwork....

actually i think you will find that people who detail for a living use sealant and wax. granted i've had a few combinations where the gloss isnt as good but similarly some work great together... if thats what you mean by conflict. sealants are better for actually protecting freshly polished paint and is far more durable than natural wax. many people then add a few layers of carbuba wax for perceived depth and gloss. if you mean they react, they wont, both are based on hydrocarbons, waxes and long-chain fatty acids, all compatible together

[raskL]

I've used loads of the stuff mate and for good paintwork the best I can find on a budget is autoglym super resin polish then g3 resin wax, if your after spending a bit more same polish but basically the best swissVax wax you can afford

[artscot79]

ive used the autoglym super resin and it is good stuff realy you can spend any amounts on wax etc i find buy the best for what you can afford as stated above.

some colours respond better theres pics of my mk1 cleaned with just proshine but on my light mk2 its not as good

[gumpy321]

I use SRP and then two coats of Poorboys Nattys paste wax blue. I only apply two coats of wax after a polish. Every month I top up the wax.

[grahamp]

What wax do people use / recommend?

I did my car last weekend. Polishing a car (well, the several stages you have to go through) is probably my least favourite waste of time ever, but I guess there's no avoiding it if you want your car looking good.

polish-wise I used Turtlewax ICE Synthetic paste. About £10 off eBay. Absolutely brilliant stuff, quite waxy, you can polish all the trim too, leaves no residue, great finish, very well recommended.

For the whole process I used Farecla G3 Body Detox, G3 Scratch Remover, G3 Paint Renovator, and a Bilt Hamber medium clay bar (also about £10 off ebay). Total spend including a load of microfibre polishing cloths was about £40.

Body Detox is ok, but probably any wax-free car shampoo would do. The cutting pastes I was less impressed with. They certainly helped but didn't give the miracle result I was hoping for. The clay bar was worth doing though I found it slightly hard work, the BH ones you just lubricate with water. The car was pretty clean so most of the panels didnt need it, though around the sills and bottom of the doors were pretty filthy.

So all the products performed adequately, but I was really impressed with the ICE Synthetic Paste, great stuff. I think they do it in a bottle/liquid form too if you're really lazy!

[jg321]

Think you've convinced me to clay bar it at least! I've got a week to do it before I move into the new flat (which will make it not impossible, but more difficult to clean!). Hopefully it won't !Removed! it down like it has done a few times this week!

You never know, might end up deciding to polish it before then!

Found the Blit Hamber clay bar on eBay. These things any good?

[jg321]

So, would appear I've got the bug, although I've not even washed mine yet! We're getting the girlfriend's car ready to sell (anyone wanna buy a 52 reg Polo btw?!), so washed and polished it at the weekend. Looks absolutely amazing. On my own tonight so just been browsing the net, and guess what... bought Autoglym Super Resin Polish and Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection!]

Can't wait to give it a bit of TLC! Still not bought the clay yet, no doubt I will soon though!

Will post up pics when she's clean (the car, not the girlfriend :P)

[Steven33]

Looking forward to seeing the results!!