First Car detailing kit - Panther Black Fiesta

[Rcatt]

Hi Guys,

 

After owning my first car a Mk6 Fiesta in Panther Black for around a month now I decided to give it a clean on the weekend using showroom shine waterless wash that did a fairly good job. 

I am looking in to building a fairly inexpensive detailing kit  but have no idea where it start. 

When Cleaning I did notice a few light scratches and white stone chips on the front bumper.

 

I want to use snow foam but need a lance, I currently use my grilfriend Qualcast 1800 Pressure washer but thinking of buying one for myself around £60 .

 

So Far I have:

• 1 Microfiber Towel (720gsm)
• 1 Microfiber Noodle wash mitt (Kent)
• 3 Microfiber Ultra thick cleaning cloths (amazon Basics) 
• Rain X Anti Fog Repellent  - that I am not too impressed with
• Gardx Bird dropping remover and Glass Guard - that my girlfriend got with her car but will never use.
• Wheel Brush 

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated 

Thnaks 

 

[jack1997]

waterless wash and wax will never get the shine as well as a proper polish and sealant.

my tips are, stock up in a crap load of microfibres and use them individually and for one purpose each (e.g one microfibre to buff off polish, another to dry windows, another to dry interior windows, another to buff wax off etc)

get good easy products to start with. clay bar I believe is the most effective way toget your car looking amazing, I started with bilt hamber clay because it was cheap and works well. Get a decent polish like Meguiars or autoglym (not t cut). Then get a decent wax - Meguiars ultimate liquid wax will be more than enough. Use the products in that order and your car will look amazing and beautiful. However detailing takes absolute hours, so youd rather detail here and there when you have time and give your car a once over with something like that wash and wax spray you have or Demon Shine which is what I use. 

[StevenST13]

Hi Rcatt. 

Nice to see you want to get into a bit of detailing. I've been a professional detailer for 12years now and can help you with some advice. One that has been touched on by jack1997 is the microfibres all I'll add to that is different colours for different jobs makes it easier. Plus proper care of micro fibres and they'll last you and serve you well. Wash separately no higher than 60c with mild detergent and never use fabric softener as this will destroy the fibres. Then let them dry naturally or if using a tumble dryer use a delicates program.

If it's inexpensive detailing products your after that give great results you can't go far wrong with autoglym (some will slate me for this) but for price and finish they are one of the best in that bracket and easy to buy pretty much anywhere. Then if you want to advance you can start to try the more expensive products. 

A good PH neutral fallout remover is a must before you clay bar the car ready for polish and wax. As for snowfoam you can now buy foaming hand pressure sprayers although not as good as a lance it will tie you over till you get your own pressure washer and lance and there not to expensive. 

If you have any questions or would just like any advice let me know. 

[Rcatt]

Thank you for the help it is really appreciated, the waterless wash and wax is actually my dads I used it as had nothing else around.

Looking at the advice given there are 2 types of wash:A "detail"  clean using a clay bar and the quick clean:

Looking at putting a kit together the products I think I need are:

Detail:

• clay bar / mitt with clay bar lube
• Polish
• Wax

Quick Wash:

• snow foam
• Shampoo
• Alloy cleaner / Tyre Dressing
• Polish 
• Glass Cleaner / Polish (hate a smeared windscreen) 
• Wax / Quick Detailer

There are probably some items listed that aren't  necessary but there are some many different products out there its a bit confusing haha.

I have been looking at auto finesse, auto glanz, auto brite and auto glym as they are similarly priced. 

 

Any help of putting a kit together would be extremely helpful. Also would this mask the very fine scratches on the paint.

 

Thanks