£100ish Detailing help. What would you do??

Y

Yorkie Z

Veteran
 Plymouth
Hello Gents

I've had a really busy year and not given my car the attention it deserves when it comes to washing and waxing. As winter is on it's way I want to have the paintwork nicely protected for the coming months. My question is what's the best way to achieve this for around a £100 ish. I've never used a clay bar but think it's needed to bring some life back into the paint work. Also what's everyone using regarding wax or ceramic coatings?

I know there are some beautiful looking Z's on here so I'd be really grateful to hear what your using and the order you're doing it in :thumbsup:
 
Just revived my paintwork but the polisher I used is beyond your budget. Sealed it with Sonax Xtreme Protect & Shine. Easy to use and gives a good shine which sealants don't often do. It's supposed to last up to 6 months too.

Clay doesn't give it life, it just makes it properly clean ready for polishing. If you can pick up a second hand dual action polisher with a pad or two then you might be able to get close to your budget. I used Sonax EX 04-06 as the actual polish as it both cuts and finishes well so avoids having to use multiple polishes.
 
Steve84N said:
Just revived my paintwork but the polisher I used is beyond your budget. Sealed it with Sonax Xtreme Protect & Shine. Easy to use and gives a good shine which sealants don't often do. It's supposed to last up to 6 months too.

Clay doesn't give it life, it just makes it properly clean ready for polishing.
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Sorry that's what I meant regarding the Clay, just a good clean surface to start from. What sort of money is Sonax Xtreme, I'm happy paying more :thumbsup:
 
£12, no need to spend more.

The Sonax Paint Prepare is also very effective as a solution for removing polish residue.
 

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Steve84N said:
£12, no need to spend more.

The Sonax Paint Prepare is also very effective as a solution for removing polish residue.
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Hi Steve,

Quick question but would you use Sonax before clay bar (actually i use clay cloth because I always drop clay bar when trying to use them).

So it would be.
Wash
Sonax
Clay
Polish
Wax.
 
Wash, clay, polish, wax is the correct order.. Get a clay cloth from The Clay Cloth Co, much better than a bar, as reusable, and if you drop it, rinse and ready to go again. I found it much easier than clay, although I've now moved onto the Nanoskin Autoscrub pad on my DA which is amazing, paint like silk before I polish or wax.

Mike
 
Wash to clean
Clay to remove finer contaminants stuck on
Polish to remove swirl marks
Paint Prepare to remove oily residue
Seal to protect paint
Admire
 
Whilst the scrubbing pad works it doesn't look like it can absorb contaminants like clay and spinning around on a DA surely it creates scratches much more than gentle hand claying? Part of the point of claying is to remove particles before you let a machine loose on it. Confused. :?
 
This is possibly the best £53 I've spent on my car recently, dual action polisher https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01J6J24X6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507156677&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dual+action+car+polisher&dpPl=1&dpID=41SUWDZSi0L&ref=plSrch
 
Mate im at the top of Plympton, if you ever want to pop over and see what i use your more than welcome :thumbsup:
 
G600 said:
This is possibly the best £53 I've spent on my car recently, dual action polisher https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01J6J24X6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507156677&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dual+action+car+polisher&dpPl=1&dpID=41SUWDZSi0L&ref=plSrch
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I'm not sure I'm brave enough to use a machine polisher. I've heard a few horror stories about burnt paint work.

What process are you using with the polisher?
 
Ducklakeview said:
Wash, clay, polish, wax is the correct order.. Get a clay cloth from The Clay Cloth Co, much better than a bar, as reusable, and if you drop it, rinse and ready to go again. I found it much easier than clay, although I've now moved onto the Nanoskin Autoscrub pad on my DA which is amazing, paint like silk before I polish or wax.

Mike
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Thanks Mike, I've just ordered some Nanoskin products :D
 
Yorkie Z said:
G600 said:
This is possibly the best £53 I've spent on my car recently, dual action polisher https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01J6J24X6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507156677&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dual+action+car+polisher&dpPl=1&dpID=41SUWDZSi0L&ref=plSrch
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I'm not sure I'm brave enough to use a machine polisher. I've heard a few horror stories about burnt paint work.

What process are you using with the polisher?
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You’d have to be a complete heavy handed oaf to do any damage with a DA if you pay attention, just make sure the car is completely clean beforehand and don’t hold it on one spot for ages! :thumbsup:

As always, start slow with low cut polish and work up, although BMW clearcoat of this era is bloody hard stuff, so you’ll likely need a fairly harsh cutting pad and compound if you’ve got deep swirls.
 
Yorkie Z said:
G600 said:
This is possibly the best £53 I've spent on my car recently, dual action polisher https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01J6J24X6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507156677&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dual+action+car+polisher&dpPl=1&dpID=41SUWDZSi0L&ref=plSrch
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I'm not sure I'm brave enough to use a machine polisher. I've heard a few horror stories about burnt paint work.

What process are you using with the polisher?
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you REALLY need to go at it to burn your paintwork.. if you have any common sense you'll be fine. Do a few passes, inspect, do a few more, inspect and that's it. DA's are very safe imo.
 
Yorkie Z said:
G600 said:
This is possibly the best £53 I've spent on my car recently, dual action polisher https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01J6J24X6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507156677&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dual+action+car+polisher&dpPl=1&dpID=41SUWDZSi0L&ref=plSrch
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I'm brave enough to use a machine polisher. I've heard a few horror stories about burnt paint work.

What process are you using with the polisher?
Click to expand...

As it's a dual action polisher not a rotary it's very easy to use, I used sonus sfx-1 followed by sfx-3, there is sfx-2 that you are supposed to use in-between but I forgot to order any and it looks pretty damn good without anyway.
 
I did a full job on mine today by hand, minus polish and clay as it's not long since I did them, and I can honestly say it is the best combination of products I have ever used. I cant be bothered looking up all the prices but I can give a brief rundown.



Bilt Hamber Korrosol - remove all metal particles and contaminants embedded in the paint and lacquer in five minutes. Power wash off.

Bilt Hamber Auto Wash Shampoo - glides on after the Korrosol. Power wash off.

>> (Here you could use Bilt Hamber Clay Bar.)

Bilt Hamber Cleanser Fluid - removes all previous waxes and sealants to prep for next applications. Wipe on, wipe off.

>> (Here you would apply polish, I would recommend Menzerna.)

Poorboy's Black Hole - This is just a glaze. It hides swirl marks and gives it that shiny glass like appearance.

Chemical Guys Pete's 53 black Pearl Wax - This is for dark coloured cars, they also do one for light coloured cars. Again gives it that super shiny glass / wet look. I did three coats of this which is a little overboard, but the results are worth it.

Finally Zaino Z8 Grand Finale Spray Seal - Seals all that hard work and gives a mirror-like finish.

You won't get all those for £100, but any of those recommendations will significantly improve your cars appearance without a DA. That's not saying it is better than a DA, it's not. But all these products are incredibly easy to use by hand and give amazing results.

I didn't really take any decent pictures and these don't do it justice, but these were taken before applying the Zaino Z8.
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Yorkie Z said:
Mark-Z4 said:
Mate im at the top of Plympton, if you ever want to pop over and see what i use your more than welcome :thumbsup:
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Yeah for sure, I'm in plymstock so no distance :thumbsup:
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Have a look on you tube there are some good "how to" guides on there. A particularly good one is on the Forensic Detailing channel using a DAS 6 Pro & Scholl S20 Black . It's a one stage process & worked really well on my carbon black. I've heard good things about a Sonax one stage product too. I hadn't used a DA before but achieved some pretty good results.
 
Sonax EX 04-06 works as a one step. It was recommended to me over Scholl S20 by Dave from cleanyourcar.co.uk as being easier to work with. I found it easy to use, it cut well and it finishes without marks on a softer pad.
 
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