Thanks for the great explanation!

hey, thanks for the reply, good to learn something everyday
but calling me detailer overshooting it a bit haha

few follow up

1. Meguiar's Hyper Wash is professional grade stuff and size lol , dont even know where to source or if the price is within my consideration limit. i think ill just stick with regular on the shelf product.

2. APC; any product that you could recommend of? consumer line product of course . there is plenty of kitchen use brand, but i have concern of how they work against rubber since most of them aim to remove oil and rubbers will turn hard and grey and lose all its elasticity if its natural oil is removed from them.

3. difference of polishing and compounding was lost on me. the product description of TURTLE WAX® ICE® SPEED COMPOUND and Meguiar's® Ultimate Compound is pretty much the same as most polish product. is it safe if i hand-applied this two product to the whole car to remove all the swirl; or should i try with polish product first?

4. could no rinse wash diluted and kept in spray bottle work as quick detailer? especially to use to remove fresh bird dropping under hot sun. using branded quik detailer to remove bird dropping is quite expensive method; feels like wiping it of with your paper note money .

5. how to wash off all mitts and cloths after detailing. is it safe if i put all washing mitts + drying cloth + polishing cloth + waxing cloth in the same washing machine and wash it off in the single same session? should i use detergent or just plain water without detergent?

Any apc would do, for rubber, just try to stay away from it. Also there are products that reoil rubbers, so i wouldn't be too worried.

for quick detailer, i use onr in qd rate. To remove bird poos, i first mist it to loosen it, and adjust nozzle to "spray" mode instead of mist mode. blast it off as much as possible and remove with microfiber cloth carefully. if the bird poo is with seeds and other harder objects, different method may be required.

for washing, i usually soak it in water with a little detergent and try scrubbing off a little dirt/remnants of product, and proceed to toss everything into washing machine. lazy way.

compounding usually refers to heavier cutting product, while polishing usually refers to a less heavy cutting product. depending on the condition of your car, you might require both or just polishing. I would stay off turtle wax brand, personal preference since some of their product didn't quite meet expectations. Meguiars is good, i like the ultimate compound and ultimate polish. Both are considered safe for commercial use and produce good results.

This post has been edited by douglas_tong: Mar 28 2016, 01:58 AM

Hello fellow wash enthusiast, you'll find a number of sellers on this forum for both consumer and professional oriented products and if they don't have the professional ones on the list, just ask them if they can bring it in (I'm sure they can)

When it comes to shampoos, don't sweat the labels because often times the great difference between consumer grade and professional grade is the dilution rates and packing sizes. Just do the math and you'll realise the professional ones are much cheaper in the long run (even as a hobby).

As for your APC, you could try Meguiar's APC and the stuff really is concentrated for economy but I am not too sure if they are available on the shelf. Truthfully I haven't purchased car care products from the store for some time. You could also try Optimum's Power Clean (as universally loved as Meguiar's APC), look up the dilution ratios for the particular tasks that you want to accomplish. Don't worry too much about the rubbers, eventually the UV from the sun eats them up anyway - just use a good trim dressing on them.

There is quite a big difference between polishing and compounding. To put it simply though, compounding products are for heavier corrections and polishing products are for minor imperfections. You use a compound on a heavily swirled car when you want to achieve heavy paint corrections, the compound will remove swirls quickly but will also haze and marr the paint somewhat. So you must always follow up compounding with polishing.

Sorry I digress but to answer your question, you should probably use a machine such as a DA polisher if you want to use ultimate compound - because if you don't, you'll probably end up with gorilla arms! Should you try with a polish product first? As a rule of thumb, always remember to use the least aggressive method with the least aggressive product with the least aggressive pad with the least aggressive setting on your DA machine. It's quite difficult to explain as compounding and polishing is truly a craft. For a more in-depth explanation and the science behind this craft, hit up buffdaddy on google.

Our fellow wash enthusiast above has probably adequately answered your question on diluted no rinse as a QD. Remember to contact your product manufacturer or trawl the forums for the correct dilution ratio.

Mitts, cloths etc. One way to decide on if you should put them together for a wash is by their Material and Soilage. General rule of thumb is to not mix the cloths you use on your painted surface and the cloths you use to clean your rims / tires because of the difference in soilage - you don't want to mix the really dirty ones with the relatively cleaner ones.

What do you use to dry your car? Waffle weaves? I used to wash my waffle weaves together with the other microfibres but later on they weren't as soft anymore. Admittedly though, I'm not sure if that's because of any other factor and I could be wrong about not mixing different materials together but I've kept them separate since then. You could probably wash the polishing cloth, waxing cloth and mitts together but it's important to get the residue out of the cloths first as you wouldn't want any leftover on your mitts or in your washing machine for that matter.

Pour a shot of your favourite APC into a soak bucket with some water and soak your polishing and waxing cloths, that should get rid of any residue. You'll have to play around with the dilution rate or maybe even use the APC full strength as a soak, the type of cloth and wax / polish product you use plays a role in the duration and strength of the soak. This method will also take off soilage on your cloths that you use to clean your tires / rims.

After soaking your cloths you can machine wash them, again pour a shot of APC (again you'll have to play with the dilution ratios for the specific cloths and soilage you're dealing with). Do not use any fabric softener and if you're using laundry detergent, I find the liquid ones a lot better than the flakes.

Happy detailing

-d

This post has been edited by daedalus: Mar 28 2016, 07:07 AM

thank you for all the answers

will come back for more, cheers!
XD

Is PG Sealant suffice? Any true experience on it?
Does a sealant help to reduce swirl marks when washing as well or does it only protect your car from chemicals and bird poo from dulling your paint? Cos whenever i want to wash my car, I am having this thoughts am I making mroe swirl marks as I wash? I do use the two bucket regime. So with sealant on my worries may reduce.
I am okay to self wash my car once a week or every two weeks.
But I don't wanna spend too much time waxing the car and I see the PG sealant is at an affordable price too.
I have a month old car and currently am only washing it with turtle wax zip wash & wax once a week.

What's your wash technique / methodology like?

Hose down car with water.

I use a sponge. Two pails. One pail with Soapy(turtle wax zip wash and wax) solution. The other pail with just water.
Sponge dipped to soapy solution. Then light sponging on half section of the car (half the roof as example at each go or sometimes maybe quarter of it). Then sponge gets rinsed in the pail with just water. Then repeat by dipping into soapy solution.

I always wash it from top to bottom. First wave horizontal surface area and glass. Second wave the upper portions of the vertical surfaces and lastly the lower part of the vertical surfaces and underside of the car. I use the same sponge though througout the whole process.

Then Tyres last with separate sponge and a brush. I do use the same soapy solution and wash pail as during car body wash.

There are this yellow small dots which seems to not go off with light sponging at first so for those i put a little elbow grease into it to make it come off. This applies to bird shit which does not have pebbles in it. Not sure I should be doing that .

After finishing the entire car and tyre. I rinse off with water. Another question here, should i rinse off the soap from the car body before washing my tyres or do it all at one go. Soapy Solution left on car would before drying would be better or water left on car ?

I try my best to dab wiht microfibre to dry off the car. But that will take me a lot of time. so sometimes i just softly drag /dab/wipe off the water to dry the car no circular motion but in long straight strokes. I have a couple of microfibre towels for the drying. dry outside then open door to wipe off the access water. Open boot and hood also to wipe off access water.

That is my car care regime for the last 3 washes.

This post has been edited by alxlimcg: Mar 29 2016, 11:55 AM

Hello fellow wash enthusiast, looks like you're pretty disciplined when it comes to washing. I don't think you'll be putting in any major swirls any time soon.

Make sure to go in straight line motions and not circular motions that way you won't go over the same area if you have any debris on the sponge, it will also save your energy for other tasks. Using two different pails is good, make sure you have grit guards in them, if you don't - then just be extra careful not to touch the bottom of the pail. No problem with using a single microfibre sponge or mitt for the entire vehicle.

Keeping separate wash tools for paint and tires / wheels is smart, your task will be much easier if you use an all purpose cleaner on them followed by light agitation. With the APC, cleaning rims feels more like brushing teeth clean rather than brushing stains off the carpet.

Always remember that hard rubbing of the exterior paint of your vehicles may cause some marring. When possible, use a bug remover (in the case of bugs) or APC which works well on bird poo and various other stains. If the APC or bug remover fails, you can try using a light polish and a microfibre applicator pad to get stubborn spots out of the paint, always remember to use the least aggressive product and very gentle pressure on those spots.

Your question on rinsing the car off before washing the tires, well that depends on how hard the water is in your area. If the water is hard then you really do not want to leave any water on your car to dry, hard water dries away and leaves behind minerals on your car, that's what causes the water spotting on cars. Soapy water on car, that depends on the product that you are using, you'll have to get in touch with the manufacturer to properly ascertain if it can be used in that way. If you are unsure, then it would be better to rinse off the residue and dry the car before anything else.

It really depends on what your preference is and the amount of time you actually have, personally i like doing the wheels first in every wash session. That way I won't have to worry about accidentally bringing any dirt or grime onto the paint - because I haven't done any washing to the paint yet.

No issues with just wiping or dragging the microfibre cloth to dry the car. If you're really worried about instilling any scratches during the drying phase, just use a good quick detailer / waterless wash / spray wax as a drying aid. The drying aid will provide the necessary lubrication to help your microfibre glide over the surface.

Happy detailing

-d

Thanks daedalus on the insights and suggestions. Yeah was thinking to wash my tyres first as well so I can go straight to drying the car right after rinsing the car body.

I am a bit of a cheapskate myself. I didnt think of getting any quick detailing sprays or bug/tar removers. Maybe I should start looking into them, as you have said the elbow grease could marr the car surface. Cheapskate till I am researching on using soapy car wash solution as lubricant for claying the car(before applying sealant) without buying additional quick detailer or claying lube..haha

The yellow dots and bird poo are the reasons I am thinking of using PG paint sealant to add an extra layer of protection. I was thinking with the sealant on, I could remove those without that much of an effort and damage to the car paint.

Just wondering considering the price of the PG sealant versus sealants from other brands it seems too good to be through. Thus asking for opinion whether the PG sealant actually works.

It isn't right calling yourself a cheapskate, detailing can easily become an expensive hobby / therapy (costs less than seeing a real head doctor). There are people who spray down their cars with shampoo and then proceed to clay, as long as you know your way around your claybar / block / mitt / cloth I don't see any reason why that isn't a possibility. Make sure you use a very slick shampoo for that though.

If you're worried about the costs, you could always purchase professional grade shampoos or detailers, they cost a lot less than purchasing the 500 to 1000ml ones available off the shelves. Another way would be to use rinseless wash concentrate, with the proper dilution ratios - one concentrate type product can be used as car shampoo, quick detailer, clay lube, waterless wash etc. Streamline your product usage, buy in bulk and INSIST on getting a bulk discount!

I've never used the PG sealant and I am unsure on how to advise on that. What exactly is it? Is it a liquid sealant that replaces paste / liquid waxes? In general a layer of wax or sealant on your paint will probably make it easier to clean as contaminants (such as bird poo) would be sticking to that rather than on the bare surface.

I'm really not sure on what the price of PG sealant is, I guess the only way is to actually try it out. Should you decide to try it out, let us know what the results are!

Happy detailing

-d

Windscreen:
Are those windscreen Cleaner for cars better than the ordinary Kiwi Kleen for home use?
For Exterior glass I mean...or just use water mixed with some water reservoir solution good oledi?

Rims:
So far I just use water and car shampoo to wash the rims, looks OK
Will any of those Spray Rims cleaner worth RM30 does it any better?

B pillars:
What you use to make the black B pillars nice?..my car (HRV) has black B pillars that doesn't feel like paint. more like semi gloss type

ty

This post has been edited by azbro: Mar 29 2016, 02:22 PM

Exterior glass, if really want to formulate home remedy, APC + alcohol + water.

B pillar home remedy = petroleum jelly won't last and possibly stain car paint.
Else there is many options for this. Armour all, osren, meguairs etc. Just look for rubber/ vinyl / plastic restorer products

is it ok to clean a waxed car with just plain water without using car shampoo?

Not impossible but the surfactants in the shampoo will break down the dirt and grime from the surface making it easier to wash. Also the lubricity helps prevent scratches while washing.

Not ok....not recommended...

I've seen people in youtube use plastidip to coat and protect the B pillars.

Do you know where in Penang Island to get those items in bulk?

PG sealant is a paste sealant which replaces paste/liquid wax.
Sealants can last longer than wax. This is gotten from information all over the internet.
I don't want to keep waxing my car, thus i plan to use sealant which will last longer with the same benefits of wax.
Most sealants I see cost RM100 at least. PG sealants cost around RM30 and below. The difference in price is quite high.



This post has been edited by alxlimcg: Mar 30 2016, 10:38 AM

At a price of RM30 and below, there's no harm trying out the product. Let us know how it works out!

After 2 months