Janitor's Profile
The full version is listed first as this really is the way to go, but there is a simplified version further down the page
Enjoy!
Following my new car preparation description on the TT Forum, I was asked to impart some extra detail and a ‘guide’, as well as a simplified version for those slightly less obsessed!
Before I go any further, I must add that I’m neither a pro nor an expert, just an enthusiast keen on attention to detail. Much of what I have learned has come from Detailing World, along with advice from specialists such as Rich from Polished Bliss & Paul from Shine On Auto Detailing all coupled with a decent bit of experience
I’ll try not to get bogged down with too much info and attempting to explain all the whys and wherefores, but a bit of reasoning may help tie everything together. First of all, good practice and decent products are well worth the investment – they repay you in many ways. Secondly, once you have done a good preparation and slapped some good gear on you pride and joy, maintaining that quality of appearance is made a whole lot more effortless with great results far easier to achieve
I’ll use my personal example as the subject, but this applies to both new and old cars alike (paint correction aside). The suggested tools and products are merely what I’ve used – there are countless other equivalents that will eventually come down to individual personal taste and budget. You’ll notice that there are no £7000 pots of wax used here but you certainly won’t go far wrong with the items listed. I’ve named them to serve as starting points in a whole mind-numbing world of bottles, potions and poisons! You will find your own way after a while no doubt
Stage 1 – Cleaning
The eventual quality achievable by the rest of the process starts from here
Equipment: Hose, Gilmour Foamaster II, Sonus Sheepskin Wash Mitt, Meguiars Microfibre Wash Mitt, two buckets & grit guard, Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel
Products: Chemical Guys Citrus Wash, Chemical Guys Maxi Suds
I employed this approach for a new car prep. I specifically asked the Dealership to only remove the stick-on protective coverings and not to clean the car thank you very much. I would advise this also if you are keen on making a new start on your cleaning & polishing regime. This will remove all your existing wax
1 – Rinse the car with a decent jet from the hose. I used to pressure wash, but better techniques have since laid that to rest. Start from the bottom up and soak everything first as this helps to soften all the dirt and crap. Rinse again from the top down looking to remove as much rubbish as you can
2 – Load the Gilmour with a 75%/25% Snow Foam / Maxi Suds mix and foam the car thoroughly. Allow to sit and soak, but not dry. Rinse then repeat
3 – The ‘two-bucket’ wash method. In short, this is a bucket of suds and a bucket of clean water with a grit guard in each. The idea here is to load your wash mitt with lots of suds, wash an area of the car and then rinse the mitt out in the clean water
When washing, the crap from the car gets drawn into the mitt, washed off in the clean water whilst the guards keep the grit at the bottom of the bucket and you reload your grit-free mitt to repeat
For new car prep or to ‘start over’, use Chemical Guys Citrus Wash as this strips all the sticky stuff / old waxes nicely away - it will be a tad too harsh for routine washing however
Again start from the top working down and use your ‘best mitt’ for everything above the crease line on your doors and wings moving the mitt in lines from front to back as opposed to circles. Swap to another mitt for below this ‘dividing’ line, again working the mitt back and forth only. If you have the luxury of a third mitt (don’t worry, you will in time!) then use this for the wheels
Do not endlessly rub your wash mitt backwards and forwards as there is no need. The surface should clean up fairly easily but if it isn’t first time, a subsequent wash and dedicated cleaning products will do the job in time. The reasoning behind these methods is to avoid causing undue damage to or ‘swirling’ your paintwork
4 – Rinse from the top down once again and repeat!
5 – Dry with Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel. Lay the towel flat on roof and drag in straight lines from front to back. Repeat this for all flat surfaces and wring out as necessary. Dry well whilst once again avoiding circular motions. Dry all door, boot and bonnet shuts after the main bodywork is dry too – the towel may get a tad mucky doing these areas but it will be heading for the washing machine after this stage anyway
Stage 2 – Wheels
A little extreme, but well worth it!
Equipment: Jack, Wheel brace, Chocks, Hose, Sonus Sheepskin Wash Mitt, two buckets & grit guard, Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel, Meguiars / Clearkote Microfibre Applicator Pad, Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care, Microfibre Cloths
Products: Chemical Guys Citrus Wash or Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner, Autoglym Tar Remover, Klasse All-In-One, Chemical Guys Wheel Guard
Safety First. You need to be completely confident in jacking your car and fully conversant with correct jacking points and techniques as well as being diligent with wheel chocks etc. This of course is not only vital to protecting yourself, but beyond that, your car! ‘Dropping’ the thing would not be good
Remove, clean and replace one wheel at a time (or a side at a time if you have the equipment). Wash the whole wheel well with Chemical Guys Citrus Wash or even a 4:1 dilution of Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner if backs of wheels are really grimy and dirty. Use some Autoglym Tar Remover on any remaining stubborn spots. Avoid nasty Wonder Wheels type products as these are very acidic and not at all nice for your wheels
Work in a coat of Klasse All-In-One with an old microfibre cloth – use this to help clean things up nicely as well as form a good base for subsequent wheel wax. Buff off with a microfibre cloth. Apply three coats of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard with a microfibre applicator pad, allow to cure then buff off with a microfibre cloth between each coat
Give everything under the wheel arches (except brake discs and pads!) a good spray of Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care and wipe up excess with an old microfibre cloth
Replace the wheel(s) and move on to the next
Stage 3 – Paint preparation
With your paint now clean, this stage prepares the basis for your eventual shine and wax effectiveness
Equipment: Hose, Sonus Sheepskin Wash Mitt, two buckets & grit guard, Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel, Microfibre Cloth
Products: Autoglym Tar Remover, Chemical Guys Speed Detailer and Clay Lube, Poly Clay, Poorboys Slick n Suds
1 – If you have tar spots present, Autoglym Tar Remover is an excellent product for removing the worst of these with little effort via a microfibre cloth
2 – Using a clay bar. For those who haven’t used a clay bar before, this can be a little daunting! The theory goes that you rub a piece of specially designed ‘clay’ across your paintwork to ‘draw out’ all the contaminants. You need to ensure the surface is nicely washed and then subsequently very well lubricated (I mixed up my own spray bottle of ‘super-lube’ containing 40% Chemical Guys Speed Detailer and Clay Lube, 40% Poorboys Slick n Suds and 20% water)
Working on a square foot at a time with the paintwork well lubed, gently ease the clay over the surface – once again back and forth in straight lines from front to back whilst regularly folding the clay in on itself. If you drop the clay on the ground, bin it and use another piece as grinding grit over your car is not good news! Below the ‘dividing line’ on the doors and wings, follow the lines of the arches and use vertical movements on the doors as this improves reflections on those areas
The front of my car in particular and all the glass were audibly ‘rough’. I could hear the clay moving over this surface as it dragged the crap away. I could tell the job was done when that telling sound fell silent
Remember – it’s vital to keep the area you’re working on and the clay well lubed up and discard if dropped!
3 – Wash the car down again after claying with a rinse off, two-bucket method wash using Poorboys Slick n Suds and your best mitt followed by another rinse and dry with another Der Wunder towel
Stage 4 – Polish or Glaze
Equipment: Meguiars / Clearkote Microfibre Applicator Pads or German Applicator Pads, Microfibre Cloths
Products: Polish or deep cleanser of choice, Chemical Guys EZ Crème Glaze
At this point you may well wish to use a deep cleansing paint cleaning product or a polish, but I opted straight away for a Glaze knowing that the surface was beautifully clean by this stage. If you want to use any of these products, then follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and apply using a decent applicator pad and buff with a microfibre cloth as below
Using the Chemical Guys EZ Crème Glaze was a dream after the more preparatory processes carried out so far – it feels like this is where the magic begins! An even application (not too thick or heavy) of the Glaze is easily achieved using a decent quality microfibre applicator pad, again starting from the top down, working in straight lines back and forth from front to back (I even went so far as to add this product to the very lovely looking door shuts!). As with all polishes, glazes and waxes, take care not to smear the product all over your black plastic trim and rubber parts – the square edges of the German Applicator Pads really help on this front
Allow the Glaze to dry to a haze and buff off with a nice plush microfibre cloth
Stage 5 – Waxing
Following the previous paint enhancement, you now need to lock this finish in and offer everything some decent protection
Equipment: German Applicator Pads, Microfibre Cloths
Products: Chemical Guys 50/50 Connoisseur Paste Wax, Collinite #915 Marque D'Elegance Premium Auto Wax
For me, with winter approaching, decent protection and durability were key. There may well be more ‘bling’ products available, but these are both excellent
A thin application of Chemical Guys 50/50 Connoisseur Paste Wax with a German Application Pad (red side) in the usual from top down, straight lines, front to back on the horizontal surfaces, round the arches and vertical on the sides was a quick and easy process. The coat dried for 20 minutes before being buffed off with a soft Microfibre Cloth. Repeat again to get two good coats on there
If you can wait 24 hours for the applied coats of 50/50 to fully cure before adding the top coat of Collinite, then all the better, but you will need a rinse, soapy wash, rinse and dry before applying the final coat – you don’t want to be grinding dust and particles into your pristine paint at this stage!
Once again, using the red side of another German Applicator Pad you will need to apply the Collinite #915 Marque D'Elegance Premium Auto Wax very sparingly and adding this to all surfaces as usual as well as all door shuts etc. Allow an hour to dry before buffing off with another Microfibre Cloth but beware, this final off took some effort! Whether I had applied it a tad too heavily or let it sit too long (90 minutes) or what I’m not sure, but it took some shifting! However, it certainly did give me full confidence that this was a product designed to last
Stage 6 – The Details
The overall effect is greatly enhanced with some attention to detail
Equipment: Tyre Dressing Applicator Sponges, Microfibre Cloths
Products: Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel, Autoglym Glass Polish
The time spent waiting for your wax coat(s) to haze before buffing can be put to good use by having a cup of tea. Beyond that, you can also turn your attention to getting some good product on your black plastic trim and tyre walls such as Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel
Before doing your tyres, get a fourth and final coat of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard on the face of your alloys and then use a Tyre Dressing Applicator Sponge to apply a suitable amount of Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel on there. The pros suggest warming the surface with a hairdryer before and after applying this stuff to get it ‘locked in’ – I stopped short of process that I must admit, but now doubt it will come one day!
Carefully use the points and edges of a Tyre Dressing Applicator Sponge to get all the grilles, trim and rear valance around the car done with some Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel before cleaning all the glass with Autoglym Glass Polish. This is an easy to use product that requires a little application and a rub with a microfibre cloth around all windows before turning the cloth to a dry side and taking off dried product in another lap of the car
Buff that last coat of Guard off the wheels and return attention to shining up your last coat of wax
Interior
Equipment: Hoover, Microfibre Cloths
Products: Aerospace 303 Protectant, Gliptone Liquid Leather Conditioner
Hoover out the interior. Apply some Gliptone Liquid Leather Conditioner with a microfibre cloth to all leather (not Alcantara if you have it) sections
Spray a decent amount of Aerospace 303 Protectant onto a microfibre cloth and wipe all dash and door panels. This is good stuff as it cleans and protects with being over the top or ‘sticky’ as perhaps a Cockpit Shine type product could be. Once the cloth is nice and damp with 303, a wipe over the Alcantara will not go amiss
Future maintenance
Equipment: Hose, Sonus Sheepskin Wash Mitt, Meguiars Microfibre Wash Mitt, two buckets & grit guard, Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel, Microfibre Cloth
Products: Poorboys Slick n Suds, Chemical Guys Speed Detailer
Once you’ve done yourself and your pride and joy justice with an excellent preparation and protection process, subsequent maintenance of that is straight forward. It requires the same quality gear and good techniques, but outstanding results are possible in little over an hour!
Adopt the usual good wash technique:- Rinse off the worst with a decent powered hose, two bucket method using Slick n Suds with ‘posh’ mitt above the door and wing cut-off line and your reserve mitt for below and the wheels remembering to not continuously scrub back and forth but to simply wash the crap away into the mitt and rinse it out
Der Wunder Towel dry all over using drag techniques and gentle movements then cleaning off all door shuts with your damp towel. Spray all over with Chemical Guys Speed Detailer (bodywork, windows, wheels, tyres the lot) and quickly buff off with a Microfibre Cloth. Pack up, stand back and admire a stunning finish in no time
Repeating this when needed should see you right for three months before you’ll be looking to de-tar (if required) and re-wax. A yearly strip back, re-prep, re-glaze and re-wax will keep things very nice indeed!
Looking after your microfibre towels, cloths and applicators is very straightforward. Simple run them through the washing machine but do not conditioner or tumble-dry as this has a detrimental effect on the microfibre integrity
Remember, all of this hose pipe, two-bucket method, Sheepskin wash mitt, softy suds, drying towel and microfibre cloth malarkey all centres on protecting your car’s surface from ‘owner-abuse’! Stone chips and perhaps the odd scuff are inevitable, but most swirling is caused by inappropriate technique and tools and this defect is not so easily hidden with a little touch-up paint
If we take things to the extreme, a stiff-bristled yard broom would certainly get your car clean, but just think of the surface damage it would impart! Be warned though, once you lock on to this whole new level, lots of products start to regularly appear on the garage shelves and it can all get rather obsessive! I openly admit to having always looked after my cars and readily confess that I only ever saw clean and shiny whilst thinking that swirls etc were just how cars looked! Since being shown the difference a couple of years ago, it stands out a mile and I’ve not been the same since! A couple of examples:
Swirls and scratches:
No swirls or scratches:
Swirls and scratches:
No swirls or scratches:
As the above suggests, if your car is unfortunately already suffering from this, then all is not lost – it can be ’corrected’. I’ve had a bit of a dabble in this area, but am nowhere near qualified to offer any advice. A professional detailer would be able to sort this. A couple I can happily recommend are: Polished Bliss & Shine On Auto Detailing but once these guys have worked their magic for a couple hundred quid, you will need to employ a better wash regime to maintain that quality of finish
The cost of all this kit and products is not inconsiderable, but much of the investment will last a long time however. The build quality of the Gilmour Foamaster II installs confidence and even after two coats of 50/50 paste wax, I can’t even see that I’ve touched the tin! Add to this the job-satisfaction rewards it gives, the carwash bills it saves and value being maintained, it pays for itself in many ways. I get way more out of car ownership now than just driving – and considering the investment, that can only be a good thing
By way of a simplified version, I have put the following together…
First up, I would seriously, strongly recommend the full wash and paint preparation stages as well as the in-depth protection as there really are no shortcuts to a high quality job, however if you really can’t afford your major investment that level of attention, then please do not fall below the basic techniques and equipment as outlined below:
Stage 1 – Washing
Equipment: Hose, Sonus Sheepskin Wash Mitt, Meguiars Microfibre Wash Mitt, two buckets & grit guard, Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel, Microfibre Cloth
Products: Poorboys Slick n Suds, Autoglym Tar Remover
1 – Rinse the car with a decent jet from the hose. I used to pressure wash, but better techniques have since laid that to rest. Start from the bottom up and soak everything first as this helps to soften all the dirt and crap. Rinse again from the top down looking to remove as much rubbish as you can
2 – The ‘two-bucket’ wash method. In short, this is a bucket of suds and a bucket of clean water with a grit guard in each. The idea here is to load your wash mitt with lots of suds, wash an area of the car and then rinse the mitt out in the clean water
When washing, the crap from the car gets drawn into the mitt, washed off in the clean water whilst the guards keep the grit at the bottom of the bucket and you reload your grit-free mitt to repeat
Again start from the top working down and use your ‘best mitt’ for everything above the crease line on your doors and wings moving the mitt in lines from front to back as opposed to circles. Swap to another mitt for below this ‘dividing’ line, again working the mitt back and forth only
Do not endlessly rub your wash mitt backwards and forwards as there is no need. The surface should clean up fairly easily but if a few tar spots remain, then simply wipe them away with a little Autoglym Tar remover on a microfibre cloth. The reasoning behind these methods is to avoid causing undue damage to or ‘swirling’ your paintwork
3 – Dry with Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel. Lay the towel flat on roof and drag in straight lines from front to back. Repeat this for all flat surfaces and wring out as necessary. Dry well whilst once again avoiding circular motions. Dry all door, boot and bonnet shuts after the main bodywork is dry too – the towel may get a tad mucky doing these areas but it will be heading for the washing machine after this stage anyway
Stage 2 – Protection
Equipment: German Applicator Pads, Microfibre Cloths, Microfibre Applicator Pad
Products: Chemical Guys 50/50 Connoisseur Paste Wax, Chemical Guys Wheel Guard
An even application (not too thick or heavy) of the Chemical Guys 50/50 Connoisseur Paste Wax is easily achieved using a German Applicator Pad, again starting from the top down, working in straight lines back and forth from front to back (I even went so far as to add this product to the very lovely looking door shuts!). As with all polishes, glazes and waxes, take care not to smear the product all over your black plastic trim and rubber parts – the square edges of the German Applicator Pads really help on this front
Whilst the wax is drying to a haze, apply a coat of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard to the wheels with a microfibre applicator pad
Buff everything off with a nice plush microfibre cloth
Future Maintenance
Equipment: Hose, Sonus Sheepskin Wash Mitt, Meguiars Microfibre Wash Mitt, two buckets & grit guard, Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel, Microfibre Cloth
Products: Poorboys Slick n Suds, Chemical Guys Speed Detailer
Adopt the usual good wash technique:- Rinse off the worst with a decent powered hose, two bucket method using Slick n Suds with ‘posh’ mitt above the door and wing cut-off line and your reserve mitt for below and the wheels remembering to not continuously scrub back and forth but to simply wash the crap away into the mitt and rinse it out
Der Wunder Towel dry all over using drag techniques and gentle movements then cleaning off all door shuts with your damp towel. Spray all over with Chemical Guys Speed Detailer (bodywork, windows, wheels, tyres the lot) and quickly buff off with a Microfibre Cloth
I have acquired all of my kit and products over time from all of the following sites and can readily recommend all or any of them:
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk
http://www.cleanandshiny.co.uk
http://www.carwashnwax.co.uk
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'ere Rebel & Tosh, wot u make of this NUTTER ! 
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