Best Polish and Wax

[tk007b]

Now that I've got myself a half decent motor. I need to keep it looking nice,

Don't know much about polish and waxes, which ones to use, how often etc.

I know this may be a subjective question but can someone give me some ideas on how to keep my paintwork looking nice and protect it as best I can.

I hear AutoGlym is good stuff but also that somes waxes only need 6 month/12 month applications ?

Any help appreciated

Cheers

TK

PS it's a A5 in Daytona grey/pearl effect

 

[Seanchadwick2k3]

Depends how far you want to go with it. I'm no expert and new to this myself. I bought a megs kit from Halfords plus a few other bits and got reading up on the correct wash method. I've since bought a da polisher and a load of other bits but not got around to using them yet.

If you want to just keep it clean and prevent further damage get reading up on the 2 bucket method.

If your talking removing all the imperfections then research so far is your best of with a da and watching junkman's YouTube vids

 

[RS4B5]

Fusso

 

[45bvtc]

Now that I've got myself a half decent motor. I need to keep it looking nice,

Don't know much about polish and waxes, which ones to use, how often etc.

I know this may be a subjective question but can someone give me some ideas on how to keep my paintwork looking nice and protect it as best I can.

I hear AutoGlym is good stuff but also that somes waxes only need 6 month/12 month applications ?

Any help appreciated

Cheers

TK

PS it's a A5 in Daytona grey/pearl effect

Worth reviewing TJs Car Care Products here on ASN, see: https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/tj-s-car-care-products.375526/

I run an A1 in the same "Daytona grey pearl effect" and for sure just don't apply wax, just TJs QD, like so:

 

[Neil Woodburn]

Pop into the Detailing section on Forum - this chap's results are good
https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/my-well-groomed-a4.371020/

 

[Pinky1959]

As well as the detailing section on here , check out
www.detailingworld.co.uk
but be prepared it could cost ££££££££££S
But well worth it …..

 

[tk007b]

Thanks everyone for the replies,
I’ve done a bit of reading up and my head has started to spin.
What I think I will do is to start simply and then work up.
Was thinking of :-
1. Washing the car
2. Using some polish
3. Using some wax

Not decided on the brands yet but either Fusso or autoglym

How important is using a clay bar ?

Will start like this and then see how I get on.

Thanks again

 

[RS4B5]

Clay bar will get all those niggly contaminations out so worth it and fusso all the way

 

[tk007b]

ok, how about this:-
1. Wash the car
2. Apply the clay bar
3. Use AutoGlym Super Resin Polish
4. Finish with Soft99 Dark Wax Fusso

How much / little polish and wax should I use ? (a light coat) ?
Should I use a buffing machine ?
Not planning to do this too often, probably every 6 months, but will get the car washed regularly
Sound sensible ?

Cheers

TK

 

[Bristle Hound]

As well as the detailing section on here , check out
www.detailingworld.co.uk
but be prepared it could cost ££££££££££S
But well worth it …..

@tk007b - This ^

 

[Jassyo06]

I would'nt spend much at all....Super resin polish and high definition wax will do you nicely

 

[RS4B5]

do you need a polish when you wax

 

[tcardio]

how about scholl's a15+

 

[Jassyo06]

do you need a polish when you wax

Depends on the polish yer using but for hydrophobic purposes yes, most stuff off the shelves at Halfords the likes of super resin polish, yes l would apply a wax on top if a wax was my preferred lsp
There's polish then there's compounds both entirely different, you must apply protection after using a polishing compound

 

[Rich76]

I use poor boys black hole and nattys blue on both my Audi and the wife’s fiesta lovely deep paint then

 

[S32B]

I can't recall using any 'proper' wax I have on this car!!! Think all I've used is quick detailers, wash and wax shampoo, Hydro2 Lite and Auto Finesse aqua coat hydrophobic rinse....I've not washed it for well over a month either!!! Even my neighbors have commented and I quote "You don't spend half as much time on this car as you did on the black one do you Steve?", (the S3).

The only time I put anything different on it was after we'd been on holiday, the wifes mum had been around to check on things, she thought she was helping by brushing all the dirt that had blown off the house roof and onto cars boot off with her hand Yes she left a nice long scratch on it! The cctv had recorded it all in glorious colour and alerted me, so I could see it whilst we were away

 

[45bvtc]

I can't recall using any 'proper' wax I have on this car!!! Think all I've used is quick detailers, wash and wax shampoo, Hydro2 Lite and Auto Finesse aqua coat hydrophobic rinse....I've not washed it for well over a month either!!! Even my neighbors have commented and I quote "You don't spend half as much time on this car as you did on the black one do you Steve?", (the S3).

The only time I put anything different on it was after we'd been on holiday, the wifes mum had been around to check on things, she thought she was helping by brushing all the dirt that had blown off the house roof and onto cars boot off with her hand Yes she left a nice long scratch on it! The cctv had recorded it all in glorious colour and alerted me, so I could see it whilst we were away

"Think all I've used is quick detailers, wash and wax shampoo"

Same here for a couple of years now; light and easy and quick and often applications (using TJ's stuff) are best for my three...

TJ's QD BLUEY and it's getting dark here at 16.10:

This Cornflower blue changes colour all the time....

 

[Bristle Hound]

I use poor boys black hole and nattys blue on both my Audi and the wife’s fiesta lovely deep paint then

@Rich76 - Great finish mate
Heard lots of good things about that Poorboys combo & it won't break the bank either
Makes you wonder about the more expensive products TBH ...

"Think all I've used is quick detailers, wash and wax shampoo"

Same here for a couple of years now; light and easy and quick and often applications (using TJ's stuff) are best for my three...

TJ's QD BLUEY and it's getting dark here at 16.10:

View attachment 172493

This Cornflower blue changes colour all the time....

@45bvtc - RS3 looking stunning mate

 

[Rich76]

@Rich76 - Great finish mate
Heard lots of good things about that Poorboys combo & it won't break the bank either
Makes you wonder about the more expensive products TBH ...

@45bvtc - RS3 looking stunning mate

Yeah it’s like thirty quid for both items , nattys blue tub lasts for ages
Considering the fiesta has done over 90k and I don’t think the previous ever put any polish on it the shine comes out ok

 

[Bristle Hound]

Yeah it’s like thirty quid for both items , nattys blue tub lasts for ages
Considering the fiesta has done over 90k and I don’t think the previous ever put any polish on it the shine comes out ok

@Rich76 - Can't beat the smell of Natty's blue either

 

[Rich76]

@Rich76 - Can't beat the smell of Natty's blue either

It does smell rather nice !

 

[Neil Woodburn]

I use poor boys black hole and nattys blue on both my Audi and the wife’s fiesta lovely deep paint then

Might want to try Natty's Black when you run low on Blue - it did take it up a level ( I think ) and a few £ more in cost for a tub.
A review below with ( as we all like ) photos

https://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/product-review-poorboys-world-nattys-black-paste-wax/

 

[THQuattro]

TJ,s Car Care Quick Detailer and my new TJ,s Ceramic wax PM me for prices.

 

[45bvtc]

EVERYONE...

Our A1 has TJ's QD MATT look this morning...

​

 

[Charlie Farley]

I'm going to try some clay bar today, never , ever tried or used it before so on a middle aged learning curve now...haha

don't want to go mad with prices , is maguires from halfrauds any good.

 

[THQuattro]

EVERYONE...

Our A1 has TJ's QD MATT look this morning...

View attachment 172626



​

Looking good as always.

 

[RS3-Rob]

Keep it simple for now whilst you learn more about the detailing world because like you, my brain also fried when I went onto the detailing world forum so I just tend to stick to watching videos on Youtube by accredited companies using products and I find it sticks in my head a lot easier.

There's so much more to it then just getting a bucket and washing the car if you want to keep your paint looking top notch and the more you wash your car and learn from videos/forums etc, the more it will make sense as to why you do things in certain orders.

I could ramble on about how you need a lance for your pressure washer and then snowfoam the car etc but it just makes things complicated if your just starting out so what I would do is:

Try and avoid washing in direct sunlight.

1 - Prewash with a jetwash to loosen any heavily contaminated areas of the car starting from the top and working down.
2 - Use 2 buckets for the contact wash, fill one with hot water and shampoo (I use carbon collective shampoo) and the other half way full (no shampoo).
3 - Use a good wash mit, starting from the roof and working down - work from left to right and not in circles, I usually work left to right 5 or 6 times roughly before washing the mit out in the half filled bucket and giving it a good rinse before putting it back in the bucket full of shampoo. The idea being you don't want to be putting dirty water you've just taken off, back onto the car.
4 - Once the above is complete, rinse the car again with a jetwash, starting from the top.
5 - Now you can clay bar the car if it needs it and keep the surface wet while you do this to remove road tar build up (little black dots that a contact wash wont remove), its usually on the lower parts of the car these can be found but can appear anywhere.
6 - Quick rinse again
7 - Dry with a good microfibre towel - I use a big green Autoglym towel for this as it holds a lot of water.
8 - Now you can polish, either with a machine or by hand - A machine will always be 100 times better and yield better results but some knowledge of how to use them is a must. If by hand then just get a good foam applicator for this and apply the polish in circular motions doing a panel at a time and then removing the excess. Try to avoid polishing rubbers round windows etc as its a pain in the a*se to remove and tends to discolour.
9 - Now you can apply your wax in the same way as polishing but just using a different foam applicator pad and you can probably wax half the car before having to go back to where you started to remove it. Wax is good but only lasts a few weeks I've found if your a daily driver and the car is out in all weathers etc so I no longer use wax but it is a good way to keep road grime and other contaminants from sticking fully to the paint and will making washing the car easier next time round, so long as you don't leave it 6 months or so before its next wash. Regular washing is essential in my opinion, even if its just a quick stop at the local petrol station for a quick rinse.

To me that's the very basic on keeping your car in a decent condition with a good amount of gloss to the paint whilst repelling everyday road grime.

If you need products then I buy pretty much everything from cleanyourcar.co.uk. - Im not a sponsor for them in anyway, I just find it a nice easy site to navigate around at good competitive prices and they have pretty much everything you need.

HTH

 

[tk007b]

Great post Rob
Just what I needed
Happy new year mate
And thank you for taking the time to write

 

[RS3-Rob]

Great post Rob
Just what I needed
Happy new year mate
And thank you for taking the time to write

No worries we all start somewhere mate, it just takes time and with every wash you'll learn a little bit more. To gather a good amount of products and to have everything you need takes months to collect, its like tools - you just build them up over a period of time but that website is one of the best I find.

Happy new year...Oh and happy birthday too!

 

[tk007b]

Thank you - Top Man
First decent car I’ve ever owned. The Mrs got me a car cleaning kit and wax/shampoo from Asda m, so I’ll test out the 2 bucket theory with that and then introduce the better products

 

[Bristle Hound]

@tk007b - You may find some useful info on DW here too
https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Don't be too frightened by DW. Yes I know it can be a bit daunting at first on there but you've only go to ask. (I'm a Mod on DW too)

You will quickly realise how subjective car detailing is
Point in being is @jassyo06 & I are known not to agree on ANY products. But thats more him than me coz he's old and resistant to change lol

 

[Jassyo06]

@tk007b - You may find some useful info on DW here too
https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Don't be too frightened by DW. Yes I know it can be a bit daunting at first on there but you've only go to ask. (I'm a Mod on DW too)

You will quickly realise how subjective car detailing is
Point in being is @jassyo06 & I are known not to agree on ANY products. But thats more him than me coz he's old and resistant to change lol

l am more HANDS ON MATE...........ie i dont go down the easy route...of QD's and Ceramic Coatings.....as l think l can get better results than either Besides l knew the soon as l chose my car i was going to spend a lot of money on its paint upkeep as it cost me a lot of money.....its all relative

Detailing is my 2nd job.........to other members it's not, as they have other more pending priorities kids,wives.............l dont............... as l dont give a Monkeys.................lol

And.............. PS......Get that BSD lover! tae **** AFF MA Don Johnson..............He would'nt use either unless it was Designer Labelled............lol

 

[Bristle Hound]

l am more HANDS ON MATE...........ie i dont go down the easy route...of QD's and Ceramic Coatings.....as l think l can get better results than either Besides l knew the soon as l chose my car i was going to spend a lot of money on its paint upkeep as it cost me a lot of money.....its all relative

Detailing is my 2nd job.........to other members it's not, as they have other more pending priorities kids,wives.............l dont............... as l dont give a Monkeys.................lol

And.............. PS......Get that BSD lover! tae **** AFF MA Don Johnson..............He would'nt use either unless it was Designer Labelled............lol

@jassyo06 - & the first 'bite' of 2019 go's to ...

I knew you couldn't resist

& sorted

 

[S32B]

I use poor boys black hole

I used that on the S3 with great results...still got a load left as I bought the big one! Apparently you can still use it on white cars...I've just not got around to trying it!

The S3 with a G3 wax top coat