Hi all, I recently started to detail my XJ8 on weekends and it has become quite an enjoyable way to spend my Sunday afternoons. Since I am very new to detailing cars, I'd like to ask what products you guys use for each step in detailing.

Here's my current detailing regimen:

• Soak car with water
• Apply Turtle Wax car wash to the body of the car with Carrand's Total Clean Wash Mitt
• Rinse off soap with water
• Clean wheels and tires with Eagle One all wheel and tire cleaner
• Rinse off wheels with jet spray from hose
• Clean off remaining grime on wheels with Sonic Scrubber
• Rinse off wheels
• Apply Turtle Wax super hard shell car wax to body of car with applicator pads
• Remove wax and buff with microfiber towels
• Apply Eagle One wet tire shine to tires
• Re examine entire car and remove any remaining wax deposits

What are your opinions on the detailing products I use? Also, I don't use clay bars yet so if you have come across a great clay bar product please post it here. Thank you for your time, and have a nice day.

 

Hi atacki. My regime is pretty much the same as yours. I also find it very relaxing and theraputic.

I mainly use Autoglym products. One thing I have to do regularly is clean off tar spots and insects and I use Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover. I have found it safe to use on the car mats and carpet as well. I also use kitchen surface wipes to do a lot of engine detailing to remove grease and to remove bird droppings.

 

Hey there atacki / Delta....sou nds like a decent regime you have there and fairly similar in certain aspects to mine.

For tar spots tardis tar remover is an excellent product. I have heard though that a rag / cloth with a small amount of petrol will remove the tar immediately.......In any case, wash afterwards and then protect the paintwork.

One of my fav all time products is Autoglym vinyl and rubber care - for use on fascias, instrument panels, PVC door and seat facings, vinyl roofs, kick plates, door shuts, door seals, unpainted plastics, rubber, tyres and all similar areas. Also great as part of your engine detail!!!
As its waterbased it doesn't leave a sticky shine either......love it
Autoglym is used and approved by over 20 car manufacturers, including Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen

 

I went to Autozone today and picked up a few more detailing products. I bought six colored microfiber towels, Turtle Wax ICE Clay Kit, Chrome Polish, Eagle One 20/20 Glass cleaner, and Simple Green. Out of all these products I was most impressed by the all purpose cleaner, Simple Green. I used it on the dirt/stain covered plastic door panels on my 02' Jeep Liberty and it looked new again!

I am going to check Autozone for Autoglym products this weekend, since I hear they are superior quality and receive good reviews. I'll also check to see if they have any Tardis Tar Remover since I have many Tar Spots on my 02' Liberty.

 

i would try and get a hold of meguairs gold class car wash, if un avail meguairs crystal wash is good too.

any automotive clay would do, you can also use non colored modeling clay as a cheaper alternative.

to properly clay youll need to remove all previous coats of waxes, you can either use tar remover on every panel, cleaner wax, or give the car a thorough soap and wash with DAWN dishwash soap, avoid direct sunlight and soap and wash 1 panel at a time.

then you can either use quick detailer or a batch of soapy ( automotive wash soap ) water as a lubrication to clay bar.

clay barring is very simple, approach it as if you were applying a wax. work every panel individually and you will get a sense of how long youll need to work the area.it usually goes from rough to very smooth quickly and once smooth, no more passing are neccesary.

wash and dry the car again.

now you need some polish on there, i recommend meguairs polishes applied with a microfiber cloth or applicator pad. remember to break down the polish to a dusty mist.

this is a gray area and is on a personal basis, after polish and before wax. you can apply a sealant to really protect your finish.

after polish or sealant, you need some wax. again i recommend meguairs nxt 2.0. either paste or liquid. ( paste is better IMO )

NXT is a very safe wax so you can either go panel by panel, or work the whole car over. no need to let it sit on for long , a few minutes should be fine. where you need to wait is once you wipe off the wax, it needs a cure time of at least a few hours before you can apply another coat or wash the car.


wheels, i use an all purpose cleaner mixed appropiately per application. you can use this for anything and every, works wonders on carpet and wheel liners.

tires, blackmagic tire gel.



theres so much information and technique that you can learn. just take each step for what it is, a step. read and prosper.

-vee

 

I am planning on getting meguiars polish and a random orbital polisher this weekend, what brand/ model do you guys suggest?

 

portor cable da

 

I have seen kerosene used to great effect to degrease a car prior to it being washed.

Autoglym vinyl and rubber care is great. I use really cheap scourers, the ones with the rough side attached to a sponge to get into the ribs in the trim. I dont apply very much pressure. Very effective.

 

Hey Delta, I know the scourers you mean and they can be very effective. In fact I've used them myself on the inner rim (gently ) when the wheels are off the car usually bi annually.

With my rims I find the best / most effective method is just constant / regular cleaning, pure and simple. The trick is to never let the brake dust n road grime get a hold, ever!
I use an alloy wheel brush with plenty of hot soapy water and get stuck in. I regularly use the brush to clean the inside of the rim too as well as the hub and calipers, then take the wheelsa off twice a year as stated to give them a real good going over. They prety much always look like new

As I may have said before, the same applies to the rear tailpipes to keep them shiny and good as new.....I've lost serious count of how many gorgeous / expensive cars I've seen in front of me only to be confronted with a set of black / soot encrusted exhausts

 

Same here for the wheels and exhaust Jim. A trolly jack is on my list of to gets so that I can take the wheels off. I put Autoglym alloy wheel sealer on the wheels just after I got them. It has put a nice slippy coat on them. To get the best effect I should take the wheels off.

 

My routine:

Wash car
Wax car with Meguir's Gold using a random orbital buffer
Clean windows with Windex
Clean wheels with Windex after wash
Clean leather with Meguir's Leather
Clean non-leather wth Armor all
Clean wood with Meguir's wax
Vacuum out carpet
Put in air freshener tub in back seat cup holder
Apply tire black to tiires when necessary
Pray for no rain

Mike

 

sounds like a pretty good system Carelm.
Do you detail the engine as well or is that less frequent and if so what do you use?

 

Hi Jim,

I just use some windex and a bunch of paper towels as required for the engine. I don't want to get anything real wet owing to all the electronics. The engine stays pretty clean though.

I'm not real keen on engine covers generally as I think the engine should be displayed. If you look at some of the classic Jaguar engines you find all sorts of neat things to look at. Not so much in the modern engines with just lots of plastic.

Mike

 

true!

 

S100, Zaino, Pinnacle, Zymol. It's really whatever I'm feeling when I'm detailing. Usually S100, Pinnacle, and Zymol are better on darker cars. And Zaino is better on lighter cars.