This write-up is based on an article by NOFX from ClubCivic.com
One week on salty UK roads
I would not pay to have my car professionally detailed, it spoils the fun and after hours of slaving over it you can stand back and say “wow! I did that”. Never use “automatic” or “drive through” car washes…even the ones that claim that they are brush less. Automatic washes tend to accumulate debris in their brushes, which will scratch your car’s surface. Brush less drive through use strong solvents in their water, in combination with very high pressure. Also never use a pressure washer on bodywork. This will damage your surface, and sandblast scratches into the clear coat. If there are any minor defects on the surface, the pressure could rip into these and spoil the finish. If you love your car, avoid these!
Washing and detailing your car gets you in the habit of looking over your vehicle and noticing anything new - dents, scratches, rust, tire defects and other things you might need to look into having repaired before serious damage is done.
Don’t wash or polish a car when it is in direct sunlight - cold water hot paint can damage it, also the soap and water will dry leaving a white residue. This is especially important if your civic has a dark coloured finish. Never polish in direct sunlight as the heat will bake the polish on and it will be very difficult to remove. Also never polish when its too cold - if condensation forms on the paint it will mix with the polish and become an oily mess. Ideally you want a sunny day, working in the shade.
You can read about the car care products that I have used in the past and what I thought of them in my review of detailing products page.
Washing your car
Use only a quality detergent designed for washing cars. Dishwashing liquids are too harsh for a car’s finish and will damage the surface. Try and use a natural sponge, rather than a synthetic one. Use multiple passes, instead of one hard scrub, and work in a smooth circular motion, using gentle pressure.
Start by pulling up the wiper blades then hose the car down. This will remove and large deposits of salt, sand, dirt or grit. Once it is hosed down, wash the roof. Rinse off and then wash the windows, rinse again and move down to the bonnet and boot, rinse again and move onto doors and panels etc… Always wash from the top of the car first moving down. This avoids a) dragging dirt from the bottom to the top of the car, and b) dirtying areas already washed. After you wash each area, rinse off the entire car (this prevents the soap from drying hard on the paint and keeps the water from drying and leaving water spots).
Don’t forget to wash along the underside of mirrors, along the lines between panels where dirt will collect and around the trim. Also remember the door slams. Depending on the type of door you can soap the area, close the door and hose down, but I found in my civic that the rubber does too good a job. Instead I use a soft damp cloth and wipe the slams over and the top of the sills.
Wash the tires, then wheels and exhaust pipe then finally the I wipe under the sills and inside edge of the wheel arch last.
Now is the time to spray on any alloy wheel cleaner, tyre foam etc… With Meguiars Hot Rims I spray on leave for half a minute then hose off and move onto the next wheel. If you use a spray on type tyre cleaner use it now. Over spray removed when hosing down again.
Rinse off the car again and soak your chamois leather It should be very soft. I use nothing but 100% real leather, synthetic can scratch paint and isn’t anywhere near as effective. Also stay clear of Aquablades - they will nt forgive if there is any grit or particles on there and will scratch right though your cars paintwork. Ring out the chamois and dry the body, again from the top down. Pay attention to the creases along the panels where water might sit, especially on a civic the rear side windows. If anyone has a solution to water runs please let me know!
Detailing your car
After the car is completely dried you can begin the detailing. Some people use masking tape to cover plastic trim so that it doesn’t get polish or wax on it. Personally I don’t do this, but its up to you.
Power tools and fine finishes, in my opinion, do not mix. There is nothing that an orbital buffer can do, that you cannot do by hand. The advantage of power is speed. This also applies to getting yourself into trouble. The edges of your body panels and raised/creased areas of the sheet metal have the thinnest layer of paint. When the body is painted, the liquid paint will tend to flow away from these raised areas. An orbital buffer will concentrate its energy on the thin paint of these high points. This is another way of saying hello to your primer or as the professionals say, "burning an edge".
To determine the type of detailing you need, determine the condition of your car’s paint surface. Run your hand down the cars body, and feel for bumps. Look for scratches. Look for chips. If your car isn’t glassy smooth, then you need to detail with clay. If your car has scratches, they should be repaired before polishing and waxing.
If you are compulsive and just washed and waxed your car within the last month, you may be able to get away with simply a wash and dry. If you are going out on a very hot date tonight, and really want to impress, save an entire day and do all three steps.
Clay
Start off by clay barring the entire car. The product is very simple. A piece of clay, and some lubricant. On your newly washed car, spray the lubricant, and gently run the clay over the surface. It will pick up most surface contamination like paint overspray, tar, bugs, and tree sap. These are the things that keep the surface from being glassy smooth. As stated before, go from the cleanest part of the car, and finish with the dirtiest (the top and rear of the car are generally cleaner than the bottom and front of it).
Polish
Having finished with the clay its time to polish, then wax. A polish is normally a non-abrasive product based on a nutrient oil matrix and may or may not have a chemical cleaner as part of the package. Most polishes use fillers to help cover swirl marks. Wax is nothing more than a clear protectant and will not remove or hide scratches or swirl marks. It also seals in oils and polish which would normally evaporate over time.
Make certain your car is dry. Water spilling down from a join or window will make it difficult to buff out the polish. Water on your buffing towel will make it much harder to buff out the car. Change rags frequently when buffing. They become clogged with residue, and lose their ability to remove wax and polishes. Shaking and whipping out the cloth may help. Promptly remove polish that inadvertently touched plastic trim using a soft cloth. Always move from top to bottom and try to break the car down by the panels. Use a foam applicator pad to apply the polish onto the paint’s surface, and clean 100% cotton stockinette (I use Mr Moggs 100g cotton) to buff the polish off. I wax-on one panel, then another. Wax-off the first, wax-on third, wax-off second, wax-on forth etc… so that I have one panel with wax/polish, while I wax-off another. Apply and wax-off using a smooth circular motion.
Wax
After polishing do the same with the wax. Apply the wax with an applicator and let it dry. Remove the wax with a sockinette cloth and then buff to a shine. You can put on as many coats of wax on as you like. The synthetic waxes will generally outlast carnauba waxes.
Finishing Touches
Clean all of the exterior glass with the glass cleaner and a glass cloth. Polish the wheels clean (watch out with painted surfaces so you don’t damage the painted wheels) and then the exhaust, antenna, and any other exposed or visible metal. Dress the tires. Make sure to dress the tires, then roll the car forward or back a couple feet so you can cover that area that your applicator missed that had been sitting on the bottom of the tire. Finish the detailing with a walk around the car and buff out any wax you might have missed.
Interior
The interior should not see as much abuse as the exterior will. It might be a good idea to clean inside the car first in order to keep it dry (water could drip or come in on your shoes after the washing) Vacuum the interior very well to remove dirt and dust. Spot treat anything that might need it. (A steam cleaner is a good idea on used vehicles too.) Wipe down all of the hard interior plastics, etc with a wet cloth. If you chose you may lightly dress your interior plastic with an interior protectant. (Armor All leaves a residue which will dull the surface eventually.) If you do use a protectant, spray it onto the cloth to lessen splashing and spraying on the glass and other parts of the interior. Try to limit how often you wash the insides of the windows. It has a tendency to smear. Removing tar from smoking will require a bit of elbow grease. After you wash then get out of the car and check to see that they are clean and streak-free.
This write-up is based on an article by NOFX from ClubCivic.com
