Mr Know it all

[Alex225]

Just ditch the clay and window putty entirely, just good old fire should do the trick. That'll certainly remote contaminants from the paint!

I'm quite lucky with my neighbours that they don't give me advice on cleaning cars! In fact my next door neighbour is hilariously bad at washing his car so I don't think he can offer tips haha

 

[Martin 1]

Bloody good idea ! With a weed burner you can do the width of the car in one sweep.

 

[edgersoldchap]

I had a visit from my Know it all neighbour this morning whose amazing knowledge base on all subjects is immense (according to him) and after a lot of research he states that I do not have to buy an expensive clay bar to do my cars but use window putty doused in a weak washing up liquid as it will do the same job for 1/100th the cost

Thoughts?????

kc

In December 2019, there was a thread on Detailer's World about some guy in USA using plumber's putty instead of a clay bar - plumber's putty being a non-setting sealant as distinct from glazing putty which sets rock hard. There was a link to his video on You Tube -

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Make of it what you will - not so alarming as you might think, although I doubt how effective it is! I think your neighbour may have heard Chinese whispers where the type of putty has been conflated.

Reference was also made in the DW thread to the use of Blu Tak but nobody admitted trying that.

 

[edgersoldchap]

Just like to say this .In spring of last year i was about to use a claybar on my car ..The body was not smoth any more .But it shone very nice .The wife purchased a few bottles of Williams Waterless Wash and Wax off the tv shopping cannel . .She loves it ,and it took her just 20 mins to clean her car all over including the glass ,,but not front screen . Now the wife has had both hip replaced , but with the Williams she had no problem cleaning her car . matter of fact she enjoyed it. Me i love Tuttle Wax in the old grey coloured bottle it works well for me but takes over an 1 hour to do it .. . Then one day i ran out of Turtle wax , and i was going to a local to me classic car show. So i had a go cleaning my car with the WWWaW .And from then till now i have used this same polish ..And after inspecting the paint work i find its as smooth as silk ..Dont know if it was the polish alone ,,or the use of microfibre clothes that did the job . It said on the WWWaW container to just polish the car as it is no need to wash it . .I am old school and thats not on with me .Light dust is not a problem .Anything other than dust wash it off first .

I think most of the manufacturers of waterless washes (some of which are much better at what they do than others) would admit that their products are primarily aimed at light to moderate soiling and that there are limitations to their use, and they do depend on the right technique being used to get the desired result.

I have a sample bottle of Swift waterless wash on its way to me to try courtesy of a thread on Detailer's World and they admit on their website to:-
"Cleaning a car safely without water is only feasible if the vehicle is well maintained in the first instance, and kept on top of with regular cleaning. While it is possible to wash any vehicle exclusively the waterless way - without ever using conventional methods - it's only a reality if it's is looked after, regularly maintained and does little winter or wet weather driving."

I think you're right about being led by your old school instincts - I'm old school too!

 

[merc estate]

I use the williams waterless wash and wax as a quick wax AFTER a good wash, it puts a quick wax on that looks great. I did use it on my taxi when i used to drive it in London to quickly clean the taxi on the rank which did a great job but you just end up with a pile of dirty cloths. But i would never use it on my car as a wash and wax. i went to a friends yesterday for a couple of hours and he has the dreaded sap trees down his road, so i will be out there cleaning it again today or in the garage cleaning if its sunny with 3 bucket wash etc.

 

[CoopsSA]

My neighbours usually just roll their eyes at me when I'm out doing the cars - there's 5 houses past us on a private shared driveway and I can't recall any of them ever washing their cars!!!!

 

[ShaunB]

I had a visit from my Know it all neighbour this morning whose amazing knowledge base on all subjects is immense (according to him) and after a lot of research he states that I do not have to buy an expensive clay bar to do my cars but use window putty doused in a weak washing up liquid as it will do the same job for 1/100th the cost

Thoughts?????

kc

Thoughts - tell him to use plenty of lube and ram his putty up his ass?

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Thoughts - tell him to use plenty of lube and ram his putty up his ass?

My mate Dave said it hurts more without lube. Just sayin.

 

[davymead]

Been using WWW for years with great results. But NOT without washing first.

 

[Reflection]

"Your Gonna Wipe the paint of that thing" is the one comment i get regularly from my half baked neighbours.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

"Your Gonna Wipe the paint of that thing" is the one comment i get regularly from my half baked neighbours.

One of my neighbours asked if I wash cars for a living as he saw me out there so often!

I do find though washing cars out the front is quite a good way to catch up with neighbours. Especially if you’re washing something weird.

 

[Dickster]

My neighbours usually just roll their eyes at me when I'm out doing the cars - there's 5 houses past us on a private shared driveway and I can't recall any of them ever washing their cars!!!!

I’ve washed my SL perhaps twice in two and a half years - it’s not my thing.

 

[optimusprime]

Yes , or you have missed a bit .. and another one is - its going to rain ..

 

[MancRick101]

Yes , or you have missed a bit .. and another one is - its going to rain ..

Plus the universal “you can do mine next ha ha”.

Don’t you just love neighbours. I have one exactly like the OP’s neighbour. I dread it when I clock him walking past.

Last time he was telling me to ditch the MB dealers and specialists as his all makes independent on some back street is much better. They will even pass MOTs as a favour if I mention my neighbour’s name!

 

[Rich764089]

Plus the universal “you can do mine next ha ha”.

Don’t you just love neighbours. I have one exactly like the OP’s neighbour. I dread it when I clock him walking past.

Last time he was telling me to ditch the MB dealers and specialists as his all makes independent on some back street is much better. They will even pass MOTs as a favour if I mention my neighbour’s name!

And this is exactly why I Bought a house with no neighbours

 

[optimusprime]

I have people in our Lane that keep them selves to them selves .. and i like it that way .

 

[Gbrowncls55]

Why would you? its not as though a clay bar or mit will bankrupt anybody with a car worth claying. And they last for ages. Of course theres always a cheaper way to do anything but i'm not spending hours carefuly claying my car to save money. By definition I'm doing it to get the very best finish.

 

[Reflection]

My mate Dave said it hurts more without lube. Just sayi

Why would you? its not as though a clay bar or mit will bankrupt anybody with a car worth claying. And they last for ages. Of course theres always a cheaper way to do anything but i'm not spending hours carefuly claying my car to save money. By definition I'm doing it to get the very best finish.

Well,thats interesting.

By definition, clay bars cannot provide the"very best finish" as they cause minor swirls and some level of marring at best. They make you think like that, but the truth is you will see more gloss after using,but that's because your paint was contaminated basically hiding you gloss and not that it improved your gloss.

The best finish possible is always obtained via polishing, which if you want perfect paint should always follow a clay bar session, unfortunately true.

 

[Gbrowncls55]

Well,thats interesting.

By definition, clay bars cannot provide the"very best finish" as they cause minor swirls and some level of marring at best. They make you think like that, but the truth is you will see more gloss after using,but that's because your paint was contaminated basically hiding you gloss and not that it improved your gloss.

The best finish possible is always obtained via polishing, which if you want perfect paint should always follow a clay bar session, unfortunately true.

Of course. Clay then polish. Who would clay a car and leave it bare?

 

[rayaans]

Blu / white / whatever colour tack is well known to work quite well as a clay bar