Products for my 1st attempt?

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Wilfie

Active Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
79
Car
CLK320 W208
Hi,

My silver W208 is having some bodywork done and I thought I would assemble a few items to give it a good clean and protect when I get it back. I have read the threads on here and had a look at detailing world and have decided the following items should get me started.

Meguiars Thick Lambswool Wash Mitt

Flexipads Professional Car Wax / Compound & Polish Foam Applicator Pad

10 MICROFIBRE extra large 16'' x 16'' ULTRA SOFT CLOTHS

Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild 500ml

Bilt Hamber Reg Clay Bar 200g

Collinite 476s - Ultimate Protection Car Wax

CarPro IronX SOAP 500ml

There is also a small area on the roof that is quite scratched ~150mm2, I think

Poorboys SSR 2.5 Swirl Remover - Medium Abrasive

might remove them.

Any ideas / suggestions appreciated?

Cheers

Will
 
Put a lot of time aside.

Mic
 
Seems a good collection of stuff and you should be quite happy with it. others will recommend their personal preferences but in all honesty what you have there is very good..:thumb:
 
I would recommend Bilt Hamber cleanser-polish after shampooing. Comes with a superb applicator and a microfibre and gets rid of swirl makrs (it is quite abrasive) and fills others. Very easy to apply and exceptionally easy to buff off (make sure you let it dry before you buff it off otherwise it can smear and is for some reason harder to get off). Corrosion Protection, Rust Removal, Car Wax and Car Polish from Bilt-Hamber UK
 
I've seen recommendations for the soft BH clay, with comments that the regular is too hard.

Also, two buckets.
 
Troon said:
I've seen recommendations for the soft BH clay, with comments that the regular is too hard.

Also, two buckets.
Click to expand...

I was considering the soft but think the car has never been clayed so will probably start with the regular, if I become an addict will get the soft later.

Two buckets, I'm assuming one for wash and one for rinse, do the grit-guard buckets add anything to the 2 bucket approach?

Cheers
 
definately CLAY before using any of the products you have

wash, clay, cleanse, protect, seal

is the general rule of thumb
 
You dip the dirty mitt in one bucket before then reloading it with the soapy water...

That said ive never had any problems using my mums mop bucket and a jumbo sponge.. apart from my mum shouting when she cant mop the floor that is.
 
Alps said:
definately CLAY before using any of the products you have

wash, clay, cleanse, protect, seal

is the general rule of thumb
Click to expand...

So I should be using a sealant after the wax or does the wax seal?
 
Wilfie said:
Cheers, so that is used pre-wax?
Click to expand...

Yes. As has been said by others - wash first, then clay. I would then use the IronX and swirl remover, then the Cleanser-Polish (cleans paintwork thoroughly and polishes), then the wax.

I may as well say what I use:

AutoGlym Shampo-Conditioner
Autoglym Clay-Bar Kit (worked perfect for me)
Autoglym HD Cleanser
Bilt-Hamber Cleanser-Polish
Autoglym HD Wax
(And Autoglym Glass Polish on all windows inc. windscreen - cleans them thoroughly)

For the wheels I just use a cheap Turtle-Wax foam spray can with cheap plastic brush-head on the end, and some cheap Turtle Wax tyre shine`. I have a Supagard kit I've never got round to using, but what I've listed here does the job for me.

Wilfie said:
So I should be using a sealant after the wax or does the wax seal?
Click to expand...

Wax does seal, and gives a 'wetter' look to the paint, but sealant offers better protection (while not offering a 'wetter' look). They should be used separately AFAIK so wax or sealant. Sealant would be better in the winter (repels dirt better etc.) while wax at all other times.
 
One small addition I would make to your kit is a microfibre mitt for the areas below the waist line (where most of the muck gathers) and the initial clean of the wheels. Reason for this is that the microfibre mitt (and cloths) can go in the washing machine - a normal wash cycle at 50 C plus, if the cloths are really mucky, a scoop of Vanish, and they come up like new. The merino mitt has to be hand washed, so keep it for the cleaner areas.

To do the full bifta is very time consuming, so first time I did a full clay - paint correct - polish - wax job on my 968 coupe I worked one panel at a time. Washed the full car, then started on the front nearside wing, clayed, rinsed, paint corrected (with a small 12v machine, I now have a proper DAS6 DA polisher!), polish and wax, took me most of an afternoon just for that, but the results were amazing. Car was guards red, this treatment took it from slightly purple dull red to proper shiny guards red.

I've also done our C270, which is silver. The results were hard to see - it's something about silver, it never looks really dirty or really clean for some reason. However, I'd still recommend one panel at a time - as you can stop and restart later with what you've already done waxed and protected!

If you can, do the paint correction and polishing indoors under fluorescent light - it's far more critical of the surface than sunlight, so you'll see any swirls etc much easier.

Believe me, the effort is worthwhile, as once you've given the car this full treatment, for months after just a wash will have her looking showroom again, just keep the wax top coat topped up.
 
Wow, the different stages keep mounting up!

I was going to use the IronX on the wheels but reading the blurb it'll do the bodywork as well, as has been suggested here.

Will have a think about the Bilt Hamber cleanser-polish, I may settle for AG SRP as I already have some and I will have spent nearly £100 on car products without even trying:D
 
I have SRP, never noticed much difference when using it. It fills swirls whereas B-H's Cleanser-Polish actually has abrasives to remove some of them. Application and buffing are also much, much easier.

I must confess - I keep one microfibre to shift dirt and to give the lower portions (the plastic trims) and the alloys a wipe. That's basically my dirt shifter, I do wash it every now and then. I use a sponge to wash, a chamois to dry, and an applicator pad/cloth and a microfibre for everything I put on after that. Ideally you would use several different cloths to shift dirt, transferring a cloth from a dirty area like the sills to the paintwork may take abrasive dirt with it which will scratch the paintwork.
 
neilz said:
I have SRP, never noticed much difference when using it. It fills swirls whereas B-H's Cleanser-Polish actually has abrasives to remove some of them. Application and buffing are also much, much easier.

I must confess - I keep one microfibre to shift dirt and to give the lower portions (the plastic trims) and the alloys a wipe. That's basically my dirt shifter, I do wash it every now and then. I use a sponge to wash, a chamois to dry, and an applicator pad/cloth and a microfibre for everything I put on after that. Ideally you would use several different cloths to shift dirt, transferring a cloth from a dirty area like the sills to the paintwork may take abrasive dirt with it which will scratch the paintwork.
Click to expand...

If it's easier than SRP it will be money well spent :thumb:
 
Wilfie said:
Wow, the different stages keep mounting up!

I was going to use the IronX on the wheels but reading the blurb it'll do the bodywork as well, as has been suggested here.

Will have a think about the Bilt Hamber cleanser-polish, I may settle for AG SRP as I already have some and I will have spent nearly £100 on car products without even trying:D
Click to expand...

Use iron x on the body and this will remove iron contamination, which is one less thing for the clay to remove.

If you also use a tar remover (recommend Autosmart Tardis), there will hardly be anything to clay off and will make claying quicker and easier (and clay will last longer).

Hand polishing scratches / swirls on Mercedes paint is very hard work (but not impossible). Either find someone who can machine polish for you or use a glaze with fillers (Poorboys Blackhole highly recommended)
 
fatdazza said:
Either find someone who can machine polish for you or use a glaze with fillers (Poorboys Blackhole highly recommended)
Click to expand...

Or Cleanser-Polish which does exactly that?
 
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