Alans wee bro here i noticed no one has told you the proper order to wash and detail your car in it helps you not spread dirt over a clean area. If you can you should try and have two areas one for wet work and one for dry. You then start by stripping the inside of the car of its contents in the glove box door pockets foot wells of the mats and remove the ashtray then do the same in the boot if its a hatchback parcel shelf as well and spare tyre and tools. Before you use any buckets make sure they are clean and free of grit from the last wash the same goes for your wash mit prefferably not a sponge. You then start with the wheels, tyres and wheel arches then the engine bay then the interior before finishing on the bodywork last.
Wheels and Tyres
Make sure there not hot and dont let the cleaner dry and a good brush is essential then rinse off with plenty of water if your fussy and want to do a proper job take them off and use tar cleaner on them then clean under arches with engine cleaner and a stiff brush dont forget the spare wheel too then when there clean use a tyre shine and if you want a lasting shine on the wheels use carnuba wax or a wheel sealer itll make them easier too clean in the future.
Engine Bay
Clean leaves and crap out the bay and bottom off the windscreen then wrap electrical connectors in clingfilm and spray engine cleaner everywhere then agitate with a brush spend time doing this and re-apply cleaner to any surface you cant reach then hose off. Dry everywhere and spray Auto Glym Vinyl and Rubber Care over the whole engine Bay then leave to dry and even out any patches with a dry cloth.
Door and Boot Shuts
Spray Your Auto glym engine cleaner on all the bottom of the door shuts and agitate with a brush around hinges and stuff and the brush will carry it around top edges allow it to penetrate for a few mins first. Repeat this on the boot and wipe off with a cloth then with a hose concentrate on rinsing the door shuts down with the doors open being carefull not to soak the interior and remove any blocks in the drain holes then go to the boot and hose all round the boot shut with the boot closed. You can then dry and spray Auto Glym Vinyl and rubber care in all the shuts and weather seals and wipe over this will shine your rubbers and the paint as well.
Interior 1
Start with the hoover and get as much dirt as you can turn your heater vents to full and with the hoover at the vent brush all the dust out then go over all your plastics with Auto Glym Tar remover. Sit in the back seat then spray interior cleaner on quarter of the rooflining at a time. Use a Hi Tech cleaning hand pad to work the cleaner into the fabric. Do not overwet or rub hard!then use a soft cloth to wipe off the dirt. Keep plenty of clean,warm water nearby and rinse the cloth every so often to ensure that all the dirt is removed from the headlining,If the car has a sunroof,open a couple of inches as dirt builds up at the front edge of the foof clean this area then close it againbefore cleaning the rear of the roof lining,Spray the dash with shampoo and use a yellow sponge or a small soft brush on the crevices. Pay special attention to the steering wheel and controls as they collect a lot of dirt. Wipe clean with a damp cloth
Interior 2
Repeat the operation with the door trims and then the carpets.Use enough interior shampoo to create a light foam over all the surfaces but be carefull not to overwet fabrics,Mats are best done outside the car .Usually ,just brush or vacuam them but when if they are really dirty spray with interior shampoo and then hose them down thoroughly then hang them up to dry,When it comes to the seats,theses may be very dirty a soft brush will be the best option using the interior shampoo on stubborn dirt,wipe clean with a damp cloth,If leather clean the seats with Leather Cleaner using a damp cloth(not a brush),dry then apply Leather Care Cream to replace the necessary oils and create a soft sheen to the finish.
Body Wash.
Pour bodywork shampoo & conditioner into a bucketthen add tepid water,This creates the desired amount of foam which acts as a lubricant for the spongeon the paintwork.With a powerful jet of water,hose off the worst of the mud that collects around the sills and bumpers,and then spray a fine spray over the whole car to wet it thoroughly,Wash the car,one side at a time starting from the roof downwards. Use plenty of water on a wide sweeping action to flow the dirt off.Hose off before doing the other side. Use a small soft brush to shift the dirt in the crevises around the bumpers,number plates,badges and the front grille. Don't let the shampoo dry before hosing off,Use a non-damaging silicone rubber blade which quickly removes most of the water from the bodywork and windows,just needing a quick finish with. An Aqua Dry 'leather' will dry the car quicker than any natural leather but any leather or waffle will do. Use flat to get the worst off before finishing off in the usual way (by flat putting the whole leather on at once not folding it and pulling along) go round all the door shuts and the boot and dry off. Slam the boot and doors a couple of times to dislodge any water and then leave open for a while to drain thoroughly.Areas around bumpers can be very annoying to dry like the lights as it's tricky to reach the standing water. Use the edge of your leather slide inalong any parts it can get in to soak up the water in these areas.
Polishing Application.
Having now moved the car to a dry area,ready for polishing ,residual water around the bumpers and door mirrors can be dried with warm air from the @blow' side of a vacuam cleaner,The lower half of the body will be specked with tar deposits picked up from the road,particularly in the warmer weather. Squirt Intensive Tar Remover along the side panels and allow to stand for a few minutes,using a soft cloth,wipe the remains of the tar deposits away ready for polishing. Always polish paintwork after using tar remover.Apply Super Resin Polish to the paintwork by loading the polish onto a app pad or cloth,not direct to the body.Spread the polish on the body with the pad,cloth using large circular motions to work the polish in. Treat a small area at a time-for instance divide the bonnet into 4 parts.Then,lay this area off in straight lines before treating the next section. Overlap each area by an inch or so to make sure that no gaps are left. Pay special attention to faded paint and plastic areas such as door mirrors and bumpers which are painted with plasticisers in the paint. This tends to make them softer and loose their shine. Leave the car covered completely in polish and allow it to dry while the few remaining tasks are carried out it is best to polish on a warm dry day.
Polishing Finishing
With the car covered in polish to protect the paintwork,use a small square sponge to apply vinyl and rubber care to plastic mouldings such as side trims and window frames. Rubber and plastic bumpers and trims can be brought back to new again with Bumper Care, This gel product is best applied to a sponge. Surplus can be buffed off with a clean cloth to avoid dust attraction. Other plastic parts such as the front grille can be brought back to life with Bumper Black. Apply carefully. Door rubbers should be wiped sparingly with viynl rubber care to prevent sticking and tearing in cold weather. For badly soiled glass , Car Glass Polish will remove contaminants and does not leave a residue when polished. Apply to cloth,then to glass and put windows down slightly to reach the top of the glass. Both glass and acrylics can be cleaned with Fast Glass. Just squirt on and wipe off with a kitchen towel. It is ideal to carry in the car and will remove dead insects from the windscreen or paintwork. Difficult areas inside the car may need a spatula to reach right down. This applies to both front and rear screens,taking car not to get excess glass polish on to parcel shelf fabrics. Finally,the bodywork can be buffed and the polish removed using a clean soft cloth. Turn the cloth regularly and shake out. You do not need to rub hard to produce a deep and lustrous shine.
Dealing with Scratches.
No matter how careful you are, stone chips are inevitable. Deal with them quickly,making sure all the dirt and loose polish is removed. Small chips can be filled using touch up and a paper clip or tooth pick. Carry the blob of paint to the chip and flow it into place. This avoids the overlapping that tends to happen when a brush is used. Do not polish for at least a week. Surface scratches such as those caused by car washes or dragging a bag across the bonnet can be removed with Paint Renovator. Apply at right angles to the scratch untill the scratch disappears. Allow to dry then remove excess. You will see from the cloth that a fine layer of paint is removed. On metallics this would just be a clear coat (faint grey). Use Super Resin Polish to remove the renovator and restore the car to a full shine. You may need two or three goes-be careful not to rub to hard on the panel edges as you may remove too much paint. Finally,go around with a touch up bottle and an artists brush to spot on any small blemishes on door edges or fine,deep scratches that cannot be polished out.
Finishing Touches
All this cleaning may have removed grease from door hinges so it's wise to regrease them. Also use a thin maintenance oil to wipe telescopic aerials,to keep them corrosion free and working smoothly. At this stage,you will probably have forgotten to clean the interior mirror. A quick spray with Fast Glass and a wipe with some kitchen towel will restore your rear vision instantly,a small ammount of residue from the polish will be found around all the door,bonnet and boot shuts. Use a soft cloth to wipe away these tell tale sighns. For total long term protection,an extra coat of Extra Gloss Protection (or any good wax) can be applied. Apply in the same way as you applied the polish but let it cure for as long as possible before buffing off for maximum shine and protection.
And that should be you finished...
This is out the Auto Glym Wash Booklet and if you go to autoglym for a valeting coarse this is the basics of what you will be taught! You can obvioussly just wash the car down but keeping it in this order both me and Alan have found doing this mibbe around 4 times a year with washes mibbe every couple of weeks and this will keep the protection and shine all year round really hope this helps you with getting your car ready for your photo shoot and also just as a how to for the future I know it sounds like a lot of work but honestly it is worth it and if you stick to the order you'll be suprised how quick it is usually takes us about a full afternoon to do everything and as you can tell I really rate the AutoGlym products and have managed to turn Alan from Meguiars to AutoGlym as the finish is far superior and does a "much" better job on swirl marks than the Meguiars stuff looking forward to meeting you all at the RR day 8)
ps this was started at 9 so had to hand to Alan to type some of it lol
Daryn
