Hi mate, i recently blew a fair wedge buying a load of megs products, from the clay detailing kit and metal polish to the carnauba wax and tyre gel. So far i have been really impressed with the results of each one although i thought the metal polish was pretty crap. Anyway, a couple of questions id like to ask. 1 - is a lambs wool mitt the best thing for washing with? 2 - whats a good (cheapish) non-acidic wheel cleaner? and can you suggest a methodic order in which to do a full detail excluding engine bay?
Thankyou
Joe's already posted a process, so I'll just add a few bits I do....
Wheels, if there's any built up brake dust that you can't shift, have a look at iron x, as it comes into contact with any brake dust it bleeds purple, so you can pin point every bit on your wheel that's contaminated and agitate as required...
You can use that on your whole car as well before claying, it was funny when I got my van as it turned the whole thing from white to purple!
If you have a snow foam gun, when you need some more snow, get magifoam or chem guys touchless wash (not touchless but the best snows out there at the moment for cleaning) If not, do as Joe suggests and add a splash of APC to aid the snowfoam to clean before touching the car.... I use G101 and active xl, I've got loads, so if you want a bit sent to you, give me a shout, it is the best traffic film remover out there....
After I've snowed, left to dwell and then rinsed, I then re snow as it helps the mitt slide really well when your on the shampoo stage, also helping the car to stay wet (water marks) while your doing it. Using the 2 bucket method, always start at the top and work down, cleaning your mitt in the rinse bucket after each panel. I go in straight lines as the wind would travel over your car, rather than circular motions, as this has less chance of creating any swirl marks if there is anything lodged in your mitt....
Polishing by hand or pre wax cleansing, have a look at lime prime (contains abrasives similar to SRP) but also has glazing properties, one bonus is no dusting which SRP unfortunately does tend to do (Plus a bloody nightmare on any plastics)
Not dissing SRP, it's very popular..... Lime prime lite, that has no abrasives in it, which is perfect if you've got a perfectly machined monster and just want to cleanse as a perfect prep before a fresh layer of wax (or three)
Others are, chemical guys ez creme, primo amigo, britemax black max, and blackhole by poorboys, all have filling abilities like SRP, but are less fussy and glaze at the same time as cleaning. SRP is quite good by machine though, but not everyone has one....
I would use lime prime in every case, but if it's warm and/or sunny, choose any of the others! It dries out too quick and smears
