polish

[Paul.693]

Has anyone started polishing and waxing yet?
If so, what are your preferences for products used?

[The Polisher]

As you may notice from my login......... I am a bit of a polish freak!! :D

I collect and restore classic cars (hobby not a living) and I will only use Autoglym products....... period.

Having tried many many others, they are the best. Give the best protection, the best finish and also very easy to use and apply.

The recent one on the scene is this Meguars stuff............ tried it, difficult to polish off, stinks and leaves streaks.

Mer is lethal......... had to have 2 cars resprayed due to damaged caused by waterstaining on dark colours... only after we used Mer....... never again!

Autoglym super resin polish (about £10 for a bottle from Halfords) is wonderful, as is the Autoglym glass polish.

I know its not an Audi.. but here's a piccie of one of my shiney babies...... polished with Autoglym at the NEC concours in November!

[kodkod.84]

I am not that keen a car cleaner but my car does get washed once a fortnight and I have started using the Autoglym Aqua Wax- it is great if you don't like spending hours on your car.

Applied when car is wet, it smells really nice and once dried off leaves the car nice and shiny and any rain beads off, you can use it on glass too.

[Red 2]

'The Polisher'..Great stuff......was also fascinating watching the judging at the Top Gear/Classic Car Autoglym celeb concours competition last year.

I also use Autoglym resin polish which is actually also very quick to apply and remove. But very much each to their own on this one.

[mkc]

Ive not polished my car yet but keep on top of it with clay. I use various waxes, depending on the time of year and how much time I have when I start cleaning my car. I have tried meguairs and still have some in the garage. I thought it was expensive and top of the range stuff, until I got hooked and saw what else was available. Meguairs is ok, but it can leave streaks and very difficult to buff off. When it rains you can see marks on the paint, never really beads the rain and gets like a powder as you remove it

I have:

AG Polish Resin
Victoria Wax
Carlack 68 (more of a polish I guess)
Dodo Juice
Collinite 476
Poorboys Paste Blue
Chemical Guys XXX

Depends on the colour of your car, how much time/effort you want to put in and the type of finish you want. Dont forget to wax the wheels! Helps keep those annoying little black specs off!

[ScottyUK]

I use Autogylms Extra Gloss Protection on the wheels. I buff up the outside but on the inside I just apply it and leave it. When it comes to wheel cleaner, the dust comes off really easy ;)

[ScottyUK]

p.s. Judging from the above posts everyone on here who's posted knows the difference between what a wax does and a polish but on many forums I've seen people talking about how they polish their cars every week....but never wax.

Therefore just in case there's anyone reading who doesn't know :

Polishes - these are slightly abrasive. Depending on the make will depend how abrasive. Polishes get rid of many small scratches in the clear coat which covers the paint and by doing so helps the light reflect better. Basically it's optically a better surface. However it does take a tiny layer off each time and leaves the car without any protection. Bird mess etc can then directly attack the paint work .

Waxes - these are non-abrasive and cover the paint work in a protective shell. They also help with the reflections etc by leaving a fresh new unscratched covering.


People can talk for hours on the above but I thought a 30 sec overview might benefit at least one person.

[Black Phantom]

As well as Autoglym Super Resin Polish I use Auotglym Ultra Deep Shine as it is reccomended for dark coloured cars. My finish is phantom black. The idea is that the polish eliminates stains from washing and any other staining which shows up more on a dark finish. I have to say it is very good. At this time of year I also use Autoglyms insect stain remover. On my alloys I use Rimwax. It leaves a nice finish and claims to keep brake dust to a minimum which I have to say seems to work. Happy polishing!

[Bristle Hound]

Has anyone started polishing and waxing yet?
If so, what are your preferences for products used?

This might be a good reference point!

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

:beerchug:

[Plife]

My car has not required a polish yet. Paintwork is 90% perfect so no need at the moment. Did arrive with a few minor defects but decided to leave these as did not want to start hitting the car with polish when it was brand new.

Car is waxed and has had a full detail twice so far (approx every 3 months) consisting of

Snow foam
Rinse
Wash
Rinse
Clay
Wash
Rinse
Dry
2 layers of sealant
2 layers of wax

This helps the regular wash be a lot quicker! I top the wax up 1 a month and for normal washes just use a quick detailer to finish it off.

Everyone has their own favourite brands, but personally I buy everything off the net, usually in bulk which saves money over time. I also tend not to stick to one brand as I find not all their products are great.

My arsenal consists of
Valet Pro Snow Foam
Bilberry Wheel Cleaner
Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner
Meguiars Last Touch Quick Detailer
Gloss it Clay
Chemical Guys Wash and Wax
Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover
Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection
Blackfire Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax
Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray Sealant
Poorboys Wheel Sealant
Gliptone Leather Cleaner and Conditioner
Aerospace 303 Protectent
Carlack Glass Cleaner and Sealant
Plus various mitts, drying towels, microfibre towels and brushes

Hmmm think I may have OCD :biglaugh:

[Niko]

My preference is for Harly Wax. It is a pure yellow Carnauba wax from the States and available usually on e-bay in the UK. It is very easy to use, beads water like no other and gives a super deep wet look shine. Carnauba wax is well regarded, there are other makes but I like the Harly wax, give it a whirl!:Blush:

[Black Phantom]

This is a scary thread. I thought that giving my wheels a wash and polish was all that was needed. I don't understand half the stuff that's going on here. The link to the detailing site didn't help much - too much assumed knowledge. How about a separate forum here for this type of thing giving us the basics and explaining a few things. There are obviously people here who know a few things. :1zhelp:

[Plife]

This is a scary thread. I thought that giving my wheels a wash and polish was all that was needed. I don't understand half the stuff that's going on here. The link to the detailing site didn't help much - too much assumed knowledge. How about a separate forum here for this type of thing giving us the basics and explaining a few things. There are obviously people here who know a few things. :1zhelp:
There is one buddy

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=159

Doesn't need to be scary.....I am no expert and just like to take care of my car. Had a bad experience when my Focus ST went in to have a scratch sorted out when it was a week old and came back looking like Torvill and Dean had been practicing on it!!

[Black Phantom]

Well kick my ***!:buttkick:

Must open my eyes and look about this place. Many thanks.

[Bricktop20]

Ive bought and tried many polishes waxes, and for best results i find for wet lookin paintwork is 1 coat autoglym srp and 2 coats of swissvax best of show wax .
im a total ocd sufferer when it comes to a clean car

the beading formation is class and all uniform ,

[A1287210]

61366137

Had the car for 6 months (15K miles), been through a car wash once (and regretted it) usually two bucket method and a couple of snow foams and then chemical guys wash (recommend the small bottles, about £15 and still a third of a bottle left after 6 months, I wash about every week, the snow foam does the bulk of the work. I bought a bottle of McGuire's tech wax from "Clean your car" which was also a polish and it removed all of the swirls brilliant, see photos just what I wanted, I think if I got any deeper scratches I would start looking at clays.... there should be a couple of picture of before and after PS you can probably tell I am, NOT a detailler but the car looks great.

Damo (Derbyshire)

[A1287210]

PS it took me a while to clean it properly that is why the 2nd photo looks so dark

[Plife]

I bought a bottle of McGuire's tech wax from "Clean your car" which was also a polish and it removed all of the swirls brilliant,


It is actually a wax with fillers in so it masks the swirls. You will find that they will come back once the filler starts to wear away and will need another application. Very much like Autoglym Super Resin polish.

[n1cka8]

I am new to keeping my car clean....well compared to some of you guys anyway !!!. having owned a few land rovers I am familiar with clay and getting crud off the paint but never really used a combo of polish/wax.....but recently used Megiuars NXT combo and I am very impressed....autoglym is excellent too and I have the deep shine as mine is Phantom Black too....

Question - I am keen to use machine pads to polish with a velcro drill bir I have.....have used it on boat/caravan and its superb but what do you use ??

[b4a4]

My Silver 2008 B8 A4 hasn't been given much love when it comes to washing. 4 times a year is normal and thats just a quick 10 minutes in the local car wash. After reading this thread I'm feeling very ashamed and I intend giving it a real going over this weekend (I'll be at the inlaws, it'll be an excuse to keep me away from them for a few hours). I've read some of the threads and have a fair idea of where to start, but I have a few small items that you experts could help me with, namely:

Football marks: The kids in my park insist on setting up their goals in line with my driveway and there are now 3 imprints of a leather football on the car, the one on the bonnet where the ball obviously skidded across it is the most impressive! There is a really fine scratching that you can see in certain light, What would you guys suggest?

Milky white marks: There are 1 or 2 of these, they seem to be underneath the wax or whatever was applied to the car before I bought it.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I'll post some photos if they come out ok.

Thanks

[SunnyBard]

The kids in my park insist on setting up their goals in line with my driveway and there are now 3 imprints of a leather football on the car, the one on the bonnet where the ball obviously skidded across it is the most impressive! There is a really fine scratching that you can see in certain light, What would you guys suggest?

Hanging :aargh4:

[DrewG]

B4A4, I would have to move house!!

I thought I looked after my car (prior to the Audi) polishing it twice a year. Then guys from my work decided to teach me a lesson when I bought a black pathfinder. They spend 2 days, using snow foam, clay bar, 5 or so different grades of polish and wax (using dual action and rotary machines, not for the faint hearted!) the difference was amazing.

I have not gone that far again as the Audi doesn't need it but will only use DODO Juice products (not the cheapest but certainly do the job!)

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Glasgowa/SNB22275-1.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p171/Glasgowa/SNB22277-1.jpg


http://www.dodojuice.com/

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/index.php

[John140]

I use BMW (sorry for swearing) Nano Wax on all our cars and this has served me well, as my 4 year old B7 Avant paintwork still looked showroom fresh after 60K miles of hard weather/driving.

As a backup and as several other people have said, Autoglym Super Resin is more than acceptable.

I tried MER and this stuff is rubbish as is any other polish that leaves chalky deposits.

[Cobstar]

Really, really hate kids kicking footballs round near our cars - particularly as it's an unadopted cul de sac with right of access only - it's not a playground. Turns him indoors - normally very mild mannered - into :zx11: They don't stay around long when he goes out and politely asks them to play elsewhere.

That said I was driving home through a local village one day and a ball bounced out of a house across the road, onto the bonnet of my car and off into a house the other side. Chances of that happening must be very remote. And no - I couldn't have avoided it. We managed to polish the marks out and you wouldn't have known it had happened.

[b4a4]

I went mad in Halfords with their 3 for 2 on cleaning materials at the weekend. I stuck with the Autoglym products and gave the car a really good 2 bucket wash, I didn't realise how much tar was on the car so I didn't move on to the polishing and waxing as I want to remove the tar first. I did try a small bit of polish on a few areas that had been anoying me and I'm delighted to report that they polished out without any great effort. Really looking forward to doing a full job soon if I can get the combination of free time and weather right.

[legendamongus]

Autoglym Super Resin Polish and a layer of Collinite 915 for me. Looks amazing and cheap to get the products as well.

[theblacksurge]

On previous cars I used AG Leather Care Cream for the interior plastics & dash, buffed off the plastics would look like new without looking shiny or greasy, and to the touch was like new plastic. But for some reason it doesnt work well on the A4 interior.

So what do you guys recommend for the A4 interior ?