Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/oIKUEAz.jpg)
Yes. Put on a PL plate.Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/oIKUEAz.jpg)
By which I mean, like really really polish a car. That showroom type finish where all the surfaces are like mirrors. What are the processes and products involved? I would normally just pay someone to do it, but this is a twenty year old car with a couple of rust spots (but otherwise in mostly reasonable shape), with sentimental/collector value, and I'm kind of precious about it and don't trust a valet service not to chip paint into the rust.
this car is polished from the inside and only slightly polished from the outside.Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/oIKUEAz.jpg)
By which I mean, like really really polish a car. That showroom type finish where all the surfaces are like mirrors. What are the processes and products involved? I would normally just pay someone to do it, but this is a twenty year old car with a couple of rust spots (but otherwise in mostly reasonable shape), with sentimental/collector value, and I'm kind of precious about it and don't trust a valet service not to chip paint into the rust.
Well, these smarty pants are not going to be any help.
To get the kind of shine you are looking for you need to repaint the car. And the type of repainting that will give you what you want will cost you about $1,000 (USD), or more, actually you can spend $5,000, if you want to. That will give you a beautiful multi-layer paint job, like you see in magazines and car shows, where they first sand the car down to bare metal, then bondo the rusted out parts, then spray the entire car with primer, let it dry, then spray with paint. Then clear coat, then dry, then paint, then dry, then clear coat, then dry, then paint, then dry, then clear coat, then dry, you get the idea. They will keep going, as long as you are paying. The more coats, the "deeper" the shine. If you've ever heard of a 12" shine, that's where you hold a ruler up the car, and see how much of the ruler you can read in the reflection. If you can see all 12" reflected, that's a sweet t!ts paint job. Even 6" is still a mildly sugary t!ts paint job. 3" is more like sour t!ts. And 1" is like saggy, sour, wrinkledy old teats.
And if you don't want to pay to have car repainted properly, then the best you can do is use the SOFTEST car wax you can find. Wax and polish are used interchangeably with car waxes, so don't worry about that. But there are liquids, solids and spray ons. I would get a liquid wax. But whatever you get, DO NOT get an abrasive wax. That will ruin your old paint. Also, you need to be careful not to get the wax on any plastic parts. After that the only instruction is to take your time, apply the wax in the shade, or better yet, inside a garage, and take your time. The best shine will result from the most physical effort on your part. This will take most of an afternoon, if not all day. I dunno what you have in UK, but in USA, Mothers and 3M make pretty good auto waxes. Just read and follow the instructions on the bottle. GL! You won't get a "car show" finish, but your car will look better than it does now.
Here is a very detailed detailing guide: http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-Detailing-Guide/
If you just want a good wash and shine job, you can skip a lot of that, but if you want it to be showroom, "I can see myself in every surface" shiny, go the whole hog.
For my daily driver (literally) I do a simple wash and hand polish (twice a year). With a machine wash every now and then when I don't have time. It's not super precious to me, though, like my old classic Mini. That is always washed, waxed and polished by hand.
Clay bar - it will pull particulates out of the clear coat and paint itself. You'll do the first wash and while the car is still wet, use the provided "lube" and rub the clay bar lightly over the car's surface, folding the bar regularly to get a fresh surface on the clay and to not leave little scratches in the paint/clear.
Compound - It's a more abrasive type of polish that will remove more contaminants. You'll apply it with a sponge by hand with a light touch as if you aren't careful, you can actually damage the surface. You'll know it's time to remove it when it's slightly reflective.
Polish - See compound but with a less abrasive fluid.
Wax - Apply in a similar fashion to the compound/polish, but instead of it becoming reflective when it's time to clean, it will go cloudy. You'll know you did right when it feels glassy smooth.
This is all doable by hand, which is what I would recommend if you've never done this before.
Clay bar - it will pull particulates out of the clear coat and paint itself. You'll do the first wash and while the car is still wet, use the provided "lube" and rub the clay bar lightly over the car's surface, folding the bar regularly to get a fresh surface on the clay and to not leave little scratches in the paint/clear.
Compound - It's a more abrasive type of polish that will remove more contaminants. You'll apply it with a sponge by hand with a light touch as if you aren't careful, you can actually damage the surface. You'll know it's time to remove it when it's slightly reflective.
Polish - See compound but with a less abrasive fluid.
Wax - Apply in a similar fashion to the compound/polish, but instead of it becoming reflective when it's time to clean, it will go cloudy. You'll know you did right when it feels glassy smooth.
This is all doable by hand, which is what I would recommend if you've never done this before.
so we're going to ignore this?
Clay bar - it will pull particulates out of the clear coat and paint itself. You'll do the first wash and while the car is still wet, use the provided "lube" and rub the clay bar lightly over the car's surface, folding the bar regularly to get a fresh surface on the clay and to not leave little scratches in the paint/clear.
Compound - It's a more abrasive type of polish that will remove more contaminants. You'll apply it with a sponge by hand with a light touch as if you aren't careful, you can actually damage the surface. You'll know it's time to remove it when it's slightly reflective.
Polish - See compound but with a less abrasive fluid.
Wax - Apply in a similar fashion to the compound/polish, but instead of it becoming reflective when it's time to clean, it will go cloudy. You'll know you did right when it feels glassy smooth.
This is all doable by hand, which is what I would recommend if you've never done this before.
Amateur detailer here: I just do it by hand, I'm not skilled enough to use a random orbital yet, for fear of burning the paint.
Amateur detailer here: I just do it by hand, I'm not skilled enough to use a random orbital yet, for fear of burning the paint.
Thank you fellow North Texan-ite.Amateur detailer here: I just do it by hand, I'm not skilled enough to use a random orbital yet, for fear of burning the paint.
How I learned to not be afraid of a random orbital (I think it was a lower speed one, but anyways...): The guy showing me how to use it walked it over to his car, plopped it on the middle of his hood and pressed it down for a good 20 seconds with the power on.
The washing tips are good and I didn't add them as I had assumed he'd got that part down well, but wasn't as informed about the detailing/polishing process. Also, good point about the wet car/clay bar. I use filtered/spotless sprayer to rinse and didn't think others might just use a hose.
Amateur detailer here: I just do it by hand, I'm not skilled enough to use a random orbital yet, for fear of burning the paint.
How I learned to not be afraid of a random orbital (I think it was a lower speed one, but anyways...): The guy showing me how to use it walked it over to his car, plopped it on the middle of his hood and pressed it down for a good 20 seconds with the power on.
The washing tips are good and I didn't add them as I had assumed he'd got that part down well, but wasn't as informed about the detailing/polishing process. Also, good point about the wet car/clay bar. I use filtered/spotless sprayer to rinse and didn't think others might just use a hose.