Machine polishing - it's hard work!

[Ravinder]

Originally Posted by Alikris

This has been bothering me now for weeks. Car detailing is supposed to be fun and it's not supposed to take over your life. If it is then you're doing something wrong!

Why are you washing your car so much between stages? The pros don't.
Once decontaminated and clayed the paint should be clinically clean, there's absolutely no need to wash again, just a rinse to get rid of the clay lube (AM clay can be used with water as a lube, so there's saving) and rub down with a pre wax cleanser / IPA


I'm no expert but as I say, if it's a chore and not fun then you need to take a look at what you're doing and how you can make it fun again.

Once a car has been detailed and sealed, if you look after it it and have a proper wash routine it should only require light detailing in future. Modern products such as Soft99 Fusso Coat or TAC Systems Moonlight will last 9 to 12 months if looked after. They will also repel dirt making washing a lot easier.

Apparently! I'll be very interested to test out all I've learned from my research over the past few weeks. . .

Ali.

Hi

I have been detailing the car over 3-4 weeks and driving it in between that as it's my daily drive. So, I'm washing the car before I polish a new panel as it will be dirty since I'm using the car....

I've only decontaminated the car once using clay bar etc. So, all I'm doing is giving the car a quick wash before polishing.

And once I've polished it, I top it up with wax immediately for next time to make the cleaning process easier. Not sure what I'm doing wrong there, if anything....

[Canonite]

Preperation is key. Completely pointless applying any sealant or wax to a car that hasn't been properly prepped for the process.
To do a full external prep and correction you're talking two days of work.
If you mess up any of the stages or cut corners the result will be poor and you'll be disappointed.
Dont do it in the sun either, especially sealant as that will set real hard