Car Detailing Guide for newbie's [HELP]

[asadjan]

Hi all

I've been trying to figure out how to do DIY auto detailing but after going through most of the threads here all I found was people posting pictures of their results and the products that they used. But nowhere could I find a guide that takes you step by step as if you're 5 years old. That would be great considering PakWheels is a automobile related forum and it could be a one stop for people wanting to give a go at detailing their car themselves. For people in Pakistan at least. I know you can Google it find a guide elsewhere but it would be nice to have one to which people can relate to.

Anyways, it is requested from any experienced detailers or the one's who have started themselves to detail cars to,

1. Share which products they started with or which products should a novice start with. This should include shampoo's, claying, polishing or compounding (im still confused between the two btw, so if someone could clear that out thx), mitts, microfiber cloths, applicator pad, waxing products, and products that will be used to apply polish/compound/wax. I also read somewhere that applicator pads have different levels of abrasiveness, if someone could explain that would be great.

2. Share the exact steps involved from washing to claying to polishing and waxing. This should include anything to be aware of when starting of, or what to avoid.

3. Share how exactly to take care of the hard work in the future.

You can also share information on different terms involved in detailing like claying, difference between compound and polish and stuff like that or any term that a someone new in this should and will understand.

I am asking for this to be shared so people like me can actually find a guide that helps them in clears words and helps them understand all the products and techniques involved in detailing one's car.

Please, let's just make on topic posts, if there are enough quality posts (any by quality I mean with pictures and/or illustrations, even if pictures don't apply, post should be easy to understand and should explain the point) I may add them to the first post chronologically and request the moderators to stick the thread.

Thank you.

[399.ak]

Hi all

I've been trying to figure out how to do DIY auto detailing but after going through most of the threads here all I found was people posting pictures of their results and the products that they used. But nowhere could I find a guide that takes you step by step as if you're 5 years old. That would be great considering PakWheels is a automobile related forum and it could be a one stop for people wanting to give a go at detailing their car themselves. For people in Pakistan at least. I know you can Google it find a guide elsewhere but it would be nice to have one to which people can relate to.

Anyways, it is requested from any experienced detailers or the one's who have started themselves to detail cars to,

1. Share which products they started with or which products should a novice start with. This should include shampoo's, claying, polishing or compounding (im still confused between the two btw, so if someone could clear that out thx), mitts, microfiber cloths, applicator pad, waxing products, and products that will be used to apply polish/compound/wax. I also read somewhere that applicator pads have different levels of abrasiveness, if someone could explain that would be great.

2. Share the exact steps involved from washing to claying to polishing and waxing. This should include anything to be aware of when starting of, or what to avoid.

3. Share how exactly to take care of the hard work in the future.

You can also share information on different terms involved in detailing like claying, difference between compound and polish and stuff like that or any term that a someone new in this should and will understand.

I am asking for this to be shared so people like me can actually find a guide that helps them in clears words and helps them understand all the products and techniques involved in detailing one's car.

Please, let's just make on topic posts, if there are enough quality posts (any by quality I mean with pictures and/or illustrations, even if pictures don't apply, post should be easy to understand and should explain the point) I may add them to the first post chronologically and request the moderators to stick the thread.

Thank you.

Well u already know this much so no problem for u
Go through the car care & detailing thread part 3 everything is present their.
Many members are experts in detailing wait for them they will show up
Vague1 & ahmedyar are the gurus
Contact them
Go in this order
1- wash with quality shampo
2- use clay instead go for nano skin autoscrub easy to use, long lasting & less expensive
3- high quality compound
4- polish
5- sealants
6- wax
Go for meguiar's, nanoskin or turtle products. They r easily available
Last see some YouTube videos u will get some idea
U r welcome to ask for more info

contact them

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[asadjan]

Well u already know this much so no problem for u
Go through the car care & detailing thread part 3 everything is present their.
Many members are experts in detailing wait for them they will show up
Vague1 & ahmedyar are the gurus
Contact them
Go in this order
1- wash with quality shampo
2- use clay instead go for nano skin autoscrub easy to use, long lasting & less expensive
3- high quality compound
4- polish
5- sealants
6- wax
Go for meguiar's, nanoskin or turtle products. They r easily available
Last see some YouTube videos u will get some idea
U r welcome to ask for more info

contact them

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Thank you for your input. I am still confused in the difference between compound and polish. I read somewhere compounds leave a lot of swirl marks if not done properly ? And that polish now does the job of compound and polish together?

Also, what takes care of the swirl marks on the paint? The clay, compound/polish or wax ?
I basically want to understand what each step is for, so it'll be easier for me to start !

As for the 'car care and detailing part 3 thread' is concerned, the useful posts are all over the place and there are too many pages to go through.

[qasim.raza.5872]

Hi all

I've been trying to figure out how to do DIY auto detailing but after going through most of the threads here all I found was people posting pictures of their results and the products that they used. But nowhere could I find a guide that takes you step by step as if you're 5 years old. That would be great considering PakWheels is a automobile related forum and it could be a one stop for people wanting to give a go at detailing their car themselves. For people in Pakistan at least. I know you can Google it find a guide elsewhere but it would be nice to have one to which people can relate to.

Anyways, it is requested from any experienced detailers or the one's who have started themselves to detail cars to,

1. Share which products they started with or which products should a novice start with. This should include shampoo's, claying, polishing or compounding (im still confused between the two btw, so if someone could clear that out thx), mitts, microfiber cloths, applicator pad, waxing products, and products that will be used to apply polish/compound/wax. I also read somewhere that applicator pads have different levels of abrasiveness, if someone could explain that would be great.

2. Share the exact steps involved from washing to claying to polishing and waxing. This should include anything to be aware of when starting of, or what to avoid.

3. Share how exactly to take care of the hard work in the future.

You can also share information on different terms involved in detailing like claying, difference between compound and polish and stuff like that or any term that a someone new in this should and will understand.

I am asking for this to be shared so people like me can actually find a guide that helps them in clears words and helps them understand all the products and techniques involved in detailing one's car.

Please, let's just make on topic posts, if there are enough quality posts (any by quality I mean with pictures and/or illustrations, even if pictures don't apply, post should be easy to understand and should explain the point) I may add them to the first post chronologically and request the moderators to stick the thread.

Thank you.

1.First of all, you should buy a quality shampoo and some microbers (atleast 6) for regular washing.
2. there is no point in buying a wax if your surface is not prepared.
You should buy autoscrub and glide by nanoskin for ease of use. This will help to remove above surface contaminants from the paintwork. Take the lubricant, dilute it into 1:7 and work panel by panel. Lubricate a single panel and start rubbing the autoscrub sponge with almost zero pressure. Inspect the surface by your hand, if it feels smooth, move onto the next. If not, redo the process. Do the same with glass
3. Then, you should wash the car (not necessary)
4. Next, you have to correct the paintwork. If there are light swirls on your paint, buy an all in one polish such as the auto finesse tripple or chemical guys v36. Though there are many others available, but i like these ones personally. If your car has heavy swirls, buy chemical guys vss, it contains compound and polish. For more effective results, apply with dual action or rotary (if you have proper knowledge about its usage).
5. Lastly, you should apply wax or sealant for protection. For sealant, i prefer chemical guys jetseal. For wax, any one will do the job. Just stay away from those cosmics available locally and buy a wax that costs atleast 700 or above.

For prevention of swirls and scratches, never ever dry dust your car. There will be no lubricant to lubricate the surface causing dust particles to scratch the paint.

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[qasim.raza.5872]

Also, i would like you to get in contact with Ahmad bhai.
He is a really nice person to talk to and would guide you thoroughly

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[qasim.raza.5872]

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[asadjan]

1.First of all, you should buy a quality shampoo and some microbers (atleast 6) for regular washing.
2. there is no point in buying a wax if your surface is not prepared.
You should buy autoscrub and glide by nanoskin for ease of use. This will help to remove above surface contaminants from the paintwork. Take the lubricant, dilute it into 1:7 and work panel by panel. Lubricate a single panel and start rubbing the autoscrub sponge with almost zero pressure. Inspect the surface by your hand, if it feels smooth, move onto the next. If not, redo the process. Do the same with glass
3. Then, you should wash the car (not necessary)
4. Next, you have to correct the paintwork. If there are light swirls on your paint, buy an all in one polish such as the auto finesse tripple or chemical guys v36. Though there are many others available, but i like these ones personally. If your car has heavy swirls, buy chemical guys vss, it contains compound and polish. For more effective results, apply with dual action or rotary (if you have proper knowledge about its usage).
5. Lastly, you should apply wax or sealant for protection. For sealant, i prefer chemical guys jetseal. For wax, any one will do the job. Just stay away from those cosmics available locally and buy a wax that costs atleast 700 or above.

For prevention of swirls and scratches, never ever dry dust your car. There will be no lubricant to lubricate the surface causing dust particles to scratch the paint.

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The autoscrub and glide product you mentioned, does it replace the step that is done using a clay bar ?

[399.ak]

Ok I will put it simple
1- wash & wax shampo to loosen the dirt on the paint. Wash car by two bucket method with quality washing mitt. No washing in direct sunlight or environment dusty.

2- no need to dry the car use the autoscrub sponge & glide lubricant to make the paint free from dirt, contamination & road tar.

3- compounds are used to shine faded paint to original condition making it shiny but compound itself leave some residue & tiny swirls which r then removed by Polish which make the paint more refreshing & swirls free.
Compounds are heavy duty (rubbing compound) & medium duty.
If paint is too faded means no shine use the first one. If not that bad use second one.after that apply polish to obtain best result.

4-Now you want to protect that shiny surface so use sealant.they will last 4-6 months depends on the sealant some offer 1 year protect but they doesn't offer that gloss reflections so for that we use waxes.

5- waxes are of two types carnauba & synthetic waxes.
Carnauba brings the best possible depth gloss specially from dark colours but doesn't last much longer.
Synthetic are mostly for longer periods but doesn't provide the gloss, reflection & depth in tha paint as carnauba wax mostly for lights colours.
If u r not is dusty area just wash the car twice in a week autoscrub once a year followed by compound & polish.
Sealant twice a year as stated durability depends on sealant. Wax after a month or two also depends on type of wax.
Also wax spray are available use after washing the car once a week to increase the wax life & will also give
Shine to paint just like wax .
If confused about anything feel free to ask no problem

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[399.ak]

The autoscrub and glide product you mentioned, does it replace the step that is done using a clay bar ?

Yes it does
Use this instead of clay easy to use.
Rest thanks to fellow member for describing in such detail

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[asadjan]

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1. Should one clay bar only be used once ? or it resusable?

2. Step 4 mentions suggests compound and buffing pads are two different things. So are they two different things or just two normal pads, one used for compound and the other for buffing?

[qasim.raza.5872]

1. Should one clay bar only be used once ? or it resusable?

2. Step 4 mentions suggests compound and buffing pads are two different things. So are they two different things or just two normal pads, one used for compound and the other for buffing?

Yes, clay bar can only be used once.
1/3 of the clay bar is enough to clay the whole car.
Break 1/3 of the clay from the bar, fold it and make it a disc and then start working just as autoscrub is used. When the disc gets dirty after claying 1 or 2 panels, fold it again and make another clean disc by it. Repeat this method until the 1/3 peace is all dirty and dispose off. If clay piece drops on floor, throw it away and get a new one. But, i will suggest you to get an autoscrub sponge as it can be used many times even if dropped on floor by rinsing it with water. Also rinse the sponge after every panel with water. Keep both the clay bar or the sponge in a clean container.
As far as the pads are concerned, almost all are the same when you apply it by hand.
However, dual action and rotary pads differ. There are many types of pads. The most common ones are cutting pad for compound, polishing pad for polish and finishing pad for applying sealant or glaze or liquid wax.
After application of anything (compound, polish, sealant, glaze or liquid wax) by any method (hand or machine), you must buff off the remaining product from that panel using microfiber towel to remove excess (plush microfiber towel works best in this situation)

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[asadjan]

Ok I will put it simple
1- wash & wax shampo to loosen the dirt on the paint. Wash car by two bucket method with quality washing mitt. No washing in direct sunlight or environment dusty.

2- no need to dry the car use the autoscrub sponge & glide lubricant to make the paint free from dirt, contamination & road tar.

3- compounds are used to shine faded paint to original condition making it shiny but compound itself leave some residue & tiny swirls which r then removed by Polish which make the paint more refreshing & swirls free.
Compounds are heavy duty (rubbing compound) & medium duty.
If paint is too faded means no shine use the first one. If not that bad use second one.after that apply polish to obtain best result.

4-Now you want to protect that shiny surface so use sealant.they will last 4-6 months depends on the sealant some offer 1 year protect but they doesn't offer that gloss reflections so for that we use waxes.

5- waxes are of two types carnauba & synthetic waxes.
Carnauba brings the best possible depth gloss specially from dark colours but doesn't last much longer.
Synthetic are mostly for longer periods but doesn't provide the gloss, reflection & depth in tha paint as carnauba wax mostly for lights colours.
If u r not is dusty area just wash the car twice in a week autoscrub once a year followed by compound & polish.
Sealant twice a year as stated durability depends on sealant. Wax after a month or two also depends on type of wax.
Also wax spray are available use after washing the car once a week to increase the wax life & will also give
Shine to paint just like wax .
If confused about anything feel free to ask no problem

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Well that did clear out many things. Thank you.

Where can I hold of the autoscrub thingy, I'm planning to source the products from this website autohub pk, can't find nanoskin products there.

Also, are compounds the thing that remove swirl marks or can that be achieved using something like a dedicated scratch remove e.g meguairs scratch x or just quality polish? My cars are 3 years and 7 years old, dark grey and silver coloured respectively. I really don't see paint fade on any of them. So still should I be using compound, if so what grade?, or will just a dedicated scratch remover + polish, and of course the wax afterwards, work fine ?

Also, i'll need examples on these glazing, sealant products.

Also, I live in an area which is quite dusty and windy as well, and there's this layer of dust and moisture on the car's surface every night

[asadjan]

Yes, clay bar can only be used once.
1/3 of the clay bar is enough to clay the whole car.
Break 1/3 of the clay from the bar, fold it and make it a disc and then start working just as autoscrub is used. When the disc gets dirty after claying 1 or 2 panels, fold it again and make another clean disc by it. Repeat this method until the 1/3 peace is all dirty and dispose off. If clay piece drops on floor, throw it away and get a new one. But, i will suggest you to get an autoscrub sponge as it can be used many times even if dropped on floor by rinsing it with water. Also rinse the sponge after every panel with water. Keep both the clay bar or the sponge in a clean container.
As far as the pads are concerned, almost all are the same when you apply it by hand.
However, dual action and rotary pads differ. There are many types of pads. The most common ones are cutting pad for compound, polishing pad for polish and finishing pad for applying sealant or glaze or liquid wax.

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Okay. I guess if i get hold of the autoscrub and sponge, there's no point in claying then.

Do the pads clearly state what they are for or the difference is made out by some rating on them or something ?

[qasim.raza.5872]

Well that did clear out many things. Thank you.

Where can I hold of the autoscrub thingy, I'm planning to source the products from this website autohub pk, can't find nanoskin products there.

Also, are compounds the thing that remove swirl marks or can that be achieved using something like a dedicated scratch remove e.g meguairs scratch x ? Cars are 3 years and 7 years old. I really don't see paint fade on any of them. So still should I be using compound, if so what grade?, or will just a dedicated scratch remover + polish, and of course the wax afterwards, work fine ?

Also, I live in an area which is quite dusty and windy as well, and there's this layer of dust and moisture on the car's surface every night

Contact ahmad bhai. He has all the products mentioned. He will also guide you accordingly and ship products to you.
Yes, compound removes swirls and scratches but paint becomes a bit dull and asks for finish so we apply polish to get shine.
Posting a picture of your car's paint condition would also help

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[qasim.raza.5872]

Contact ahmad bhai. He has all the products mentioned. He will also guide you accordingly and ship products to you.
Yes, compound removes swirls and scratches but paint becomes a bit dull and asks for finish so we apply polish to get shine.
Posting a picture of your car's paint condition would also help
Visit ahmad yar's auto spa and luxe auto spa facebook page
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[qasim.raza.5872]

Okay. I guess if i get hold of the autoscrub and sponge, there's no point in claying then.

Do the pads clearly state what they are for or the difference is made out by some rating on them or something ?

Yes, if they are packed. Their packaging states their purpose

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[qasim.raza.5872]

Yes, if they are packed. Their packaging states their purpose

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Also, the autoscrub sponge is one thing, not two. I'm attaching a pic for reference. Their is a small sheet of clay sticked to a sponge.

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[asadjan]

Contact ahmad bhai. He has all the products mentioned. He will also guide you accordingly and ship products to you.
Yes, compound removes swirls and scratches but paint becomes a bit dull and asks for finish so we apply polish to get shine.
Posting a picture of your car's paint condition would also help

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I have PM'd him and linked him to here. Lets see what input he can give. I'll post a few pictures in a while aswell.

[asadjan]

Also, the autoscrub sponge is one thing, not two. I'm attaching a pic for reference. Their is a small sheet of clay sticked to a sponge.

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Ah! I see. Ingenious I must say Its basically clay on a sponge so it's easier to apply.

[qasim.raza.5872]

Ah! I see. Ingenious I must say Its basically clay on a sponge so it's easier to apply.

Yes, a different type of clay that doesnt get dirty

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