[stephen orford]

As the very happy owner of a new Jcw Mcs I seek advice on cleaning.
1. How often should one wash the car with a detergent based product even if it claims to "wash and polish" Can this harm either the paint or plastic trim?
2. What is a good polish and should it be applied to metallic paints which have a clear coat on top of the colour base?
3. How often should a "plastic restorer be applied ? From new after several washes after a year when ?

Help would be much appreciated.

[Root Ginger]

OK, there's quite af ew threads on here about cleaning but first a quick question.

What do you mean by polish? Polish is a generally used term that can describe a number of different products, namely polishes, waxes, sealants etc.

The difference between a wax and polish is that a polish is abrasive, in other words it will remove some paint to achieve a perfect finish. A wax protects the finish.

TBH honest there is so much to it that you will be better off using a friendly dedicated site called http://www.detailingworld.com.

They really helped me out there and now have loads of fantastic cleaning equipment. I learnt a lot and realised that 99% of people clean there car in a bad way, a way that causes damage to the paint finish.

Also try this recent thread. A lot of it applies to any car. http://www.mini2.com/forum/maintenan...-works-gp.html

[rellik666]

Quote:

Ingredients:
1 Meguiars Quik Clay Kit (~$25 I think)
1 bottle of Meguiars Deep Crystal #2 Polish (~$15)
1 bottle of Bowdens Own Auto Body Perfection* (~$30) (* or any other decent quality wax as you see fit, I just really like this stuff)

2 or 3 microfibre polishing cloths (the Bowdens ones are awesome, but about $20 each, the meguiars ones are fine too, and about $10)

a couple of microfibre applicator pads or the round meguiars foam applicator pads

Wash the car thoroughly.

If you haven't polished/cleaned/waxed etc in a while (say > 6 months, check by running the back of your hand over the paint, it should feel as smooth as glass) clay bar the car first following the directions on the box (use HEAPS of the spray that comes with it). The paint will feel like glass after this. Important: if you drop the clay bar, throw it out. I usually break the clay bar in half so if I drop half, I've still got the other half. If it's a cold day, chucking the clay bar in the microwave for 5 seconds or so will soften it up nicely.

polish the car with the deep crystal stuff using straight motions (imagine air flowing over the car as you drive, and go in that direction) with an applicator pad, with moderate pressure (Important - don't get this stuff on the black plastic, it's a ***** to clean off, masking tape is your friend). polish lots, with moderate pressure, letting the polish do the work, not the pressure of the pad. remove polish with a clean microfibre. This stuff is safe to use, it's not aggressive, and while it does remove a tiny bit of clear coat, we're talking fractions of a micron, and clear coat is about 60-100 microns thick. I've been using this process on our Astra since new, it's now 6 years old, and I've not had any issues. In some ways the Astra's paint actually looks better than the MINI when it's clean....

WAX the car with the Bowdens (or whatever you've chosen), doing a small section at a time (1 panel at most, I usually do 1/2 a panel), again using straight motions. With the Bowdens apply it thinly and wipe off while it's still wet, using a clean MF. Other products may vary, e.g. NXT you should apply it all over the car, and then leave it for an hour or so to 'bond' with the paint.

optional: go over the car with another clean MF and some Quik Detailer (it comes with the quik clay kit, or the Bowdens stuff is VERY good as well) to give a final shininess.

Bake for 20 minutes, serve with chips, and enjoy.

usual disclaimers apply, but this is basically the process I go with.

I follow the MickyD rules of cleaning and my car always comes out really clean and shiny and the paint work is soooooooo smooth. I do it about once a month and wash it once a week. It soon adds up once you have bought everything but it is definately worth it. Esp if you have a car that showa the dirth like me!