I've been asked to put something together for another forum, so figured it may be of interest here as well. Here's a bunch of frequently asked questions that I get asked (very) regularly about the work that I do, and what people should be doing or buying for their cars, so here goes. There is no particular order and if you have your own queries you can either add it here or send it to me via PM or email and I'll add it to this forum with a reply. Where possible I'll include the actual products that I use with links to where these can be bought
(I may even look at group buys if there is sufficient interest)Basics
What's the reason behind two bucket washes? The simple answer is using one bucket of shampoo and a separate rinse bucket drastically reduces the chances of putting any dirt, muck and grit that you've just shampooed off of the car, back on it and therefore causing damage to your own paint! The basic principles are as follows
Remove loose mud & dirt with water pressure first
Using a wash mitt and shampoo, lightly clean one panel at a time in straight lines checking very carefully for any dirt pick up
Rinse the mitt very regularly in your rinse bucket
Load the mitt up with shampoo and move to the next section of paint
Always use a separate mitt or brushes for wheels
I use these from Car-Chem along with one set of grit-guards in the rinse bucket
Why do you use separate mitts, brushes and buckets for wheels? Brake dust can be abrasive so there's no way I would want to risk getting any of that on paint. If you must use the same bucket & water as you use for your paintwork, please, please clean your wheels after you have cleaned your paint, and thoroughly rinse everything afterwards.
Avoiding contamination caused by these two simple steps is one of the simplest ways of reducing wash induced paint damage.
Paint swirls and defects
I can see swirls in the paint so how do I get rid of these? There are three common methods of polishing paint; by hand, by machine and paying someone else! All three steps require you to remove protective clear coat or paint from the car, so go very carefully indeed. Polishing by hand can make a difference and I've proved that many times using nothing more complicated than a triple layer hand pad and some finishing compound. I'm not going to say it's easy work, and I'm not going to say the results will be as good as machine work but it can make a noticeable difference. I recommend the following techniques by hand;
Buy yourself some hand pads like these
The pad has a very soft layer, central supportive core layer and then a firm layer which is ideal for polishing by hand.
Buy yourself some polishing compound like this, CarPro Fixer
Ensure the panel that you want to polish is free of dust and dirt, and run the pad under a tap to make it damp (not soaking!!)
Apply two or three pea sized blobs of polish and gently spread this across the end of the pad on the firm side
Polishing in straight lines (back and forth motions) of no more than 12" square, keep polishing until the solution is starting to look clear as opposed to white
Buff off lightly with a clean microfibre and inspect your results (ideally using LED lighting)
If you're satisfied with your results at this stage, complete the same procedures one panel at a time for the whole car. If you're not satisfied then you'd better contact me and I'll be happy to help
Bird poo and bug splatter have stained my paint[i/] Both of these issues are really common and should be treated as soon as possible. Essentially, bugs and bird bombs are highly corrosive as they contain acids and alkalines that will etch your lacquer very quickly. Protection in the form of wax or sealants will help but even then you should always try to safely remove poo or splatter as soon as you can. I use warm water on a cotton make up pad, and leave it to sit on the affected area for a few minutes. This is usually enough to soften up whatever it is, so that you can gently remove the offending matter without scratching the paint (insect bodies are hard and scratchy, and birds often eat grit or seeds, so these can all mark paint; let alone the corrosive elements!)
If you do get etched paint from bird poo or bugs, it may be repairable by hand polishing so you could repeat the above steps.
Machine polishing, whether by any variant of DA or Rotary polisher is far more in depth and carries the added complication of paint damage. I don't mind sharing what I can but I feel it may be better to do that in either a separate thread or on a one to one basis, so if you're interested let me know.
Engine bay detailing
I don't know how to clean my engine bay safely. How do you do it? I don't see the point in taking risks with engines and when you're trusted to work on cars like APT's Evo, custom Bel Air's and the fastest GTR in Europe those risks are sizeable. With that in mind always have a good look at what you're trying to clean and where it is. Is it muck and filth around the painted areas? If so tackle that one area at a time with some microfibres using warm water, all purpose cleaner and plenty of time. Soak the cloths in water and then ring them out before you put it on the area you want to clean. This will make far less mess, and ensure that potentially vulnerable electronics don't get soaked. I sometimes use steam to break down grease or dirt for the same reason. Plastics and rubbers can be gently cleaned with diluted all purpose cleaner or even plain car shampoo. Just make sure you rinse the plastics after you've cleaned them and you will be fine. Never, never use water near the coil packs or in fact any of the electronics without carefully masking them up first. If you're at all unsure ask. I accept no liabilities if you are stupid or complacent
Engine bay detailing takes time, so never rush it. Something like a stock Evo will take two to three hours to do properly, although I could make a sizeable visual difference in an hour; maybe less. Great, recommended products are;
Britemax twins for metal polishing and protection
Aerospace 303 for plastic and rubber hoses
Britemax AIO for one step polishing & protection of paintwork
For all purpose cleaner and degreasing duties, either use a dedicated retail product like Meguiars or buy a trade one but make sure you dilute it down to 30:1 with water (30 parts water to 1 part of cleaner)
Hopefully that's useful for now. I'll add some more later on
If you have any doubts or questions at all, please ask. I accept no liability at all for anyone causing damage to property 
