wax or polish?

[deputy]

hi all,

have been reading various threads on detailing...Am a complete novice myself. I have been using colour magic following a soap wash...Many threads state that you should use a polish then wax to seal. My question is ..is colour magic a polish or wax??? Does it act as a seal or should I wax over the top?

many thanks in advance

 

[evilrob]

Colour Magic is a "polish" but as far as I know, it just contains coloured fillers and will wash straight off next time it rains. You can apply glaze on top, then sealant, then wax. Or just glaze and then wax. Or sealant and then wax. Or just wax. Any combination of glaze / sealant / wax (as long as you do it in that order) will help keep the colour magic in place for longer.

I'd probably encourage you to bin the Colour Magic though, and try Autoglym Super Resin Polish which is a paint cleanser and polish with some cutting action to reduce the appearance of scratches and swirls, and some filler to mask the appearance of scratches and swirls. You won't get rid of paint imperfections without using a rotary polisher and compound - not something I'd recommend; best left to the professionals.

You can get a great look with some time and effort with something like Autoglym Super Resin Polish or Bilt-Hamber Cleanser Polish is also excellent. I recently used Car-Lack 68 Nano Systematic Care which is a cleanser polish, followed by Car-Lack 68 Long Life Sealant - it worked really well to clean, polish, fill and seal my paintwork which isn't scratch-free by any means. I then popped a layer of Autoglym HD wax on top just to see what happened - it did look "better" to my eye, but I couldn't tell you why. I was so pleased with the results I entered a detailing competition (see link in my sig below for pics).

I recently posted quite a long "Detailing 101" on a thread about waxes - did you see that? Contains pretty much everything you need to know about how to wash your car without inflicting further scratches and swirls, and how to get your paintwork looking shiny.

 

[deputy]

Thanks for the advice, think I'll give your thread a proper read through...again many thanks

 

[evilrob]

I'm not an expert by any means - prior to August last year, one bucket, a yellow sponge and a hosepipe was all I'd ever used to wash my cars. Since then I've gone a bit detailing mental, done a lot of reading, watched a lot of videos and had a lot of practice.

Due to being impatient, I went out and bought Autoglym everything from Halfords as they had a 3-for-2 offer on (which is currently running again as it happens) rather than research the best products and order them in (I'm impulsive like that). My first couple of attempts were pretty good I think - I posted about my progress here.

Since then I've bought and tried a few more products from other companies. One of my more recent efforts can be seen here. Hopefully you'll agree the depth of shine in the later post is noticeably better than my earlier attempts!

 

[deputy]

hi rob

thanks again for the advice....I think i'll go with the autoglym to start.....shampoo, super resin,extra gloss protection...probably next weekend when the wife agrees to me spending £20-30 on 'car soap'.

I see that you also have a thunder.. what do you use on the leather seats. I have some quite bad scratches on the drivers seat, do you know of anything that can cover these? Am tempted with shoe polish!

Once again cheers for the advice...have voted on your competition and it looks like you've got it in the bag!!

 

[evilrob]

With the 3-for-2 that shouldn't work out to more than £21-£22. It's a tried and tested combination you're going for there. :thumbs:

If you can, try to get the recently-introduced new Super Resin Polish - looks like this (note the "new formulation" red bar near the bottom of the label):

Last time I looked they were throwing in a free microfibre finishing cloth - which isn't bad at all. It's no biggie if you can only get hold of the old formulation - it's great stuff, but no free cloth.

Thankfully my seats are in pretty good nick, so all I've had to do is keep them clean and fed - I use Autoglym Leather Cleaner and Leather Care Balm (I wasn't joking when I said I went out and bought Autoglym everything!) :-D

Detailing World.co.uk is a great resource for anything to do with improving the appearance of your car - inside or out. I found a great post by some guy who did an amazing job on his leather seats.

PS - Thank you for voting for me!

 

[deputy]

just looked at the leather seats link...looks doable...will purchase soon and let you know how i get on

 

[deputy]

Just finished 'autoglyming' .....great results really shiny! Even the wife was inpressed! Next up remedying stone chips on bonnet...any advice?

 

[XIIVVX]

Chips Away - simples

 

[evilrob]

^ what he said.

There's a good guide on Detailing World on how to do it - you're a braver man than I if you attempt that yourself. When I get round to sorting my chips, I'll be calling in the professionals!

 

[deputy]

Any idea of cost of Chips Away?

 

[evilrob]

That very much depends on how many chips you've got, how bad they are, and what the local franchisee thinks he can get away with. :-D

 

[XIIVVX]

My experience

1) I spotted the Chips Away guy working at a local franchise dealer (Fiat / Alfa )

2) I assumed if he was good enough for them he would be good enough for my 996

3) Spoke to the dealer, they were enthusiastic about him, so I rang him

4) He fixed a nasty chip on one panel and an alloy scuff for £180. No complaints, it's a great job.

They will visit and estimate. So no point in guessing, or asking here, invite him around for a quote.