S.B.

How long would it take to clay bar, cleaner fluid and wax the car?

Black evo 5

Iwan

Took me about 12 hours to do the full works on my Impreza, with the odd diet coke break thrown in.

Thank god you don't have to do the full works very often!

S.B.

12 hours


I need to find a gimp to do it for me i think

dba

12 hours my ****,3 tops

S.B.

Bit better

ProperCharlie

it takes a long time. if anyone can do the whole thing in 3 hours, i'd be surprised. it used to take me about an hour just to do the wheels.

eventually i got the rear spoiler nicely teflon waxed and gave up on the rest.

zhastaph

I've just got mine, planning on attacking it this weekend

Trouble is I cant seem to tear myself away from smelling the wax, worth every penny just for that alone

S.B.

I haven't bought any yet Just seeing how long it takes to see if i will have the patience to do the car

Iwan

I suppose that depends whether you're doing a really good job or a $hit job really doesn't it? Having spent £160 on a Swissol kit, i felt it was worth putting some time into it.

I started washing the car at 7.30am, then claybar'd it all over (took at least 2 hours), then another wash, chamois/squeegee, pre-wax cleaner (this took bloody ages), then wax. Finished about 7.30pm or there abouts, and that didn't include cleaning the wheels or interior.

It looked like a mirror afterwards though.

The good news is next time you wash it it's really quick, and to just wax it only takes half an hour or so.

zhastaph

I cant wait, I'm even going to the lengths of buying a pressure washer and butchering the pipework in the kitchen to give me and outside tap

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I'd like to see someone do it PROPERLY in 3 hours.

By that I mean remove every trace of old wax, chemical fallout, tar, tree-sap/pollen and carbon deposits off the whole of the bodywork before applying anything to the bodywork. This may mean having to go over the car 2 or 3 times.

Took me 6 hours to get the car to a stage where I could re-apply any wax. And I used to do it for a living as a kid

And my car looked spotless before I started - although on very very close inspection the car was littered in very fine carbon deposits - which silver tends to show up.

carl

Get Mark U to do it. He loves black cars

S.B.

Sounds like a lot of work to me

TelBoy

The first time *does* take a long time, if you do it properly.

BUT - is is worth it. If your car is garaged you'll only have to claybar it once a year or so - maybe not even that, and re-wax it every three months or so. If you've seen two cars side by side, one which has been claybarred and the other which hasn't, the difference will become immediately obvious.

jaycee

The first time I gave a car the full treatment it took about 8 hours non-stop. It was on a reddish-blue MY97 and to be honest I wasn't that impressed.
I'm doing the STI in stages after work and the paint "feels" much cleaner but I still haven't got a really deep shine. The mrs thinks I must be mad to spend all the time and money on it. She could be right.

Jason

TelBoy

Jaycee, and that's with claybar treatment, pre-wax oil, and Teflon wax??

jaycee

The whole lot Tel. For what it cost I'm finding it hard to justify.

Jason

carl

What colour's the car, jaycee?

jaycee

WR Blue. I've seen some of the cars in the members gallery and the shine could blind you! Perhaps with it being new it's as shiny as it gets??

Jason

TelBoy

And you've never used any other cleaning products, or car washes, on it?

Tarquin Po

Turtle wax is better. Place round the corner from me has it on special at the moment

jaycee

LOL @ Tarquin! Swissol all the way Tel. Only had the car 4 weeks and the pre-delivery valet wasn't up to much, sticky residue all over the place, looked like somebody had just given it a wipe over. It's certainly cleaner now but lacks that deep shine.

Jason

TelBoy

Difficult to know what else to suggest without seeing it. Have you spoken to Fulham71 or Mark Underwood to see if they have any further suggestions? It's a shame you're not satisfied with it - i've heard of very few similar cases.

Tarquin Po

Get Mark to do a full treatment on it. Had mine done just after delivery, took him the whole day, but it really is outstanding, even though it doesn't show as well on my silver one compared to my old black one.

jaycee

I'm going to PM Paul and see if he can offer any advice. Thanks for taking the time though. I've also got lots of very fine scratches over the car now and not sure whats caused it.

Jason

jaycee

How much did that cost Tarquin? PM me if you would prefer.

Jason

Fulham71

Jaycee

No mail ;o)

jaycee

You have now Paul!

messiah

12 hours sounds about right

1. Rinse 1
2. Soft Wash
3. Rinse 2
4. Dry 1
5. Clay Bar
6. Rinse 3
7. Dry 2
8. Paint Cleaner On
9. Paint Cleaner Off
10. Polish On
11. Polish Off
12. Wax On
13. Wax Off.

F**K me - didn't realise I did all that! no wonder it was 12 hours!