Newbie - Help needed = Cleaning black S2000

[taffyb]

Hi all,

Introductions first - I'm brent, i suppose fairly new to the detailing world, keen to learn & as always grateful for any help, tips, advice etc.

Right lets get started - As i'm sure your all aware, Spring is round the corner & no doubt those stupid gits playing scalectrix stood in front of a big map of the uk will promise us beautiful sunshine & warm weather, its time to get the cars out & do some driving !!!

Therefore, with some hope in our heads that "this year will be better than last year & will actually involve some nice weather" i'm sure many of us will go out cleaning their cars in preparation. And so:

I've had my Berlina Black / Red Leather S2000 since early Oct & due to crap weather & conditions i've not yet been able to give it a good clean/wax etc.

Granted i've tried to keep on top of all the winter crap & so far managed to do the following:

Not long after bought - once over with some "Autoglyn Super Resin" & "Ultra Gloss".

Just before Xmas - "Meguirs Wheel Cleaner", "Autoglyn Intensive Tar Remover" & "Autoglyn Super Resin", a wheel brush & tooth brush on the wheels.

Used the "Autoglyn Vinyl & Rubber Care" on my roof a few times now, good but keep getting it all over the paint work as soon as it rains. DOH

Given the Leather some "Meguirs Leather care" stuff just before xmas & i clean the car a "Meguirs Hand Mitt" & "Autoglyn Car shampoo" usually once every 3 wks.

So, although i've done a fair bit of searching & reading up on this site & some others, got a bit bamboozled as whats best to do (realistically) to get the best results.

I would obviously like to get the car looking its best, but unfortunately dont have a garage & cant throw hundreds at it to get it done by a pro.

Therefore - could anyone advise whats the best actions to take? On all aspects, exterior, wheels, interior, roof, engine bay etc.

Products - ideally off the shelf, but if that much more beneficial can do mail order. Time - Unfortunately stuck to wkends only. Dedication - I do enjoy it & get to know the car better. Equipment - Hands only, unless i can get a cheapish machine. Car - its BLACK !! Some minor stone chips & hair line scratches, 1 kinda deep scratch about 1cm on front right wing, lots & lots of swirls unfortunately, Oh & some black spots/marks that i cant seem to remove from my alloys?

Once again any help much appreciated on all aspects.

Thanks for your time

Brent

[vandermurfy]

hi Brent, well, that is an absolutely super car, to do it justice, I suggest that you give it the full zaino treatment, but, this is long, so very looooong and laborious. The best thing for you to do is order the Ultima kit, which has r shampoo, paint prep plus(which is the wax coat for want of another meaning) and the applicators and a soft white towel. I use an orbital polisher/shiner to apply, but if you're using elbow grease, then when applying the Paint prep plus, apply sparingly to the applicator, too much on the applicator will cause the wax to streak, kinda unsightly, but still ok, it's repairable, with more elbow grease. after applying, allow the polish/wax to set. about 10 minutes and watch the shine come out. If there is streaking, wait for the polish to set fully, buff off the next day, it should be grand, but after that, all you have to do is wash your car and then just dry and buff it again and it will still come out gleaming as though you waxed it. Hope this helps you.

[vandermurfy]

actually, i didn't take into account your swirl marks and scrapes, swirl removal pastes are out there, go to the shopping section of autopia.org at the top of this forum, and check out the home page forum, the request for swirl removal comes up over and over, and the best way to remove swirls is with an orbital machine, autopia have a kit with the orbital machine and that would be well worth buying, I know it,s from the USA but they have the 220volt one of which I have one. the $/£ rate is advantageous for you so go shopping now, it is so well worth it.