Most Commonly Asked Detailing Questions

A pre-wash is basically used when the vehicle is particularly dirty with insect and bug splatter and other stubborn stains. It would normally be applied using either a trigger sprayer or some products can be applied using a snow foam lance. Pre-washes are still wax and coating safe but just offer a more aggressive clean when needed. A pre-wash would be used prior to the shampoo stage or even before snow foam as an additional clean before shampooing.

See: Koch-Chemie Vb, ValetPro Citrus Pre-Wash, Stjarnagloss Först X

A snow foam is also used before the shampoo stage to loosen and remove the worst of the road dirt on the vehicle. Depending on the level of dirt on the car, a snow foam alone may struggle with insect splatter and more stubborn stains. This can be easily removed using a bug and insect remover before the shampoo. The Koch Chemie Gentle Snow Foam can be made more aggressive (still very safe) by adding some Green Star to offer more dirt moving properties.

See: Koch-Chemie Gentle Snow Foam, Koch-Chemie Green Star, Bilt Hamber Auto-Foam, CARPRO Lift

If you are new to polishing, then a great starting point is our own Slim’s Detailing DA Polisher. It comes complete with backing pad, a long 6m cable, and a handy Slim’s Bag to keep it in. The polisher is also available as a kit complete with all the compound and pads you could need to correct any paintwork. Choose from Auto Finesse, Malco, Koch Chemie, Meguiar’s, or Chemical Guys. The complete range of options will suit all needs and get you paint correcting as soon as the box arrives at your home.

If you already have compounds at home then you can buy just the machine and three pads made to use with coarse, medium, and fine polishing products.

Ceramic coated cars do not clean themselves! Once a coating hardens, it leaves behind a flat, protective layer which delivers a hydrophobic effect preventing water, dirt, and grime from adhering to surfaces. However, this does not keep the car completely clean of contaminants.

There are many high-quality products out there that will help you to preserve the ceramic coating on your vehicle. You want to stick to pH neutral cleaners which will be gentle on coatings, helping to maintain the protective and hydrophobic properties. After the vehicle is cleaned, ceramic toppers or reactivation shampoos can be used to boost the hydrophobicity and gloss levels, enhancing the look and benefits of your base coating.

See: CARPRO Reset, Koch-Chemie Rs Reactivation Shampoo, ValetPro pH Neutral Snow Foam

NEVER take a ceramic coated vehicle through an automatic car wash and always wash in the shade, away from direct sunlight.

We also have a CARPRO brochure online highlighting the whole process on how to care for your car if you have their CQUARTZ coating on the vehicle. Read about this here.

A ceramic coating is the ultimate protection you can apply to a car to protect the paintwork against the elements such as road salt, UV rays, and bird lime. Ceramic coatings bond to the painted surface offering up to 2 years protection against the elements. If applying a ceramic coating, the vehicle needs to be prepared properly and made sure that the surface is at its best before applying. The coating then needs to be applied following the manufacturer instructions to the letter and allowing the vehicle to dry (usually overnight) before taking on the road.

See: CARPRO CQUARTZ CQ.UK, Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light and EXO, CARPRO QUARTZ Go

It may seem daunting caring for matte and satin finish paint and wraps but ultimately the vehicle can be looked after in a similar way to gloss paint. With matte vehicles it is best to start with what not to do. Strictly no polishing or compounding as these are designed to increase gloss. Do not clay bar as this will damage the matte surface. 

Stick to pH neutral shampoos with no gloss enhancers. CARPRO Reset is our go-to all round shampoo. Take a look at our Matte Shampoo category for specific matte-designed cleaners.

See: CARPRO Reset, Chemical Guys Meticulous Matte

There are sealants and waxes available for matte finishes but DO NOT use any old wax or sealant as these will increase gloss. For a protective ceramic coating only use those which have been tested on, and are safe for, matte vehicles. These products are designed to protect matte paint and prevent staining, etching, UV fading, and damage from environmental contaminants without altering appearance.

See: CARPRO Skin, Gtechniq EXO, Chemical Guys Meticulous Matte Detailer

In summary; no polishing at all by machine or by hand, do not use any regular polish or wax, and no claying or gloss enhancers. Paint correction is to be completed by a bodyshop or, if your finish is a wrap, then return to the wrapper to fix a scuffed or scratched section of the wrap.

A compound is an abrasive, liquid or paste, that will offer cutting properties to remove microscopic layers of paint or lacquer to achieve a mirror finish on your car’s paintwork. Compounds come in different grades: coarse, medium, fine, and ultra-fine. The coarser the compound, the heavier the scratch it will remove. However, when using a coarse compound, you have to understand it will be scratching the paintwork in order to remove the worst imperfections. Be prepared to follow with a medium then fine compound to achieve a good finish. We sell a variety of compound kits so you have all grades available to use!

See: Koch-Chemie Polishing System, Auto Finesse Rev Kit

A glaze generally offers very fine cutting properties. It can be seen as a fine finishing stage after compounding the car to an almost perfect finish to cut and hide any remaining scratches and to leave a high shine. It offers an element of very fine cut and may contain fillers help mask any scratches in the paintwork leaving a finish with no visible blemishes. Modern glazes are used as part of the process of maintaining a "showroom finish" on a car that can then be coated with a ceramic or wax top layer.

See: CARPRO Essence, Auto Finesse Ultra Paint Glaze

Polish is usually a liquid, quick version of a solid wax to wipe on then buff off to a high shine. Most polishes offer a level of protection against the elements but not to the level of a solid carnauba wax or a ceramic protective coating. A polish can be used as a stage before a solid wax is then applied for the ultimate high shine finish.

See: CARPRO Essence+, Koch-Chemie Lack-Polish Green

We have many polishes available in solid and liquid form. Some of them are designed specifically for different colour cars but most of them would work well on all modern cars that are painted in the colour as a base coat and then a clear top-coat is applied. Older cars were painted in the colour which was the gloss coat in the one application, so some polishes were designed to work with specific colours. Others have filling properties matched to the paint work so work specifically well on certain colours as below.

Black: Poorboy's Black Hole is specifically designed for black and dark colour vehicles and contains fillers to hide imperfections and leave a deep wet look shine. Poorboy's Natty Black Paste Wax can be applied over this for extra deep shine and longevity. Soft 99 Fusso Coat Dark is also aimed at black and dark colour cars.

White: Poorboy's White Diamond is specifically designed for white and light colour vehicles and works the same as Black Hole on white or light colours. A hard wax can be applied over the top for added longevity. Soft 99 Fusso Light is creates a clear, high gloss that will superbly accentuate your car’s white / light paint colour.

Dark Colours: Malco Nano Care Blueberry Paste Wax is specifically good for dark colours. It contains an anti-swirl agent to enhance the darker shades of colours such as black, grey, navy, and deep red.

AllColours: The choice is yours! A nice solid paste wax like Koch Chemie Hand Wax will deliver exceptional shine and water repelling properties. There are many other options at varying price points, but these will all work well on a modern painted finish. Bilt Hamber Double Speed-Wax is an easy to use paste wax that provides outstanding durability even after repeated detergent washing.

As a very general rule of thumb, the wetter the wax the less hydrophobic qualities and the less longevity it will have on the panel. On the plus side, the wetter the product - as in spray detailers - the quicker they are to apply. These are generally used when in a hurry after a wash and a quick final shine is required. Some modern detailers are actually made to top up coatings on the vehicle to achieve great shine and hydrophobic qualities. In general Quick Detailers are there to offer just a quick bit of extra shine.

See: CARPRO Elixir, Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer, Koch-Chemie FSE

Liquid waxes will offer a more lasting deeper shine with added protection. Compared to most quick detailers or spray waxes they are also simple to use. Some you wipe on with a cloth and with another clean soft microfibre cloth just buff to a nice finish. Some liquid waxes can be applied using a snow foam lance while others can be machine polished.

See: Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax, Koch-Chemie Pw, Meguiar's Liquid Hybrid Ceramic Wax

Solid wax or paste wax is a slower, more thorough process of applying that deep lasting shine to your paintwork. Normally applied using a small foam or microfibre pad then, using a soft microfibre cloth, buff off to a perfect high shine. This surface will offer a good level of hydrophobic coat which would last 3-6 months depending on the wax used. Many detailers find this the most therapeutic and rewarding part of the process as the results are normally the most eye catching.

See: Koch-Chemie Hand Wax, Bilt Hamber Double-Speed Wax, Bilt Hamber Auto-Balm

The trick to dealing with bird droppings is to get it early enough and to not let it create damage to your paintwork. If left to dry and cake-on, then it can mark the surface of the paint to a point that it can only be corrected with a machine polisher and compound.

Ideally, spray the offending dropping with Koch Chemie Insect and Dirt Remover or Poorboy's Bird Sh#t Remover (yes that is the product name!) and then gently wipe off with a soft microfibre cloth. You may be able to just hose straight off if a hose is to hand. Do not use an abrasive cloth. Carrying one of these products and a cloth in the car is a great way to always be prepared and to stop any damage as soon as possible.

If the dropping has marked the surface or etched into the paint, you should then look to machine polish this area as it is the best way to save your shine. A very cost effective entry level to polishing that would work to remove these marks is the Koch Chemie polishing system matched with our Slim’s Detailing Polisher. This can tackle any kind of paint and leave a perfect finish.

An easy way to convert your Slim’s Detailing DA polisher into a spot polisher is to buy this useful accessory set 75mm Backing Pad Kit. Comes with a hard pad for coarse cutting compound, medium for fine to medium compound, and a super soft pad for finishing or polishing.

Alternatively, you could buy the Slim’s Detailing Spot Polisher kit which contains everything and more to handle spot repairs and polishing on small areas.

A compound that contains a diminishing abrasive makes a lot of sense when explained and very hard to argue against as the principal behind what you should expect from a polishing system. The idea is that the aluminium oxide (the grain or texture that will provide the cut) in the compound will cut at its most aggressive when the compound is first out of the bottle. This aluminium oxide will then wear down as it is continued to be used providing a less aggressive cut the longer it is used until it is transparent and has been completely broken down. Koch Chemie Compounds like M3.02 Micro Cut work using a diminishing abrasive as does CARPRO Ultracut which work best with their wool or microfibre pads.

It is advisable to follow the manufacturer’s instructions about how to get the most from their compound but as a guide, follow a process like this. Before use, the pad should be primed or covered completely with polish so it is not dry. With the machine switched off, apply the polish evenly over the surface to be treated using the pad face to spread across the panel before switching the machine on. Then start the polisher slowly and move crosswise with medium pressure until a transparent film appears, ie, until the aluminium oxide in the polish has completely broken down. Then wipe the surface with a soft microfibre cloth or a CARPRO Boa - a super soft cloth. Then repeat until the area to be corrected is finished.

There really are lots of these available to buy and they all have a place in your kit bag. Below are a few to choose from.

The Martin Cox D Shape Upholstery Brush is a quite coarse brush that will go deep into any shag pile carpet to remove a stubborn stain. The Martin Cox Upholstery Brush is an upgrade on the D Shape brush with a soft rubber coated handle and edge bumpers but fundamentally a similar brush texture excellent for carpets but probably a bit too aggressive for fabric seats unless used gently.

Wheel Woolies Horse Hair Fabric Upholsery Brush is perfectly shaped to fit in the palm of the hand. Soft horse hair bristles make it super safe to use on sensitive surfaces.

Chemical Guys also do a range of brushes that fit in a drill. Different grades - from soft to hard - will attack the toughest of stains and can be used in conjunction with chemical cleaners.