To Wax Or Not To Wax, That Is The Question?

Since my previous article on the preliminary stages of preparing my cars, it seems I have been on the road so much that I cannot quite believe it that 2 months have passed by ! 

So, here is part 2 of how I keep our big cats looking brilliant most of the time, written in a cafe when on a wait period in the Pennines before taking clients back down south.

Equipment

Once again, I make no apology that all the products I use, are from one supplier who have proved to be so reliable in their customer service, and supply great products that do ‘what it says on the tin’ so to speak - shout out to The Clay Cloth Company.

The kit that I take with me on journeys to ensure I can deliver my car in pristine condition includes the following:

• Multiple micro fibre towels and cloths

• CCC Detailing Spray

• Killerwaxx window spray

• Killerwaxx leather cleaner

• Killerwaxx No 1Moon Shine

• Not forgetting some rubber gloves to protect my hands

Using the above products and being aware of the dirt collecting in the cloths and therefore, using fresh ones ensures the paintwork is not damaged by cleaning without water.

What do I do if it is raining

Quite simply the best I can do when it is still raining, is to use the large micro fibre towels to wipe the car down from the dirt picked up on the journey to a place near my client. This may take 3 large towels using a clean area of the towel as much as possible.

If it is no longer raining, after cleaning and drying the car, I can use the detailing wax spray.

Bearing in mind, I am wearing my chauffeur’s uniform ( the cap and jacket stay in the car! ) when cleaning and waxing the car, and when the weather is or has been bad, I wear a light jacket over my shirt. 

I have been known to wax my car in such places as supermarket car parks, church car parks, on the roadside, recreation ground parking areas - in fact anywhere and even under moon light. It’s surprising how much you can see in the dark when your eyes adjust. The main consideration is always safety though!

So the order in which I do the panels is important to avoid getting my cloths wet or dirty..

Sides first ( not forgetting inside the doors ), then back end and front end, followed by the roof. Once the paint work and windows are complete, I then move onto the alloys.

Nothing like a good old waxing!

After doing the above process, comes detailing wax using the fine micro fibre cloth and then the fluffy micro fibre to buff up. Yes, the alloys also get a good waxing to return the shine once again.

Killerwaxx Moonshine is not used before every client job, but I carry it with me just in case I notice some swirl or scratch marks.

Windows

As mentioned in my previous article, currently I use Killerwaxx Extreme Window Cleaner. Glass gets very warm in the sun and the real added bonus with this product is that you can spray it on a hot window and it will not evaporate, steam away or streak like all others on the market.

Leathers

Again as previously covered in my previous article, Killerwaxx Premium Leather Cleaner cleans and lifts away dirt and oil build up on all types of leather. Cleaner will not dissolve the natural oils found in leather. This is not always used on each job, but I carry it with me just in case it is needed.

The whole above process is done just before I present the car to a client, just a mile or two from the collection address, and takes between 20 and 40 minutes depending on how dirty the weather has been.

So there you have it - no doubt other products are out there that you may be used to and that provide the quality you require, but it is always good to know that CCC have the product you need which comes with a full recommendation from their many satisfied customers - plug over and done!

Do follow me on other social media platforms (@dbexectravel) where I post regular updates of where I am - I might even start a competition to see who can come up with the area or even the location where I am waxing down - keep in touch and see you soon!

Its all in the Preparation

One of the many questions I get asked is how do I manage to clean my car after a journey in such a short time, and when on a client job?

Preparation

So, before I answer that one, I thought I would first explain the preparation work that goes into ensuring our big cats have a protective cover over them that helps to reduce the amount of dirt that actually sticks to the body work.

I make no apology that all the products I use are from one supplier who have proved to be so reliable in their customer service, and supply great products that ‘do what it says on the tin’ so to speak - shout out to The Clay Cloth Company.

When a Deep Clean is Needed

When our cars are covered in heavy dirt, they are treated to snow foam using a lance and jet wash. This is the first treatment when the dirt is softened without any physical contact to the car at all.

After leaving for 10 minutes, acting as a pre-soak, the car is then jet washed again.

Now its time to use shampoo, and a wash mitt, to wash the car normally. I use a woollen mitt as it is gentle on the car’s paintwork, and then, after another jet wash, dry the car with a micro fibre towel, which is much more efficient than using a leather chamois.

Just to confirm I only use snow foam when the car is extremely dirty. The above process is repeated except the snow foam for every wash when back at our base.

Preparing for a deep polish and wax

After doing the above process except the drying part, I use a clay cloth when I am preparing the car for a deep polish and wax. This I only do when the weather is planned to be fine for the day, as polish and wax are essential after using the clay cloth, which has the below functions:

• Removes bonded contaminants

• Before polishing provides a clean canvas

• Prevents dragging particles across the panel

After claying, I then dry using the micro fibre drying towel.

Polish and Wax - why both?

Car polish is a product that uses fine amounts of abrasive compounds in order to remove very very fine layers of the top coat to flatten out the surface to ensure an equal reflection of the light, thus producing a highly polished look. The polish I use is ‘Killerwaxx No 1 Moon Shine’

Wax in its natural form can come as vegetable waxes, carnauba, animal and bees wax to name a few. It's these natural properties of some of these waxes that make them ideal for use in car waxes, with the most popular for use in the automotive industry being carnauba wax. The wax I use is 'Killerwaxx Carnauba Paste Wax’.

Wax can be referred to the product that provides a seal to protect the shine produced by the polish.

Both are applied using micro fibre clothes and are very easy to use compared to the products I used when polishing my fathers cars!

Windows

Currently I use Killerwaxx Extreme Window Cleaner. Glass gets very warm in the sun and the real added bonus with this product is that you can spray it on a hot window and it will not evaporate, steam away or streak like all others on the market.

Alloys & Tyres

CCC Devil's Mist Fallout Remover & Wheel Cleaner  is really great for providing the sparkle on those alloys and turns red due to the chemical reaction during use which will indicate contamination!

Killerwaxx Tyre Gel produces a rich, long lasting, high gloss on rubber. vinyl and plastic.

Leathers

Killerwaxx Premium Leather Cleaner cleans and lifts away dirt and oil build up on all types of leather. Cleaner will not dissolve the natural oils found in leather.

Killerwaxx Premium Leather Conditioner seals and protects the surface from wear and tear and will bring the original luster look and feel back.

So above is the process and products that I currently use in preparation for making sure our cars are well protected. The whole above process is only done about 2 or 3 times a year. I will leave the process I perform on each client job for another blog.

Using DoDo for Claying

This is the final part of the mini series on how I prepare our cars for weddings and executive travel and specifically steps 5, 8 & 9 I mentioned in the first blog on the series a few weeks ago. 

• Use a clay cloth with juice to remove the deeper road grime

• Apply deep polish to remove swirls etc and polish off with clean microfibre cloth

• Apply deep carnauba wax to lock in the shine and give further protection and buff up with clean microfibre cloth

Initially, it is all about preparing the surfaces ready for polish, which is done with the clay cloth. Some people use a clay bar or clay mitt and which ever you use is all about personal preference. Although I am not sponsored by them, I have been giving a shout out to the supplier I buy all my detailing products from and this edition is no exception, so once again The Clay Cloth Company (CCC) have all these products online and I fully recommend them and their service, and a lot of the detail descriptions I have been giving of these products is taken from their website.

So what is a clay cloth used for and why? It is an effective method of removing bonded contaminants from the surface of exterior automotive finishes and glass. Decontamination of the paint surface is critical in order to take correct care of automotive paintwork for a multitude of reasons. For exceptional results using clay car cleaning products, the removal of contaminates before polishing provides a clean canvas, preventing  dragging particles across the panel during the polishing stage which will actually produce a marring effect, resulting in a duller finish. Marring can only be corrected by machine polishing with compound, to restore the lustre; this process can be both time consuming and expensive even for the professional and  is not without risk either. Poor skill levels when machine  polishing can produce burn through, which will require a  visit to the body shop. Other potential hazards include leaving swirl marks or compound trapped in awkward areas, which look unsightly. 

Having mentioned the above, currently I do not use a machine polisher, and that is one of my next acquisitions, so at the moment I polish and wax by hand.

To assist the clay cloth process, I also use Dodo Juice from the CCC, which applied with shampoo and water, help keep the clay cloth moist and working most effectively.

Once the surfaces have ben fully clayed, rinsed and dried off the next stage is applying the polish.

Currently, I use ‘A Grade Refinishing Glaze’, which is a very easy on and easy off polish that can be worked into the surface, providing a good base upon which to apply the wax.

I use Killerwaxx Carnauba Paste Wax which again is very easy on and easy off, which includes Grade #1 Brazilian Carnauba Wax which is 100% pure. It's the strongest you're going to find on the market and will provide valuable protection for 6 months. In my experience, the shine is like no other. 

It has been said in the detailing trade that it is difficult to get a deep long lasting shine on silver cars, and as you will know by now our Jaguar XFS is silver and we make sure that our clients travel in a clean and shiny vehicle to all their destinations.

Finally to answer the question about how frequently to I wash and clean the cars - this depends on the frequency of the weddings and executive travel jobs we do. 

Our commitment is to ensure that our cars are in a pristine condition inside and out every time we present them to our clients, so although they may leave our base in that condition, when we travel to pick up a client, we stop a short distance away and check the cars over and if necessary, wipe them down with a microfibre towel, applying water if necessary and sometimes apply more detailing carnauba wax. 

You will also notice when I remember that I use detailing gloves - recommended if you are planning to use any products on a very frequent basis.

Thank you for taking the time to read this series which is not an attempt to provide a tutorial, but just a guide to what we do to prepare our cars.

It's Snowing in Summer!

Continuing the mini series on preparing our cars for either weddings or our executive travel services, one of my favourite stages is applying the snow foam.

So why do I use snow foam as the initial step and is this done every time and what is it? 

I snow foam only when the car is really filthy as a pre-wash stage.

A pre-wash, utilising snow foam is extremely effective as softening damaging particles, traffic film, bugs and bird droppings before you carry out a hand wash and it works by drawing these away from the paint surface, wheels and any area where snow foam is applied. 

The ValetPro snow foam I use, is essential to prevent swirl marks, scratches and any other damage being created from these damaging particles which can easily occur during conventional washes without a pre-wash. The key is remove as much dirt as possible without actually touching the paint surface!

At this stage, it would be helpful to let you know where I purchased most if not all, of my cleaning supplies from, which is The Clay Cloth Company (CCC). Quick ‘shout out’ to them as they have been most helpful and are always available should I have any queries on the ‘how to’ for any task.

Snow foam is applied with a jet wash, but by attaching a snow foam lance which the water goes through with the soap foam solution being mixed with the water at predetermined levels. Snow foam provides a layer of white foam which completely covers your vehicle and this is left to work its wonder, usually for approx 10-15 minutes.

Then, the car is jet washed as normal, leaving much less dirt on it than before.

Afterwards, I use cherry snow foam, as a shampoo supplied as above with a lambswool wash mitt and dry off with microfibre drying towels.

I used to use a sponge and leather chamois which I had being doing since I first washed my cars back in the 70’s, but changed to a mitt and drying towel when we went professional last year, with much better results.

You may have heard people talk about using a clay cloth or clay bar, indeed I mentioned this process last week. I will leave this however, to a later time when I will explain the extra processes needed when performing a deep polish and wax on the vehicle.

Once the surfaces are totally dry, the shine can be enhanced by using detailing spray, which applies carnauba wax to the paint surfaces. The product I use now is CCC’s own Detailing Spray Waterless Valet, which is applied by a spray bottle and worked in with a softest and most scratch resistant microfibre cloth available on the market - or so I am led to believe! This requires very little effort - honest!

The finish is amazing, but is fully dependant upon the work done before and that includes the deep polish and waxing I mentioned but have not yet explained. 

Finally, for windows I use Killerwaxx Extreme Window Cleaner (no spelling mistake there!!), again with a Microfibre Professional Glass Cloth. The results are again incredible and I have never failed to have a smear free windscreen or windows. Fully recommended!

Still to come, is wheel and alloy treatment as well as exhaust pipes, how to prepare the inside of the car, and also clay cloth, polish and waxes. As you are beginning to appreciate, cleaning a car is not just about splashing on some shampoo and drying off - preparation is key to the way we present ourselves to clients whether for awedding or corporate travel, airport transfers, events or special occasions. We aim to provide an immaculate car to every client, every time whatever the weather.

So, I have 2 weddings and an airport transfer coming up this weekend, so I’m off to clean a car. Bye for now!