Your best tips for wash, wax, polish, buff, detail in prep for a sale

[Osteomata]

The wife and I are putting our cars up for sale. By that I mean the Suzuki X90 and the Audi A4. In prep for that, I need to get them looking fantastic and photo ready. So... my washing/wax technique is very basic: whatever soap I have around, whatever care wax is on the shelf, whatever rag is available. But I sense that I am missing some critical info. So without spending hundreds on arcane products, what are you top tips, products, techniques for turning a slightly dirty but decent paint condition car into a shining example of poster ready automotive excellence? Particularly: do I need a clay bar? Do I use a light rubbing compound? Are most waxes sufficient? Do I need an orbital polisher? What about rims, especially alloy rims?

[VX KAT]

Here's a thread from Bart outlining he bought the Griot's Garage kit to get a fantastic outcome on his black paint. It had lots of trail rash, and these products made it look amazing.

I bought the same kit he bought (from Amazon, but just last month I paid $120...now it's $199 :freek:...what the heck??)
Look around other sites, maybe you can find it cheaper or even look at any of the name brand auto care kits, like Meguiar's etc...

Definitely pick up some good quality microfiber towels for this project. You probably don't need to buy Griot's towels for this project, but definitely get some microfiber towels to have on hand.

That kit comes with basically everything you need to do your 1.5 (:p) cars to get them looking their best for sale....although I "think" you might need an additional clay bar...not sure...
I haven't used my kit yet as it's been too hot....but hopefully next month I can start.

So for roughly about $100/car you will get them looking their best and maybe get a little more in the sales price.

http://vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=20609&highlight=griot%27s

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003V3XBCM

[Y33TREKker]

I posted a few comments in this thread about polishing and what I personally use.

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=18710&highlight=%22clearcoat+polish%27

And while I thought there were just as many other VX's with paint jobs that looked just as nice as mine, I got a few compliments on my results in this thread.

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=14685&highlight=%22clearcoat+polish%27&page=5 (Starting at post #68)

When doing a full exterior detail, these are usually my basic steps:

Wash
Clay Bar
Polish with orbital buffer (I use a slow speed buffer)
Wax

[VXjunky]

boy the Zuke-X90 didnt last you long

[Etfren]

Just check out any of the major detailing sites (Autopia, Griot's Garage, Autogeek, etc.) and they should all have some how to articles on the basics then pick which products you like and have at it. A good wash, clay bar and wax only takes about 3-4 hours so even without getting into polishing you can make them look a lot better easily and cheap. Just make sure you have a good washmit a lots of good microfibers. Meguiar's towels are my favorite.

[Osteomata]

boy the Zuke-X90 didnt last you long

No kidding! It comes down to not really having the lifestyle that allows for a 3rd car (I have to street park it in a city), and the x90 not being comfortable enough for my daily driver. If I had a house and a garage, man I would so keep it.

[Osteomata]

great advice, thanks all. I will go down and take inventory to see if it is best to buy a kit or fill in my gaps at this point.

[Y33TREKker]

Then again, if you're considering selling, it may be just as cost effective to take both vehicles somewhere to be professionally detailed and roll that cost into the purchase prices, because when you consider the cost of purchasing detailing supplies (it sounds like you'd actually have to buy a buffer) plus the time involved...

[Etfren]

Then again, if you're considering selling, it may be just as cost effective to take both vehicles somewhere to be professionally detailed and roll that cost into the purchase prices, because when you consider the cost of purchasing detailing supplies (it sounds like you'd actually have to buy a buffer) plus the time involved...

That's why I recommended to not even bothering with the polishing step since he is just putting them up for sale. Unless they have some pretty significant scratches all over the whole car, a good cleaner wax with another coat of a nicer wax on top will make it look great without the need to get buffing stuff if you are only planning to use it for the pre-sale prep. If it does have some small localised blemishes you want to fix a hand applied compound will work as a cheap alternative.

I like to use Meguiar's cleaner wax if I'm doing a detail that doesn't involve polishing and then after that cures for a day, put a coat of nice wax on top. Here is a picture of my dad's truck that I did. No polish, just a wash, clay, cleaner wax and then Meg's NXT 2.0 for a final coat. The clay had the biggest affect on it I think. Polishing it is on my list of things to do though, but its a daily driver and work truck so its racking up new scuffs and scratches all the time.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/Etfren/Cars/030.jpg

Here is our old Blazer right before we sold it. I did the same, just a good clay bar and only one coat of wax for this one and it looked great for the sale and the new owners were really happy with it.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/Etfren/Cars/123.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/Etfren/Cars/174.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/Etfren/Cars/175.jpg

I don't think a professional detail is worth it for a private sale IMO. For a dealer its to be expected, but for a private sale as long as its clean inside and out to a reasonable level, its good enough.

[vt_maverick]

That's why I recommended to not even bothering with the polishing step since he is just putting them up for sale. Unless they have some pretty significant scratches all over the whole car, a good cleaner wax with another coat of a nicer wax on top will make it look great without the need to get buffing stuff if you are only planning to use it for the pre-sale prep. If it does have some small localised blemishes you want to fix a hand applied compound will work as a cheap alternative.

I like to use Meguiar's cleaner wax if I'm doing a detail that doesn't involve polishing and then after that cures for a day, put a coat of nice wax on top. Here is a picture of my dad's truck that I did. No polish, just a wash, clay, cleaner wax and then Meg's NXT 2.0 for a final coat. The clay had the biggest affect on it I think. Polishing it is on my list of things to do though, but its a daily driver and work truck so its racking up new scuffs and scratches all the time.


+1 - Right on the money. Here's what I use, it's certainly not super top-end, but you get great results:


Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash or NXT Generation Car Wash
Wool Wash Mitt
Meguiar's Cleaner Wax (fabulous for covering scratches and removing water spots)
Meguiar's NXT Generation 2.0 Wax (use it as a second coat as Etfren said)
Meguiar's Microfiber Wax Applicator (comes in the NXT 2.0 box, or you can buy them separately - far superior to terry cloth applicators IMHO)
Eagle One Glass Cleaner (cleans glass without leaving streaks, great for when you need to detail in the sun)
Meguiar's Endurance Tire Gel (aka Grape Jelly - leaves nice shine that lasts)
Tire Swipes (these are like $1 each and make applying tire gel much easier)
Meguiar's Gold Class Leather Protectant Wipes (super quick to apply with wipes)


Some folks may chime in for Armor-All on the interior, but personally I don't like the super high-gloss look - Meguiar's Interior and Exterior Trim Cleaner leaves a much darker, more subtle look.

All of the above can probably be had for $75 or less. :thumbup:

[VX KAT]

Some folks may chime in for Armor-All on the interior, but personally I don't like the super high-gloss look - Meguiar's Interior and Exterior Trim Cleaner leaves a much darker, more subtle look.

I use 303 on the interior...not shiny, and leaves the panels and dash a little darker and rich looking.

[Etfren]

Looks like I'm not the only Meguiar's fan here. :) I don't really like Armour-All's super shiny affect either, but I love the non-glossy/greasy Meguiar's natural shine interior quick detailer. I am planning to get some 303 to try next time I order more stuff, I've heard good stuff about for a long time now.

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound works great for hand polishing though. It's what I used to do my friend's entire VX and used it for some smaller spots on a couple of my families cars and it works great.

[circmand]

If real dirty get a cheap car wash 1st to get the majority off.
I find washing it 1st thing in the AM when it is still dewy works great. The water coming up off the metal seems to lift the dirt
Dontforget a Shammy to dry it so its doesnt spot

[rowhard]

I found this outfit to be pretty good to do business with. http://store.carcareonline.com/ They will sell you everything you need of course and carry many brands.

Larry, the guy behind it has written some great how - to articles on actually what your asking about with some great humor,. (example, talking about brake dust - The only sure way to stop all this etching/burning/flocculating (sounds kind of kinky) is to refrain from using your brakes. Such a course of action is not usually desirable, even though some drivers are proponents. So give it a look:bwgy:

[Osteomata]

OK I have bought some stuff, but am not sure I got it right:
Meguiar's Claybar kit
Meguiar's NXT Generation 2.0 Wax BUT i bought the paste and it has a spongy looking applicator. Should I have gotten the liquid instead? I still have receipts etc so...
A pack of microfiber towels. Are these just for buffing or is this for washing, drying, and application of the wax or polish as well?

I have not bought a special wash, just use dishwashing detergent usually. Bad?
And I have not yet invested in either polish or an orbital buffer. Still considering.

[VX KAT]

And I have not yet invested in either polish or an orbital buffer. Still considering.

Hey Jack....since I just got the Griot's random orbital buffer, I have this one I can sell you if you're interested. PM me.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000077CPT?ie=UTF8&tag=acer-travelmate-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000077CPT

[Osteomata]

Still hoping for some guidance and the answer to a couple of questions:
OK I have bought some stuff, but am not sure I got it right:
Meguiar's Claybar kit
Meguiar's NXT Generation 2.0 Wax BUT i bought the paste and it has a spongy looking applicator. Should I have gotten the liquid instead? I still have receipts etc so...
A pack of microfiber towels. Are these just for buffing or is this for washing, drying, and application of the wax or polish as well?

I have not bought a special wash, I just use dishwashing liquid usually. Bad?
And I have not yet invested in either polish or an orbital buffer. Still considering.

Kat, looking into it, I will let you know.

[VX KAT]

Still hoping for some guidance and the answer to a couple of questions:
OK I have bought some stuff, but am not sure I got it right:
Meguiar's Claybar kit
Meguiar's NXT Generation 2.0 Wax BUT i bought the paste and it has a spongy looking applicator. Should I have gotten the liquid instead? I still have receipts etc so...
A pack of microfiber towels. Are these just for buffing or is this for washing, drying, and application of the wax or polish as well?

I have not bought a special wash, I just use dishwashing liquid usually. Bad?
And I have not yet invested in either polish or an orbital buffer. Still considering.

Kat, looking into it, I will let you know.

For this purpose Os I think what you bought already is just fine, and
Dishwashing liquid is said to strip wax off, so yes you can go ahead and use dishwashing liquid as you're going to wax the entire car so no problem.

Again for this purpose, the paste NXT will be fine.

Don't bother using the "good" microfiber towels washing or drying, reserve them for removing polish/wax if you don't get a Random Orbital Buffer. Turn the towel frequently so you're using a "clean" area as much as possible when removing wax or polish.

[Etfren]

OK I have bought some stuff, but am not sure I got it right:
Meguiar's Claybar kit
Meguiar's NXT Generation 2.0 Wax BUT i bought the paste and it has a spongy looking applicator. Should I have gotten the liquid instead? I still have receipts etc so...
A pack of microfiber towels. Are these just for buffing or is this for washing, drying, and application of the wax or polish as well?

I have not bought a special wash, just use dishwashing detergent usually. Bad?
And I have not yet invested in either polish or an orbital buffer. Still considering.

If you are getting a car ready to clay/polish/wax/whatever then dish soap is great as it will remove any wax that is currently on the car. After you wax it though, its best to use a car specific wash formula so it doesn't take the wax off.

I much prefer the paste was actually. Its a lot easier and more precise to apply it than liquid wax, plus the spongy applicator you mention works great. Just make sure you keep the plastic thingy that seperates it from the wax and store it just like it is when its new. A friend of mine has a tin of it and he left the sponge sitting on the wax and the sponge is all nasty looking now and the wax is cracked and dried out. Looks to me like the sponge sucked the moisture out of the paste while it was sitting there and dried it out.

I usually let my cars air dry, but I know I have good water that won't leave spots. You can get a big microfiber drying towel. There are a few different types, the waffleweave ones I've heard work the best, but I dunno. Use the regular ones for wiping the quick detailer you use with the c;ay and for buffing the wax off.