Wash, Polish and Wax

[PreservedKillick]

Cleaning. Not sure if this has been discussed yet?

If you have a dealer provided ceramic coating, or are not bothered too much and just use the local car wash or the blokes in the supermarket car park, then this post will not interest you.

However, for those of you that like to maintain that better than showroom appearance, here are a few tips. My XC40 is my 4th Black car and I have shelves full of cleaning products, some products were outrageously expensive and are now going in the bin. My last car was Silver so the paintwork was straightforward to keep clean.

I took delivery of the XC40 in March, I’m delighted with it and I’ve washed it twice to date.

The first wash was to really check for any post delivery dents, scratches etc. There were none. After the second wash a few weeks later (remember the constant rain, then pollen dust) I wanted to protect the paint with wax.

At the first opportunity to do so, I did the second wash and discovered a small area of bird poo etching on the bonnet. Annoying, and it will need to be polished out as simple washing will not remove the mark. I’ve ordered Bilt Hamber Cleanser Polish for this minor fix and will reseal again with BH Finis Wax https://www.bilthamber.com/waxes-polish ... /finis-wax
I used this for the first time after the second wash to seal and protect the paint - it is excellent and just right for new car paint. I don’t intend to Polish the car until after a year as I feel the wax every other month will be be just fine. The paintwork is like looking at a Black mirror now - better than the delivery appearance.

Oh, and don’t forget the wheels. The BH wheel cleaner is excellent too.

[Dermottdog]

You wouldn’t happen to be a BH rep by any chance would you

[PreservedKillick]

No...not at all.
I’m just a fan that’s recently discovered them.
I’ve used all sorts of waxes and products over the years, Swiss, American, German. BH are based in Essex.

[Gray1969]

Hi there,
I too have a black xc40, rather naively I did my first wash after I got it and ended up scratching the bonnet with some rather large surface scratches in an arc that obviously came from drying it with grit on the cloth.

I have since done some research on cleaning the car etc, and now use the power washer, snow foam, dry it with a car towel which is kept in the house so it can't be contaminated etc.

My question is, what product would be best to remove these minor surface scratches? I am currently using Auto Glymm products (xmas present) and gave the car a polish after cleaning it the other day, although the car looks amazing, the surface scratches are still there when you look for them in a certain light.

Many thanks.

[Dermottdog]

With regards to the above, I don’t think there is a perfect fix that you as a person could do. It depends how deep the scratches are. They used to do colour polishes in Halfords (other motor accessory stores are available). I think it was made be T-Cut but might be wrong. They did a whole range of colours. The idea was the colour polish would fill and stain the imperfection. It works to a point. I had someone run a key down the side of my Vauxhall Cavalier (remember those). The red polish did a pretty good job at masking a 3 foot long deep scratch. Other suggestions would be something like chips away that would sort it completely with a smart repair. At just over a hundred quid or so, it’s money well spent on a new car

[Plumber64]

Live in a flat on the 1st floor with no access to an outside tap. Used Meguiars wash and wax anywhere yesterday and was very impressed. Went on very easy and ad a pleasant odour to it. Car looked really good. Made a really good job of the glass. I know some of you will say it scratches it but under the circumstances not a lot I can do.

[PreservedKillick]

I have done that before. Again it’s really annoying.

For those grit scratches I would try gentle hand polishing with the BH Cleanser Polish (other products are available ) https://www.bilthamber.com/cleanser-polish

This is what I have ordered to try and remove the bird lime etching mark on my car bonnet.
Wax afterwards to protect it the polished finish.

Hopefully you have only scratched the clear coat. If it’s deeper it may have to be done by a machine polish. I wouldn’t use T-cut as the abrasives may cause more damage.

I would be interested to know how you get on?

[Dermottdog]

I have done that before. Again it’s really annoying.

For those grit scratches I would try gentle hand polishing with the BH Cleanser Polish (other products are available ) https://www.bilthamber.com/cleanser-polish

This is what I have ordered to try and remove the bird lime etching mark on my car bonnet.
Wax afterwards to protect it the polished finish.

Hopefully you have only scratched the clear coat. If it’s deeper it may have to be done by a machine polish. I wouldn’t use T-cut as the abrasives may cause more damage.

I would be interested to know how you get on?

I didn’t mean use T-Cut in the traditional means. This was a polish made by them I think. Equally, it could have been made by Carplan or Turtlewax. The polish would heavily stain your hands when it was used. The product was a polish rather than an abrasive.

[Dermottdog]

Just found this.

[PreservedKillick]

I see what you mean - eventually they discolour or need a reapplication, perhaps as a quick scratch fix before selling the car.

We learn by our mistakes