Decontamination: Clay Lubricant

Clay Lubricant in process

What is a Clay Lubricant and Why Do I Need One?

Specialising in Car Detailing, Project Detail Melbourne and Sydney will be covering a series of articles focusing on decontamination and in this post, we will be discussing about Clay Lubricants and why they are crucial in for decontaminating your vehicle to achieve the best results. 

You could read our previous article on how to about clay bars by clicking here.

Clay bar is what we called a physical (or mechanical by some detailers) decontamination. There is chemical and physical. Chemical is used to dissolve and remove contaminations via chemicals such as iron fallout remover, tar remover etc. It is best suited for cars that are already has been applied with Ceramic Quartz Coatings or brand new cars that does not have much contaminants. Clay bar removes contaminants physically by adhering the contaminants into the clay bar while you glide it across the surface. 

Clay bar by itself is very sticky, it needs a lubricant to be able to glide across the surface, picking up all the contaminants in the paintwork. That is why a lubricant is crucial in physical decontamination, by using the wrong technique or clay lubricant can leave minor scratches and marring on the paintwork, especially on a softer paint. 

Amateurs often use soapy water from their buckets as clay lubricant. 

Misconception 

Soapy water, quick detailer and spray waxes are the most common "lubricant" car owners and amateur detailers use as a clay lube. While they might work fine, but those chemicals are not designed to use as a clay lube. Therefore the clay bar itself might not be performing as well as using a proper clay lubricant. Worst case, it might cause marring or even scratches that requires paint correction to properly remove them. 

Concours Purify - Clay Lube with Iron Remover 2-in-1 for effective decontamination

Clay lubricant - The Correct way 

Using a dedicated clay lubricant is crucial when comes to clay barring your car. Without a proper lubricant, your car might risk getting marring or getting scratched. After a bucket wash and rinse, spray plenty of clay lube and start claying. Small sections at a time to avoid claying over a dry area. 

Some companies recently came up with a cutting edge clay lubrication by adding iron remover into their clay lube, it removes 20% to 40% more contaminants. 

We hope this article helped you gained more understanding on decontamination. Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions in regards to car detailing by clicking here. 

Top 5 Myths of Car Detailing

Myth Busting Car Detailing

At Project Detail, we often hear people discuss about how they wash or detail their cars. We realised that there are quite a lot of myths, uncertainties and guesswork  surrounding in the topic of car detailing. Here at Project Detail Studio, we are going to discuss the Top 5 Myths of Car Detailing. 

Snow Foam Pre-Wash, as part of our 21-Stage Wash and Decontamination

Myth #1 - Car Wash and Car Detailing is the same

Myth:

 Car Wash and Car Detailing are pretty much the same, just different names. Their job is to clean cars and make sure they are well cleaned. 

Fact:

The services at a car wash cafes are completely different to what proper Detailers offer. For starters Car Detailing is a lot more than just a wash.

In fact, the car wash takes up less than 15% of what detailers do. When a car is washed by us, we follow up with a full vehicle decontamination that safely removes above-surface contamination that can't be removed by a simple 2-bucket method wash. Our sole goal, is to now only wash and clean the vehicle but do so in the most gentle manner to avoid swirls and defects from quick and improper washing.

We then follow up with an extensive paint polishing to remove below-surface contaminations such as blemishes, minor scratches, swirl marks etc to refine the paintwork to be close to brand new condition, or sometimes even better. After all those steps, we then apply a premium last step product (aka LSP) for short or long term protection. 

50/50 Before and after shot, achieved by Paint Correction

Myth #2 - Save money by hand polishing cars myself

Myth:

It is not necessary to hire a detailer to polish cars when I can just buy some products and polish the cars myself. I could save myself some money. 

Fact:

This myth used to be a fact back in the 70s where base-clear coat paint system hasn't been introduced and the paintwork back in the day are all single stage paint and paint oxidisation can be removed by polishing with hand. But in recent years, after base-clear coat paint system introduced, base-clear coat paint is way too hard and it is impossible to hand polish to a good result. Products you find on the shelf of auto stores are mainly glazes, waxes or sealants which contains fillers and resin that does not contain any abrasives to level the minor scratches and blemishes out. They simply 'fill' or 'mask' the imperfections so it looks good for a short period of time, but the effect is not permanent.

Paint Correction (aka cut and polish, buffing, polishing etc.) performed by professional detailers are permanent results that will not be washed away or come back after a week or two. 

The weekend warrior or car enthusiast might see the value of buying equipment themselves to polish their cars to save money. We respect the enthusiasm but however keep it mind the cost will be more than hiring a professional detailer and the results won't be as good compared to a professional detailer. Machine polishers, compounds, cloths, chemicals and miscellaneous products such as masking tape's cost will be about to $1500 to $2000. Not to mention you'll need to learn how to use them properly in order to achieve good results. 

BMW M5 + P-01A + BC-04 Coating, Curing with IR Lamps

Myth #3 - New cars doesn't need Paint Protection

Myth:

Modern clear coats are design to resist UV and it can protect itself, especially modern hard clear coats and self-healing technology. Getting a detailer to apply a good paint protection would be a waste of money and I don't see a value in that. Paint Protection are rubbish anyway. No paint protection product can resist bird poo baking under the sun on paint. Just buy a $10 wax and apply every month, that's the best protection you can get. 

Fact:

Clear coats are only designed to resist UV to an extent. Long exposure to the sun's UV rays (especially in Australia) will lead to clear coat fading and failure. While European, luxury and high end vehicles certainly have better quality paint, it is by no means impervious to UV, swirls or scratches.

Waxing your car is a good way to protect to some extend but not all. We did several test with conventional wax, sealant and coatings. Wax does not protect your car from chemical etching such as bird/bat poo, sealant does a okay job as long as it haven't been sit on the paint surface for too long.

Meanwhile Ceramic Quartz Coatings were resistant to chemicals of pH 2-11, UV and even physical resistance such as micro marring and very light swirl marks. Coatings are usually considered as permanent due to their inability to be washed away from regular washes and they require good preparation stages for the coating to perform well.
 

Masking is crucial as part of the preparation process for Paint Correction

Myth #4 - Paint Correction is the same as Cut and Polish

Myth: Any detailers that claim they offer paint correction is exactly the same as cut and polish. It's just an marketing term detailers use as a marketing term for a huge price markup. 

Fact: Cut and polish is not just using a paste/liquid compound that you apply using a foam hand applicator and "polish" the paintwork that many people still assume. These paste/liquid cut and polish compounds are generally not designed for clear coat finishes, they work on oxidised single-stage paints that came out from the factory in the pre-1980s. Going all the way back, cut and polish actually means you "cut" back the paint with sand paper and polish the sanding marks out with a rotary with a lambswool pad. Typically these combination restores the paintwork back to how it looks like when its new, therefore the popularity of the term. In modern detailing world, a proper cut and polish is equivalent to Stage 3 to 4 Paint Correction where we wet-sand, heavy leveling with a rotary, level and finish it with a Rupes polisher which it would be a week worth of project and several cups of coffee.

Holograms caused by improper use of a rotary polisher.

Myth #5: There's no difference in price

Myth:

Detailer A charges me $100 cheaper and the quality is no different from other detailers that charges more. What a deal!

Fact:

We all hear about new detailing businesses that charges at a low rate and gets themselves busy. We respect that because we understand that a good detailer has to start somewhere.

But when comes to quality and results, its a whole different story. Good detailers charges more for a reason, a good detailer has more experience and attention to detail. To produce good results, a detailer needs to spend more time looking for little imperfections and taking extra steps in their work to achieve another level of perfection which cannot be learned overnight.

Furthermore, as a detailer progresses, they ideally invest more money into better equipment, more intensive techniques and better products. A detailer with a workshop, also has fixed overheads which are often larger meaning that his prices and work must reflect these costs.

We hoped we helped you to debunk some of the myths circulating around the topic on Car Detailing. For any questions or inquiries regarding about detailing, feel free to contact us by clicking here.

Why is Masking Rubber, Trims and Plastic Important?

Importance of Preparation 

Specialising in Car Detailing, Project Detail Sydney & Melbourne. We will be covering the importance of masking, preparation for paint polishing or wax application in our series decontamination and preparation. 

We will be talking about what is masking and why is it important.

Trims masked on a Volkswagen Scirocco R, preparation for Paint Correction,

Amateurs neglect, true professional embraces

There are thousands of discussion on the internet about masking off trims and plastics while polishing or waxing their paintwork. And beginner or amateur detailers doesn't seem to like the idea of spending the extra time to mask off areas.

Black plastic trims, especially rubbers are highly sensitive to compounds, polishes and waxes.  As some of you may have realised. Polishing or waxing over them may leave a white residue and more often or not, when you try to clean it off, it doesn't come off. Hence why it is important to mask all rubbers, trims and plastic to protect compounds, polishes and waxes touching them. 

Masking trims on a Lamborghini Gallardo on the A pillars.

In Project Detail, we highly emphasise on preparation stage. We strongly belief a good preparation work equals to good results. 

Pro-Tip: When your detailer is polishing the car or waxing it, check if he masks the trims and plastic. If he doesn't mask any of them to save time, stay away. 

Masking shows you good before and after results

Half of the panel masked, preparing for a 50/50

Detailers love to show before and after shots, or what we call a 50/50 shot that shows the outcome after. This is a great way to reassure customers and sometimes it also made us feel motivated after seeing the difference of before and after. It can be achieved by masking half of the panel.

50/50 on a panel after a Stage 2 Paint Correction is performed.

We hoped this article helped to understand on why masking is important when comes to Car Detailing. For any questions or enquiries, feel free to contact us by clicking here.

How to choose between a Wax, Sealant or Ceramic Quartz Coating?

Chapter 2 -Not all paint protections are the same. 

Project Detail  Sydney & Melbourne focusses on prestige car detailing and customisation, but unlike many others we enjoy sharing our knowledge so that all enthusiasts or car owners can benefit from know how to better take care of their car.

Project Detail has a running series of articles designed to inform and educate the car owner on paint protection. Part 1 of our series can be found by clicking here.

In Part 2,  we are going to cover the main differences between a wax, sealant and ceramic quartz coating to give car owners a good overview on the 3 protection options and type that suits individual car owners the best. In Project Detail, we offer all 3 types of Paint Protection.

It is important to understand that 'Paint Protection' can be a wax ... it also can be a sealant and most definitely some type of coating. The importance, is knowing the key differences between the variations.

Choosing between the types of paint protection can be overwhelming for car owners and usually have thousands of unanswered questions, we are here to help. One of the most common questions we get asked at Project Detail is what is Paint Protection and what is the main differences between Wax, Sealant and Paint Protection Coating. To simply put it, it depends on what is the vehicle's purpose and results you are looking to achieve. 

1953 Allard J2X, finished with a Teflon based sealant after a multi-stage Paint Correction. 

Wax

Swissvax is a premium range of waxes.

Project Detail is an authorised applicator.

Waxes are the most traditional form of waxes. Although there are thousands of variation of waxes, they are usually only two types of waxes. 

Natural Wax
Natural wax are usually more expensive and they provide a warmer, deeper finish. They are usually referred as Carnauba wax, which derives from the copernica cerifa plant in Brazil. These natural waxes usually have a percentage of carnauba. The carnauba content can either be in a pure form, or mixed with oils or petroleum products to certain degrees. Carnauba content and how pure it is plays a huge role in how much they cost. Natural waxes are usually the most expensive waxes. They usually comes in a paste format. 

Synthetic Wax
Most of the car waxes on the shelf in auto stores are usually synthetic waxes. How are they different from natural wax you may ask? Synthetic wax are design to do the exact same thing with natural waxes, but instead of using natural content such as carnauba, they are made from non-organic chemicals. They usually comes in a liquid or spray format. Advantage being it's a easier to apply compared to natural wax and it is usually cheaper compared to natural wax. 

Sealant

Sealants are the second generation of paint protection and they are well known to last longer and providing a better protection solution as compared to waxes. But in terms of how good the finish is, natural wax outperforms sealants from its warmth and depth. Sealants are considered a ground-breaking technology in the past until ceramic quartz coatings are introduced. There are two main types of paint sealant

Polymer Sealant
Vast majority of the sealants you can find on the shelf of your local auto store are usually a polymer sealant. A polymer sealant is made up of tens of thousands of synthetic particles that are linked together. When a polymer sealant cures, it is basically forms a 'plastic' shield on the vehicle's paintwork - glossy and slick. The best kept secret in the detailing world would be applying natural wax on top of a polymer sealant for a extremely deep and glossy finish. 

Note - Many dealerships in Australia, that sell a form of paint protection is more then likely a Polymer Sealant.

PTFE/Teflon Sealant
PTFE based sealants works exactly like a Polymer sealant, but with a different kind of polymer. You'll find non-stick PTFE coating for pans and other cookware. It is very non-reactive, partly because of the strength of the carbon–fluorine bonds. Research shows that PTFE technology works excellent on car's paintwork and it fills or 'hide' paint imperfections well for those who are not going through an extensive paint correction but rather wants it to look good for a day or a pre-sale presentation to potential buyers. Although it generally won't last as long as polymer sealant, it provides a glossier finish as compared to polymer sealants and are generally more expensive compared to polymer sealants. 

Ceramic Quartz Coating

Superb & Stunning  -  Audi RS3 Coated with a Ceramic Quartz Coating.

Ceramic quartz coating, or often referred as a nano coating, is a ground breaking improvement in the automotive industry, it has existed for many years with a recent spike in popularity and brands in the past few years. It uses Silicon Dioxide or SiO2 (aka Ceramic/Quartz/Liquid Glass) that cures into a hard glass that provides superior protection. It severely outperforms sealants in every single way. The 4 main advantage of a coating is: Gloss, Longevity, Physical Resistance and Hydrophobicity. A good coating applied properly by a detailer with appropriate prep work, it could last anywhere from 2 to 5 years and it eliminates the need to wax or polish your car again. Did we mention it has self-washing effects from the hydrophobicity in the coating. Even so, natural waxes finishes better than a coating due to its carnauba content. Although there are plenty of coatings to choose from, there are two types of coating: Consumer and Professional-only coating. 

Consumer Coating
Due to coating's complexity of application, we do advise car owner's to do extensive research about coatings and how to apply them, because once the coating is applied and cured, it can be only be removed via abrasion only. A consumer coating is a simplified and easier to apply version of a professional-only coating, targeted to weekend warriors and car enthusiast that are keen to apply a coating by themselves. A consumer coating usually have a lot less SiO2 content, more user-friendly, a lot easier to apply and usually a shorter lifespan as compared to professional-only coating.

Professional-Only Coating
Professional-only coating are usually coatings that are not available to purchase to the public and are exclusively available to selected detailers. Selected detailers usually have to attend a training session to properly learn how to apply the product professionally to prevent any errors and quality control. Each individual professional-only coating has its own unique way of preparation process to optimise the best results from each application and usually paint correction is needed to remove existing imperfections such as swirl marks and minor scratches. The main difference between a consumer version and a professional-only coating are mainly the SiO2 content and the solvent a coating carries. The higher the SiO2 content is, the more difficult it is to apply and precautions has to be taken into account. 

Pro Tip: SiO2 percentage has becoming a marketing hype in the industry. So if you see a consumer coating claiming to contain 80% or more SiO2 content in a single part and you feel that it's too good to be true? Then it probably is. A Professional-only coating usually contains anywhere from 75% to 85% SiO2 Content.

Menacing Mercedes Benz C63S Estate protected with a Ceramic Quartz Coating.

Porsche 911 (997) Carrera 4S in Black - Coated with a Ceramic Quartz Coating.

Conclusion

• Wax (Natural or Synthetic) provides a deep, warmth finish, however it usually only last about 2-3 months. It is best suited for show cars on car events or those wanting the best shine. See our Swissvax Wax range for more information.
• Sealants provides a better protection and longevity compared to wax, but it doesn't provide natural wax's warmth and deep finish. It is best suited for car owners that are looking for a affordable paint protection solution.
• Ceramic Quartz Coating provides a superior protection and longevity compared to sealants and increased gloss levels close to waxes, cost of getting it professionally applied by a detailer will be higher due to extensive preparation required such as paint correction. This is best suited for daily cars, and car-lovers that wants the best value in the long run. 

If you would like to know more about the paint protection options Project Detail offers, click here.

We hope this article helped you on choosing the best paint protection option for your car. For any enquiries, feel free to contact Project Detail by clicking here.

Cleaning Car Fabric & Carpets

Fabrics can be found in cars and accessories such as seats and convertible roof and cleaning them would put most car owners a big question mark on their head. Here at Project Detail, we are going to show you some variations on how to clean, protect and maintain your upholstery.

Cleaning Process

It is important to note that before beginning that knowing about the material you are cleaning is vital. In particular, when we or any detailer begin, assessing whether the material is frayed, damaged or poor quality is important to prevent or reduce potential damage.

The initial process for cleaning any of fabric, involves using compressed air or a powerful blower if available. While not entirely necessary, it allows debris to be dislodged and sit on top of surfaces making the following steps much easier. This is followed by an initial but thorough vacuum. Once the majority of loose debris is removed, do not worry about any particles or debris that may fall as you move seats around or shift the interior, these will be removed in subsequent vacuuming.

Hot Water Extraction

Hot Water Extraction (aka steam cleaning)

While it may not be accessible for the weekend warrior,  using a hot water extraction method our best approach when comes to cleaning seats and carpets. For fabric convertible roofs, we generally use a different and more gentle approach that we will be mentioning later in this article. 

While the machine itself may be unattainable, utilising hot water in a bucket of fabric cleaner and the right techniques is still a good option. The hot water allows the dirt and debris to be broken down but heat energy and combined with friction or physical scrubbing will allow a much better clean then just with cold water.

Cleaning Fabric on a fabric convertible roof with a suitable brush

Fabric/Carpet/Upholstery/All Purpose Cleaner 

This method would something we recommend especially for higher end vehicles and we would spend the extra time with more delicate methods. Work in a small sections at a time. 

Start by spraying cleaning solution into the fabric, followed by agitating the fabric with a brush in a circle motion. Use a microfibre cloth and "absorb" the cleaning solution. Inspect the results, if any dirt or stain still remains, repeat the process.

Optional - Use a bucket with hot water with diluted cleaning solution. Using a rag or a microfibre mitt/towel scrub the area sprayed with the hotwater. Allow the solution to deeply penetrate into the fabric. Use a wet/dry vacuum to suck a remove the hot water. This will imitate the hot water extractor and allow for a deeper clean.

Important note - be sure to check before applying any chemicals to areas like alcantara, suede or other delicate materials.

Fabric Protection

Fabric Protection at work on a Porsche Boxter Spyder soft top.

Fabric protection is an optional choice, considering they are expensive and applying correctly without without leaving stains on the surrounded plastics might be a challenge for some. 

Before any fabric protection application, the fabric might be completely dry and clean. Mask off any plastic or trims if necessary.

Prepare a damp towel with you at all times in case the fabric gets into any plastics and trims. Spray fabric coat onto the fabric, use damp towel to remove any overspray. Repeat for the rest of the fabric. Wind down the windows or open the door for the next few hours for it to dry and cure. 

Note - Once again, test a small area as some materials do not respond the same as others with protection products.

We hope this article helped you in cleaning your vehicle's fabrics. For any questions, feel free by clicking here.

Mobile Car Detailing or Detailing Studio?

Differences between mobile detailing studio and a detail workshop

The team at Project Detail Sydney and Melbourne specialises in mobile detailing before building a specialised detail studio. Previously, Richard ran VIP Car Detailing Sydney and Toby ran Grand Sport Detailing Mobile Car Detailing Melbourne and we are going to lay out the differences, limitations and which service works the best for you. 

Snow Foam Pre-Wash on a Ferrari 360 

Mobile Car Detailing Pros

Mobile Detailing can be very convenient for customers with a tight schedule and/or customers that require them to use their car almost on a daily basis that they can’t leave their car for few days. The term mobile means, a professional detailer will come to detail your car at your home, office or a specific location where there’s access to power, water and off-street parking without the hassle of bringing your car to a specific workshop and leave it for several days. 

The cost for mobile car detailing would most likely be lesser, due to a lot less expenses and overheads. A mobile detailing solution could work out well for some customers that don’t require intensive showroom standard detail. 

Mobile Car Detailing Cons

Mobile Detailing can be great and convenient. However, there is a lot of limitations a detailer would face such as; the environment factors can’t be controlled and a few mandatory equipments that a detailer won’t be able to bring it with them on a job. 

A mobile detailer will not be able to provide intensive, high end detailing and wrapping/PPF compared to a workshop due to their limitations of equipments. Even if they do, results performed a detail studio will be superior compared to mobile detailing. 

Detailing Studio Pros

A Car Detailing workshop will be able to provide car detailing services at a much higher quality compared to mobile detailing and specialised services such as vinyl wrapping and paint protection film. A good car detailing workshop will have a lot more advanced lighting, equipments and most importantly, a controlled environment. 

At our Project Detail Studio, we have vehicle hoist, hot water pressurised washer, good lighting and also infrared curing lamps (IR lamps) for ceramic quartz coatings to accelerate the curing process

Our Infrared lamps at our detailing studios provides better results for our ceramic quartz coatings.

Detailing Studio Cons

With higher quality and specialized detailing services, we often will not be able to get a car done in a day and we usually require our customers to leave their car with us up to a several days. It might not be convenient for customers that live further away from us. 

The cost of a detail are also generally higher compared to mobile detailing, due to the cost of a workshop and also the time and workmanship that is put onto your car is a lot higher compared to mobile detailing. 

Preparation for ceramic quartz paint protection on a Holden Commodore VF

Conclusion

Mobile Car Detailing will be convenient for customers but a mobile detailer won’t be able to provide higher end detail and specialized services.
It’s recommended to get mobile car detailing services such as
- Maintenance Detail
- Interior Detail
- Pre-Sale Detail
- Full Detail 

A Detailing Studio will be able to provide a much higher quality work, especially for customers that is chasing for bespoke, showroom level detail and specialized services. 
It’s recommended to get your car detailed at a workshop for services such as
- Pre-Sale/Full Detail
- Paint Correction
- Paint Protection
- Stone Guard Paint Protection Film (PPF) 
- Vinyl Wrapping
- Car Window Tinting

We hope this article helped you to choose whether to get a mobile car detailer, or a specific car detailing studio. For any questions, feel free to contact us here. 

How to choose a Wash Mitt for your car

Types of Wash Mitt

Specialising in Car Detailing , Project Detail Sydney & Melbourne will be covering a series of articles focussing on decontamination and in this post, we focus on car wash mitts. 

The reasoning behind this particular post stems from the belief that it is critical that for the vast majority of cases, using a typical sponge is terrible for your paintwork!

Therefore, Project Detail uses and highly recommends using wash mitts and having several spare handy. It is important to note that not all wash mitts are the same, in fact there are several types of wash mitts available on the market today. Ranging from microfibre, microfibre noodles and wool.

A good wash mitt is vital when comes washing a car properly by using a 2-bucket wash method. In combination with the buckets, the mitt greatly reduces fine scratches and swirl marks instilled on your paint. In this article Project Detail, we will guide you through the wash mitt.

Swirl marks and scratches caused by improper washing and maintenance.

Sponges = Swirl City

Sponges comes to majority of people's mind whenever a car wash is mentioned. Whether this is due to bikini washes or the person washing their car on the weekend often shown in the media.

Sponges when examined, are actually incredibly bad for washing your car. Contrary to regular belief, the paintwork on your car is very soft and not that durable towards scratching. A sponge by nature does two things when washing your car, the first is holding a large amount of liquid or shampoo in this instance. And the second is being abrasive, having the scrubbing power to remove harsh caked on residue just like a dinner plate.

These factors aren't relevant when washing your car. It is very important to remember a sponge does not physically pick up or remove the dirt. What it will do however is grind the dirt and dust on the surface as you move your mitt around, physically putting in scratches into the paintwork.

Therefore, this is why Project Detail and many professional detailers prefer using a mitt instead. The fundamental difference is the mitt's ability to encapsulate and pickup dirt and debris rather than pushing it around. This allows the grit and dirt to be dispensed safely into a 2 bucket and grit guard system.

Meguiars example of a Microfibre wash towel

Microfibre Wash Mitt

One of the most common wash mitt available on the market. It works great for cars that are going through a wash and decontamination for wax application or paint correction treatment. It picks up dirt and cleans well but for cars with a softer, delicate paintwork. It might cause micro-marring due to the length of the fibres in the wash mitt. 

For microfibre wash mitts, we recommend rinsing in the 2-bucket method as often as possible due to the dirt capacity in them. 

Example of a woolen wash mitt

Wool/Sheep Skin Wash Mitt

A wool/sheep skin wash mitt is our favourite wash mitts when comes to maintenance wash and details. It's very soft, plush and very delicate on paint. It traps dirt deep into the fibres while cleaning the surface with it's soft hair. 

We however do not recommend people to use wool/sheep skin wash mitt on extra dirty cars. The down side of a wool/sheep skin is longevity, it does not last as long as a microfibre wash mitt. 

Microfibre noodle mitt in action

Noodle Microfibre Wash Mitt 

A noodle microfibre wash mitt combines both microfibre and wool/sheep skin wash mitt, providing the best of both worlds. The fibres has the length on a wool/sheep skin wash mitt and the material of a microfibre wash mitt and it works excellent on both a maintenance detail and preparation wash. 

If you can't decide which wash mitt to get, a noodle microfibre wash mitt is the type of wash mitt you will want to go for. 

Variant of a microfibre wash m

Your detailer will most likely to have 3 types of wash mitt we mentioned for each different types of detail to suit for their customers. But however if you are still deciding which wash mitt to get, we recommend a noodle microfibre wash mitt for all rounders and a wool/sheep skin wash mitt if your car has been detailed previously. 

Now you have your wash mitt, but unsure which shampoo to get? Be sure to check out our previous article on car wash shampoos here. 

We hope this article helped you about choosing the right wash mitt for your car (and not sponge), feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions in regards to car detailing. You could do so by clicking here.

Types of Car Wash Shampoo

All shampoos are not the same

Specialising in Car Detailing , Project Detail Sydney & Melbourne will be covering a series of articles focussing on decontamination and in this post, we focus on Car Shampoo.

Choosing the right car shampoo for your car is essential for majority of the car owners. There are thousands of variety of car shampoo on the shelf and choosing the right one for your car might be a difficult task.  

There are a few differences between types of car shampoo but they all serve the same purpose: to break down dirt and help clean your car.

Here at Project Detail Studio, we are going to cover the different types of car shampoo that suits the best for your vehicle. 

BMW M4 Snow Foam as Pre-wash, part of our 21-Stage Wash and Decontamination

Snow Foam Agent ph neutral

These types of shampoo are designed to be used with a snow foam lance or hose attachment. It contains high suds content and cleaning agent that is used to break down dirt and grime on the pre-wash stage. Spray snow foam, covering the entire car and let it sit for 3-5 minutes for it to dwell onto the paintwork before rinsing it off, allowing us to have less contact with the dirt when comes to the 2-bucket method wash after.

Want to know more about Snow Foam and what we mean by pre-wash? Click here to see our 21 stage wash method Project Detail uses.

Preparation/Heavy Duty Shampoo
often acidic or alkaline inclined

Typically, these kind of shampoo is used in preparation before a car undergoes a waxing application or paint correction. It provides superior cleaning compared to ordinary washes and not only it cleans all the dirt and grime well, it also breaks down previously applied wax or sealants. Also tends to have stronger cleaner ability however, if left to dry on paint can causing etching or staining to plastics, rubbers or paintwork.

Soft Wash/Maintenance Shampoo ph Neutral

These shampoos are usually pH neutral and they are very delicate on car paints and does not have the intend to strip any applied waxes or sealants. They are perfect for cars that has been detailed or previously applied wax or sealants and they are great at maintaining them. Some of these shampoos even have a small amount of wax mixed into the formula. It is usually named soft wash/wash and wax/premium car shampoo etc. 

Pro tip: If your car has been applied with any type of wax or sealants, use a pH neutral shampoo to preserve its longevity.

Coating Maintenance Shampoo ph Neutral

Coating maintenance shampoos are fairly new to the market. As some of the detailers know, ceramic/quartz coating usually is maintained by applying a top coat every few months and it acts as a sacrificial layer on top of the ceramic/quartz coatings and it provides good hydrophobicity on top of the coatings itself. A coating maintenance shampoo combines a top coat and car wash shampoo in one. An good example would be CarPro's Hydro2 or Concours Nova Jet. It can also be used on cars that hasn't had ceramic/quartz coating to provide rudimentary protection.

Detailing Kingdom's Car Hydra is an example of pH neutral premium shampoo.

We hope this article helped you on choosing the right car wash shampoo for you car. If you have any questions about car wash shampoos, you can do so by contacting us here.

How to Clean Your Glass

Properly Cleaning Your Glass

Clean windows are just as essential to matching a car's overall shine.

Specialising in Car Detailing , Project Detail Sydney & Melbourne will be covering a series of articles focussing on decontamination and in this post, we focus the importance cleaning your vehicles glass and windows.

A vehicle's windows is one of the most important parts of the car that is mostly overlooked. It has to be clean and visible for us to operate the car safely but also smudges and streaks can ruin a cars appearance. Overtime, neglect leads to a lot of bonded contaminants and grime after several years of ownership. This requires use of a clay bar to remove, more information can be found here. Without removal, the contamination can eventually hinder your driving and impact your safety.

There are many different ways to clean your glass and it can be frustrating to find the right guide to get them cleaned properly as the most common complaint we here is streaky windows. We are going to cover the basics of glass cleaning and the techniques that worked the best for us and also different method for different glass conditions ranging from brand new to old cars. 

Types of Glass Cleaners and Cloths

Having the right towel and knowing a few techniques will make the job quick and streak free.

Glass Cleaners comes in few different types. Generally they all work fine and some individuals may favour a certain brand over another. However, we highly advise not to use any glass cleaners containing ammonia. Even though they have great cleaning power and cuts through grime well, if you have window tint on your windows the ammonia will affect and damage the film. We find that window cleaners with a percentage of alcohol  works the best because the alcohol helps the streaks to evaporate at a much quicker way and it also has potent cleaning ability. 

When it comes to the type of cloths, stay away from the age old newspaper. Newspapers do not use the same quality ink they used to and it simply bleeds onto the glass and can stain the tint! Furthermore, with the new technology of towels now available, newspapers really are a thing of the past.

Project Detail recommends using a variety of microfibre towels. Try out waffle weaves, short nap or long pile, either way the most important thing is to have several handy in order to get that streak free shine.

Never cleaned your windows?

Try a variety of towels, you'll find whichever one is easiest for you.

Some people clean their glass on a weekly basis and many others simply have never touched their windscreens and windows since they purchased their cars. Take this into consideration that the longer you leave your windows the more grime will need to be removed:

Weekly: 

1. As part as your car maintenance wash with the 2 bucket method, wash the exterior glass thoroughly as you can and make sure you don't leave any dirty spots. If your glass is hydrophobic (beading well), most likely your glass is in good condition.
   You can find out more about the 2 bucket method by clicking here to see our guide.
    
2. After your vehicle is dried properly with the correct drying techniques, wipe down the glass with a microfibre waffle weave drying towel. 
   If you need help drying your vehicle, check out our guide here.
    
3. Spray glass cleaner onto your towel to prevent overspray of glass cleaner landing all over your car.
    
4. Use your 1st glass cleaning microfibre towel and wipe your glass.
    
5. Followed by your 2nd glass towel, wipe down the glass making sure there is no streaks or lint on the glass. 

Pro tip: To avoid confusing any potential streaks, stick to a direction! Try horizontal for the interior and vertical for the exterior. This way, you will be able to identify streak immediately.

Long term cleaning or maintenance:

1. As part as your wash and decontamination, decontaminate your glass with a clay-bar treatment to remove any bonded contaminants. 
    
2. After your vehicle is dried properly with the correct drying techniques, wipe down the glass with a microfibre waffle weave drying towel. 
    
3. Using a DA polisher or by hand and a suitable glass polish slowly to remove any build ups of water marks or strong residue.
    
4. Use a multi-purpose microfibre towel and wipe off any residue left from the polish
    
5. Use a IPA-water dilution, spray and prep the glass for the last step product. 
    
6. Apply a suitable windscreen coating such as RainX to give longer protection and easier cleaning in the future.
    
7. Do a final wipe with a glass microfibre towel.

We hope that this article will help any weekend warrior or anybody keep their windows clean. By having cleaner windows will improve safety and vision. If you have any questions regarding our article or general enquiries, be sure to leave a comment or contact us here.

How to Dry Your Car

Drying, as part of our 21-Stage Wash and Decontamination on a brand new XE Jaguar 

The Right Way

We emphasise a lot on our 21-Stage Wash and Decontamination, how swirl marks are caused and washing your car the right way to reduce the chances of instilling swirl marks, minor scratches and general wear and tear. Another major cause for imperfections is the way you dry your car. 

Sadly, majority of the car owners use methods that are simply too aggressive for the paintwork of the car. Typical synthetic chamois or even leather chamois are main culprit, dragging with lots of friction making the surface 'squeaky' clean is actually not a good thing.

We are going to cover several methods you can use to dry your car properly without causing any chance of getting swirl marks and minor scratches on your car. Before that, we'll quickly cover some incorrect techniques.  

Swirl marks caused by using improper car washing techniques over the years 

Synthetic/Leather Chamois "Shammy"

Contrary to popular belief, chamois (leather or synthetic) causes more harm than good. Yes, it does try your car extremely well, absorbing water and leaving no streak marks on your car and windows and it can be squeezed out and reuse it again for the entire car without the need of using multiple cloths.  

However, the main issue about chamois, doesn't matter if its leather or synthetic, is they are very grabby. They grab onto your paintwork and glide across with a strong friction. The chamois itself in addition to any possible dust or dirt particles or anything you missed during the washing stages may also be dragged along the surface causing scratches and marring.

If your detailer uses chamois to dry your car, be sure to ask them these 3 Questions we listed to make sure they are doing the right thing by you and your car. Also request them use clean microfibre towels as a drying aid instead.

Letting it dry naturally 

Water spots caused by letting the car dry naturally after a wash

A lot of car owners tend to let their car dry naturally. That is good to a certain extent because they are avoiding any chances of instilling any imperfections on to the paintwork caused by friction.
However, the one major disadvantage to allowing the water to naturally dry is the risk of leaving water spots on your vehicle. Particularly on the flat panels like the roof, boot and especially the bonnet as the engine heat can accelerate that process.

The only situation where allowing the car to dry naturally without any issues is using filtered water. Typically a 0ppm - 2ppm filter will remove all iron, calcium and other minerals commonly found in our tap water. This means that when the water evaporates, it leaves no minerals behind to form watermarks.  

The only other alternative is to have a high quality paint protection product (Wax/Sealant/Coating) that provides good hydrophobicity and drive a loop on a high speed road so the water runs off the surface.

Microfibre Drying Towels and Air Blow Technique

Pressurised air or a blower makes sure no water is left in crevices.

Replace your synthetic or leather chamois with a microfibre one. Either a proper microfibre drying towel or a waffle weave towel will produce fantastic results. They are able to be used dry, soak up immense amounts of water. Furthermore, they has much less friction as they glide over the surface, this means less chances of scratches and swirl marks. 

Tip - Make sure to have 2-3 towels for personal use. Dropping the towel on the ground or excessively wet towels are less effective.

Another component that most forget is all the water hiding in side mirrors, door handles of in the jambs of doors. After a few minutes or after opening the doors, water pours out and leaves water marks on the car. To avoid this, simply firmly open and close the doors and boot a few times to shake out the water. A much more effective solution is to use a blower or an air compressors to blow the excess water away.

Drying Aids & Spray Waxes

Ferrari F430 Rossa Corsa Red after a maintenance wash

Another additional factor when helping drying your vehicle is to introduce a dedicated drying aid or more commonly found a spray wax. While drying a panel, simply spraying a small amount onto your towel of the surface will make the cloth more slick and glide over the surface easier. Furthermore, the spray wax will actually help absorb more water meaning faster drying and better results.

We have found using this method to decreases the likelihood of swirls and also allows the car to be dried in 20-30% quicker.

We hope that we have provided some tips on drying your car, if you would like to know more or have any questions for us be sure to click here to contact us.

*banner photo credit to AMMO NYC & Larry Kosilla