Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing How to wash your car!

Allegedly France was the european country with the lowest per capita consumption of soap - perfume was the alternative they invented. So the above is hardly a surprise.

Well that's mine done for another 6 months. Detailed wash yesterday, followed by going over it 3 times this morning: firstly with Meguiars liquid polish, second with Swisswax pre-wax medium paint cleaner, then a final coat of Dodo Juice Purple Haze wax.

It'll get another seeing-to before the annual Scotland jaunt, but apart from that it's just rapid detailer for the rest of the year.

I’ve been a long time fan of Meguiars products, personally finding them more effective than Autoglym.
I keep my 4/4 clean(ish) but nowhere near to concours.
It helps that my 4/4 also has painted wire wheels, so not so obvious if they are a bit grubby.
Part of my routine is also to spend some time making sure the leather is clean and well treated, again mainly using Meguiars products.

Bud
4/4 - Stanley

Meguiars is where quality and price cross over. It's a sweet spot. Autoglym, once a strong contender seem to have lost momentum a few years ago, as did "Mer". Some of the other "names" are patchy in the sense that they do good products, but also some "average" products.
The top end, Swissvax and Zymol, have amazing products, but the actual benefits get swallowed up in eye watering prices. So the cost/benefit ratio doesn't match Meguiars.

In other news, my continuing saga of misting sidescreen panels. On my Roadster, three panels mist over in cold weather. The fourth, the drivers side rear never does. Because the perspex is different. This happens in winter in the garage but also on the road in cold weather. They mist both sides, except the one panel which never does. The surface is attracting micro droplets of water. A hairdryer clears it.

I've tried multiple polishes, plastic polish, visor anti-mist, Rain-X, WD40, ACF50, and nothing lasts beyond a couple of days. The best polish, was Swissvax, which actually lasted a bit longer. A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a You Tube video about using Vaseline on ceramic cooker glass. It sounds a bit risky, but vaseline applies like polish, and polishes off with a microfibre, leaving a nice shine. I applied two coats of vaseline to my sidescreen panels and two weeks later they remain clear. Can it be that simple? Presumably vaseline will also protect chromed fittings such as door handles (where fitted). I haven't gone that far yet.

Simonize Wash n Wax every time once a year followed by some 3 in ! Oil down the seams after a drying run.

None of this posh expensive stuff for me I'm a patination Mogger served me well for 21 years.

Solvol and Autoglym when needed.

Autoglym used to be privately owned, basically a car enthusiast who my neighbour worked for, his passion was quality products for the trade with guarantee of no silicone which is a massive problem in bodyshops

They are now part of the Altro group, who make high spec floor coverings like the vinyl you see in hospitals, I suspect a big group owner will 'value engineer' the ingredients over the years, we've all experienced it in many products, like the post on Autosol a few days ago

Well as a bit of a driver more than polisher I attended a local Morgan club morning at a Detailing co -very quickly realizing how little I knew about the right way to clean my cars, so after a very damp run around country roads last week I armed myself with two buckets and a snow foam gun and set to work, firstly reading this topic from the beginning. Happily after going through the prescribed steps the results are very pleasing -though my back needs straightening again and I am so pleased to have the Morgan centrelock alloys rather than wires-dont think I would have the required patience for them. Now the interior, what leather cleaner is preferred??

I ordered the Meg Ultimate Wash & Wax, which arrived yesterday - I'll be using that to wash all the cars.
I also ordered a Meg Ultimate Liquid Wax to try, but apparently it was damaged in transit and has been returned.
I WAS going to ask whether any specific preparation was necessary prior to the wax application, but that now seems unnecessary - I'd still be interested in your thoughts, however.
Prior to acquiring the Mog, my 'polish' of choice was one first given me by No 1 son, until reading this thread I didn't realise that Meg's 'Ultimate Waterless Wash & Wax' was such a well-thought-of manufacturer. Does anyone have any comment on that particular product? My usual method has been to wash / dry, use a wash-leather to complete, allow to dry completely and then use the 'Waterless' product, which has always worked well - I suppose the question now is will the Meg Liquid Wax produce a better outcome?

Over to you guys!

Well all those fast detailers and waterless cleaners and waxes are good products but if you think as they claim that they wont scratch your car paintwork ... guess again! so, they're a good option if you wash the car first as Whizjet described.
Ceramic coating is by far the best way to go but if your car is not new and you have paint swirls and micro scratching you will need to remove them first as ceramic coating will lock them in to the finish. Now a dealer will charge you a fortune to treat your car to a ceramic coat but... its really easy to apply. It's a two application method but get this... you just wipe on the first product with the applicator sponge, it dries very quickly then you apply the second solution straight on top of the first in the same way. When dry you just buff it up with a micro fibre cloth. Job done! I do most of my cars and the finish is still working fine after ten years. And the cost, well you can get a kit for around £25 on the Bay! Not the £350 to £500 I have seen dealers charge.

I only use Williams Waterless wash on my Mog, snow foam on the tintops.