Guide to cleaning your boat

[Warpa]

pretty much the same applies, all products are gelcoat friendly, just need to insert the worb BOAT in the place of navara. Its a post i made a while back just as a rough guide, but the techique is the same i use on the boat except you dont really need to clay (i do when i 1st own a boat, but thats just me being anal)

Its more of a guide to buying decent products that are highly rated, keep the boat/car mint and give massive protection.

Many enjoy looking after what is one of the most expensive purchases you make, your beloved Navara. Some are just work horses, others are your pride and joy, and whether or not you are into cleaning your truck you know it looks and seems to drive better when clean.

This guide is based on hours of practice and a lot of money spent on products using trial and error, and more importantly what works for the Nav.

Recommended tools;
Pressure washer
Dual action polisher (cheap £25 will do until you have around £90 spare)
Wash mitt
Drying towels

This guide will bring the Navara up looking better than it came out of the showroom once you master the art of swirl removing.

1 Rinse you car with the pressure washer, get as much **** of as you can.

2 Get your nice new clay bar out and using the lube that came with it start rubbing all over the panels, you will feel it lift the **** off, continue until the clay glides smoothly over every panel (note the colour of the clay as it picks up the tar)

3 Rinse again and wash, some use a 2 bucket method, one will suffice so long as it’s a proper bucket with grit guard, rinse and dry with your drying towel.

4 Now the fun begins, apply a X of Menzerna cutting polish to your DA (dual action polisher) and doing a small panel at a time work the polish in. I have a mark on mine so when its spinning on speed 6 it rotates about one revolution per second to generate heat so the polish works. Work this over the panel making 5 or 6 passes. This is very time consuming so set a target if you get bored quickly.

5 With most of the swirls gone (your understanding of the machine and what it can do will improve with time) time to use your Menzerna final finish. Yes, you have to do the above all over again!! Once completed you will already be seeing and feeling the finish on the Nav like you have not seen in a long time.

6 The easy and rewarding part  applying the wax, I use Collinite 915 but some prefer the 416, using a sponge wax application tool apply the wax, leave it to cure (run your finger through it, if it comes up clear its cured) buff off with a microfiber cloth.

7 Wheel cleaning, there are plenty of wheel cleaning products out there, but once the wheels are cleaned, seal and wax them as above (by hand this time) and all they ever need is a wash. I use bilberry wheel cleaner, but once they were cleaned, clayed, sealed and waxed they need nothing more than a wash with the last of the water from the bucket after doing the truck.

8Apply a finish or your choice to the tires, I use satin tire gel, others prefer gloss. Job done, stand back and admire your hard work, after completing the above the truck can be left unwashed for around 4 months, then with a quick rinse and wash with a mitt it will look just how you have it now 

Last but not least, a quick polish without all the hard work once the nave is back up to its former glory, detailing spray, I use Dodo mist, plenty of others out there thought 

List of products that I have tried and tested and know work well on the soft paint of the Navara.

Bilt Hamber clay
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/autoclay-soft.php?cPath=79

Maxi Suds shampoo
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/chemical-guys-maxi-suds-ii/prod_165.html

Wash mitt of your choice
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/wash-mitts-sponges/cat_66.html

Drying towels
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/microfibre-cloths/sonus-der-wunder-drying-towel-pkg/2/prod_84.html

Microfiber cloths
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/microfibre-cloths/eurow-shag-pile-double-density-towels/prod_436.html

Dual action polisher
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/polishing-machine/das-6-dual-action-polisher/prod_519.html

Polish, Menzerna cutting polish
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polis...sive-polish-po85rd-3-02-1-litre/prod_228.html
Finish polish
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polis.../menzerna-final-finish-po-85rd-/prod_218.html

Collinite wax
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/collinite-915-marque-d-39-elegance/prod_281.html

Wax applicator
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/accessories/meguiars-foam-applicators-pkg/2/prod_177.html

Dual action polisher
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/polishing-machine/das-6-dual-action-polisher/prod_519.html

Sonus DAS foam pads (green for the menzerna cutting)
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polis...ds/sonus-das-green-polishing-pad/prod_58.html
Blue for the Menzerna finish compound
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polis...us-das-blue-waxing-finishing-pad/prod_59.html

Sealant of your choice
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/cat_3.html

Quick detailer (top that wax up with a spray)
This is crazy good stuff!
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/dodo-juice/dodo-juice-red-mist-tropical-500ml/prod_541.html



Want to really know more? Google how do use a DA, go to http://www.detailingworld.com, there are guides all over youtube and google 

Have fun!

EDIT :mrgreen:

Want to join the foam party? Then if you have a pressure washer all you need is a foam lance and a snow foam :afro:

Foam lance
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/foam-lance-various-fittings/prod_371.html

Snow foam
Bilt Hamber seems to be the recommended
http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/bilt-hamber/auto-foam-5l.aspx
Valet pro which i also have gives a slightly thicker foam and is a good carrier for car shampoo's
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/valet-pro-ph-neutral-snow-foam/prod_500.html

A selection of pics half way down this page
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/foam-lance-various-fittings/prod_371.html

Our own members pics can be found here artycheer:
http://www.nissan-navara.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9064
And my old bus

Engine detail :thumbright:

Tidying up my spare wheel before i put it back under the truck, it has been there for 5 years. I could have got the inside cleaner and less corosion (bad spelling) but its a spare and not even a 22" like the rest of the truck.

Billbury wheel cleaner applied and left to dwell before rinsing and repeating and agitating with a brush.

Insides i used a bit of fine wire wool as the corrosion was so bad.

A bit of tar to remove with tar remover, then clayed.

Sealed with jetseal 109 inside and out. Not perfect, but acceptible :salute:

 

[Marine Reflections]

Nice post! and yes most is same for a boat including the clay bar, it's just as important on gelcoat for removing dried on contaminates.
No worries about being anal, it's called doing it correctly. massive ocd sufferer myself

 

[Warpa]

Nice post! and yes most is same for a boat including the clay bar, it's just as important on gelcoat for removing dried on contaminates.
No worries about being anal, it's called doing it correctly. massive ocd sufferer myself

Top man I just do it for pleasure, would love to do it (cars or boats) full time, but doubt i will ever get a break into it, i just love the turn around that can be achieved

 

[PaulGooch]

Hopefully not hi-jacking your thread too much, but as you mentioned shiny engines and i just finished servicing mine and fitting new cam and alternator belts :

 

[Marine Reflections]

Sorry Paul it just wont do! .... I can see a particle on your shiny bilge.. tsk!

Your punishment is three hours toothbrushing your turbo housing.

 

[PaulGooch]

Sorry Paul it just wont do! .... I can see a particle on your shiny bilge.. tsk!

Your punishment is three hours toothbrushing your turbo housing.

Nooooooo, must be something on the camera lens

 

[BrendanS]

How did you do the engine and engine bay?

 

[AndieMac]

How did you do the engine and engine bay?

The photo was taken the same day as she left the showroom...

 

[AndieMac]

Nice post! and yes most is same for a boat including the clay bar, it's just as important on gelcoat for removing dried on contaminates.
No worries about being anal, it's called doing it correctly. massive ocd sufferer myself

I think generally people outside the industry may not have heard of body clay or the best process to work it. Maybe a heads-up MR?

 

[BrendanS]

The photo was taken the same day as she left the showroom...

Yeah!

OK, if you say so

 

[Marine Reflections]

Clay bar

I think generally people outside the industry may not have heard of body clay or the best process to work it. Maybe a heads-up MR?

No worries!

It's quite an easy process, used in surface preparation to remove contaminates that have remained after the washing stages.
The clay bar pulls the contaminates out as the bar is glided over the surface and a spray lubrication stops the clay from sticking.

Tree sap, grit, droppings etc, anything that has bonded to the paintwork or gelcoat that could get caught up in the polishing heads or polishing cloths creating more swirls.

Even if you are not machine polishing and are just waxing, it leaves a silky smooth "safe" surface to work on, waxing is much easier as the wax applicator glides & slips over rather than sticking on the contaminates.



Quick video to show how to use.

 

[AndieMac]

Thanks Tony.

Its a great product and works very well, and although having used it, still don't fully understand how its gets over-spray off without damaging paint work.

 

[Warpa]

Sorry Paul it just wont do! .... I can see a particle on your shiny bilge.. tsk!

Your punishment is three hours toothbrushing your turbo housing.

Out of curiosity ill be machining my boat hopefully this weekend if im not out on it. I have the meguiars range and they have loads of different types for marine, but when using them they all seem the same. On light oxidation my car products seem to work best with the softer pads. It seems as though hard cutting marine pads and compounds are advertised too much (probably another marine money making scheme)

 

[David of Essex]

Paul you have past the test. I'am in Burnham on Crouch marina, you can do mine.
David
ps whats with the Raymarine Radar

 

[PaulGooch]

Paul you have past the test. I'am in Burnham on Crouch marina, you can do mine.
David
ps whats with the Raymarine Radar

The Raymarine Radar has gone. Had problems with the C90W plotter and Raymarine support was poor, so i ditched it all for Garmin.

 

[Marine Reflections]

Thanks Tony.

Its a great product and works very well, and although having used it, still don't fully understand how its gets over-spray off without damaging paint work.

The clay bar is just like a tool picking up contaminates.

It works by sticking to and pulling out the particles, they are then "absorbed" into the clay (profile wise), leaving the working face of the clay flush with the paint work.

With over-spray certain grades of clay may work well and it would depend on how severe & extent the over-spray, also how hard the over-spray is relative to the surface it's bonded to; clear coat, gel-coat, metal work or glass.

If the over-spray is too well bonded to the paint work, you may well need the use of a polished razor blade, but this takes a little more attention to technique & experience or you could be in trouble.