Getting That Deep Show Shine: Prepping Your Car For The Local Meet

Always start with the wheels. If you do them last, you'll splash brake dust and grime all over your clean paint. Use a dedicated wheel cleaner and get right into the barrels. If you've got red dust from a trip out west, you'll need a stiff brush for the wheel arches too.

Wash the car with a high-pH soap or even a bit of dish soap (don't tell the purists) to strip off old waxes and oils. This gives you a 'naked' surface to work on.

Spray an iron remover over the dry paint. If it turns purple, it's working. This pulls out metal particles from the road and train tracks that a normal wash misses.

Go over every inch with a clay bar and plenty of lubricant. If the clay feels like it's grabbing, add more lube. You want the paint feeling smooth as a baby's backside. If you skip this, your polisher will just grind dirt into the paint.

Use a big drying towel or, better yet, a leaf blower. You don't want water dripping out of the mirrors while you're trying to polish. Water spots are a nightmare on a show car.

Use blue painter's tape to cover rubber seals, plastic trim, and badges. Trust me, getting dried white polish off black textured plastic is a job I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Don't just launch into the whole car. Pick a small area on the boot or lower door. Start with a light polish and a soft pad. If that doesn't clear the swirls, move up to a heavier combo. No point removing more clear coat than you have to.

Work in small 50cm x 50cm sections. Use slow, overlapping passes. Don't rush it. This is where the magic happens. You're trying to level out those tiny scratches that make paint look dull in the sun.

After polishing, wipe the panels with an IPA solution. This removes the polishing oils so you can see if you actually fixed the scratches or just filled them in. It also ensures your wax bonds properly.

For a show car, I'm a sucker for a high-quality Carnauba wax like Meguiar's Gold Class or something from Bowden's. It gives a 'warm' glow that ceramic coatings can't always match. Apply it thin! If you put it on too thick, it's a prick to get off.

Clean the glass inside and out. For the outside, I actually use a bit of fine glass polish to get rid of water spots. Give the exhaust tips a rub with a dedicated metal polish too, judges always look at the pipes.

Vacuum everything, then go over the dash with a matte-finish protectant. Avoid the shiny 'greasy' look, it looks cheap and reflects off the windscreen. Use a soft brush in the vents to get the dust out.

Apply a water-based tyre shine. Give it 20 minutes to soak in, then wipe off the excess with an old rag. This prevents 'sling' (black dots of grease) from flying up onto your freshly polished doors when you drive to the show.