New Lawn full of Broad Leaf Weeds!

Hi,
my first post here.
Recently bought a house but the back lawn is absolutely trashed - filled with broad leaf weeds all over the place, it looks like a cabbage patch.
It's recoverable I would say - much less than 50% but in patches really quite bad.
The surface was filled with thatch and moss which I have removed with my electric lawn rake (it now looks very brown and patchy - even dead in places but it will recover).
In my previous houses I have been able to use a weeding trowel and simply dig up the broad leaf weeds, re-fill with soil/seed and never really had a problem but this lawn there are just too many to dig up manually.
I have "weed and feeded" the lawn on 2 occasions already (I have a push along spreader/distributor) leaving 6 weeks inbetween but 13 weeks or so later they are laughing at me and showing so sign of dying off. Some of them start to go black then magically spring back again!
Does anybody have any useful tips for dealing with this?
I never cut the lawn too short as I know this doesnt help matters either. I just dont know where to go next to deal with the weed issue.
Any advice on what to treat the lawn with or tactics would be greatly appreciated!

Rob...

 

Spray with Verdone Extra, two aplications a fortnight apart. Spray rather than use a watering can.

Weed and feed is ok as a high nitrogen feed but next to useless as a weedkiller, as a profeshional contractor i always use liquid feeds and selectives as oposed to any graual based products.

 

Its been raining so much during this summer that its often been difficult to find a day with a decent dry spell and little wind to apply either a granual or a spray (too much rain too soon I reckon just washes the herbicide away before its absorbed.

I would still go with pro gards recommendation but as they dont give spraying rates use your commonsense. Apply when the grass is dry and rain not around as per instructions.

 

I agree with Verdone.

Use a "rough spray", rather than a fine spray, so that it doesn't drift onto your borders etc.

 

And don't give up with the hand weeding either. There is just so much legal, addictive fun to be had grubbing out daisies, plantains, dandelions, buttercups, etc and then patching any big holes with seed or turf.

I reckon it should be an Olympic sport.

 

Flinty, you are welcome to start on my lawn then. I'll stand there with the stop-watch.