Cleaning

[Teflon]

Interesting - I'm going to have to give some of these a try out.

Not fully convinced if I'm honest, but then, I've seen the pics of your car and you certainly seem to know what you're talking about (where as me - not so much )

As an aside, I've seen you list "full detail" as something yet to be done to your car. From the pics, it looks immaculate as it is, so what areas will you be working on (in other words, what does a full detail entail over and above what you have already achieved)?

Cheers,

Cliff

[Markcann]

Originally Posted by Reebs

I've moved this orgy of cleansing into the Valeting Forum, it's polishing porn

Polishing porn lol

[Supervinnie40]

Originally Posted by Teflon

Interesting - I'm going to have to give some of these a try out.

Not fully convinced if I'm honest, but then, I've seen the pics of your car and you certainly seem to know what you're talking about (where as me - not so much )

As an aside, I've seen you list "full detail" as something yet to be done to your car. From the pics, it looks immaculate as it is, so what areas will you be working on (in other words, what does a full detail entail over and above what you have already achieved)?

Cheers,

Cliff

Thanks for the compliment .
The car looks good, and I'm happy with that. But there are still some small imperfections. If you look really carefully in the light you can see a few swirls at some places. Those will have to go.
There are also a few spots in the doors (and the dooropenings) that show sign of use and/or wear. That will have to be retouched, polished and protected. All the chrome trim will be removed, polished and protected.
There are even a few stonechips on the front that will be retouched, polished and protected.
As an perfectionist I don't like spots, so the wheelarches will have to come out, cleaned properly and then brought back to new and protected. At that time the wheels, brakes and suspension will come off, cleaned, retouched and/or repainted, polished and protected.
Eventually the interior needs a deep cleaning as I found a few very light discolorations at some places, and the car will get a ozon-treatment. Then all the wood, shiny plastic etc. will come out, get polished and put back in with a protective layer.
The glass will get a polish and then be coated. And when I've got the time the engine will get a proper cleaning (it's not clean enough by my standards).

After that it should last for a few years before I have to worry about any swirls (fingers crossed nobody bumps into my car though... :S )
Because this is a few days of work, I'll need my shop to be empty (no customers cars) and 'unfortunately' I'm booked until mid July.

If I can recommend any product first, give Carpro Reload a try. It's easier to use if you never used a product like that. Wash the car, clay the car, give it a light polish (abrassive or chemical) to remove the marring, wipe it off with IPA if you like and then spray some Reload on a MF cloth. Smear it out over the paintwork with one cloth, wait +/- 20 or 30 seconds and then wipe it off with another (clean) MF cloth. (if you're using it in the burning sun, wait no longer then 10 seconds). You'll only need 2 to 3 sprays for the hood and a few for the roof.
You can use it on wheels, paintwork, trims, rubbers and some even use it one glass. Durability should be about 3 to 4 months with normal usage. If you've got an acidic cleaner (like a wheel cleaner) you can make it last for about 5 to 6 months.

If you wanna know more about wax, it might be better to PM me, because it might result in another very long post that will cause people to have to scroll a lot . To give an interesting read, a few teasers: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=337540 , http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=329879 , http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=322576 , http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=321996 , http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=322489

p.s. I'm also a 'homebrewer'.

[Teflon]

Wow - I can see that I've got a long way to go yet!! You'd hate the underside of my car - I had it professionally waxoyled a few years back, so although it's all protected,and I make sure it's kept clean, it doesn't look pretty as everything has a thick black waxy coating. Should keep the rust at bay though.

I cleaned up my wheel arch liners a few weeks ago - scrubbed clean, then painted with tyre black to hide any marks. Didn't take them out though.

I'd love to see some pics of your engine bay. I've got mine to a reasonable level: polished all the alloy parts, repainted the paintwork, replaced bolts with stainless etc, but I guess I will have to start dismantling things if I want to do a proper job. Would be great to see how you approach the job.

I've looked at Detailing world in the past, but had kind of forgotten about it. Time for a revisit I think!! I'm also going to have to consider adding more products to my current line up, which mainly consists of a quick detailer spray, some Vinyl and tyre dressing, metal polish, and a big tin of Colinite 476. I do also have a selection of various grade Menzerna polishes which came as part of a kit with my Meguires G220, but that's another whole area I've yet to investigate properly.

Cliff

[Supervinnie40]

Just be aware of the virus :P.
Every month when I do my inventory check and put out orders to have enough stock of everything I still shed a few tears when I see the bill....
Even my 'little' collection for at home is still worth more then my car

My therapist says I'm very special

[A19_Graham]

Originally Posted by suzublu

I've just tried "Armor All" (excuse the American spelling, but that's how it's advertised) on my wheels from Halfords, very impressed

Occasionally have it in the Pound Shop Ronnie. I stocked up with quite a bit of the range. Not that I keep a car long enough to clean it

[klarzy]

Detailing:

Car talk for OCD.....

[Teflon]

Oh well, I think I'm going to have to take the plunge and order some Carpro Reload as recommended by Supervinnie a couple of posts back.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/ here I come! (this could get expensive)

Cliff

[v-man]

Originally Posted by Teflon

Oh well, I think I'm going to have to take the plunge and order some Carpro Reload as recommended by Supervinnie a couple of posts back.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/ here I come! (this could get expensive)

Cliff

It usually is when you go there....

[Teflon]

Finally managed to get an "all black" engine bay :



Now to get back to sorting all those little nook and crannies.

Cliff