Cleaning silver cars: unrewarding =[ PIC HEAVY

your washing it too often - leave it for 6 months and you'll know the difference when you finally wash it :)

I've only ever washed it once! :p only picked it up on wednesday, but its done about 900 miles since then!





Rob the speaker rattle I have is purely when playing certain notes, not a rattle from the car moving! is your speaker that's rattling a parcel shelf speaker or a door speaker (well, footwell in your case :p)
 
It's the parcel shelf speaker - I read other forums after googling a bit that stuffing tennis balls through the holes in the underside from the boot area of the parcel shelf solves this issue as padding over time wears down but that's the parcel shelf area so I'm not sure if it's *** speaker itself or the shelf because at loud volume with lots of bass there is no rattle or distortion so perhaps it is the shelf ? - Tempted...tempted! b
 
If the whole thing does not take at least 3 hours then you're doing it wrong :p

One Sunday I started at 11am and finished at 7pm! that day I did pre-wash, claybar , wash, SRP then EGP though so that alone takes 3-4 hours then there's trim polishing and hoovering etc!

I really don't know how people find the time to do this... when I do get time to myself and am not working at weekends I just want to get out - should I get something that warrants that amount of work I'd have to end up paying someone to do it for me while I'm at work :(
 
I really don't know how people find the time to do this... when I do get time to myself and am not working at weekends I just want to get out - should I get something that warrants that amount of work I'd have to end up paying someone to do it for me while I'm at work :(

I get what your saying. I love having a clean car but I also hate wasting a day doing it and ending up aching and with heat stroke. Probably why I only polish my car once a year :D

I do often think about paying someone to do it but worry they will do a shoddy job. The place my neighbour gets his 350Z cleaned at is shocking IMO.
 
It took four hours but a lot of that was clay barring it :p it only takes a couple of hours once it's prepped like this initial clean, its the wheels on a car like mine that are a PITA!

wheel1.jpg


Need to think about getting them refurbed, only slight kerbing but it's annoying :(
 
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I do often think about paying someone to do it but worry they will do a shoddy job. The place my neighbour gets his 350Z cleaned at is shocking IMO.

I see people taking Porsches, Audi TTs and top end BMWs into the local hand wash place! :eek:

I'm not sure how good a job they do, but they advertise a full service with chamois, wax etc. Maybe the old Kosovan chaps are more trustworthy than some chav on peanuts though ;) I've never had any nasty surprises from them and I just get the standard inside/outside, wheel clean and tyre shine job done. They use proper wash mitts and change them over/rinse a lot. No scratches or noticeable swirls so far....
 
Mine does not have the mirror finish the old e46 did but I have yet to SRP it though...roll on this Sunday :)

I looke dfor the leather AG at Halfords today, £6 a piece so £12 for both! I ended up getting an all in one Turtlewax Platinum leather cleaner+preserver/moisturiser (dark green cannister) which so far seems to be doing agood job, the results are visible but of course need to let it settle in over night!
 
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turtlewax ftl =[

btw use a hair dryer and heat the seats up first, as it really helps them to absorb it :)
 
I've still not managed to decide what leather stuff to use - got a tub of Autoglym somethingorother in the garage which I've not tried for fear of screwing it up :(
 
Lost all interest in faffing about with products for my car lol. Now it's just a quick wash down every now and then. Really lost the flair in doing a pro job. I'll soon get it back when I get a new car worth cleaning :p
 
[TW]Fox;12006058 said:
I've still not managed to decide what leather stuff to use - got a tub of Autoglym somethingorother in the garage which I've not tried for fear of screwing it up :(

how the hell would you screw up? It's hardly going to burn through the seat!
 
I've use the Autoglym Leather Cleaner and the Leather Care Cream on both light and dark leathers with no problems, the cream was good made it nice and supple, but the cleaner only average i havent used any other brands but wasnt impressed with the cleaning ability. With the cream it will stay "wet" for a while so don't expect to drive straight after.
 
Also, one thing with a well waxed car, they look awesome after its just rained with the amazing beading :) Came out this morning after it rained last night, and there thousands of really small little beads of water just sat there, looked great :D
 
If the whole thing does not take at least 3 hours then you're doing it wrong :p

One Sunday I started at 11am and finished at 7pm! that day I did pre-wash, claybar , wash, SRP then EGP though so that alone takes 3-4 hours then there's trim polishing and hoovering etc!

pff, it takes me 2 to 3 hours per section :p

this week i've done 3 sections and my interior... 12 hours so far :D

only 7 sections left...then on to the trim/engine bay/wheels etc :(
 
Oh I found out the size of the screw that the rear speakers mount with, they're just normal nuts :p in the night-time they looked like special screws :p

Will remove and inspect after work today!
 
[TW]Fox;12007607 said:
Becuase the wrong stuff can leave a horrible greasy finish.

but you've got autoglym, which is regarded as one of the best off the shelf leather feeds :confused: Look at the photos of my mondeo and of this, the leather was far from greasy
 
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