*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[ShiWarrior]

there's a plug on the bottom of the reservoir tank
on my Focus, i had to take wheel off, take half of the liner from the wheel arch, unclip it, and then it came out, i had a blocked up one, so had to remove all the junk that was in there

 

[andy_mk3]

Probably easier to put the hosepipe in the bottle to flush the worst of it out.

 

[Mr_Cool]

Thanks for suggestions.

Ended up just using emptying it by using the stalk, didn’t take long just did it at intervals.

Didn’t seem as much as I thought left.

Will refill tomorrow
Was sick of seeing the state of my car after spraying it lol

 

[The Chemist]

Gave my interior a well needed clean yesterday with carpro interior - really impressed with it as my opal white seats took a good bit of dye transfer and were looking shoddy.

The car only has 6k on the clock but the driver's seat has started to wear annoyingly

I've ordered some dye and protector from colour lock, hopefully it won't be too difficult to rectify.

Update to this - tried the colour lock dye in their matched BMW Opal White... Colour came out looking more yellow/egg shell then white and I'd say the seats look a lot worse now... Customer support so far has been woeful, with the only advice they have suggested is to "shake the can" which I had done so prior to the first application and in between coats...

 

[Dis86]

Oh wow, that's a very poor match.

 

[Howard]

What does everyone use to clean their microfibre cloths in the washing machine? I had some Sonus cleaning solution which ran out a long time ago and doesn't seem to be available anymore.

 

[Conscript]

What does everyone use to clean their microfibre cloths in the washing machine? I had some Sonus cleaning solution which ran out a long time ago and doesn't seem to be available anymore.

I was under the impression that you should just avoid fabric softener, so I bought some cheap washing liquid from Wilkos. As far as I can tell is doesnt have FS in it, and the cloths seem to be come out out okay aft wards, not losing their plushness or anything.
But I don't always stuff a proper wash - if I've just given the car a quick clean and done the glass, I'll tend to just stick the wash mitts and cloths in for a rinse cycle on their own.

 

[Neil777]

What does everyone use to clean their microfibre cloths in the washing machine? I had some Sonus cleaning solution which ran out a long time ago and doesn't seem to be available anymore.

P&S Rags to Riches, it doesn't just clean the towels but will also remove sealant.

 

[VaderDSL]

I'm using Bilt Hamber double speed wax, if it's getting tough to buff off after curing, does that mean I'm using way too much? Or could it be it's either being left too long before buffing also?

 

[Robbo]

I'm using Bilt Hamber double speed wax, if it's getting tough to buff off after curing, does that mean I'm using way too much? Or could it be it's either being left too long before buffing also?

Probably a combination of both, it should be pretty easy to remove.

 

[VaderDSL]

Probably a combination of both, it should be pretty easy to remove.

I do tend to suffer from the lets do this entire panel before buffing mentality, I'll try doing it in smaller sections with less cheers.

 

[Robbo]

I do tend to suffer from the lets do this entire panel before buffing mentality, I'll try doing it in smaller sections with less cheers.

You don't need to be that fast, I'd do the entire car and then start buffing it off in the order you waxed it...

Dampening the applicator can help, puts thinner layers on. You get no benefit from thick layers.

 

[VaderDSL]

You don't need to be that fast, I'd do the entire car and then start buffing it off in the order you waxed it...

Dampening the applicator can help, puts thinner layers on. You get no benefit from thick layers.

In that case, as you say it'll probably be due to me using too much.

 

[chroniclard]

If its tough to buff off you are using too much. I once used far too much Collonite on the entire car and it took me about 5 hours to get off, I was knackered afterwards. (early n00b days )

 

[Howard]

If its tough to buff off you are using too much. I once used far too much Collonite on the entire car and it took me about 5 hours to get off, I was knackered afterwards. (early n00b days )

Likewise! I always found there to be a fine line between not enough wax to be durable, and too much making it a sod to buff off.

I have been reading about the newer breed of quartz/ceramic coatings and I'm going to update my "arsenal" with some Gyeon Can Coat and the associated Cure/Prep products. It looks super easy to apply and remove, and highly impressive performance-wise.

 

[chroniclard]

Likewise! I always found there to be a fine line between not enough wax to be durable, and too much making it a sod to buff off.

I have been reading about the newer breed of quartz/ceramic coatings and I'm going to update my "arsenal" with some Gyeon Can Coat and the associated Cure/Prep products. It looks super easy to apply and remove, and highly impressive performance-wise.

Looks good stuff, think I will try some when new car arrives.

 

[pugheaven]

Here's a question, Snow Foam... I'm not convinced it's really loosening or worth the hassle of putting on first... anyone else coming to this conclusion?

 

[pugheaven]

Likewise! I always found there to be a fine line between not enough wax to be durable, and too much making it a sod to buff off.

I have been reading about the newer breed of quartz/ceramic coatings and I'm going to update my "arsenal" with some Gyeon Can Coat and the associated Cure/Prep products. It looks super easy to apply and remove, and highly impressive performance-wise.

I find AutoGlym appalling for this now... always smudges. I don't use wax now as ceramic coated, however, when I do on my other cars I use only Maguires. AutoGlym now is appalling I think and I used to awear by it.

 

[lordrobs]

Here's a question, Snow Foam... I'm not convinced it's really loosening or worth the hassle of putting on first... anyone else coming to this conclusion?

I came to that exact conclusion after trying a couple of different products. I just use the two bucket method and wash as normal all year. If the car is really bad in the winter I'll dump the water in the dirty bucket half way round and fill up with fresh.

Funnily enough the only reason I ended up buying another bottle of snow foam was because the 5L container of my original stuff looked just like the 5L container my nitro fuel was in. Dumped in 500ml of unused Nitro fuel and stood there wondering "why is the container suddenly swelling up?"

Wax wise I'm so annoyed at buying a massive container of Collinite because that was teh go to product at the time. I had been using Harley Wax and it was so much better and easier to use. At current use I've probably only got another 10 to 15 years and I'll be through the Collinite

 

[chroniclard]

Snow foam, for me, is just another layer of pre washing that might remove a little bit more dirt so less potential swirls. Not sure it does that much but its fun to use so why not.