* The Car Cleaning Thread *

Conscript · 5 May 2013 at 19:45

So today I had my first go at washing the car using snow foam...I'm quite impressed!

Only took two tries to get a nice thick mix. Let it dwell as instructed then went round the car rinsing with a pressure washer. It looked nice and clean straight away, but I still washed it using Autoglym shampoo, then rinsed off using some Car Plan Demon Shine (not a bad product actually - no substitute for wax, but seems to stop the water drying too quickly and make it easier to dry).

The foam did it's work well - had already taken off the worst of the grime, which meant that cleaning the lower portion of the car was much easier. I usually hate cleaning the sills because they are always filthy and get the wash mitt absolutely covered. But they didn't seem too bad after the foam, and I didn't have to scrub as hard - a quick wipe with the mitt seemed to be all that was needed.

Also, being quite lazy when it comes to washing, I often find that I miss some sections - lower front bumper, behind the wing mirrors, etc. Using snow foam it's much easier to cover the whole car, so even if I miss these bits, they are still pretty clean.

Anyway, all that was left was to drop the roof and take it for a drive in the sunshine

Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel really finishes off the tyres nicely...

^JP^ · 5 May 2013 at 20:12

Nice work!

During the winter months all I do is snow foam and rinse, keeps cars respectable without too much effort knowing that the next day it will be filthy again.

-westy- · 5 May 2013 at 20:20

Guys, quick one for you: I've got a few scratches around my driver's door handle - my fault in part for unlocking the door and then opening it with my keys in my hand

Any ideas how to go about sorting this? Would a good cutting compound fix this? The car itself has a few odd scratches; so ideally I'd like to give it a good going over for the summer.

Any advice? Thanks

Irish_Tom · 5 May 2013 at 20:36

As long as the scratches don't catch your fingernail you could make that look like new with a DA or rotary. Would take a while by hand though.

-westy- · 5 May 2013 at 20:47

Irish_Tom said:
As long as the scratches don't catch your fingernail you could make that look like new with a DA or rotary. Would take a while by hand though.

Thanks for the reply - they only *just* catch my nail, so hopefully I should be ok. I don't own a DA or rotary, so looks like elbow grease will have to do the job

Unless I can find someone in Bristol with one who wants a few beer tokens...

OpenToSuggestions · 5 May 2013 at 20:54

Westy does your car have a clearcoat?
If it doesn't then I would get a DA on it to sort it.

My mx5 does have a clearcoat and I am nervous to go at it hard with a cutting compound as I have no idea which bits are original paint and which aren't.

-westy- · 5 May 2013 at 21:01

OpenToSuggestions said:
Westy does your car have a clearcoat?
If it doesn't then I would get a DA on it to sort it.

My mx5 does have a clearcoat and I am nervous to go at it hard with a cutting compound as I have no idea which bits are original paint and which aren't.

I have no idea to be honest - I think it's had a respray at some point; although I think the paint is fairly soft, so am dubious as to the quality of said respray.

Sgt_Pepper · 5 May 2013 at 21:46

Just got my car back from the detailer, it's now completely swirl free,which I'm happy about

what's the best way to wash it now without getting swirls back in the paint work.

I'm going to FITP on Sunday so il have to give it a once over on Fri/Sat

DB_SamX · 6 May 2013 at 16:42

DB_SamX said:
Did mine today, but got too tired so will finish off tomorrow with some wax. Might post a photo then.

I've been doing loads of motorway miles in the last 6 months, and got loads of stone chips. I've touched them up today so hope they bonnet will look better from now on.

She's getting on a bit now; 9 years old and 99k miles.

chipperhead · 6 May 2013 at 20:03

After reading about the rave reviews of Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer over on detailing world, I organised a group buy at work and got 5l.

Gave the car a clean today and then applied, which was very easy.
Wasn't expecting to test the water repelling qualities which people are raving about so soon but within a few hours of washing this happened:

So gave it another quick wash then tested the sheeting, I belive this product lives up to the hype

Rwac · 7 May 2013 at 11:18

Washed, Clayed, SRP'd, then Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection.

If anyone's interested I can take some more pics.

The angle of the pic above doesn't seem to pic up the shine in this one. Here's one from a camera phone:

Any recommendations for friendly wheel cleaner? And do people still bother putting gel/shine on their tyres or?

Bigpig · 7 May 2013 at 17:51

Guys need some quick info. I just gone and washed/clayed/SRP and now I've put a coat of Extra Gloss protection on and it's curing after buffing off how long would you leave it before toping it off with wax?

panthro · 7 May 2013 at 19:12

Bigpig said:
Guys need some quick info. I just gone and washed/clayed/SRP and now I've put a coat of Extra Gloss protection on and it's curing after buffing off how long would you leave it before toping it off with wax?

AFAIK you can apply the wax straight after buffing it off providing all the residue has been removed. Its already been cured when you left it to haze over.

Bigpig · 7 May 2013 at 19:37

panthro said:
AFAIK you can apply the wax straight after buffing it off providing all the residue has been removed. Its already been cured when you left it to haze over.

Cheers

that was a brute to get off not sure i like it lol very dusty

Janesy B · 7 May 2013 at 19:45

chipperhead said:
After reading about the rave reviews of Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer over on detailing world, I organised a group buy at work and got 5l.

http://s3.postimg.org/7ki9izh5v/20130506_173722_0.jpg[IMG]

Gave the car a clean today and then applied, which was very easy.
Wasn't expecting to test the water repelling qualities which people are raving about so soon but within a few hours of washing this happened:

[IMG]http://s3.postimg.org/kndw297dv/20130506_180153.jpg[IMG]

So gave it another quick wash then tested the sheeting, I belive this product lives up to the hype :)

[MEDIA=youtube]HvDMdGjcHbg[MEDIA=youtube]

[MEDIA=youtube]Mo57L8Xa7jM[MEDIA=youtube][/QUOTE]

What is it? A synthetic sealant? How easy is application?

Would be nice to get something that lasts rather than waxing every three months.

[quote="Blackhawk47, post: 24227067"]Drive clean everyone! :cool:

[IMG]http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv265/Blackhawk47_2009/DSC_0666.jpg[/MG][/QUOTE]

NO

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Dwwb6Gw.jpg?1

Conscript · 7 May 2013 at 20:05

Rwac said:
Washed, Clayed, SRP'd, then Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection.

If anyone's interested I can take some more pics.

The angle of the pic above doesn't seem to pic up the shine in this one. Here's one from a camera phone:

Any recommendations for friendly wheel cleaner? And do people still bother putting gel/shine on their tyres or?

Gorgeous. You weren't driving around the Edenbridge area on Sunday were you? I took a drive down to the Ashdown forest and had one of those following me for a while, the plate was JMC 1 or something, couldn't quite make it out.

Anyway, for wheel cleaner:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/valet-pro-bilberry-wheel-cleaner/prod_499.html

And for tyre gel, yes and:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/chemical-guys-new-look-trim-gel/prod_143.html

shauncr91 · 7 May 2013 at 20:08

Went slightly overkill with the Z10 today.......that smell :cool:

Rwac · 7 May 2013 at 20:35

Conscript said:
Gorgeous. You weren't driving around the Edenbridge area on Sunday were you? I took a drive down to the Ashdown forest and had one of those following me for a while, the plate was JMC 1 or something, couldn't quite make it out.

Anyway, for wheel cleaner:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/valet-pro-bilberry-wheel-cleaner/prod_499.html

And for tyre gel, yes and:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/chemical-guys-new-look-trim-gel/prod_143.html

I'm afraid that wasn't me - I think I was hungover at the time

Thanks for the recommended links - will try the wheel cleaner first i think.

Conscript · 7 May 2013 at 20:39

Rwac said:
I'm afraid that wasn't me - I think I was hungover at the time Thanks for the recommended links - will try the wheel cleaner first i think.

It really is very good. Even heavily diluted (1:10) it will shift a lot of muck without even touching it, just spray on and rinse off after a few minutes. With heavier dilution and a bit of elbow grease with a wheel brush it really brings them up nicely.

The Trim Gel isn't just for lyres, I uses it on black plastic trim and I think it's OK on the interior too.

Maccy · 10 May 2013 at 16:56

Just had a 2 day detail finished on the Clio, looks so much better (apart from the stone chips

)

I'm not going to list the full process, but it did consist of a DA and finishing with rotary, amongst other nice smelling products - mainly Meguiars and Chemical Guys.
Car is now looking swirl-free and almost scratch-free, there were quite a few scratches I wanted to get rid of - unfortunately some of these were too deep to attack.
We took a number of paint readings and the average before starting was between 5.5 and 6; I think that the majority of BMWs average around 4, so the paint of Clios seems to be fairly thick!

Tried to get a few snaps, they're not great with limited camera equipment (iPhone 5 y0).

And yes, the pink Boxster S is for sale if anyone's wondering!

*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

* The Car Cleaning Thread *