*** Car Wash / Valet / Detailing Thread ***

I'll use the BH iron remover exclusively when I take the wheels off - as you can't apply it economically when wheels are on to access all surfaces&upper;
I used a paint brush to scrub it in when wheels were off, and wouldn't burn the meguiar's bent brush for that task (just gentler touchless)
pity meguiar don't do a more thin bottle type brush with same fabric to get into some of wheels slots.
 
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jpaul said:
pity meguiar don't do a more thin bottle type brush with same fabric to get into some of wheels slots.
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no recommendation of such a bottle-brush type cleaner with thick fibres made of micro-fibre which would give better mechanical contact, and not flick soap/water around as you push the brush in/out of wheel crevices ?
 
....decided I'll order a couple of ufibres bottle brushes from Amazon (supplied ) if they fall apart can use their return facility


since it was a nice day tue, polished car for first time -
bh contactless with foam cannon took about 30s to coat the car, foam created too quickly (used remaining 10% of cannon bottle, had - too slowly - wasted 90% of, on last month 1st wash)
rinsed with pw, auto finesse lather from bucket, rinsed, waited for it to dry,
AG superresin , then extragloss protection

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up real close with hand SLR some 'debris' behind front wheels, could feel under fingers/polish cloth
sunlight makes it look white, minute specs of something - presumably not paint/tar (suppose could be emulsion) as the solvent in the AG would have shifted that,
maybe future polishes will shift it ... or more drastically clay ?

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If it's behind your front wheels it's probably iron fallout from the brake dust. I can recommend BH Korrosol, and if there's any left on the bodywork after that, then give it some clay.
 
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Thanks @GravyMonster - good idea perhaps I'll try a topical application of some BH auto-wheel ? (iron remover I'd used on removed alloys)

e: several threads suggest they are similar products
Another vote for BH Korrosol and BH Auto-Wheel (same as Korrosol but with a thickening agent making it cling better to wheels). You can dilute this 1:1 to thin it out a bit for lighter cleaning duties.
 
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Clay towel, one spray on the panel, one on the cloth and done in seconds. You can do the whole car after a wash in about 10 minutes. I use DIY detail iron remover but I'm told BH works well too. I like the DIY detail due to how slippery it is putting the towel over the car. Use barely any iron remover to do the whole vehicle. I do both our cars this way before I wax or add a temp coating.
 
dannyjo22 said:
I use DIY detail iron remover but I'm told BH works well too.
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had to google that seems about £19/500ml versus £11/Litre for the bh auto-wheels -
auto-wheels worked, a couple of larger particles not dislodged/dissolved I'll wear them down on future application (like for some inner surfaces of wheels)
even after a wash-off of auto-wheels, the polish cloth took off some brown residue.

... Putting on the washing machine for hot wash of 5 polish/detail cloths, I'd used, always seems a bit excessive, usually put the car maintenance boiler suit in too, but still not much stuff.
 
jpaul said:
had to google that seems about £19/500ml versus £11/Litre for the bh auto-wheels -
auto-wheels worked, a couple of larger particles not dislodged/dissolved I'll wear them down on future application (like for some inner surfaces of wheels)
even after a wash-off of auto-wheels, the polish cloth took off some brown residue.

... Putting on the washing machine for hot wash of 5 polish/detail cloths, I'd used, always seems a bit excessive, usually put the car maintenance boiler suit in too, but still not much stuff.
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Chuck them in a bucket to soak and buy more cloths. I try to do one wash per month max of the cloths because I then have to do a maintenance wash of the machine at 90 degress once all that wax and polish etc has been cleaned off. You can never have too many :D
 
Have not treated the paint in over a year, The ceramic meg's spray did last a long time but crap weather every time I end up washing meant I just washed and dried normally with a little spray on top to keep the undercoat somewhat alive.

With some good sunny weather ahead now though, spent 5 hours today and treated the paint with triple to hide the light cobwebs that were inevitable and it's been probably several weeks since I last washed it with around 800 miles driven in that time in inclement weather.

Snow foam obviously :cry:

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Before:
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After:
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Not bad for 156k miles. the side skirts being rashed is unnavoidable if these are used often on the motorway and back roads, front tyres have a large chunk of surface kicking up crap all over the sides!
I will consider PPF the next time I get the paintwork detailed just on those areas.
 
not enough power in that snow foam vid ... searching for dual use I had been wondering if I could actually clean the upstairs windows

dannyjo22 said:
Chuck them in a bucket to soak and buy more cloths. I try to do one wash per month max of the cloths because I then have to do a maintenance wash of the machine at 90 degress once all that wax and polish etc has been cleaned off. You can never have too many :D
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it's just untidy having dirty cloths lying around - Indeed do usually do them at high temp and put the descaler chemicals/citric-acid in too ... which wouldn't be popular in with regular clothes.
 
Both cars cleaned today.


Beadcoat is really quite nice. It’s the quickest application for a spray based ceramic sealant I’ve ever used, and it is lasting the longest.


Normally after the first wash they’re done, but this is still beading noticeably after the crap rain we’ve had lately.


P&S Undressed Tyre Prep is very good for the money. As good as the CarPro and much cheaper in bulk.

It does, however, work best using the same trigger CarPro use for ReTyre as it clings to the surface longer, meaning it can work for longer.




 
Sparky said:
Anyone with a Karcher K4 had an issue with it "pulsing" seems almost like there is an airlock in it?
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Yep, a few years back on an old unit. A plastic seam had cracked on the motor, I tried to repair it by plastic weld but it didn’t work. Ended up buying a new one.
 
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Sparky said:
Anyone with a Karcher K4 had an issue with it "pulsing" seems almost like there is an airlock in it?
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check what kind of l/min you have at end of the hoze - have ~14 in house and less that 10 at end of hoze,
so the k7 I have pulses as the water supply doesn't keep up with the pump, so I have to dial down the pressure adjustment.
[I had ordered replacement washers for my older machine thinking recirculation valve was failing .. but am now looking at getting a larger 3/4" hoze]
 
Seems to be ok on the normal lance but struggles when the snow foam lance is attached, could the snow foam lance be blocked?
 
(which lance ? have only ever used mine polar one for bh contactless so far ... and have not broached how I will clean it especially if product apparently contains sugar,
which might create deposits ... push a bottle of hot water, dilute citric acid through it ? )
 
I’ve always ignored the ‘don’t wash a car in the sunshine’ rule and have gotten away with it having only ever owned white and silver cars. Well, my first dark car and I’ve realised it’s a rule to live by. Even in the winter sun, the aqua wax dried on and the whole car looked worse than before I started :p

I’ve gone back to two bucket washing now that I’ve got a new car without any scratches. Let’s try to keep it that way.

Now owning a car without black bumpers, a soft top or metal exhausts I’ve been able to shelve about half my car products! It’s a much easier cleaning routine.
 
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