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

[xs2man]

Beldray Airlite BEL01096 about 35 quid - I have a similar one and its been spot on for small jobs, home and car.

That looks decent. Thanks.

 

[Tinders]

Whats a go to clay nowadays and VFM wash. Ive run out of my stash of both

 

[GuruJockStrap]

Can anyone recommend a decent cordless handheld vacuum for general interior, carpets etc. I usually use the home cleaner but I’d rather have something more portable. Not looking to pay a fortune though, if there is something decent say £60 bracket, unless it’s worth paying more?

I got one of these:

Shark Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner with Pet Tool, Crevice Tool & Dusting Brush, 80 W, 0.45 liters, 10 Minute Run-Time, Washable Filter, Black & Yellow, CH950UKT https://amzn.eu/d/3EUEUw9

Drops down to around £60 from time to time.

Surprisingly powerful and battery life is more than enough to go round the whole car.

 

[kaku]

Hi all.

Now the weather has been looking up the RX-7 is out of hibernation. I used Poorboy's Black Hole for the first time yesterday (the paint isn't in the greatest condition so I was hoping to mask the worst of the swirls) and honestly, I couldn't tell if it actually did anything.
I followed the instructions, even tried letting it haze up for longer but aside from getting more difficult to buff off it didn't seem to make a difference that I could tell (applying by hand, separate applicator/buffing microfibre). One thing I noticed was that it made the surface extremely smooth to the touch, but visually, I was left disappointed.

In this picture, the rear quarter and bumper have had Black Hole applied; the door and wing are post wash/dry only.

As an example, here are some of the swirls I was hoping to mask (under harsh garage lighting; this is post-Black Hole/sealant application)

Am I expecting too much of the product? Is it user error? What's your opinion?

 

[VaderDSL]

I’m no expert by any stretch, but I think that paintwork is a little bit beyond the minor swirl marks that it’s marketed at, just my opinion at least.

 

[adam cool dude]

Weather is such a catch 22. When it is wet your car is filthy and when it is dry within 5 minutes the front end is covered in bugs and the whole thing covered in dust! Can't win either way.

 

[Janesy B]

Hi all.

Now the weather has been looking up the RX-7 is out of hibernation. I used Poorboy's Black Hole for the first time yesterday (the paint isn't in the greatest condition so I was hoping to mask the worst of the swirls) and honestly, I couldn't tell if it actually did anything.
I followed the instructions, even tried letting it haze up for longer but aside from getting more difficult to buff off it didn't seem to make a difference that I could tell (applying by hand, separate applicator/buffing microfibre). One thing I noticed was that it made the surface extremely smooth to the touch, but visually, I was left disappointed.

In this picture, the rear quarter and bumper have had Black Hole applied; the door and wing are post wash/dry only.

As an example, here are some of the swirls I was hoping to mask (under harsh garage lighting; this is post-Black Hole/sealant application)

Am I expecting too much of the product? Is it user error? What's your opinion?

Yeah that's well beyond minor swirls.

 

[Uther]

Hi all.

Now the weather has been looking up the RX-7 is out of hibernation. I used Poorboy's Black Hole for the first time yesterday (the paint isn't in the greatest condition so I was hoping to mask the worst of the swirls) and honestly, I couldn't tell if it actually did anything.
I followed the instructions, even tried letting it haze up for longer but aside from getting more difficult to buff off it didn't seem to make a difference that I could tell (applying by hand, separate applicator/buffing microfibre). One thing I noticed was that it made the surface extremely smooth to the touch, but visually, I was left disappointed.

In this picture, the rear quarter and bumper have had Black Hole applied; the door and wing are post wash/dry only.

As an example, here are some of the swirls I was hoping to mask (under harsh garage lighting; this is post-Black Hole/sealant application)

Am I expecting too much of the product? Is it user error? What's your opinion?

I'd get it professionally machine polished then go from there. It will hopefully come up like new.

 

[Tinders]

Id start with a soft pad with a polish with a minimal amount of cut in it. As the paint it so old, you want to tackle it with the mildest combo possible.

 

[kaku]

Fair enough, I'm under no illusions the paint is in a poor state; it sounds like I was expecting a bit too much.

I appreciate the advice from everyone. I'll look into a mild machine polish and go from there. Thank you to everyone that replied.

 

[adam cool dude]

My Raceglaze water filter turned up today. Ended up with the 14 litre middle size. Need to get some brackets and clip the pipes to the wall but is a bit of a game changer really.

Have had throwaway in line water filters before but were never cost effective. This is much better in that regard.

Hopefully should be easy in summer to give it a rise then not bother with a drying towel.

 

[kona786]

@adam cool dude

Good stuff. I went the the ghetto route and wash it when I know there's a downpour.

 

[rodders]

My Raceglaze water filter turned up today. Ended up with the 14 litre middle size. Need to get some brackets and clip the pipes to the wall but is a bit of a game changer really.

Have had throwaway in line water filters before but were never cost effective. This is much better in that regard.

Hopefully should be easy in summer to give it a rise then not bother with a drying towel.

I have some inline filters that are pretty rubbish, where did you get this from?

 

[Jonnycoupe]

@adam cool dude

Good stuff. I went the the ghetto route and wash it when I know there's a downpour.

I just use a watering can from the water butt for the final rinse

 

[adam cool dude]

I have some inline filters that are pretty rubbish, where did you get this from?

Raceglaze.

 

[Janesy B]

That's a smart setup, I bought a 11l bottle filled with resin and I always forget the showering of water I get when I disconnect my washer from the bottle once it's been pressurised.

It does work out cheaper to get the stuff from a window cleaning supplies as race glaze stick on a bit of detailing tax.

 

[mrk]

The last time I had ceramic coating (proper 3 stage at a detailer that took 3 days to do) was back in 2016. Obviously that's long worn off now but I have been keeping on top of the paint protection Autofinesse using Triple and hybrid ceramic spray from Turtlewax

It really does make Carbon Black stand out under light sources at night, this is just the solar LED wall lights on the driveway, car was washed on Wednesday so is a bit dusty now but...

I no longer use an army of products, just keep it simple with some quality products and that's it. I don't have time to wash the car as often now so sometimes it goes 6-8 weeks without an exterior wash but the hybrid ceramic coating does wonders at keeping the polish and paint protected the whole time I find.

 

[adam cool dude]

That's a smart setup, I bought a 11l bottle filled with resin and I always forget the showering of water I get when I disconnect my washer from the bottle once it's been pressurised.

It does work out cheaper to get the stuff from a window cleaning supplies as race glaze stick on a bit of detailing tax.

I can say I have already been there. I was fitting it playing with getting leak free and then got showered about 5 minutes before I was going to my sons birthday party so had to change pretty sharpish!

Thanks for the tip @Janesy B with the resin will check that out in the future.

Have re-routed the pipe work now so I can switch quickly between the two types of water. My water is very hard so do find I have to do about three passes with a rinse to get all the old stuff off but gave it a clean today in 23 degree heat and it dryed fantastically without a single mark so for anyone with extremely hard water like me it is a great addition and saves heaps of time.

Next job will be paint correction but stringing together two days where I am off, have free time and decent weather is still not quite there!

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Wheres the 300bhp estate?

 

[adam cool dude]

Wheres the 300bhp estate?

I picked up my mother from Stansted last night so left it on the drive so the missus had no choice but to take it to work today My mother is 74 and had a hip replacement so the GR86 is a no go for airport collections!