*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[Django x2]

Also, sorry, but using orbiters or rotaries is just not the "OMG" fest people are making out. They've either no skill or the most amount of vibration they've had in their hands is the vibrator they're about to put up their own backsides.

It's simply nothing to worry about. I've found my kestrel to be simply amazing at doing the things I need it to, which included removing the marring after wet sanding most of the E60 on one of my "must remove scratches and swirls" phases.

 

[MisChief]

Dilute Bilberry up to 1:10 I believe, and put it in a foaming trigger spray to get the best use out of it! I find that one trigger bottle does 2 washes. I then agitate with a hand mitt and pressure wash off.

I chuck it in a sprayer (doesn't have to be foaming though), spray all 4 wheels then go back to the first and use a wheel brush on it. Takes seconds per wheel to get the guff off.

Wet the wheel first and bilberry performs better (than applying dry).

Thanks

Just had another look at those M Sport stickers... It's actually £4.85 for ONE sticker, not for 4 stickers

 

[MikeHiow]

Also, sorry, but using orbiters or rotaries is just not the "OMG" fest people are making out. They've either no skill or the most amount of vibration they've had in their hands is the vibrator they're about to put up their own backsides.

It's simply nothing to worry about. I've found my kestrel to be simply amazing at doing the things I need it to, which included removing the marring after wet sanding most of the E60 on one of my "must remove scratches and swirls" phases.

There is no issue with vibration with a rotary polisher.

I don't think anyone has claimed that the vibration of a DA is completely unworkable have they?

It is however ridiculous and completely unnecessary when a Rotary will do a better job, faster and without any discernible vibration.

 

[alexisonfire]

Did my mates car today, the paint is in pretty terrible condition, but at least we got the colour back into it...

 

[BennyC]

^^^ slightly faded that!

Had an hour to spare this afternoon, having been almost 4 weeks a wash was over due!

I still need to machine polish the roof, boot lid and rear bumper, hopefully before winter and then just slap some more protection on it to see it through.

There's a few marks here and there I'd like to give some TLC so just need to find a suitable product, most likely chip-ex as I just want to make them less obvious rather than completely corrected. The clearcoat before was completely grey with minor scratches & swirls.

They were very shallow but just lots of them, you can see them to the right of the image. They actually dulled the black paint it had virtually no depth. Hoping to get an increased shine after a few coats of wax.

 

[mjt]

I finally pulled my finger out and cleaned my car. Well, the outside anyway.

Jet Wash
Wash
Clay
Rinse (10 years of dirt. Proper filthy)
Polish
Wax (meguiars tech wax 2.0)

Must have spent at least 8 hours on it over the course of the weekend.
Well and truly knackered. I didn't have the energy to clean inside
I also though it'd be a good idea to wax the windows. Only time will tell whether this was as stupid an idea as I think it was..

 

[SoliD]

Looking pretty good there, silver isn't as rewarding but oh so much easier to keep clean and not be so OCD about it.

I also though it'd be a good idea to wax the windows. Only time will tell whether this was as stupid an idea as I think it was..

Shouldn't be a problem, I much prefer a good sealant though!

 

[mjt]

Looking pretty good there, silver isn't as rewarding but oh so much easier to keep clean and not be so OCD about it.

Tell me about it. Although it's super shiny, it doesn't look all that different to when I just jet wash it
Car park dings and scratches are well hidden though.

Shouldn't be a problem, I much prefer a good sealant though!

What do you recommend?

 

[SoliD]

Tell me about it. Although it's super shiny, it doesn't look all that different to when I just jet wash it
Car park dings and scratches are well hidden though.


What do you recommend?

Indeed, I find the Porsche stays clean looking for weeks, whereas the mondeo was a matter of days.

I use Carlack Glass Sealant, which seems to last for absolutely ages, got it a few years ago and still loads left in that small pack.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/engine-and-exterior/carlack-glass-sealing-kit/prod_348.html

 

[Irish_Tom]

Looking good mjt!

I was supposed to have a four-day weekend mountain biking in Wales, but it fell through, so I thought I'd take the time to properly clean the E60 530d:

Friday

Cleaned the inside:

• Vacuumed everywhere
• Sprayed down with APC
• Dressed the trim with Poorboy's Natural Look Dressing
• Washed the seats, mats and carpet with a Vax
• Treated the leather with Gliptone cleaner and conditioner
• Fast Glassed the inside of the windows and rear-view mirror
• Cleaned and waxed the door shuts with Blackfire Midnight Sun Paste Wax
• Treated all of the seals with silicone spray (E60s creak when the rubber goes hard)
• Removed the peeling plastic from parts of the steering wheel and polished them

Cleaned the outside:

• Snow foamed and jet washed at the local garage
• Hand washed with the two-bucket method
• Covered with Tardis and rinsed down
• Clayed
• Hand washed again
• Cleaned the alloys (I had them all off, cleaned with WonderWheels and treated with Poorboy's Wheel Sealant not long ago, so this stage was easy)

Saturday

I got the Silverline rotary out and after another quick rinse, I used a combination of Menzerna 85RD 3.02 polish with a Menzerna polishing pad followed by Menzerna 85RE finishing polish with a Menzerna finishing pad.
I alternated between the 135mm and 80mm pads depending on the size of the area I was covering.

There wasn't any major damage that needed correcting except for some bird etching on the bonnet. For this I used Menzerna S100 and a Menzerna cutting pad. Really it was a case of removing the worst of the swirl marks and brining the glossy finish back to the paintwork.

I would polish a panel as described above, then finish the panel with Blackfire's Wet Ice over Fire kit:

• Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish
• Blackfire All Finish Paint Protection
• Blackfire Midnight Sun Paste Wax
• Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray Sealant

On Saturday I managed to do the following:

• Roof
• Bootlid
• Rear bumper
• Rear off-side quarter
• Rear near-side quarter
• Off-side front and rear doors
• Off-side wing mirror
• Off-side front wing

Sunday

• Day of rest

Monday

Today I whipped out the rotary again and did all of the other panels in the same way as above. I then did a few final little bits:

• Polished the headlights
• Fast Glassed all the windows and RainX'd all except the windscreen
• Polished the exhaust tips
• Applied Poorboy's Wheel Sealant to the alloys
• Dressed the tyres with Meguiars Endurance High Gloss Gel
• Applied Meguiars Supreme Shine Vinyl & Rubber Protectant to any exposed black plastic

Conclusion

In total I think it took me about 20 hours. I've been meaning to give the E60 some TLC for a long time and never really had the chance so I'm really pleased with the results. I don't think it was this shiny when it rolled out of the factory.

Pics

BMW Carbon Black can look really dull and matt in some lights:

However, in other light it can sparkle:

Drivers door looks like a mirror:

As does the whole of the off-side of the car:

A thing of beauty:

It was already getting covered in crap from the trees by the time these shots were taken so no doubt it will be ****-high by the end of the week. at least it was perfect for about 5 minutes.

 

[Clarkey]

^ Nice job

Got a Megs Smooth surface clay kit thing today hoping to remove the overspray from all over the 300zx. Never bothered with using a clay bar before, does the job but damn it's hard work and takes ages, maybe a more 'aggressive' clay would be easier/faster? Never had windows so crystal clear though!

 

[mjt]

Never had windows so crystal clear though!

I didn't think about claying the windows. R TARD

 

[Clarkey]

Yeah thats the main reason I got it, oncoming headlights would light up the windscreen and make it near impossible to see out, now the visibility is great.

 

[mjt]

8 months that car's been parked outside my flat generally dirty and nothing happens.
The first night after a weekend of hard work and some **** keys the whole length of the passenger side.
Gutted is not the word. What a complete waste of ****ing time.

I hope that **** gets what he deserves

 

[Irish_Tom]

Oh mate, that's awful, I'm so sorry.

I never understand the mentality of people who key cars.

What's more chicken**** than ***ing with a man's automobile? I mean, don't **** with another man's vehicle.

 

[T1Cybernetic]

I feel your pain, A few weeks ago some ***t wen't down the whole street of terraced houses where I live (about 100 cars) and scratched just about every car on my side of the road

Nobody saw a think either nothing anyone can do about it, Let's just hope they get what they deserve.

 

[paradigm]

I too feel your pain, not only has my Leon been keyed outside the house, my E36 BMW got paint thrown on it.

People are scum

 

[mjt]

I too feel your pain, not only has my Leon been keyed outside the house, my E36 BMW got paint thrown on it.

People are scum

Wow, who did you annoy?

I just checked my flatmate's car (my old lolvo), and that's been done as well. Looks MUCH worse on his as it's dark blue.
Doesn't make me feel as bad in some way as it wasn't just mine that was targeted, but it still sucks balls.

Why just after I spent 8 hours cleaning it? Grr.

What's the best way of sorting this? I don't think it's down to the metal, but it's still gone through a few layers of paint and wax.

 

[Phil W]

I checked out 2 new products today, Astonish anti fog glass cleaner and spray n shine detailer.

For £1 each they're a bargain and I honestly can't tell the difference between these and Fast Glass + Meg's Speed Detailer/AG Detailing spray which cost £7 more each.

Finally found some of this stuff.

Been to all my local places that stock Astonish products and no-one seemed to stock it. Of all the places it was at Wilkinsons round the corner for 98p a bottle

Going to give it a try tomorrow.

 

[mjt]

Judging by the other cars, looks like the ***** just keyed everything on the street. ****.

Anyway, aside from being raped by a bodyshop, if the scratch isn't down the metal, can it be fixed without a rotary sander/polisher?