*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[Ricochet J]

Looking good mrk!

That needs twin tail pipes (i.e twin pipes on LHS)

 

[[TW]Fox]

I gave up trying to get that pic right, I'm just not destined for photography. I tried another angle instead

Spent 2 days giving the Tourer a good sorting out - full wash/dry, clayed the whole car (Parts of it were really filthy and COVERED in tar etc etc) and then washed it off again. Also did the engine bay which was horrendously dirty. Have pics if anyone cares. Today I moved onto polish and wax - 2 coats of Super Resin Polish and 2 coats of Meguiars NXT Tech Wax which everyone seems to hate but I find really quite nice to use.

Mine didn't get as much love unfortunately, just a wash, dry and a vacuum

I'd imagine the last Weekend you can have a proper car cleaning session before the Weekend. Lucky the weather was stunning - bright sunshine for both days

 

[[TW]Fox]

That needs twin tail pipes (i.e twin pipes on LHS)

It does, yes.

I've looked into it and bottled it each time. I'm really nervous about ruining the car with a crappy noisy exhuast and everyone who does aftermarket exhuasts seems to want loads of noise.

Once I find one that isn't horrible I'll do it. I hate the stock E39 Sport exhuast. It looks so crap.

 

[mrk]

It looks fine but only when it's tucked in a bit. It's a 3" pipe so is the right size to look decent, it just pokes out a lot.

A cousin of mine has a 530i Sport and his pipe was cut so the end fits flush with the valance, looks much better. Any decent garage should be able to cut yours for next to no money. Your pipe does look like it hangs a few cm lower from the tip of the valance than his though, I don't know if he managed to raise his somehow.

To get twin exits you'd have to get one custom made and request more baffles. I do believe Peco should be able to do you one (fully stainless steel) to your spec, might be worth giving them a ring?

 

[DB_SamX]

Same here. Awesome weather to clean. My dad did the wheels (badly) and I did the washing, drying, polishing and waxing. Wished I could have clayed as well (last done >6 months ago) but I would have run out of time and and my back is problematic atm. No pics though as I just finished as it was getting dark and no camera to hand. Should be ok till the Christmas break when I'll give her another thorough clean.

Edit: That golf looks SUPERB!

 

[Phil W]

I do believe Peco should be able to do you one (fully stainless steel) to your spec, might be worth giving them a ring?

Peco? Whats he going to ask for.. Big Bore 4?

I'd keep the standard back box and just ask a fitter (Powerflow, Longlife etc) to weld a polished tip of your choice on.

 

[mrk]

The whole idea of custom is that they make it to your spec....so if you ask for a 4" then guess what, you get a 4".

 

[GTAMADDOG]

I took advantage of the weather to clean the car as well, but I left it a bit too late and took too long to be able to get any pictures before it started getting dark.

I'd hardly call myself any sort of detailer but I do like to have a clean car. Bought some Meguiars stuff a couple of weeks ago and applied it to the car last weekend. Just did a normal clean inside and out today.

Might pop out and get some photographs tomorrow if it's anything like today as I've got the day off but it's only a scruffy 306 Dturbo at the end of the day

 

[Maccy]

Just ordered myself a snow foam lance and a big bottle of the snow foam liquid, hoping the weather is ok on Saturday!

 

[Thebug]

Hi folks, i have a clean your car EP800 polisher thats brand new and id like to sell it where would the best place be to shift it?

 

[p0ss3s3d]

Whats the best way of keeping a 45 year old finish looking good? I guess just shampoo it, then a wax coat then a show glaze on top of that? Because I'm thinking the less abrasive the compounds I can use the better as the finish is wearing very thin in places!!!

Also anyone have any experience of carpet dyes? The red carpets have faded from a rich (think alfa racing colours) red, to a Ferrari F1 (pinky orange red) colour. The carpets themselves are fine, just looking washed out/miscoloured!

 

[phil675]

Spent 6 hours cleaning today.

ValetPro Orange Pre Wash
AG Shampoo and a bit of VP tar remover
Sonus clay
Dried with wilkos 97p quick detailer - good stuff
AG EGP all over
AG Bumper Care on the plastic bits and Fast Glass on the windows
Wheels - Bilberry, de-tar, AG wheel sealant and Megs tyre gel.

I was thinking about doing a polish with Ultra Deep Shine but I did polish it about a 2 months ago and I think its still doing the job, also UDS and EGP aren't meant to work well together so I just put the EGP on it to last me the winter, last time it had EGP was probably spring. I wish I could do something about the stripes, they look a bit tatty close up.

This is the first time I've cleaned the car while at uni, my housemates think I'm mad!

Bad picture but shiny:

 

[Westyfield2]

ARGH!

Washed my car this afternoon for the first time since bonfire night... where there was ash from neighbours fireworks the paint is now slightly contaminated. Need to clay bar it sometime now... problem is I won't have the time for a while as I've got five university assignments due in soon and am busy applying for placement jobs.

It's going to annoy me everytime I see it until I get it clayed. Sad face .

 

[panthro]

That Golf looks friggin awesome. Loving the upgraded satnav. Good luck keeping it that shiny in this weather

 

[mrk]

Thread dropped off 1st page, Y U?!

Anyway... bought a 160g claybar and a fresh tin of Collinite 476s, it's that time of year again ;o - £18.21 well spent.

 

[-Ad-]

Dirty Sassenach Teg is Dirty and needed her winter coat!

Wolfs De-ironiser at work (only progress pic as I rushing to beat the sunset)

Popped down to see the sunrise this morning

Some beading from a passing shower

 

[Begbie]

Looks awesome

 

[Ewaf]

Hi chaps!

I have just bought myself my first decent car. It's one of the new renault clio's (new style), and naturally I want to keep it in tip top condition. The car I drove before was a heap of chunk and I generally didn't put much effort into cleaning it, but I want to make sure my new car looks it's best. With christmas just around the corner and relatives hounding me for present ideas, I wondered if anyone knew of a decent car cleaning kit?

I've just flicked through this thread and am astounded at how deep car cleaning can go and some of the cars look stunning. So naturally I want one that's good for someone new to proper car cleaning (if there is such a thing?).

Thanks in advance guys and I hope to get some pics up soon

Also:

AWESOME PICS

What camera have you got dude? Stunning.

 

[Irish_Tom]

We could give you a long list of individual products to make up an 'essentials' cleaning kit, but most of it would have to be ordered online from a specialist and it won't make for the easiest present purchase.

Probably your best bet is to go for one of the Autoglym kits which will have most, if not all, of the stuff you need.

They range from £10–£100 so there's plenty of scope for different budgets and if there's anything that's not included in the kit you get, spend some of your other Christmas money making the set complete.

 

[Nazbit]

I have a lot of black plastic on my car and lately I've been getting a bit fed up of bumper products that wash off after a few days. So I decided to try Gtechniq C4 which is supposed to be semi permanent and last for a year or so. A similar claim to collinite waxes I suppose.

Anyway it costs about £30 for a 15ml bottle so it better be good!!!

Before



After



I've only managed to do a small amount of trim, as you can see I was rained off.

So far so good though, it seems to give a nice dark shade of black but without a glossy finish.

My plan is to use a heatgun on the bigger areas of plastic like the bumpers and door inserts at the weekend, and this stuff on the tricky places like wing mirrors, roof gutters, rubber window seals etc.