*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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Tried my new rotary out on Sunday, pretty pleased with the results.

I've never used any form of machine polisher before, always polished by hand with Autoglym and similar products. My car is 12 years old now and I was getting frustrated with the fact that it showed swirls and scratches under bright sunlight, this was spoiling the affect of my wash routine.

So I decided to have a go at correcting the paint. I opted for a rotary and 3M polish and pads.

There are a lot of horror stories and warnings about using a rotary but I found it very straight forward, I did quite a few sets while I was learning about speeds and pressure first of all, trial and error really.

Once I got the hang of it I was pleased with the results.

I've only done the bonnet and wings so far, so after my next wash I'll work on some other panels.

Its great to see the new finish under strong sunlight, glossy and now free of imperfections.

Mandatory poor quality phone shot ...



.. Not bad for 12 year old paint?
 
Postie just turned up with some goodies, any tried either of these:

2012-04-25-12.01.jpg
 
Siliconslave said:
so, how are people planning on cleaning their cars during the hose pipe ban - annoyingly I didn't get a chance to clean mine last weekend and the ban has kick in here :( Guess its time to wash out the watering can!
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Either very stealthily ;) or do what I plan on doing and fill up a bucket or two with water and just use a pressure washer, taking a feed from the buckets. Apparently they don't use as much water as you'd think.



And I use Demon Shine detailing spray after a regular wash to get rid of excess watermarks etc, and as a general all purpose cleaner / clay lubricant. Does a nice job.
 
Nazbit said:
Tried my new rotary out on Sunday, pretty pleased with the results.

.. Not bad for 12 year old paint?
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Very not bad!

I've always wanted a rotary polisher but the thought of paying £150 for a good one, plus pads, plus polish, plus 6-7 hours to do the car fills me with dread!

What rotary polisher have you got?
 
Not bad!

How can other manufacturers justify asking 3 times more for a similar product? Is there something about the £160 which makes them 3 times better?
 
Have next Thursday off before I go to i45 so am going to give the car a thorough clean.

Pre-rinse and spray the heavily solied parts with Citrus Degreaser
2BM wash with Dodo Supernatural or BTBM
Rinse
Tar removal
Clay
Rinse and dry
Autoglym SRP or Dodo Lime prime
1 x coat of Swissvax Onyx (Love this wax)
Chemical guys New Look Trim Gel for the black trim parts.
Exhaust polish.

Wheels will get a thorough clean and some protection from Poorboys wheel sealant and the interior will have a thorough hoover, dust and trim protectant applied.

Looking quite forward to it :D
 
Is there anything you can get for hosepipes to filter out calcium deposits? Recently my car has been drying with some obvious water spots.
 
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Gaygle said:
Not bad!

How can other manufacturers justify asking 3 times more for a similar product? Is there something about the £160 which makes them 3 times better?
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Yep, they are more durable, and lighter. If you are a professional using the machine day in day out then it would be worth it. My silverline is pretty darn heavy and the power trigger became faulty after a year (of very little use tbh).
 
The better rotaries, are less prone to transmitting vibrations down the handle, when i do a few cars in a row with my silverline, I can really feel it in my wrists and arms.

Aslong as you get a decent set of pads, then a silverline is just fine, use carters consumables for pads one of the cheapes around for 3m pads.
 
Whats that metal polish called that everyone uses and will it make my heatshields and induction pipe shiny because as you can see they are verry dull at the moment.

IMAG0198.jpg
 
Autosol, and it is worth a go, might need to spend a bit more time on a material like that to get it shining though.
 
Hosepipe ban is getting on my wick, especially as this is the Wettest Drought Since Records Began (TM)

Took the car to the local jetwash today and gave it a good going over - high pressure shampoo, followed by hot shampoo, followed by high pressure rinse. I was thorough, but got home and the car is still filthy. Really cant get it clean without a decent going over with wash mitt and proper shampoo :mad:

I shall have to console myself with giving the interior a good clean later.
 
Can't you just do all your bits, go over it with a mitt and then use a watering can to get rid of suds and dry? Or just take your bucket and wash mitt to the jetwash and do it all on site.
 
Just took mine to the local jet wash, luckily they do a pretty decent job there. Would do it myself, but with all the flood water recently I needed the jet wash to get out all of the rubbish from the body work.
 
I've adopted the 'rinse with a watering can' method now after discovering that my pressure washer won't build up enough pressure being fed from a bucket :(
 
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