*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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Actually, lighter fuel, aka Naphta works wonder to remove anything like that. Leaves zero residue, and is not greasy. Wonderful stuff lighter fuel, it's up there with Blue Tack and Acetone as the God Given Substance of Godliness :-)

Try it next time, lighter fuel removes anything greasy and/or sticky in mostly one wipe.
 
Anyone got a dark grey car?

I'm a big fan of light colours up and including mid-grey - easy to look after, hides swirls, always smart. Sure it's never as rewarding as polishing a black car but then it doesnt look as shabby a few years down the line either. Silver and grey hides scratches, marks, swirls, etc.

Plus when its filthy and you can't be bothered a 30 minute wash with a wipe over with some quick detailer = great looking car again. Not so with black.

Where does dark grey sit? My assumption is that it's as big a pain as black therefore if you wouldnt want a black one, you wouldnt want a dark grey one either.

In reality though... is it?
 
I had a dark grey car, and it wasn't quite as bad a a black car - but almost. You could still get that lovely deep reflection effect on it...

IMG_0417.jpg


...but of course, the sills/doors could quickly end up looking a bit nasty during wetter weather. Road grime gets sprayed up the side and dries to that light brown colour which really stands out, see below.

IMG_1881.jpg


The same happens around the lower rear bumper - that can quite quickly get that dusting of light brown. Swirls are also a bit more evident.

Basically I'd say your assumption is on the money - technically it's not quite as bad a black car, but still a pain to keep clean.
 
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[TW]Fox;26053913 said:
Anyone got a dark grey car?

I'm a big fan of light colours up and including mid-grey - easy to look after, hides swirls, always smart. Sure it's never as rewarding as polishing a black car but then it doesnt look as shabby a few years down the line either. Silver and grey hides scratches, marks, swirls, etc.

Plus when its filthy and you can't be bothered a 30 minute wash with a wipe over with some quick detailer = great looking car again. Not so with black.

Where does dark grey sit? My assumption is that it's as big a pain as black therefore if you wouldnt want a black one, you wouldnt want a dark grey one either.

In reality though... is it?
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My a3 tdi was lava grey, awesome colour when clean but just like black cars went dirty very quickly and just looked like a dirty black car.
 
My last car was gunmetal and compared to my current black car it was a dream to keep looking nice. Every tiny speck of dirt shows up on my black car whereas the gunmetal one looked cleaner for longer.
 
Well my autoglym super resin Polish is running out. Fancy trying something different, I do not use a machine polisher and my car is white (solid) any recommendations?
 
[TW]Fox;26053913 said:
Anyone got a dark grey car?

I'm a big fan of light colours up and including mid-grey - easy to look after, hides swirls, always smart. Sure it's never as rewarding as polishing a black car but then it doesnt look as shabby a few years down the line either. Silver and grey hides scratches, marks, swirls, etc.

Plus when its filthy and you can't be bothered a 30 minute wash with a wipe over with some quick detailer = great looking car again. Not so with black.

Where does dark grey sit? My assumption is that it's as big a pain as black therefore if you wouldnt want a black one, you wouldnt want a dark grey one either.

In reality though... is it?
Click to expand...

Mine is pearlescent grey, its nice but in the sun, certain angles make it look purple.
 
Manbatius said:
Well my autoglym super resin Polish is running out. Fancy trying something different, I do not use a machine polisher and my car is white (solid) any recommendations?
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There are better products on the market than SRP.

I'd highly recommend Auto Finesse Tripple. Very easy to apply & leaves no dust unlike SRP.

I'd spray a coat of C2V3 on top to seal it in.
 
SRP leaves no dust if you work it a bit longer ;)

SRP has slightly more abrasives in than tripple so can correct better rather than fill but I must agree the tripple is one hell of a product. More fillers though if you're happy with that :)I've just bought some ArtdeShine Kostos Obsidian wax to put over tripple which should be sweet :)
 
Amos91 said:
There are better products on the market than SRP.

I'd highly recommend Auto Finesse Tripple. Very easy to apply & leaves no dust unlike SRP.

I'd spray a coat of C2V3 on top to seal it in.
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Does it contain fillers?

I always found SRP to be great because you can get good results with hand polishing as it fills minor swirls. Mine's running out too though, so a replacement would be handy.
 
Thanks. Might give it a try next :)

EDIT: Keep hearing good things about FKP1000 as a wax as well. Next supply run will probably include that and some AF Tripple.
 
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Some interesting options there.

I should have mentioned I am also almost out of autoglym extra gloss protection. Which I use both on paint and wheels. I used to use poor boys wheel sealant but found this easier to apply.

My wax is collinite 476s which I have plenty of and I quite like. So not sure the need for a all in one? Though I guess more wax won't harm it.
 
Manbatius said:
Some interesting options there.

I should have mentioned I am also almost out of autoglym extra gloss protection. Which I use both on paint and wheels. I used to use poor boys wheel sealant but found this easier to apply.

My wax is collinite 476s which I have plenty of and I quite like. So not sure the need for a all in one? Though I guess more wax won't harm it.
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The all-in-one is only a light wax. Seal over it with whatever you please. I used to use 476s (got a brand new pot still) however I am converted to C2V3. It lasts as long and is easier to apply. I've also that 476s dulls the metallic flake in sunlight whilst C2V3 adds a little gloss.
 
Does anyone have any recommendations for keeping BMW leather tip-top? It is very different in terms of feel/texture to my previous Audi S6 and Mercedes S-Class so I don't know if I need to take care of it differently.

I presume dealing with my dark blue paint is no different to black paint, so that's alright...
 
Hi all,

Has anyone used Auto Finesse Triple all in one? It's getting so many rave reviews so I intend to buy some. Question is, am I right to use it instead of a wax?! So should I clay, then use this, then wax, or is it fine on it's own?!
 
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