*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[dacads]

After rain there is always lots of spots on my bonnet and roof

 

[Jokester]

Yeah lot of dust in the rain this past week.

 

[hamesy]

I'm looking at selling the wifes car soon and like a typical red Vauxhall, the paintwork has faded in certain areas. I've tried polishing by hand using Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and T-cut but it just aint doing anything. Just wondering if it's beyond polishing and needs a paint job?

Phone pics
http://imgur.com/3dx8bo2
http://imgur.com/uOyIvFc

tbh, it's only a Tigra so don't want to spend hours or money on it.....it's not worth a lot

 

[dacads]

Anybody used a citrus snow foam like auto finesse Avalanche or gtechniq w4?

I might just go with one of these or normal citrus pre wash, as from some reading the latter is definitely more effective than conventional snow foam.

 

[Conscript]

Anybody used a citrus snow foam like auto finesse Avalanche or gtechniq w4?

I might just go with one of these or normal citrus pre wash, as from some reading the latter is definitely more effective than conventional snow foam.

I tried AF Avalanche snow foam. I found it utterley useless. I used it as directed but it was no better than using just the pressure washer on its own. A shame as I'd seen people raving about AF products, but Avalanche was crap, and expensive crap as well.

 

[Jokester]

I use Avalanche. The foam is so thick it sticks for an age and soaks right in to any grime. What's left after rinsing it off comes off without any problem with the wool mitt.

 

[Housey]

I gave my R8 it's first wash today after having it detailed a couple of weeks back. It wasn't that dirty, but foam lance then jet wash off and it was clean! Dry off with 3 or 4 towels and looking like new again. Wheels still need some work, needed more than snow foam and jet wash.

 

[Conscript]

I use Avalanche. The foam is so thick it sticks for an age and soaks right in to any grime. What's left after rinsing it off comes off without any problem with the wool mitt.

What on Earth was I doing wrong then? When I used it, the foam was thin, didn't dwell long at all and had basically no cleaning power

Other foams I've used (AB Magifoam, BH Autofoam) have been far more effective when used in the same way.

 

[Jokester]

I had to adjust the knob on the inducter to the max, pretty much uses the whole bottle 500ml or so to do the car, but it's thick and sticky.

Used use Merguiers and it isn't a patch on the Avalanche.

 

[Housey]

I use Magifoam and this is what it looks like after about 5 minutes

 

[dacads]

What on Earth was I doing wrong then? When I used it, the foam was thin, didn't dwell long at all and had basically no cleaning power

Other foams I've used (AB Magifoam, BH Autofoam) have been far more effective when used in the same way.

Diluting too much maybe? Can be the only explanation for it being too thin

I had my eye on a lance on eBay which for some reason has gone up from £19.99 to £29.99

 

[DannyW]

Recentley discovered a new hobby.. car detailing.. I am quite OCD in day to day life so this makes sense to me

Did my car yesturday took around 3-4 hours of none stop work on the exterior

Pressure washed, Snow foam with washing up liquid (to remove previous waxes), Pressure washer rinse off, 2 bucket method, Pressure washer rinse, dried with a drying towel + microfibers and front area around grills with a leaf blower

Then used Meguiars clay bar, Meguiars Scratch x 2.0 all over (to help remove swirls), Autoglym HD Wax (inc. wheels), Meguiars Tyre Gel... Then went over car with Autoglym detailing spray and a microfiber to remove any missed polish/wax.







Really happy with the results, swirl marks havn't completely gone but they are barely visible in all lights/all angles

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Magifoam through Autobrite lance after about 10mins. Deffo better now hose water is warmer.

 

[Conscript]

Diluting too much maybe? Can be the only explanation for it being too thin

I had my eye on a lance on eBay which for some reason has gone up from £19.99 to £29.99

Yes but as I said, I diluted it specifically as instructed. Same dilution used with other foams is fine. Seeing as I'm the only person who thinks it's utter tosh, I'm beginning g to think I had a bad batch or something

 

[MoRT489]

Fantastic result there DannyW.

 

[dcsarge]

I spent the weekend getting all the stuff together to give our family wagon a proper clean and weather has turned. I also need to use the road as my drive isn't big enough and there are too many cars outside at the mo.

I invested in a Karcher K4, Detailing World Snow Foam Lance and foam, two 20l buckets with guards, Autoglym selection (shampoon, polish, interior sprays etc) and all the microfibre clothes, towels and mitts I thought I may need. I think I grabbed a Meguiars mitt too.

About the only thing I have got is a long enough reach to get to the roof and upper area of the windscreen. I got lazy taking our old Vivaro through the car wash but no chance with a Pug Boxer .

 

[dcsarge]

Is it best to rinse the vehicle before foaming or go straight on to dry paint/dirt? I assumed the latter, as you want the foam to lift as much of the surface dirt free as possible before jetting /hand washing.

 

[Havana_UK]

Snow foam is designed to keep the moisture on the surface for a prolonged period in order for it to soften up and loosen all the surface grime, but much of it will come off with a pressure washer rinse before hand and the car being wet doesn't impede the effectiveness of the snow foam in my experience.

I tend to go around all the worst areas of the car (lower half of doors downwards, sills, wheels & arches, rear end, front bumper) with a 6:1 dilution of Valet Pro Citrus pre-wash applied via a pump sprayer and leave this to soak for 5 minutes before pressure washing off. I find that this shifts the worst of the surface dirt, bugs, and general grime. It's also pretty effective at cleaning the worst of the brake dust off. Once that's rinsed I'll snow foam the whole car before rinsing a wheel at a time and cleaning all the wheels properly while the snow foam dwells.

I find it takes me about 30-40 minutes to thoroughly clean all four wheels, which is perfect for the snow foam dwell time. Next step is to rinse the foam all off and this actually leaves the car looking superficially clean, though on close inspection it's still got a film of dirt on it. This film of dirt, however, is easily cleaned with a two bucket contact wash.

 

[dcsarge]

Thanks for the info. I thought it might be worth giving it two blasts before hand washing. The van is black and we get hit by a lot of bird muck, ash and dust. It also has a lot of glass to polish. The wheels are steel rim though, so that won't be as time consuming as alloys to maintain.

 

[grudas]

Is it best to rinse the vehicle before foaming or go straight on to dry paint/dirt? I assumed the latter, as you want the foam to lift as much of the surface dirt free as possible before jetting /hand washing.

both a touch-free methods of removing dirt! I used to use snow foam but now I do -;

Citrus pre-wash
soak for 5 mins
pressure wash it
apply wheel cleaner
agitate cleaner on the wheels
pressure wash the wheels
two bucket wash
dry
quick detailer

and a coat of wax every few months.

IMO if your car is well sealed and protected the dirt will come off no issues with prewash/snow foam alone, only the worst will need two bucket.