*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[grudas]

I'm in the market for a Snow Foam Lance and some Snow Foam to go with it!

I've come up with the following...

- Autobrite Snow Foam Lance (Includes 500ML of Magifoam)
- Magifoam 5L "OR" Bilt Hamber Auto Foam

I'm sure everyone has a preference but just after some advice really, would the above be a solid choice or anything else worth considering?

Snow foam Lance doesn't really matter, they're all the same under the pretty plastic. Get one with brass connections etc and you'll be golden. £15 eBay jobbie does the same thing.

As far as foam goes both magifoam and bilt hamber are great. I've just finished my 5ltr tub if magifoam and now got a 5ltr of bilt hamber.

The main difference is the time it sits on the car, magifoam is thick and can sit for 10-15mins but that doesn't = better cleaning. Bilt hamber is more watery and sits on a car 5mins or so but cleans just as well. It's also usually cheaper! Seen it as cheap as £16/5ltr.

Can't go wrong with either. Cleaning power wise etc they're very closely matched but personally bilt hamber edges autobrite by a tiny bit, simply because I prefer less time and less use(1ltr premixed snow foam Lance does 3-4 washes)

 

[Gilbert89]

Either of those foams are great, personal preference for me is the autobrite magifoam has it has better cling.

The "Cling" / Dwelling time of Magifoam is appealing as it will me plenty of time to do a proper job of the wheels before pressure washing the foam off.

Generic eBay lance and 5l of both magifoam and bilt hamber

I can see the logic - Cheaper lance to do the same job but having 10L of product for similar money.. something to think about 100%

Snow foam Lance doesn't really matter, they're all the same under the pretty plastic. Get one with brass connections etc and you'll be golden. £15 eBay jobbie does the same thing.

As far as foam goes both magifoam and bilt hamber are great. I've just finished my 5ltr tub if magifoam and now got a 5ltr of bilt hamber.

The main difference is the time it sits on the car, magifoam is thick and can sit for 10-15mins but that doesn't = better cleaning. Bilt hamber is more watery and sits on a car 5mins or so but cleans just as well. It's also usually cheaper! Seen it as cheap as £16/5ltr.

Can't go wrong with either. Cleaning power wise etc they're very closely matched but personally bilt hamber edges autobrite by a tiny bit, simply because I prefer less time and less use(1ltr premixed snow foam Lance does 3-4 washes)

Makes sense actually, i'll be sure to pick a lance with brass fittings for longevity etc.

I did want to mention the price difference but as I wasn't aware of dilution ratios I left it out in case it was false economy e.g having to mix at twice the strength.

Thanks all for the advice.

 

[shaank]

This thread made me buy things.

New Nilfisk jetwash to replace my old noisy Karcher, including the snow foam lance bit which I love - really should have bought this years ago!

 

[glenimp617]

What do you mean by that you can see bits that aren't perfect?

Can't help but feel I have paid £500 (actually it was £525) for a fancy wash.....which I could have done better myself if I had the spare time (which I don't). The final bill comes to £645 as I had to pay an extra £120 to remove water spots after I stupidly rinsed it before taking it over. I'm not convinced they are all gone either.

struggling to upload photos

this forum really needs an update

seem to have an IMG tag gone rogue

 

[Cookeh]

£120 to remove water spots? When you paid for full paint correction (which removes them anyway) and even so water spots will wipe off in 5 mins using a qd or water spot remover. Wow. £525 for full paint correction (assuming multi-stage with 90% correction) and a ceramic coating isn't too ridiculiu price wise, though would expect a better product than GTechniq - it's a bit of a home amateur ceramic.

 

[glenimp617]

£120 to remove water spots? When you paid for full paint correction (which removes them anyway) and even so water spots will wipe off in 5 mins using a qd or water spot remover. Wow. £525 for full paint correction (assuming multi-stage with 90% correction) and a ceramic coating isn't too ridiculiu price wise, though would expect a better product than GTechniq - it's a bit of a home amateur ceramic.

Yeah I do feel a bit ripped off, I wouldn't mind so much if all the spots had been removed and all the light swirls (the cars 3 weeks old) gone but they haven't. I'm also not sure if he's even put ceramic on the black plastic parts between the doors. He's done some PPF for me free of charge on there though, but it's only the cheap stuff.

It was a single stage polish due to the cars age

There is light scratch lines on the bonnet from when the garage did the valet. Unfortunately due to the thin paint (56 microns) he said he daren't go any deeper on them.

I've had a word with him and taking it back on Saturday. He'll run his light bar over it to check everything again.

Just feel that I have paid £645 and the car isn't much better than it was before.

 

[Muska]

If he's doing a machine correction anyway shouldn't he be washing it first regardless of water spots and removing any old polish etc which the dealership may have applied?

£120 to remove water spots is really bad!

I can't see much from your pictures by the way, they've posted quite small and a bit grainy so it's hard to make out any imperfections.

 

[glenimp617]

If he's doing a machine correction anyway shouldn't he be washing it first regardless of water spots and removing any old polish etc which the dealership may have applied?

£120 to remove water spots is really bad!

I can't see much from your pictures by the way, they've posted quite small and a bit grainy so it's hard to make out any imperfections.

Yeah, he washed it three times and then had to spend hours using a spot remover to get it ready for polishing. Although he then told me the machine polisher would get them out anyway and he would do the parts where the machine can't reach.
There are still spots though in the panel gaps.

 

[Drollic]

If you're comparing his work to how you picked up a new car, the work will always have less of an impact compared to taking in a car a few years old full of swirl marks.

 

[glenimp617]

If you're comparing his work to how you picked up a new car, the work will always have less of an impact compared to taking in a car a few years old full of swirl marks.

Yeah, I think I was just expecting perfection......I mean it was over £500

Perhaps when I first wash it after the 3-4 week curing period I'll be a bit happier

 

[Raymond Lin]

Yeah, I think I was just expecting perfection......I mean it was over £500

Perhaps when I first wash it after the 3-4 week curing period I'll be a bit happier

I thought ceramic needs 7 days with no water on it for it to cure properly, not 3-4 weeks?

 

[glenimp617]

I thought ceramic needs 7 days with no water on it for it to cure properly, not 3-4 weeks?

I read a lot of posts online which says that, plus that's what the detailer recommended

one example

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/curing-time-for-ceramic-coating.99718/

Even better if it's 7 days

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Can't help but feel I have paid £500 (actually it was £525) for a fancy wash.....which I could have done better myself if I had the spare time (which I don't). The final bill comes to £645 as I had to pay an extra £120 to remove water spots after I stupidly rinsed it before taking it over. I'm not convinced they are all gone either.

Wait, you seriously paid £120 to remove water spots? on top of the £500? Where on earth did you take it?

£120? Geez.

I thought ceramic needs 7 days with no water on it for it to cure properly, not 3-4 weeks?

No, that is just more of the 'ceramic' hype and part of the industries marketing ploy to get more money. It is clearly working too looking at this post.

 

[glenimp617]

I know

 

[CaptainRAVE]

I know

Oh well, live and learn and all that.

 

[Cookeh]

Wait, £525 for single stage paint correction that didnt even remove minor swirls? Thats beyond pathetic and significantly above average prices.

 

[glenimp617]

Wait, £525 for single stage paint correction that didnt even remove minor swirls? Thats beyond pathetic and significantly above average prices.

nor water spots!!

I'll see if I can get some better photos at lunch time. You might think I'm being pedantic and worrying over nothing. How picky should I be?

Does seem a lot, but I thought I was getting a good deal at the time as reading online people are paying much more.....but maybe not a good deal afterall. He came across like he was doing me a favour, god knows what he's charging others. Guess if you can afford a bentley, what's £500!

I did read that gtechniq C2V3 is prone to water spotting, maybe that's it......but some normal ones are still present in the gaps between panels.

My invoice is something like

Prep Stage £250
Crystal Serum Light with v2 £180
C5 alloy face only £55
Clear Vision on the glass £40

and then the 4hrs additional work for water spots £120

£645 total

Like I said, if it was perfect I'd be happier

 

[baron02]

hello, I'm wondering if you can help? I just got a bottle of ONR to act as a water softener in the 2 wash bucket. How much of this do i need to use per 10ltr bucket? i have seen that 30ml is t one used but it does not mention how many litres.

 

[robj20]

Crystal Serum Light is the prosumer version of Crystal Serum Ultra, no way would i pay someone to apply a prosumer level product.

Also i don't know how good a mate he is, but hes charged you a lot for that. Clearvision is easy to apply and costs £10 for a full bottle that does many many cars.

 

[Dis86]

hello, I'm wondering if you can help? I just got a bottle of ONR to act as a water softener in the 2 wash bucket. How much of this do i need to use per 10ltr bucket? i have seen that 30ml is t one used but it does not mention how many litres.

Google gave me:

Directions:



Add 1 oz. of Optimum No Rinse to 1-2 gallons of water to make a no rise car wash. Soak Optimum Xtra Large Microfiber Towel in the wash bucket. Wash one car panel. Soak the towel in the wash bucket again and do another panel till the entire vehicle is washed. Use a fresh Xtra plush Microfiber Towel to dry the car. You can also dry and wax your vehicle by spraying Optimum Car wax on each panel as you are drying it.

Add 1 ounce to wash water made with your regular car wash. No Rinse Wash & Shine's advanced polymers and lubricants offer more surface protection and slickness than ordinary car soap alone. It acts as a water softener and conditioner to improve the quality of the water that touches your vehicle to provide the ultimate safe wash.

Add 2 ounces of No Rinse Wash & Shine to a gallon of water to make a super-slick clay bar lubricant. Wet the surface of your vehicle to provide a slippery protective layer beneath your clay. After you've clayed each section, simply wipe it dry. This solution is as effective as any clay lubricant you can buy!

Add 6 ounces of No Rinse Wash & Shine to a gallon of water to make an excellent quick detailer. Fill up a spray bottle with this mixture and use it to clean and shine your vehicle, just as you would use a traditional detailer. The proprietary polymers bond to the paint surface to protect it from abrasion and micro-marring as you clean. The incredible formula leaves your vehicle extremely slick and glossy, like you just applied wax!