Motors Post your favourite detailing products, techniques and results

This got a good wash and some much needed TLC over the weekend. After a good decontamination and wash, all the black plastics were dressed with Auto Finesse Revive, paint sealed with AF Power Seal then topped with Collinite 476S. Yesterday was a dull, overcast day so not the best for photographs but I snapped this one of it anyway:



It's cleaner now inside and out than it has been since I've owned it. There is still lots of work to do on the exterior never mind inside though, namely the rest of the paintwork correction (I haven't polished anything behind the passenger and drivers doors yet, and the rear panels are worse than the front ones were) restoring the headlights, stone chip touch-ups and of course getting a set of 16" alloys and new tyres on it for the dry months. It's getting there, slowly but surely!

 

Been buying and preparing the RS for the road again, washed/polished/waxed on a sunday, but I've been doing the rubber/vinyl/plastics over the course of the week, so the interior is spangly too (Ignore the missing badge, that's a placeholder!);

http://i.imgur.com/edVc6Hz.jpg

I also like how it looks in the rain;

http://i.imgur.com/qHJfmGn.jpg

All Autoglym products, with the exception of Poorboys Blackhole! Super resin polish, HD wax, most of their interior cleaners and so on.

I need to get a machine polisher at some point..

 

Looking really good liratheal, the only thing I love seeing more than paint beading water in the rain is paint looking like a mirror under forecourt lights at a service station!

Not sure if I've posted this anywhere on bit-tech yet; This is a photo from one of my freezing cold winter detailing sessions up on the coast. I never imagined it would be so bad when I started out, but an uninsulated garage in winter is not the place to be, never mind trying to work in those conditions. I certainly won't be doing it again next winter!

It's your average 50:50 shot, for those of you who don't know what this is, an area of a panel which is being correctively polished is masked off and the tape is polished over. When the masking tape is removed, it leaves a "50:50" line which shows a clear before and after of the paint's condition. This is my pasenger wing after several passes with the following compounds and pads:

1. Menzerna FG400 on Meguiar's Microfiber cutting pad
2. Menzerna PF2300 on Meguiar's MF cutting pad
3. Menzerna SF4000 on Menzerna foam finishing pad

Machine polisher used was the Meguiar's G220V2 with both Meg's own 6" backing plate and the flexipads 3" backing plate for the 3" Meg's pads.

Right of the shot shows three years of improper washing and neglect. Extremely diminished reflectivity, lots of wash marring, swirl marks and even some RIDS (Random Isolated Deep Scratches). The right side speaks for itself, it's basically a mirror. Those little flecks you can see in the paint on the polished side are the "pores" in the paint. This is basic Renault Glacier White, sprayed on by robots in a factory. It's good, but when you look at it this closely, you see the little imperfections. Hand sprayed, show quality paintwork would still have these but they would be even harder to spot. To achieve this quality of correction takes around 1-2 hours for medium sized, easy access panels like the wings, bonnet and so on. Applying and curing sealant to protect what you've done takes twice as long.

There is absolutely no LSP (last step product), sealant or wax of any sort on this paint, it's been polished, wiped off with a mist of IPA to remove silicone lubricants in the polishing compound and shot with a camera on a tripod. I've completed the bonnet, front bumper panel, wings, driver and passenger doors with this exact same process. I'll be finishing the rest over the summer.



And here's a video panning back and forth across the tape line. It goes without saynig, watch in HD



Lots more to come!

 

Ordered this for my Focus today

 

Very nice Kovoet, that looks like a nice piece. Boot shuts are one of the major problem areas for scratches and scores, and I think it makes a vehicle look really tired when areas like that, door jambs and sills are all scuffed up.

 

Thanks for the thumbs up. I ordered the door scuffs from them today as well in the same material and finish.

 

Installed

 

Hoping someone can help me. I've bought some of the basics to give my car the once over (Meguairs Gold, Wool mitt, microfibres towel) as it's looking a bit dusty at the minute but what else is required to make sure it's properly sealed and clean?

(I did read through most of the thread but at some point just got lost!)

 

My door scuffs have arrived.

 

If you want a relatively long term seal you'll be wanting some Synthetic Sealant from Megs, AutoGlym etc, to be applied with the microfibre clothes after you've washed and dried your car. This will produce reasonable results without too much effort.

Would also recommend some interior shampoo of some description.

 

I typed out a huge reply to this thread and lost it because my browser crashed, so this one will be short and to the point. I may come back and edit it later.

Sealant wise you want something synthetic for protection, and something natural like carnauba wax for looks more than protection, even though it will still give your paintwork a protective coating from road dirt, contaminants etc. My van's paintwork (pictured above) is currently wearing Auto Finesse Power Seal synthetic sealant for protection with Collinite 476S paste wax over the top to add some shine and also another layer of protection.

My current favourite dressing for exterior plastic trim is Auto Finesse Revive. Don't forget to clean your trim with a good APC (all Purpose Cleaner) before applying any dressing. It won't bond to road dirt and grime, only clean plastic.

Glass sealant is another thing to consider. At the moment all but my windscreen is treated with GTechniq G4/G5 system. The windscreen has now been treated with the Nanolex Ultra Kit as the GTechniq G5 I had on it didn't last very long into the winter. The G5 on all my other glass is still going strong though.

I've ordered some more goodies for the van this week and hope to fit them as well as perform a thorough detail during a few days off work next week.

 

done the calipers thought I'd give it a go. Went for a different cooler though

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Going to see my family this weekend so should get a chance to give my car its last big wash before winter.

Managed to get lots of info from this thread so fingers crossed should take me a while but be all worth it.

 

Complete coincidence that I happened to log in this morning when this was bumped to the top of General. My winter prep session on the van was delayed a couple of weeks due to a last minute show we had booked, right in the middle of the 5 day period I'd set aside to do it before the weather turned.

My detailing gear is no longer at home, I've been chipping away at work on the garage at our coastal house for the past 6 months and since it's much bigger and emptier than the one at home, I decided to move my whole setup there. I still have the basics at home for maintenance washes, but 90% of it is up there now. So, I have no idea when I'm going to get the van prepped for winter now; I was hoping to go down after work this Thursday because I'm off site on Friday and Monday, which would have given me a few days to work with, but I'm babysitting at home all day on Saturday so that's out again.

As the weather gets colder, working up there gets harder. The garage is not insulated at all, and if working in it a few weekends last winter is anything to go by, I don't want to be there polishing and waxing in a hoodie, gloves, coat and scarf in November again! The cold, damp conditions are completely wrong for most LSPs anyway. Waxes, nano sealants and synthetics are supposed to be applied and allowed to cure in a certain temperature and humidity range to achieve best results, and winter in the UK is no good for any of them. I would like to insulate the garage eventually, but that's a job for next summer.

 

Fingers crossed I have access to everything i need to do a good job,

I have just had my order delivered of:
Meguiar's Quik Clay
Simoniz Insect and Tar Remover
Poorboys Nattys Paste Wax Carnauba White
20x assorted colour microfibre cloths
1x wash mitt
1x Wheel cleaning thing
12x foam applicator pads.

Theres shampoo and the rest at my dads place where I will be cleaning, I didnt think to get a sealant, hopefully I can get away with it as Im sure if he has any it will be for black cars as both of his Audi's are black.

will have to get some sealant ordered soon, Might wait till after winter if my dad hasnt got any spare that will suit my car, as I will be doing a decent length drive back from my dads on Sunday night and will not have time to do a massive clean again for a few months.

 

Threadromancy!

I just got finished playing with Poorboys SSR2.5 and Dodo Juice blue velvet;



Sadly nothing I can do about the stone chips, but there we are.

 

+1 for Blue Velvet. I use it on my car and for the price i can't complain.

Though, the Nanolex Si3D has worn off the bodywork after 2 years, the Ultra Glass Sealant is still working perfectly apart from the front window. I may have to spend some time over the next few weeks re-applying.

 

Will be claying, polishing and washing mine this week. I use Maguire and auto Glym

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x

 

So, I thought about posting in the FS sub, but figured it might be better here.

Anyone in the Lichfield area want ~5 litres of Autoglym Radiant Wax Polish?

I can't remember how old it is, but I don't get on with it for machine polishing so I've changed, and this is now kinda.. Surplus to requirements and unlikely to get used.