Motors Post your favourite detailing products, techniques and results

Use a brush on the carpets and brush it into one place. I find brushing carpets/interiors a lot easier than using a vacuum. Once this has been done, nip down your local garage/carwash and use their vacuum there. If you have brushed everything into one place you should only be there 30 seconds.

Tip, use a medium bristle brush. Too hard and you could rip up, too soft and it won't do anything. I use one that cost me about 20p from Wilkinsons.

 

Well, it looks like my winter prep is going to be delayed even longer... I managed to rearrange the front end this afternoon coming out of work It's not "Krikkit's Rallye" level of damage, but I am going to need a new front bumper, grille, number plate etc, and the gorgeous 6 month old A1 I swiped will need a new rear quarter panel and alloy. Such a silly mistake on both our parts, even though I've accepted responsibility

I didn't take a pic before it got dark, I'll post one tomorrow.

 

Ouch, bad luck! Hope it's sorted soon.

Glad it's not quite as bad as mine though, I got notification through that they want it to be a Cat. B write-off (i.e. near-impossible to get on the road).

 

Sorry to hear that mate, bet your missing the drivers seat already. Have you been looking for an alternative?

Have been getting comments all week on how clean my car is and how the beading on my car looks great. It's weird when it's pouring with rain most of my car is bone dry.

 

Given the damage I'm hopeful of making an appeal to Cat. C (it's not very serious to the shell, and replacement parts are available).

If I can't get it I'll be buying another 106 Rallye shell and transplanting my good parts over. I tried to think what else I would want, and for similar money I can't think of anything.

 

That's a shame man.

Hopefully they don't try and stiff you on payouts.

 

As promised, here's a pic of the damage to el Clio following her encounter with an Audi A1:




It doesn't look bad (the number plate was broken and badly scored in the accident, but still legible so I blurred it) but the front bumper, grill and the inner support that sits behind it (between the front cross member and the bumper at number plate level) are all broken. It's a replacement bumper & respray job, but thankfully it's going to a very reputable insurance company approved body shop who are going to help me out and repair a few of the other existing bodywork issues around the front end on the same claim, as well as most of the other major issues around the rest of the car at a reasonable rate. I'm contemplating that long sought after projector headlight upgrade whilst the front end is off her again. I might call Wests about that this afternoon...

 

****ing audi drivers.

 

I say the same around here... a LOT

It seems that all the chavs that USED TO buy 3 series beemers now(since the "new look" A4 with the DRLs) buy Audis.
A4s, A3s and A1s are SUPER popular here, and while the A1s are driven by young mothers, the A4s are reliably driven by w***kers ,it seems.

Anyhoo. Thanks for the brushing tip... funny how I don't think of simple thinks like that.

 

As it was mostly my fault, he's probably saying the same thing about Renault drivers Still, if he hadn't driven out round me when I was trying to get out of the junction it wouldn't have happened. Whatever though, I'm over it and it's all just metal, plastic and paint in the end.

 

I managed to get a wash and wax in yesterday before the rain.

 

Nice, looks clean and tidy.

It's beem a couple of weeks since I did mine. Must get around to doing it this weekend. Though i think it's going to be a little cold for it. I think the inside of the car needs more attention than the outside to be honest.

 

Reaching out for some tips here - The road outside my house was recently tarmacked and it seems a fine dust of tar (or something along those lines) has settled and hardened all over my car.

I first noticed it yesterday when it was sunny, and it looked like a golden glitter all over the windscreen. I washed it this morning and now it's evident that it's everywhere (and the wash did nothing to shift it)

Ultra-triple-mega-sad-face, basically.

So I'm thinking I probably have a few options:

- Tar-remover solvent, but then an entire (large) car would no doubt chew through a dozen bottles of it, and I'm not sure how sensible it is to use something that harsh over the entirety of the car.

- Go the full hog with a clay bar, polish and wax (perhaps preceded by a full wash of tar remover?)

- Grit teeth, bend over and hire a professional to sort it out.

Any bright ideas anyone can offer?

 

Sue the people who surfaced the road?! That's ridiculous!

 

try the tar remover on a small area first, tardis is good

spray, leave it to work for a few minutes and jet wash off... may bee a couple of hits :/

if it works..... get cracking lol

 

I know some people when snow-foaming put a dash of tar remover in with the snow-foam to help loosen up any stubborn bits, so shouldn't be too much of a problem doing the whole car.

Just make sure not to spray it all over, and then work around, as by the time you've got to the last bit there won't be any paint left,

 

Oh dear, sorry to hear that If it's covered that badly, on this occasion I would suggest giving it to a professional to sort out. Claying is going to leave a lot of marring and use a silly amount of clay, just as tardis/obliterate is going to use a silly amount of liquid. When Dad's new car got covered in iron grinding dust last year, I tried cleaning a panel with IronX myself, but it was still badly contaminated and I was eager to get it done by a pro. Unfortunately it didn't suit him not to have the car for too long, so he and I got it cleaned with 5 bottles (1 litre each) of IronX and a couple of bars of clay.

 

This was my first reaction, but then thinking over how it would play out in my head, I'm pretty sure that it would get me nowhere, and unnecessarily wind me up in the process, whereas just accepting what happened, and that it sucks, and sorting it out and moving on with my life is probably better all round. Unless you know of a precedent that may convince me otherwise? It's not a council owned road, which makes it a bit different.


I cleaned the windows this morning with some AG tar remover and it shifted things pretty easily, though did need a level of rubbing that I wouldn't be comfortable with on the paintwork.

I think I'll try mixing a bit in to the snow foam. I doubt that it will shift it all on the first wash, but perhaps over the course of a few. If there's not any progress made after a few I might resort to a pro, I've definitely decided I'm not going to attack mine with the clay bar. I'm planning to do a full detail to my wife's car once the weather brightens up, but her non-metallic white is going to be a hell of a lot more forgiving than my paintwork.

Thanks for the tips, gents

 

Re-surfacing of a private road...... you really mean you accidentally left it parked next your 3/4 mile long drive way didn't you. And when I say "you" I really mean Jeeves.

Best you tell Jeeves to fetch you your leather flogging glove, as he is in for one hell of a flogging for such a mistake.

 

Would highly recommend Autosmart. If you can find your local rep he could give you some pointers on the best way to remove the tar.

I have completely covered a car before now in tardis left for 2 minutes and wiped off then rinsed. Can highly recommend it. Autosmart also do a fallout remover which is great too.

Short of that, phone a pro.