Motors Post your favourite detailing products, techniques and results

This is where I went wrong then. I applied it to the whole car before buffing it out, plus the fact I even thought at the time that I might have applied too much. It was my first attempt so the next one will be better, thanks.

Thanks for that too. I bought some ArmourAll Wheel sealant that Unicorn recommended so hopefully they won't need touching for a while which gives me time to buy new products.

I've easily spent close to £150 so far and can see myself spending £50 more, but I'm not bothered when I know it's protecting my car and making it look so much better!

Thanks for all the advice guys.

 

Hahahaha. I remember when I'd spent "£150 so far". Three years ago, in one order

 

I don't rate AutoGlym Tar Remover either, but it's better than Meguiar's Gold Class Tar Remover - it leaves jizz-like stains everywhere... particularly on trim, which is difficult to avoid when the spray bottle doesn't have the same control as the AutoGlym (which has other problems). Not recommended.

Regarding my car... got it back today - it was such a good feeling to drive away in it this morning, even if it did take an hour to rearrange the car park to get it back. The mushy A4 TDI I'd been driving around in just wasn't doing it for me.

Unfortunately, the stealers cleaned it... it's too wet today to see whether it's been subject to a gritty sponge or not, but it's still beading very well at least so it doesn't look like they stripped off the sealant. They've not attempted to get rid of the scratch too, which is good, as I want to do that myself.

Here's hoping that the last 6 months of getting rid of the previous owners' swirls does not come unstuck after one trip to the dealer.

 

Bog standard bought by the litre paraffin, works wonders on tar, oil, grease, wax etc etc.

 

Wait, your TT had a previous owner?! Wow, I thought you bought that new!

That's what Dad used on every car he owned until I got into detailing and he gained access to professional tar removers A litre of paraffin is probably the same price as a litre of Concept.

Also,

 

Nap, I bought used - I can't justify losing 15-20% of the car's value as soon as I drive off the forecourt.

The previous owner kept the car well maintained and in good condition, but failed to take much care of the paint work so I've been getting it back into the condition it should be in. I've got a couple of stone chips to get to eventually, but they aren't going to simply buff out.

Part of the reason I got a good deal was because I haggled over the state of the paintwork and tried the old end of the month trick (walk in close to the end of the month and backdate the contracts so they count as the previous month even if delivery doesn't happen til the following month). I got roughly 20% off the ticket price and had a whole bunch of extras thrown in for free.

 

Anyone had any experience with SnowFoam lances? Is it worth it at all?

 

I would say it depends how often you wash your car.

The basic principle is that yes they are worth it because they get rid of as much dirt as possible (potential for gritty sponges) without you actually having to touch the car. However, if you're washing regularly enough and have hard paint, a decent jetwash will also get rid of most of the crap.

I don't have access to a snow foam lance due to my limited water supply (I use the local jetwash and then clay/polish at home if I'm not washing my car at my parents' place) but the local detailer does a decent car wash, with snow foam, two buckets, clean micro fibre mitts (freshly washed for each car), clean micro fibre drying towels and vacuumed inside for 15 quid without any sealant - it's a pretty good base for claying, polishing and sealing. It'd cost 10 quid for a gritty sponge inside and out.

 

Awesome, sounds like you got an epic deal! I definitely know where you're coming from with losing 15-20% right off the forecourt. I don't think I'll ever buy new again.

Yep, I have a PA Lance which you can find here - I mentioned the great deal that AutoBrite have on DW in the pressure washers thread:

Unfortunately my Draper pressure washer has packed up again so I can't use the lance at the moment There is definitely a huge benefit though, it loosens and carries away dirt that has gone through a whole lot of wetting and drying cycles which is very common during the winter and shouldn't be wiped off the paintwork without pre-treating because it's sure to cause wash marring. Polished Bliss did a couple of very good videos about foam lances and pre-washing:







I'm pretty sure the next washer I'm going to buy will be this one, I'm tired of sub £200 washers breaking after 18 months and want the added advantage of a heated washer again. I had free access to a heated Kew Alto one for years and it was a brilliant cleaner, but no longer have access to that. I've now had three cheap electric washers in 5 years.

 

Paraffin normally runs me £1.50 a litre tops.

 

OK yes, that's cheaper!

 

Bought some paste wax today much easier than the liquid stuff to apply and looks better. That takes my total to £60 so far but I have yet to buy a the stuff I need for my first polish.

 

My wallets already screaming at me this month. May need to wait a little while longer before i get a machine polisher. I'm quite interested in the Chemical Guys set on CleanYourCar.

 

It's a good set, but be careful;

I don't rate them as a retailer at all, and there are plenty of people on ClioSport.net who feel exactly the same as I do;

So... tread carefully there. PolishedBliss and Elite Car Care have treated me much better in just one order each than CYC did in who knows how many orders over three years. Their stock levels are diabolically low at the moment too, and have been for a while.

 

I've had an AB lance for around 5 years now and I'd say it's been well worth the investment just for the strange looks & comments from passers-bye while it's in use!

In all seriousness, as has been said, you can often do a touch-less wash with snow foam if you have well maintained sealant/wax coating. Dry off with your favourite detail spray/drying aid and a quality towel and it's a quick and easy process. Obviously, if you've been doing rally-cross or not washed the car in months then it's a different story, but for a fortnightly wash it should suffice.

 

Have I mentioned Euro Car Parts have a sale on at the mo.

 

The power of boggo standard paraffin & WD40;

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And whilst I can not ever be classified as a detailer in any way, I do like a good polish.

It's a task that fills me with dread, but once knuckled down I can spend hours and hours at it, working through sandpapers, followed by wet & dry, then onto the polishing mop and bars set and then finishing with a good Mygyers metal polish.

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Rain under the lacquer had knackered these pillion hanger;



So lets loose the lacquer and sand all the pitting out;

 

So, dear car detailers of bit-Tech, I may need some help. Having had to clean a lot of bird dirt off my car in the 3 minutes I had before attending a wedding, I may have scratched some of the paint. It's not gone through, but the area looks dulled and you can see lines. Best way to sort this without spending a fortune? If you need to know anything else, please ask

 

Mrlongbeard, very nice job on the bike! I think that's the first motorbike detailing we've seen in this thread. Those hangers came up like they were just out of the chroming tank

RinSewand - I recommend Meguiars M105 and a Meguiars microfiber applicator pad (used as a cutting pad). M105 is quite effective at removing scratches like that and isn't as aggressive as something like G3 cutting compound. Make sure the area is completely clean before you start rubbing, as it's very easy to make the problem worse with pad contamination. Get a microfiber cloth to buff it out if you don't have one already. If you find that you can still see some of the scoring after using M105, move on to M205 to finish it out, unless you have a dark coloured car, in which case I'd always recommend a third stage of Menzerna SF4500 to give it that final glow that makes it look like better than new paint.

This is the most effective way of removing small defects without investing hundreds of pounds in a DA polisher and pads - I corrected several small scuffs on the Clio with this combination last year, before I'd bought the DA. It takes a little elbow grease when working by hand, but elbow grease is cheaper than a machine polisher