Today I did some detailing...

MetzgerMeister

Claying doesn't help at all actually. I clayed that E60 thoroughly and it made not a blind bit of difference. What worked and always works is the D/A and cutting polish.

MetzgerMeister

A few more pics:

This was polishing the windows with cerium oxide (CarPro Ceriglass):



More fingerprints:



Done:

vectra

Looking good Dave,
Great job.

booooonzo

Hi all,
not sure if this is the right place for this or to start a new thread but I'll put here for now.
I have 1 large van camper conversion (single stage paint, Renault blue)
and two cars to detail. (Saab 93 , 07 Civic both black)

I have just got a new dual action polisher das6 pro plus with orange and blue hex pads.
Also have Maguire's compound and AG SRP and McGuire's gold class wash

I know I need to stock up on products but im at a loss where to start!

Both cars will need decontaminating & 2 stage polishs.
Neither has had much love.

The van is so big and single stage paint so I was hoping one pass with the maguire ultimate compound would be enough and then sealed somehow?

If you guys were doing these 3 on a relative small budget what products would you stock up on?
Clay bars/mats? How many/best value would be needed
IPA
Compound / polish - pad combos - no idea here
Microfibers/mitts
Waxes sealants, do I need a different one for van vs cars?


Any advice and links to a shop that does it all would be great

Thanks

Pops_20

I decided to make use of some of the Christmas detailing gifts I received and gave the arches of the car a proper clean and decontamination.

I started by pressure washing down the arches to get rid of any loose debris, followed by:

Bilt-Hamber Auto foam for a pre soak, left to dwell for 5-10 minutes.
Bilt-Hamber Sufex APC diluted 1:4 and agitated with various different detailing and wheel brushes
Bilt-Hamber Korrosol
Glimmermann Tartruct to deal with all the tar deposits from last Summer

Finished off with Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber on the arch liners, and then coated all metal parts of arches and accessible parts of the underside with Bilt Hamber Atom-Mac

Unfortunately I forgot to take any before pics, but its safe to say they are in better shape than they were. Not the worst I have seen, but I'd say the car never had a proper wheels off clean.








Bilt-Hamber Atom-Mac claims to be a "Migratory Corrosion Inhibitor". It supposedly helps prevent against rust and corrosion. Hard to quantify the effect it will have but I thought it was worth a go since old Nissans are prone to rusting.

ronnie3585

After buying the GTi almost 4 years ago, I washed it religiously every 2 weeks and always kept it in tip-top condition and shining by applying the latest wax/sealant. However, the last year has been exceptionally busy with a house purchase then re-build/extension, wedding, busy job and a lot of travel. All of this meant that sadly the car was neglected and was not washed in almost a full year

With things easing off towards the end of the year, I got my ar*e in gear and finally had the shed finished (floored, electric'd and plumbed). This meant I could at long last take my detailing gear from my parents' shed and wash the car!

I started first on the interior. It wasn't too bad, a good hover and then a once over with ODK Cabin had it looking (and smelling) great again.

Next I got to work on the exterior. It was a sorry sight being absolutely caked in crap. I used Koch Chemie together with a dash of IPA and foamed the car with it. It removed a large amount of the dirt and softened the remainder. I then give it a 2BM wash using CarPro Reset, I like how slick it is and find it has great cleaning power.

I had foamed, pressure washed and then hand washed the wheels - they came up very nicely as I coated them with DLUX about 18 months ago and it's still very much alive. I then hit them with Korrosol and it was amazing how much fallout had built up, the fronts in particular lit up! (I didn't have time for a pic as I was racing the light).

Next job was to decontaminate the paint. First with Korrosol, then with Tar-X. Thereafter, I went to work with a G3 clay mitt. I'm a big fan of clay mitts, I've found them very effective at removing contaminants, very safe and much quicker to cover an entire car than traditional clay. Even though I had only driven about 6,000klms in the last year, the amount of contamination on the paint was surprising. Every panel needed work. Once the paint was nice and glassy, I rinsed her off and dried her down.

I had a few options in terms of an LSP, but I came back to my old reliable - Soft 99 Fusso. It met the brief in that it's easy to apply and remove, has good (but not amazing) gloss and would easily see the car through the rest of the winter.

I finished up just as dusk was coming in, so please excuse the poor quality of pics, but it was wonderful to see her shine again and it felt deeply satisfying to get back in the saddle so to speak.

Before:












After:










I was greeted by this bead-mobile the next morning. I had forgotten just how good Fusso is, the beading and sheeting is fantastic:










The final job was the engine bay. It was about as grubby as one would expect. I covered up the alternator and sprayed down the bay with a 30% solution of Surfex. I then went to work with a detailing brush. I then wiped it down with a damp microfibre. Once finished and dried off, I gave the plastics a coating of DLUX and I think it turned out well.

Before:



After:

everlast75

Excellent work!!

(What year is the GTi outta curiosity?)

ronnie3585

Thanks. She's a 2011.

vectra

Excellent work Ronnie.
I still am a big fan of Fusso,
It really is mighty stuff,
Recently I have topped mine with a coat of Soft99 Water block.

ronnie3585

vectra wrote: »

Excellent work Ronnie.
I still am a big fan of Fusso,
It really is mighty stuff,
Recently I have topped mine with a coat of Soft99 Water block.

For the price, easy of application, protection and water action, I think it's unbeatable.

I applied a ceramic coating (C Quartz) soon after getting the car. The prep and application were a complete pain in the balls and it didn't even last two years. Fusso will easily last 9 months and is a breeze to apply.

I got a tin of King of Gloss free when I got the Fusso as there was an offer on at the time. Might top it with that, see how it looks.

vectra

First wash of 2019
Car was kind of manky after 1k kms.
Foamed with KKD Blizzard.
Washed with Insta finish supa foam shampoo
Never got to dry it as it was too late.









Much better :cool:

MetzgerMeister

Nice job Ronnie! You need to scrub your tyre walls, they're a bit brown looking

vectra

ronnie3585 wrote: »

For the price, easy of application, protection and water action, I think it's unbeatable.

I applied a ceramic coating (C Quartz) soon after getting the car. The prep and application were a complete pain in the balls and it didn't even last two years. Fusso will easily last 9 months and is a breeze to apply.

I got a tin of King of Gloss free when I got the Fusso as there was an offer on at the time. Might top it with that, see how it looks.

KOG is excellent on top of Fusso
I actually remember you putting CQUK on
Like you, never again, had it on my passat

ronnie3585

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Nice job Ronnie! You need to scrub your tyre walls, they're a bit brown looking

Aye, left my tyre scrubbing brush in my folks' shed. Have it now so will be attacking them this weekend!

vectra wrote: »

KOG is excellent on top of Fusso

Does it change the water behavior much?

keano25

Got the Auto Finesse ceramic windscreen wipes in Halfords before Christmas as I knew I'd be doing a load of road over Christmas..

Put it on.. great job..

But after 3 days of road.. useless. Reduced to a smeary windscreen. Never again.

MetzgerMeister

"Ceramic" wipes?...in a pack? Good lord

vectra

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Does it change the water behavior much?

Not as good as fusso
Still decent enough though.

keano25

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

"Ceramic" wipes?...in a pack? Good lord

Ya use once throw away job.. like a johnny

EPAndlee

Was wondering about those AF ceramics, is the paint and wheel version wipes aswell?

punisher5112

keano25 wrote: »

Ya use once throw away job.. like a johnny

But it isn't how a ceramic coating works. A lot of prep work to do before just wiping......

keano25

punisher5112 wrote: »

But it isn't how a ceramic coating works. A lot of prep work to do before just wiping......

Oh ya there's cleaner etc in the set too. Like I said when it first when on was brilliant.. but didn't have any durability.

MetzgerMeister

"Ceramic" has become a buzz word in the valeting and car cleaning industry even for stuff like those wipes which are no more ceramic than a paper bag.

EPAndlee

I'd just use Gyeon Cancoat or Gtechniq C2 not waste time or money on ceramic wipes

Black_Knight

ronnie3585 wrote: »

After buying the GTi almost 4 years ago, I washed it religiously every 2 weeks and always kept it in tip-top condition and shining by applying the latest wax/sealant. However, the last year has been exceptionally busy with a house purchase then re-build/extension, wedding, busy job and a lot of travel. All of this meant that sadly the car was neglected and was not washed in almost a full year

Looking at the pics, I hope you didn't extend and block the car in!? House one end, hedge/shed the other end.

Ron Burgundy II

Great work Ronnie!!

I've neglected to look after my car of late. Just can't seem to find the time to look after it and my when I do I seem to be missing MF cloths and products. All I can do is a snow foam, wash and apply Kleen Freaks Rinse and Seal (only lasts for about 4 weeks).

GustavoFring

Both cars were looking a little the worse for wear so decided to get them sorted.



Pre-wash, gtechniq citrus wash as foam and shampoo, rinse, de-tar and iron x, rinse, C2v3 as a drying aid and another coat when it was dry.



Repeated on hers.





Too much tar remover for one day though, can feel it in my chest!

vintagevrs

Snap....
Same car and same ****e....



This was taken after I washed the car. Loads of tar. Tar x and iron x used to bring it back.

heroics

Just got a white car. Guess I may buy shares in tar-x

What wax do you guys use on the white?

GustavoFring

heroics wrote: »

Just got a white car. Guess I may buy shares in tar-x

What wax do you guys use on the white?

White isn’t that bad bar tar spots. It hides a lot of minor chips and all that.

Fusso works well, if you wash regularly Gtechniq C2V3 is easy to apply and top up and gives a good glossy shine.

EPAndlee

I swapped tar-x for Reflect Auto Care tar remover, a litre is only 12 quid

vectra

heroics wrote: »

Just got a white car. Guess I may buy shares in tar-x

What wax do you guys use on the white?

I use Soft99 Fusso on mine, Topped it with a coat of Soft99 water block last time and seems to be holding up well.

EPAndlee wrote: »

I swapped tar-x for Reflect Auto Care tar remover, a litre is only 12 quid

What the smell like from the Reflect auto care stuff?
Was often tempted to try some of their products.

EPAndlee

vectra wrote: »

What the smell like from the Reflect auto care stuff?
Was often tempted to try some of their products.

I wouldn't go breathing in the tar remover. Have used a lot of their products can't really fault what I used

heroics

gave the car a quick rinse today. Only have it a week.

BH autofoam prewash
BH auto wheel on the alloys
CG hybrid v07 soap
CG hybrid v07 sealant
CG window cleaner.

GustavoFring

heroics wrote: »

gave the car a quick rinse today. Only have it a week.

BH autofoam prewash
BH auto wheel on the alloys
CG hybrid v07 soap
CG hybrid v07 sealant
CG window cleaner.

I've never overturned a car while cleaning it;)

vectra

heroics wrote: »

gave the car a quick rinse today. Only have it a week.

BH autofoam prewash
BH auto wheel on the alloys
CG hybrid v07 soap
CG hybrid v07 sealant
CG window cleaner.

Wow :eek:
You really "turned it around" :pac::pac::pac:

heroics

vectra wrote: »

Wow :eek:
You really "turned it around" :pac::pac::pac:

Doh never noticed. Looks fine on the phone 😀 also no idea how to fix it on the mobile. I’ll try on the laptop tomorrow

ianobrien

Well, it's not really detailing....

The car was filty, almost brown so was massively overdue a wash. The car was rinsed down, snow-foam with the usual BH Auto-Foam, 2BW with BH Auto-Wash, wheels with BH Auto-Wheel and finished with a spray of BH Auto-QD (diluted 1:4) when wet and dried with the Dry-me-Crazy.



And no, I'm not a Bilt Hamber fanboi at all.....

JAMES VTI S

JAMES VTI S wrote: »

After doing the interior of this BM a week before hand and also washing, de-tarring one half i had to call it a night at 11pm due to mist mucking up the wax application :rolleyes:



So yesterday i started the exterior AGAIN :P (rinse - TFR - Rinse - foam - rinse - dry - de-tar - wax - trim/tyers - windows) :pac:

5 years 7months ago, my first.... Working into the dark (11pm!) and to return a week later to finish the exterior. Seems like madness these days.

I want to thank everyone that commented or thanked my posts, this forum really helped through the years.

MetzgerMeister

Some pics from a work in progress. My boss's 635CSi which is going to be classic in April. It's been in storage for a number of years and the paint had oxidized so I was tasked with bringing it back. Being single stage it meant having to be a lot more careful with the polisher and leaving some scratches as I didn't want to remove too much. The goal was to bring life back into the paint which I have done but still have half the car left to do. With restoring lacquered paint you don't have anywhere near as much build up on the pads which meant having to wash them after each panel as they become ineffective. All my pads are now red.

Start-out:

- Wheels - Didn't do much as they are chrome lipped with quite a lot of pitting and the spokes have baked-on brake dust that wouldn't budge. They badly need a refurb.
- Wash with lambswool mitt and Gtechniq G-Wash
- Clay with G3 Clay mitt (my new weapon of choice)
- Wash
- Dry
- Remove oxidation using Lake Country yellow pad and Chemical Guys V32
- Jewel stage using Lake Country finishng pad and Menzerna SF 3500















Left section of bonnet done:





50/50 of bootlid:







Bottom red section not done yet. Difference is noticeable here:

MetzgerMeister

And a few more pics of the roof after polishing:





Once polishing is done I'll be breathing life back into the black trim with Gtechniq C4 Permanent Trim Restorer and doing a job on the interior glass. Possibly applying G1 to the exterior glass but that remains to be seen.

Stallingrad

Beautiful car to work on, thanks for sharing.

Duff

Excellent work and a beaut of a car. Please tell me he's getting the wheels refurbished?!

MetzgerMeister

Thanks Duff!

I hope he will down the line but for now he has asked me to give the lip a polish. How it'll turn out I don't know but it's definitely going to look off as I'm not removing it, just going to do what I can in situ.

bbari

Hi guys,
The car had its 1st NCT and I'd to remove the tint from the front 2 windows . The window was left with a lot of residual glue. I used CarPro Tar remover to take the glue off, unless I was doing something stupid, it didn't really do the magic. is there another way to clean the window?

punisher5112

bbari wrote: »

Hi guys,
The car had its 1st NCT and I'd to remove the tint from the front 2 windows . The window was left with a lot of residual glue. I used CarPro Tar remover to take the glue off, unless I was doing something stupid, it didn't really do the magic. is there another way to clean the window?

Hot soapy water....

NBar

and use a razor blade, be careful using soapy water as it will get into electrics on the inside which are normally protected

bbari

NBar wrote: »

and use a razor blade, be careful using soapy water as it will get into electrics on the inside which are normally protected

Seriously ?

EPAndlee

bbari wrote: »

Seriously ?

Single edge blades is what I use

Hebegeebee

Something like a hob scraper will hold the SE/DE blade safely to allow you to get the job done. Failing that, plenty of masking tape

bbari

Hebegeebee wrote:

Something like a hob scraper will hold the SE/DE blade safely to allow you to get the job done. Failing that, plenty of masking tape

Its caked on and won't come off with masking tape.