Today I did some detailing...

Tzardine

Gave the old Fiesta its major annual detail. The rest of the year it just gets a spray with some quick detailer.

The car does about 1000 dry km per year so it is never really badly contaminated.

The sequence was as follows:

Citrus Pre-wash
Snow Foam - used the Autoglym Polar Blast for the first time. Very happy with it.
Iron X - No real contamination to report
De-Tar - Again, nothing really
Hand wash and dry
Fusso Soft Coat - This is now my go to wax. Really happy with the results it gives.
Interior/Windows/Dressings etc.

I love working on the car as it is so small you just fly through it. Compared to my daily driver Megane estate which is a days work.

Some shots as follows. Tomorrow is supposed to be dry so might get it out for a spin.

dastardly00

Tzardine wrote: »

Gave the old Fiesta its major annual detail. The rest of the year it just gets a spray with some quick detailer.

It looks in amazing condition!

vectra

That fiesta looks fantastic. As close to new condition as I have seen for a long time.

traco

I started prep work on the flying elephant AKA "Dumbo" as it will be on the road from September 01.

It had accumulated some dust since Feb and I had to get rid of the aftermarket chrome. I couldn't hack it anymore, the ones on the door pillars were like mirrors.

Blast of a the heat gun and down persuading and they can off without too much drama. There was a good bit of adhesive left so a little heat and rolling with the fingers got it lifted. Cant use the finger print recognition to unlock my phone anymore but thats the price you pay.

I was worried about the gloss black underneath as I was concerned they had been put on to hide damage. Delighted to say they are in very good nick so I would think these bling additions went on very early in her life and were an excellent example of how money can't buy taste.
There is some slight discoloring or fading on teh gloss black - any suggestions how to address it? Polish or leave it, I didn't think its the most durable of surfaces so might need to live with it.

Engine bay and underside edges of bonnet also got hit. I was nervous cleaning around the engine as there is a huge amount of electronics in there. I cut a big piece of plastic in a fat T shape. Clamped it under the wipers and then again along the firewall. The sides were shoved down the sides and front of the engine. There were a few sensors on the inner wings that I covered tightly with tin foil.

I then hit the edge of the bonnet, inner wings, rad etc. Let it sit for 5 mins and agitated with a soft paint brush. Then rinsed of. It brought it up well. Just years of grime and dirt. Started it immediately and let it run before I went near the outside to make sure all was well and get heat into the engine so it would speed up the drying of everything. I was very careful with the power washer to always have the jet directed away from the engine. Huge improvement but I was very careful.

Car wasn't particularly dirty so:
ADBL Alkaline Snow foam - first time using it, foamed well and clung on well.
Rinse
Di-Iron with Carpro X - it stinks, not a lot of contamination.
De-Tar wih ADBL - seemed to work well, only a few spots and they came off easily.
ADBL Snowball Shampoo and two bucket wash - smells really nice, very sudsy and worked.
Rinsed a lot
Dried.

Will start mechanical jobs now, wheels weren't touched as they will be going for a full refurb. Bumpers have a lot of marks and scuffs so I think they will come off and get sprayed. Once those parts are done, hopefully August I'll give it another was, clay it and try a 2 stage paint correction. I also cleaned the drivers leather seat as a test and it came up well. Need to find something really good to nourish them. There's a lot of leather, actually there is a lot of everything on Dumbo.

Few pics:

traco

Tzardine wrote: »

Gave the old Fiesta its major annual detail.

I love that car - fantastic example. Kudos for looking after her!

Cyrus

traco wrote: »

I started prep work on the flying elephant AKA "Dumbo" as it will be on the road from September 01.

It had accumulated some dust since Feb and I had to get rid of the aftermarket chrome. I couldn't hack it anymore, the ones on the door pillars were like mirrors.

Blast of a the heat gun and down persuading and they can off without too much drama. There was a good bit of adhesive left so a little heat and rolling with the fingers got it lifted. Cant use the finger print recognition to unlock my phone anymore but thats the price you pay.

I was worried about the gloss black underneath as I was concerned they had been put on to hide damage. Delighted to say they are in very good nick so I would think these bling additions went on very early in her life and were an excellent example of how money can't buy taste.
There is some slight discoloring or fading on teh gloss black - any suggestions how to address it? Polish or leave it, I didn't think its the most durable of surfaces so might need to live with it.

Engine bay and underside edges of bonnet also got hit. I was nervous cleaning around the engine as there is a huge amount of electronics in there. I cut a big piece of plastic in a fat T shape. Clamped it under the wipers and then again along the firewall. The sides were shoved down the sides and front of the engine. There were a few sensors on the inner wings that I covered tightly with tin foil.

I then hit the edge of the bonnet, inner wings, rad etc. Let it sit for 5 mins and agitated with a soft paint brush. Then rinsed of. It brought it up well. Just years of grime and dirt. Started it immediately and let it run before I went near the outside to make sure all was well and get heat into the engine so it would speed up the drying of everything. I was very careful with the power washer to always have the jet directed away from the engine. Huge improvement but I was very careful.

God that chrome was awful!

Would you consider getting all of that chrome in a shadow trim, a decent wrapper should be able to do it, he could wrap over that existing trim aswell save you trying to refresh it.

not sure if its still the thing but i always used gliptone liquid leather on leather.

traco

Cyrus wrote: »

God that chrome was awful!

Would you consider getting all of that chrome in a shadow trim, a decent wrapper should be able to do it, he could wrap over that existing trim aswell save you trying to refresh it.

not sure if its still the thing but i always used gliptone liquid leather on leather.

You are right the door pillars were horrific - it was mirror like and the material was metal. It wasn't a cheap sort of pseudo chrome like what was around the front fogs. That stuff was plastic rubbish and more or less fell off.



I was looking at the factory chrome and it needs some TLC, just dull and them I was thinking about wrapping exactly as you said. The rear windows are dark and came from the factory that way. The only concern I have about wrapping the chrome is that it might make it too slab like with nothing to break up the side. I'll see if they polish up a bit first.


I'll check out that leather conditioner, some of the Merc nuts actually swear by Nivea but the one made in Germany?? Then they are US heads so who knows.

dylbert

traco wrote: »

I started prep work on the flying elephant AKA "Dumbo" as it will be on the road from September 01.

It had accumulated some dust since Feb and I had to get rid of the aftermarket chrome. I couldn't hack it anymore, the ones on the door pillars were like mirrors.

Blast of a the heat gun and down persuading and they can off without too much drama. There was a good bit of adhesive left so a little heat and rolling with the fingers got it lifted. Cant use the finger print recognition to unlock my phone anymore but thats the price you pay.

I was worried about the gloss black underneath as I was concerned they had been put on to hide damage. Delighted to say they are in very good nick so I would think these bling additions went on very early in her life and were an excellent example of how money can't buy taste.
There is some slight discoloring or fading on teh gloss black - any suggestions how to address it? Polish or leave it, I didn't think its the most durable of surfaces so might need to live with it.

Engine bay and underside edges of bonnet also got hit. I was nervous cleaning around the engine as there is a huge amount of electronics in there. I cut a big piece of plastic in a fat T shape. Clamped it under the wipers and then again along the firewall. The sides were shoved down the sides and front of the engine. There were a few sensors on the inner wings that I covered tightly with tin foil.

I then hit the edge of the bonnet, inner wings, rad etc. Let it sit for 5 mins and agitated with a soft paint brush. Then rinsed of. It brought it up well. Just years of grime and dirt. Started it immediately and let it run before I went near the outside to make sure all was well and get heat into the engine so it would speed up the drying of everything. I was very careful with the power washer to always have the jet directed away from the engine. Huge improvement but I was very careful.

Car wasn't particularly dirty so:
ADBL Alkaline Snow foam - first time using it, foamed well and clung on well.
Rinse
Di-Iron with Carpro X - it stinks, not a lot of contamination.
De-Tar wih ADBL - seemed to work well, only a few spots and they came off easily.
ADBL Snowball Shampoo and two bucket wash - smells really nice, very sudsy and worked.
Rinsed a lot
Dried.

Will start mechanical jobs now, wheels weren't touched as they will be going for a full refurb. Bumpers have a lot of marks and scuffs so I think they will come off and get sprayed. Once those parts are done, hopefully August I'll give it another was, clay it and try a 2 stage paint correction. I also cleaned the drivers leather seat as a test and it came up well. Need to find something really good to nourish them. There's a lot of leather, actually there is a lot of everything on Dumbo.

You don't happen to be a certain rambling man I knew from PTI?

theintern

Finally picked up a power washer and foam lance. Karcher K4 Compact, and a lance from D&D Detailing. GTechniq W4 Citrus Foam.

I know absolutely nothing about power washers, but finding the K4 compact great. A really nifty little unit.

Full decon and wash. Autopia Tarminator and fallout remover, ADBL car shampoo. Haven't used fallout and tar remover in over a year.

Grey cars hide tar and bonded containments well, but it was amazing how much there was to take off.

No full finished picture as it started raining and I didn't get a chance to wax yet. Damn weather.

MojoRising

theintern wrote: »

Finally picked up a power washer and foam lance. Karcher K4 Compact, and a lance from D&D Detailing. GTechniq W4 Citrus Foam.

I know absolutely nothing about power washers, but finding the K4 compact great. A really nifty little unit.

Full decon and wash. Autopia Tarminator and fallout remover, ADBL car shampoo. Haven't used fallout and tar remover in over a year.

Grey cars hide tar and bonded containments well, but it was amazing how much there was to take off.

No full finished picture as it started raining and I didn't get a chance to wax yet. Damn weather.

Nice one, saw the k4 in halfords in Tralee as my little bosch is playing up, you find the foam good?

theintern

I got it from Amazon because it was way cheaper.

The D&D lance is nice. Feels like serious quality, all metal.

The foam was great. Came out like whipped cream and dwelled on the paint for ages. I have a bottle of Autopia Avalanche too so need to compare them next time I'm out.

vectra

Well, finally got round to doing them,
Never again will leave the wheels for 12 months before ceramic coating them ��.
Had to use a strong solution of Surfex HD to shift the bedded in dirt off them.
Used red7 as fallout remover and cleaner car tar remover.
Wipe down with bilt hamber cleanser fluid,
Treated the rims with carpro Dlux. And dressed the tyres with Autopia endurance tyre and trim gel. < my new favorite tyre dressing.

Yes, they were a lot worse than I expected :ugeek:
Total time to remove,clean,seal and re fit. 5 hours
Credit goes out to anyone doing this on a daily basis as a living. ( Or maybe I am just getting beyond it myself )





Autosmart Red 7 doing it's thing.





Much improved after several hits with red 7 and cleanercar tar remover
Rinsed and washed several times with Bilt Hamber Surfex HD.





Coated with Carpro Dlux ceramic and tyres dressed with Autopia Black Endurance Tyre and wheel gel.

theintern

Did some detailing last night after a trip down the country left my bonnet a fly graveyard.

I managed to get everything off with a combo of;
- Auto finesse citrus pre wash
- Autopia avalanche snow foam
- Autopia tarminator
- Vasko Tixotrop Pre Wash

Lots of pre wash stages softened everything up before finishing with a 2BW with Adbl Shampoo.

Then I got to work with Soft99 Fusso wax. I'll be honest, it was a bit of bitch to apply. I seemed to get loads of white hazing no matter how light I tried to go, especially at the panel edges.

Then it seemed very hard to buff out, felt I got a major work out in. When buffed out, I was happy with the results on the doors and other panels, but the bonnet looked like it came out hazy. Maybe because I put on too much?

This was using the applicator that comes with it, should I try a different one in the future? Or does it just take a bit of getting used to? I've been using Autoglym Aqua Wax up to now which is super easy to apply since it goes on wet.

MetzgerMeister

How much Fusso do you have left? If I were you I would switch to an Si02 product like Gtechniq C2V3 or CarPro Reload. Both offer the benefits of wax but are a HELL of a lot easier to apply a la the Aqua Wax you have used.

vectra

use a different applicator and make sure it is permanently damp when applying it.
Less>Less & less is the way to go.

theintern

vectra wrote: »

use a different applicator and make sure it is permanently damp when applying it.
Less>Less & less is the way to go.

I'll give that a go thanks.



It's a fresh tub I got as a present so I'll be using it a while yet, but I might give one of the Si02 products a go for comparison.



I will say, the beading off it in tonight's rain was pretty sweet.

vectra

theintern wrote: »

I'll give that a go thanks.



It's a fresh tub I got as a present so I'll be using it a while yet, but I might give one of the Si02 products a go for comparison.



I will say, the beading off it in tonight's rain was pretty sweet.



https://i.imgur.com/eCfqzMLl.jpg

2 things Fusso is renowned for
1) Beading
2) durability.

dylbert

Nothing too fancy, just a good wash and spray of Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax.
Car is in bad need of a detar and clay, plenty of swirls too, toying with the idea of buying a DA polisher but with a 8 month old baby I'll find it hard to convince the other half that hours spent on the car is a good idea! :P

traco

Tried my had at this ceramic coating lark. Started with the spare to see how it went on. Not too difficult but very hard to see whats been coated. Handy enough just takes a bit of time. I didn't have to wash them as they were only back from refurb but cleaned with IPA to remove any residual grease or fingerprints before starting.

I would only have one complaint and that is that GTechniq only give you four applicators. Seems miserable for the price. I was doing 5. I also did the rear and barrels of the wheels first so that I could flip them over and leave the faces alone to cure without risking touching them or marking them. Doing the barrels and back of spokes takes its toll on the applicators so i would advice anyone doing the entire wheel to buy extra pads for the job.

Lets see how they hold up when (if ever) it gets back on the road.

MetzgerMeister

I would also add that using the AP2 applicator pads makes the job much easier and quicker and they last a lot longer. It's the same applicator that comes with EXO and CSL.

MarkR

While no one was at home, I gave it a little clean.



That's a snow foam, hand wash, rinse, polished a few small scratches, and some hybrid ceramic wax.

Forgive the double post. I had been asking about what to use in another thread, but thought i'd jump in here too. :-D

punisher5112

I miss having an outside tap, need that sorted shortly and then need to fault find my karcher k4 that was used 3 times and won't do anything.

traco

Pulled it out and decided to wash it as it was involved in a a flying insect massacre on the trip down the west. Of course it then open the heavens but I suppose it saved me the hassle of drying it. Washing it takes a bit of time and a lot of stretching.

Details
Rinse
ADBL APC Pro at 20:1 mix - on wheels, skirts, nose, windscreen, anywhere there was a build up of flies. Worked into grill, lights and number plate with a soft brush. First time using it and it definitely helped lift the dried graveyard but a stronger solution might have been better. I was being cautious on the strength with the refurbed wheels.
ADBL Yeti Snow foam, foams thick and clings well. This one is neutral but I have an Alkaline one also and it also foams well and clings well.
Rinse
ADBL Snowball Neutral Shampoo two bucket wash. I find I use a lot more than the Bilt Hammer so may go back to that in future.
Rinse
Start to dry and get lashed on so give up; tidy up, make coffee and waste time on car forums cos its Friday!!

ianobrien

I was a bit busy.....

Just back from getting a recall done and given the new restrictions, I don't think I'll be going anywhere before next year. So I gave it a bit of a clean

Foamed with Bilt Hamber Autofoam, 2 bucket wash with Gtechniq G-wash (with a mix of Microfibre Madness wash mitt, Incredipole and small Wheel Woolies to get under the sky lights). Dried with a CarPro Fat Boa. I slapped on Gtechniq C2V3 and then topped with Gtechniq QD.

Wheels were Bilt Hamber auto-wheel and tyres CarPro PERL 1:1.

I finished by shoving into the garage and remembered then to take a final picture.

Detailing a motorhome does take a bit longer than a car. This took about 5 to 6 hours. Washing the roof and putting the coatings on the overcab piece is the most awkward.

Edit - I took a few short-cuts. I didn't bother doing the external plastics around the storage compartments, engine bay, interior, etc

Prefect_1998

Washed the 640 today added new self levelling centre caps.

Anyone guess the colour ?

Foxhole Norman

danielle_door wrote: »

Washed the 640 today added new self levelling centre caps.

Anyone guess the colour ?

Mineral White? Rare on a 6 Series!

SaintsYB

danielle_door wrote: »

Washed the 640 today added new self levelling centre caps.

Anyone guess the colour ?

Looks like Glacier Silver in the second photo

Foxhole Norman

SaintsYB wrote: »

Looks like Glacier Silver in the second photo

You're right, I didn't even look at the second image :pac:

Prefect_1998

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Mineral White? Rare on a 6 Series!

Nope, way off

Prefect_1998

SaintsYB wrote: »

Looks like Glacier Silver in the second photo

Close but it is silver sometimes during the day

Northern Monkey

Silverstone blue?

Prefect_1998

Northern Monkey wrote: »

Silverstone blue?

Its actually moonstone, individual paint

Seems to be of a rarity in Ireland on the f06, or any bmw, dont see many if any here.

MarkR

I'd washed the car yesterday, and stubbornly decided to use my old nxt tech wax. Bottle must be 10 years old, nearly full. Can't let that go to waste! Gave it a quick run around the car, and to be honest, looks much the same as after the meguiars hybrid ceramic spray.

NXT


Spray



Could be the lack of any real sunshine too I suppose. Looks good up close though.

Mc Love

Really like those alloys - damn, I really need to give mine a good clean. Most I get to do these days is a wash and dry and maybe a bit OAC finish.

What they said about having kids and not being able to spend the whole day detailing is so true!

MarkR

I'd washed the car yesterday lunchtime. Working from home, so it hadn't moved since. Did the waxing today. Love the dark alloys too, 18s. Need to tidy up some scuff marks on them.

Panic Stations

Have had this BMW 330e about 2 months now and only today managed to give it a good clean.

Really happy with how it turned out but also really shows up all the paint marks and scuffs from the previous owner. :mad:

Need to invest in some good cleaning equipment for the alloys and tyres.

Pictures don't actually do it justice as I took these on my IPhone 8.

Mc Love

Actually got some decent time to do the cars! My newest nilfisk gave up the ghost today - I really like the system but two power washers gone to the grave, the latest way too soon.

Had to do it the old fashioned way with no pressure

2BM
Can't remember the shampoo but it smells nice
Used some BMW wheel cleaner
Finished with some blacklight
Windows done with Auto Glym polish (int) and fast glass (ext)
Dash done with Precision interior dressing

Did two cars today lol

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zCQKG1kLv5i3Hgqm9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TrCa7N2LpwBhb8U17

[url] https://photos.app.goo.gl/KhixM64UmZxFUrMR8[/url]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5Uowfx4oc2M4gBN27

Used the blacklight on both even though I know the BL is better for black and dark coloured cars

MetzgerMeister

I found that all "cheap" pressure washers eventually give up the ghost sooner than you'd like. The only way around this is to invest in a more expensive one. I had my K5 for 7 years and it's still going strong for the person to whom I sold it. Replaced it with the K7 which is an utter beast, quite heavy but that's a good thing.

Having said that I doubt you'd get the use out of a more expensive one given that you barely get a chance to wash the car these days.

MarkR

Mc Love wrote: »

Actually got some decent time to do the cars! My newest nilfisk gave up the ghost today - I really like the system but two power washers gone to the grave, the latest way too soon.

Had to do it the old fashioned way with no pressure

2BM
Can't remember the shampoo but it smells nice
Used some BMW wheel cleaner
Finished with some blacklight
Windows done with Auto Glym polish (int) and fast glass (ext)
Dash done with Precision interior dressing

Did two cars today lol

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zCQKG1kLv5i3Hgqm9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TrCa7N2LpwBhb8U17

[url] https://photos.app.goo.gl/KhixM64UmZxFUrMR8[/url]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5Uowfx4oc2M4gBN27

Used the blacklight on both even though I know the BL is better for black and dark coloured cars

Blacklight is another item I have in my cavernous shed of wonder. From memory, it's a bit of an all in one? Did you put it on by hand?

Mc Love

Yeah by hand cures in 15 mins - should have waited to add a second layer but didnt.

Slaanesh

1. Bilt-Hamber auto-wheel for wheels/tyres with woolie sticks to agitate, then rinse.
2. Autoglym Polar Blast snow foam pre-wash (sticks forever)
3. Reflect Auto Care Shampoo PH neutral with 2 Bucket Method and Lambswool Mitt
4. Rinse then drying towel
5. Super Resin Polish (by hand)
6. Another quick wash
7. Collinite 845

Really happy with the way it turned out.
It's a 151 Skoda Octavia 2.0l with 175k km's.

Aside from the usual slight dents and paint chips from a mostly motorway driven car, it's in great nick.

SomeGuyCalledMi

I must have been really board during the summer. I made this video about how I wash my Kodiaq.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md58D2GJ1ro

PsychoPete

SomeGuyCalledMi wrote: »

I must have been really board during the summer. I made this video about how I wash my Kodiaq.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md58D2GJ1ro

One bucket and no grit guard, sacrilege!

punisher5112

PsychoPete wrote: »

One bucket and no grit guard, sacrilege!

Sounds better then a yard brush....

SomeGuyCalledMi

PsychoPete wrote: »

One bucket and no grit guard, sacrilege!

I have the grit guards out the back, I might still use them when washing dirty wheels and wheel wells.

I think using multiple freshly washed mitts is way better than dipping the same mitt into a filthy rinse bucket when washing the paint. Its a bit quicker too.

Also, because I've done a pre wash, there's not much "grit" on the car to cause scratches.

duffman3833

fair play to you all for keeping your cars in top nic. I cant keep mine clean a single day with the roads i do be on. Id love to do all this to my F10 but simply not worth it trying to keep it clean in winter. Summer is only time i really get to enjoy the car clean

PsychoPete

I haven't washed my car since September or October, it's absolutely covered in sh!te and muck. I said I was going to tackle it over Christmas but I'd no interest in doing it

Summer2020

Had no interest myself the last 3 months, miserable weather for it now. Have just ordered a few bits from washme.ie so going to get back into it next week hopefully. Doesn’t seem worth buying from uk anymore with customs charges, no savings to be made and would even end up much more expensive i think. Irish businesses could see a big increase in orders as a result.

Black_Knight

Got an autobrit snow foam lance for my nilfisk for Christmas. Tried it out the other day and it's brilliant. Adjustable foam levels, and the foam I used hung on well.

Nothing fancy about the wash, but it was in desperate need of one. Many months untouched. If course i didn't take before or after pics.

vintagevrs

I have often come close to buying one but then tell myself it's a gimmick. Looks great when it's dwelling etc but not sure the end result is any better. Maybe it prevents some swirls etc by helping soften up and remove some stuff before the wash. I usually just use the plastic nilfisk foam thing which doesn't look as impressive, but that with a rinse of the power hose before I start I imagine is similar to the snow foam.