Today I did some detailing...

stimpson

Got a couple of hours today so I had a go at my trim. I picked up don't stuff called Forever Black on Amazon. Its no C4 but it's considerably cheaper. It comes with a bottle of cleaner and a bottle if dye. The trim has gone a horrible creamy color. Pictures don't really pick up the shade of grey, but here's the before pic. The rear was by far the worst - I figure that bit spent most of the time facing the sun:



Prep was washing down with an APC solution at 3:1, followed by a scrub with the included cleaner also 3:1. I dried if off with a MF towel and then gave it a wipe with isopropanol alcohol for good measure.

After reading up on DW, I didn't use the supplied applicator. Instead I poured some into an old Tupperware box and used one of my cheap ebay applicators.

After one coat:



Two coats:



Three coats:



There is still some grey bits, but I wanted to leave it to dry properly. The rest if the trim looks brand new:



Despite masking up, I got some on the paint:



But a wipe of a MF with IPA sorted that.

Also good for painting gas meter boxes:



And nail varnish:



Note to self: buy some disposable gloves.

Mc Love

Black looks good on you

vectra

stimpson wrote: »

Note to self: buy some disposable gloves.

Bought the ones in Aldi recently.
Has to be the best ones yet.

stimpson

Mc Love wrote: »

Black looks good on you

The only thing to get it off was nail varnish remover!

Supergurrier

stimpson wrote: »

The only thing to get it off was nail varnish remover!

o0 err !

Mc Love

vectra wrote: »

Bought the ones in Aldi recently.
Has to be the best ones yet.

Were they on offer?

JAMES VTI S

Blackmomba are very very strong gloves.

vectra

Mc Love wrote: »

Were they on offer?

One of their specials but sometimes they have items left over.
worth a check.

pudzey101

Dont know if its the right section but today i done some engine detailing used to feel ashamed to lift the bonnet but not anymore lol


Before





and after

Ded_Zebra

That looks the business! :cool::cool:

Veloce

Well today I did a few small jobs. I found the missing tube of autosol I had bought last year so I went and polished up the exhaust tips:



Next job was to remove some discolouration from the headlight covers. I used a €1.50 tube of Crest toothpaste and it cleared them right up:







How she is looking as of about 30 mins ago:

MetzgerMeister

You forgot to do the inside of the exhaust tips!!

toastedpickles

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

You forgot to do the inside of the exhaust tips!!

Un travesty! :pac:

MetzgerMeister

toastedpickles wrote: »

Un travesty! :pac:

Indeed it is!!! It looks unfinished IMO

bazery

Spent the day at it. Got to use my new dual action polisher. Simply astonished how well it worked. Clay barred the car. It was shocking what came off.
Used iron x and tar cleanse. Great products but absolutely reek.
Used meguirs ultimate compound to remove all swirl marks.
Did a headlight restore with 1000 grit sand paper. Was fairly scary when I had two cloudy headlights. Sorted it with ultimate compound and they are both like new.
Finished with collinite 476s.
Put some tire polish and waterless wax stuff from aldi on the wheels.

Hoovered and polished all interior surfaces.
My arms are literally dead.
Glad I got it all done before it rained. Collinite is fantastic to work with, hard work but worth it.
It's a nice feeling looking out the window with a beer watching the water roll off the car. Only thing I want to do is buff up the exhausts. Any suggestions. Its an Audi a6 so I think they are steel. Any recommended products?

Veloce

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

You forgot to do the inside of the exhaust tips!!

Waste of time with the Zed. They'd be black again after a week!

vectra

Veloce wrote: »

Waste of time with the Zed. They'd be black again after a week!

In other words,
Waste of time cleaning the car or wheels as they would also be black again in a week.

Mc Love

Managed to get out and test my new foam lance today, it was definitely an improvement and orchard autocare said they would send me a free bottle of candy cotton snow foam because they thought the one i got might be defective. I was just going to try the foam and then pw the car, but it was dirty so i couldn't just leave it so had to finish it off. When i was waxing it with collinite liquid insulator it started raining so it was wet when i was wiping it in. It's quite thick and wasn't what I was expecting.

Here is a video of the foam just after it was sprayed on, I'm hoping the bottle i get from OAC improves it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRXcXYYmErw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

vectra

Mc Love wrote: »

When i was waxing it with collinite liquid insulator it started raining so it was wet when i was wiping it in. It's quite thick and wasn't what I was expecting.

Stand the bottle of 845 in a bowl of warm water for 10~15 minutes to warm it up.
You should have a watery liquid when using it.

Mc Love

vectra wrote: »

Stand the bottle of 845 in a bowl of warm water for 10~15 minutes to warm it up.
You should have a watery liquid when using it.

Thanks I'll try that.

Are any of you guys planning on going to the Motor Meet on the 9th?


Thread here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057149738&page=6


Wouldn't mind going if there were things to be seen and learned in relation to the ould detailing. General motoring doesn't really interest me.

JAMES VTI S

www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/40243-collinite-845-definitive-how-guide-legendary-wax.html


Did Rollo say he would send you another.

MetzgerMeister

Deleted User wrote: »

Wouldn't mind going if there were things to be seen and learned in relation to the ould detailing. General motoring doesn't really interest me.

What do you expect to learn and see about detailing in the middle of a carpark? :pac:

JAMES VTI S

Deleted User wrote: »

Are any of you guys planning on going to the Motor Meet on the 9th? /QUOTE]

Where is it on

MetzgerMeister

At the Midway in Portlaoise

Mc Love

JAMES VTI S wrote: »

www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/40243-collinite-845-definitive-how-guide-legendary-wax.html


Did Rollo say he would send you another.

Rollo's the guy in charge of the facebook page? Then yes he said he would!

Christ should I get one of those bottles for the Liquid insulator wax? Is that how everyone applies it? I was using a foam applicator and wiping it off after with a microfiber cloth

MetzgerMeister

Rollo owns Orchard Autocare ya numpty! :P

JAMES VTI S

Iv never used it TBH

MetzgerMeister

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

What do you expect to learn and see about detailing in the middle of a carpark? :pac:

Anything and everything. Some interior cleaning perhaps? Anything that doesn't involve lots of water? Wheel cleaning?

Taylor365

Plan on taking the wheels off the weekend and having a good go at them.

What's the best route/products. It's probably 10 years since the inside of them were touched (damn japs!) :P

BillJ

Taylor365 wrote: »

Plan on taking the wheels off the weekend and having a good go at them.

What's the best route/products. It's probably 10 years since the inside of them were touched (damn japs!) :P

http://www.detailingshed.com/kits/265-wheel-care-kit.html

I'd throw in some tar cleanse aswell!



On a side note, got my snow foam lance and collinite 845 in the post yesterday so going to give the car it' first proper going over since november:eek::pac:

opinionated3

Taylor365 wrote: »

Plan on taking the wheels off the weekend and having a good go at them.

What's the best route/products. It's probably 10 years since the inside of them were touched (damn japs!) :P

Tardis to detar them. Iron x to remove stubborn contaminates. Polish. Protect (jetseal 109 is excellent or chemical guys wheel guard).

Today I snowfoamed and 2BM'ed the Rav.

As I was filling the buckets with water I was reading the directions for Mr Pink, out of boredom.

They stress not to let the suds sit on the car or dry on the paint, and that regular rinsing is strongly encouraged.

So I figured whats the worst that can happen if I bring out the power washer while I'm 2BM'ing it and rinse as I go (with no attachment on the power washer, so there's no power.. it's just letting the water run over the car like the end of a hose and 'sheeting off' as per the instructions).

Ultimately, it made no real difference and just slowed things down. It did make drying quicker though, as most of the car had been cleared of the excess water by the time you finished circling it with your 2BM routine.

So a waste of time, really. But sure you live and learn.


Have ye guys been using Mr Pink yet, by the way? Any opinions? Maybe it's just me but Glossworkz seems a better shampoo overall? Seems to give a slightly better finish and lathers up with less being used than Mr Pink? Could be all in my head though.


I also did the interior today (though I'll give it another quick going over again tomorrow, I'd say).

Big thumbs up to Meguiar's Quick Interior Detailer Cleaner. A pretty solid product that leaves an excellent finish and uses absolutely feck all. I'd say you'd do your car 50 times with a bottle of it. Will absolutely be sticking with this product.

Also tried out my Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather today, too, on the leather seets in the Rav. Well.. I say seats (plural), but I only actually did one.

This could be placebo, but, whilst I did use an enormous amount of product on a single chair, the chair does seem noticeably softer and newer looking (compared to the passenger seat, which I didn't touch, out of laziness and procrastination - "Ah I'll do it tomorrow!").

When I first started putting it on, it left an extremely glossy look to the seat (and I know it's all down to personal preference, but overly glossy interiors look very cheap in my opinion, I love a nice matte finish), so I instantly became very disheartened.

However, when I used a completely clean Microfibre cloth to wipe it down, it got rid of the glossiness and left a nicer matte-ish look to it (obviously the seats will always be glossy, but it looks a lot better than it did with the product on it. It also looks better than the 'before' (passenger seat). Although in saying that, it's only marginally better looking.

I'm not sure if I'm using it right or not. I used a load of it (it's like a gel or hand soap product) - I beat it into the chair with very aggressive rubbing and circular massaging motions (for lack of a better description). It did good, but I'd be open to trying a different leather cleaner when it runs out.



I also scrubbed the tyres today using Chemical Guys 'Green Clean' APC (neat, not diluted). Sprayed it on, let it sit, and then went at it with a brush and some warm water. Tyres looked like they'd been shined up before any shine ever went near them (And none did, I'll do that part tomorrow, after another quick scrubbing).

Top Tip: Don't spray Green Clean near your face on a windy day!


I've decided that, though i've been putting it off as I can't really stand another 4-day detailathon, I'm going to wash, clay, polish, wax the Rav in stages, panel by panel (if i can bring myself to do that. Might end up doing it all in one go, but would rather avoid it).


The water just ran off the car today, so it's in need of a bit of waxing. Not really a bead to be seen.

Curran

When the majority of products not to let it sit or dry on the paint, it means not to leave it in direct sunlight, with hot panels, where there is a risk of the product drying and marking the paintwork....unfortunately we only see those types of days here, maybe 4 or 5 days in a year!
It is OK to wash the whole car and then rinse it down...in fact most times its OK to wash the car and take 15 minutes before washing it down. IF you see the panels drying out, and if that happens just wet the panel again, until you get around to rinsing the whole car down.

Im not really a fan of products that do two jobs in one, and if Im correct the Meg's Gold Class Rich Leather is a Cleaner and Conditioner in one? To be honest, I'd much prefer a cleaner and a conditioner. Use the cleaner to spray on / rub in, and agitate lightly / work into, the seat; and then using clean MF cloths to buff off the cleaner and dirt with it. When the seats are cleaned and dried, they will have a nice matt appearance, and then the conditioner will give them a slightly softer feel and a nice leather smell (if the scent is in it).

Doing the car, panel by panel, will be more of a pain than doing the whole car. But obviously its hard to commit to 4 days on the trot. Seeing as you have a bit more experience now, than when you were doing the Megane, you might be surprised how much you have sped up each step in the process. Also, your 4 day "detailathon" included things like the interior...if there are jobs that can be put of for another time, then leave them. Concentrate on getting the critical things done together. Two days on the paintwork - wash, de-tar, de-iron, clay, polish and protect. Then maybe next week take a day to look at the wheels, tyres, and trim. A week later, spend a day on the interior........anyways, you get the idea!

Curran

Curran wrote: »

When the majority of products not to let it sit or dry on the paint, it means not to leave it in direct sunlight, with hot panels, where there is a risk of the product drying and marking the paintwork....unfortunately we only see those types of days here, maybe 4 or 5 days in a year!
It is OK to wash the whole car and then rinse it down...in fact most times its OK to wash the car and take 15 minutes before washing it down. IF you see the panels drying out, and if that happens just wet the panel again, until you get around to rinsing the whole car down.

Im not really a fan of products that do two jobs in one, and if Im correct the Meg's Gold Class Rich Leather is a Cleaner and Conditioner in one? To be honest, I'd much prefer a cleaner and a conditioner. Use the cleaner to spray on / rub in, and agitate lightly / work into, the seat; and then using clean MF cloths to buff off the cleaner and dirt with it. When the seats are cleaned and dried, they will have a nice matt appearance, and then the conditioner will give them a slightly softer feel and a nice leather smell (if the scent is in it).

Doing the car, panel by panel, will be more of a pain than doing the whole car. But obviously its hard to commit to 4 days on the trot. Seeing as you have a bit more experience now, than when you were doing the Megane, you might be surprised how much you have sped up each step in the process. Also, your 4 day "detailathon" included things like the interior...if there are jobs that can be put of for another time, then leave them. Concentrate on getting the critical things done together. Two days on the paintwork - wash, de-tar, de-iron, clay, polish and protect. Then maybe next week take a day to look at the wheels, tyres, and trim. A week later, spend a day on the interior........anyways, you get the idea!

Would you by any chance happen to know of any detailing shops or sheds or the likes :P that would sell a decent product/s for the leather seats then?

I bought the Meguiar's leather product on price really. I had a €40 (I think) One4All voucher and wanted to use it up, so I got 4 different products that all together came to €39.97 or something silly like that.


But in saying that, it did do a relatively decent job, but I would like to get something a bit more dramatic in it's 'nourishing' powers.


I think you're right, too, though. I'm probably better off getting it all done at once (well, all the exterior, that is). Everytime I look at the Rav, i get annoyed by the smaller defects, even though I know a machine polish will get rid of them.

That said, Im in financially dire straits at the moment, with several bills (late February/early March kill me every year), and I need to replace, i think, the two pads that I lost when I did the Megane.

I think I have the green, red, black and white pads (and I think I destroyed the orange and yellow?). I can't really remember, but if I'm right, the green one is the only worthwhile one where polishing is concerned.

Ah, it might be worth giving it a shot. I'll give it two days and go from there. If nothing else it'll knock me out of this 'late nights, late mornings' pattern I've fallen into.

vectra

Used Mr.Pink the other day and found it brilliant.
Washed roof / Bonnet /Tailgate and doors down to body line as [er norm and rinsed it off. Continued with the rst of that car after that.
All I can say is I can see myself sticking with this shampoo for a while.
No complaints from me.

MetzgerMeister

vectra wrote: »

Used Mr.Pink the other day and found it brilliant.
Washed roof / Bonnet /Tailgate and doors down to body line as [er norm and rinsed it off. Continued with the rst of that car after that.
All I can say is I can see myself sticking with this shampoo for a while.
No complaints from me.

One DOES simply wash their car with me

Zoney

Got for me what was a full detailing done! I noticed the extra gloss protection was starting to wear off from the work I did over Christmas, little beading now. But the shine of the polish remained and even the EGP to some extent (smooth surface over minor scratches). So I just applied EGP over the whole car again after the thorough wash - does this seem ok to do, or what's the best way to keep up the initial work at this stage?

interesting about not letting products dry, and the lack of hot sunny days to bake stuff on the panels. Here in Limerick, I do find many days I can't just wash the whole car and then rinse, as the wind can be good drying. Maybe doesn't matter as much if products dry on just from wind though?

Anyway, 2 hrs excluding setup/tidy also saw a good wheel clean, trim restore, glass polish and tyre blackening. The Aldi trim/tyre dressing finally got my doorhandles looking darker, they'd been very faded and the cheap spray on Simonez back to black wasn't doing much for them (fine on other trim).

Need to pop out after lunch and get a nice after photo. Car was its dirtiest ever before, should have taken photo - rough weather Limerick-Mayo both ways and then Limerick-Meath both ways later in the week!

Edit: for reference, Christmas work was clay, Autoglym polish and then EGP.

vectra

vectra wrote: »

Used Mr.Pink the other day and found it brilliant.
Washed roof / Bonnet /Tailgate and doors down to body line as [er norm and rinsed it off. Continued with the rst of that car after that.
All I can say is I can see myself sticking with this shampoo for a while.
No complaints from me.

Have you used Glossworkz shampoo at all, out of curiousity?

Just to see if you have a comparison of both? Could be just me of course, but I felt Glossworkz was a bit of a stronger performer all in all.

I'll try Mr. Pink again in the coming days (gonna do a few rounds with the Rav and see if I can get it up to scratch).

vectra

Deleted User wrote: »

Have you used Glossworkz shampoo at all, out of curiousity?

Just to see if you have a comparison of both? Could be just me of course, but I felt Glossworkz was a bit of a stronger performer all in all.

I'll try Mr. Pink again in the coming days (gonna do a few rounds with the Rav and see if I can get it up to scratch).

No,
Never did use Glossworkz.

I have used many others,
Some I liked and some I was not too keen on.
This I like so far.

Mc Love

Used mr pink already - love the smell and thought it was a nice change from my AG shampoo

BillJ

Have used it and like it also.

Yesterday was pissing rain and today there's no water at the mains! Uber pissed off!:mad:

New snow foam lance-not used
New wash mitt-not used
New drying towel-not used
New wax-not used

dylbert

I was doing an oil change today so decided to have a go at cleaning up the engine bay a bit.

Plastics removed,


Naked engine,


Finished, not spotless but allot better,

I'm almost jealous of that effort (and by almost, I mean I actually am, but I'm too proud to admit it :P ).


Must do the same. The engine in the rav is filthy. Even though i rarely/never see it, it drives me up the walls, but Im always afraid to go near it incase i get something wet that shouldn't get wet or such. Taking all the pieces off makes sense, alright.


I spent 2-3 hours today on the car's leather. Using copious amounts of Meguiar's Gold Class Leather Cleaner/Conditioner, and the results were less than spectacular.

They're definitely cleaner, and they feel softer too (probably placebo, as i did batter the **** out of them when i was applying it) but the difference is really negligible. I'm assuming that the seats, much like everything else in and on the car, haven't been cleaned in years, so I was anticipating a bit of a 'wow' moment (like when I first used clay, tar remover, etc. on it and seen years of neglect being undone). Such a moment never came, unfortunately, though.

dylbert

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm almost jealous of that effort (and by almost, I mean I actually am, but I'm too proud to admit it :P ).


Must do the same. The engine in the rav is filthy. Even though i rarely/never see it, it drives me up the walls, but Im always afraid to go near it incase i get something wet that shouldn't get wet or such. Taking all the pieces off makes sense, alright.

Very little water went near the engine, I used a bucket of water with some APC and an old microfiber, the dirt was mostly dry and dusty not oily gunk so a damp cloth done the job.

Zoney

Got a photo of yesterday's results this morning, looking pretty shiny! I didn't expect to grow so attached to metallic silver as a car colour - but I'm not sure I'd like anything else as much at this stage.



Feel pretty bad about the muck it got later today going up/down to Cork!

Took a snap of the beading in the rain this evening:


front_egp2.jpg
beading_roof.jpg

toastedpickles

Looking good! but can i interest you in metallic black?

JAMES VTI S

Zoney wrote: »

Got a photo of yesterday's results this morning, looking pretty shiny! I didn't expect to grow so attached to metallic silver as a car colour - but I'm not sure I'd like anything else as much at this stage.

Feel pretty bad about the muck it got later today going up/down to Cork!

But you get to wash it and experience the sheeting.

dylbert

dylbert wrote: »

Very little water went near the engine, I used a bucket of water with some APC and an old microfiber, the dirt was mostly dry and dusty not oily gunk so a damp cloth done the job.

Yeah mine is the same, with regards to type of dirt. Will give it a blast. Just not sure, when Im looking at the engine, what parts can lift off and how, etc. so will be a bit of an experiment I suppose.

HJL

Washed the car today with my new shampoo, Einszett Exclusiv Gloss Shampoo.



Doesn't smell as nice as some of my other shampoos but it foams well, not entirely sure if it is as slick, didn't feel as slippy as my others, but I will reserve judgement until a second wash using it.

2 cap fulls gave me this



Couple of before pics, about 2 or 3 weeks since last washed





Once washed the car was dried, 1 or 2 swirls I put some Autoglym Ultra Deep Shine on to hide them until machine polishing weather arrives.

Car then mostly waxed with Dodo Juice Blue Velvet, I used Meguiars Gold Class Liquid Wax on the bonnet because that's how I roll :pac:
I then used another new product I got Einszett Spray Wax on the lower parts of the car, because I prefer a wipe on wipe off product for these areas and also it really needs de-tared so a quick spray product will do for now.

Tyres and trim dressed with Gtechniq T1. Glass just dried today but when last washed I used a cheapo rain repellent I got in Dealz a long time ago, don't think I've seen it in there in a while though, anyway I think it is decent but I don't have anything to compare it to really. Apart from Gtechniq C2v3 which I have used on glass before, but it is multiples more expensive. I should also point out I do not put this on the windscreen.

Some afters







Shortly after tidying up it poured rain, which was good for me and anyone else who is a fan of some beads








Pictures are only on a camera phone, and it ain't no fancy pants iPhone either. That been said my other camera is a compact that is years old so probably wouldn't have made any difference!