Detailing chat

vectra

bbari wrote: »

How many times you are told that up the road you can get it washed for €5??

Never,
They all know the wash up the road would not meet my requirements :pac:

bbari

Curran wrote:

He's that fella that's up the road!

I say this fella can easily charge euro 5 per panel

bbari

ianobrien wrote:

Thanks for that. I'll ask in the local car washes if I can use (and pay obviously) for water and not their chemicals or labour.

Instead of going to the car wash guys go to the petrol station with coin operated machine where you can buy 4 minutes for 2 euro. This is what i do anyway. Much happier since i started doing this. As Curran says, atleast you can treat the paint like a tomato skin

punisher5112

bbari wrote: »

Instead of going to the car wash guys go to the petrol station with coin operated machine where you can buy 4 minutes for 2 euro. This is what i do anyway. Much happier since i started doing this. As Curran says, atleast you can treat the paint like a tomato skin

How much of a que do you let build up:-D

bbari

punisher5112 wrote: »

How much of a que do you let build up:-D

I move the car from the washing bay when I'm going to shampoo (only if there's anyone waiting) but definitely move the car when I am drying.

There's a drive thru wash too, most of the people use that so I rarely come across anyone who want to wash him/herself.

Heathen

Spotted these in homebase for €24:99... I have a karcher k2 and was wondering are these any use for snowfoam and the likes??

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/cleaning-body-repair/pressure-washers-hoses/karcher-fj10c-ultra-foam-jet

H

Curran

Heathen wrote: »

Spotted these in homebase for €24:99... I have a karcher k2 and was wondering are these any use for snowfoam and the likes??

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/cleaning-body-repair/pressure-washers-hoses/karcher-fj10c-ultra-foam-jet

H

Short answer; no!

They won't produce a thick foam that you would see on snowfoam lance videos. They don't have any metal gauze in them, and it's the water and solution being forced through it, that creates the thick foam.
The device above will produce a foam but it will be very watery and run straight off the car.

Heathen

Yea the snow foam lance has been on my shopping list for a while, but the €63 pricetag is a hard pill to swallow, so other more pressing items (nappies etc..) usually take priority haha

Cheers for the reply, at least i now have €24.99 towards the proper lance

H

Noccy_Mondy

Where can one acquire nozzles for a nilfisk lance. Both of mine are acting up.

Heathen

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

Where can one acquire nozzles for a nilfisk lance. Both of mine are acting up.

http://www.detailingshed.com/shampoo-snowfoam/186-snow-foam-lance.html#/fitment-nilfisk_kew_alto

punisher5112

Heathen wrote: »

Yea the snow foam lance has been on my shopping list for a while, but the €63 pricetag is a hard pill to swallow, so other more pressing items (nappies etc..) usually take priority haha

Cheers for the reply, at least i now have €24.99 towards the proper lance

H

Go onto aliexpress its around €21 to €25 delivered to your door.


That's where I got mine it is deadly and forgot to take pics.

I think I used too much foam though as it uses it so quick nearly half a bottle of it.

Noccy_Mondy

It's not like that thing in the link, it's just a black head, that clicks onto the end of the lance.

Heathen

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

It's not like that thing in the link, it's just a black head, that clicks onto the end of the lance.

The one pictured is the karcher one, its just the pic on the page, you select whatever one you need in the drop down menu

MetzgerMeister

Heathen wrote: »

so other more pressing items (nappies etc..)
H

Just wait until you're out of the nappies......imagine the amount of snowfoaming you can do then!!! :pac:

Newtown90

Heathen wrote: »

Spotted these in homebase for €24:99... I have a karcher k2 and was wondering are these any use for snowfoam and the likes??

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/cleaning-body-repair/pressure-washers-hoses/karcher-fj10c-ultra-foam-jet

H

Had this and it's a waste of money really ended up buying a proper one for 40 quid a few weeks back and there is no comparison.

colm_mcm

All the meguiars stuff is gone in halfords, they seem to be stocking mers, G3 and autoglym with turtle wax stuff being promoted more.
Pity, as some of their stuff is decent.

Special Circumstances

colm_mcm wrote: »

All the meguiars stuff is gone in halfords, they seem to be stocking mers, G3 and autoglym with turtle wax stuff being promoted more.
Pity, as some of their stuff is decent.

I'm guessing you looked for it with the rest of the car wash stuff and didn't find it in Limerick.
It's around the corner, all together on its own shelf at the end of an aisle in Limerick.

waraf

Quick question for ya lads....

I used clay for the first time over the weekend (Bilt Hamber auto clay) and I found it crumbly and difficult to mould into a solid disk shape. I left it sitting in warm water for a few minutes before I started claying in the car. The directions said to use water as a lubricant but I was using warm water with ph neutral shampoo in it. Was it the shampoo that was causing the problem with the crumbliness or is clay always like that?

Thanks

Curran

Strange; as you are the 2nd person to experience similar in the last 2 weeks. Wonder if its the shampoo causing a bit of breakdown.
Shouldn't happen!
I've experienced clay breakdown and become sticky but not BH Auto Clay, and it was using diluted Demon Shine as a lube.

colm_mcm

Special Circumstances wrote: »

I'm guessing you looked for it with the rest of the car wash stuff and didn't find it in Limerick.
It's around the corner, all together on its own shelf at the end of an aisle in Limerick.

As you go down the shop, the karcher and auto glam is on the left. Then the other stuff is on the right, did I really miss it? Odd place to put it...

vectra

Curran wrote: »

Strange; as you are the 2nd person to experience similar in the last 2 weeks. Wonder if its the shampoo causing a bit of breakdown.
Shouldn't happen!
I've experienced clay breakdown and become sticky but not BH Auto Clay, and it was using diluted Demon Shine as a lube.

That is exactly what I use with my old Megs clay and never had an issue with it.

Special Circumstances

colm_mcm wrote: »

As you go down the shop, the karcher and auto glam is on the left. Then the other stuff is on the right, did I really miss it? Odd place to put it...

Yeah, if you continue toward the back of the store along the aisle you described the whole Meguiars range is together on your left on the end of aisle display. ( just after the karcher iirc )

mik_da_man

vectra wrote: »

That is exactly what I use with my old Megs clay and never had an issue with it.

Me too!

Curran

I was using Auto brute Direct clay at the time which is more elastic that any other clays I've used.

charcosull

Just got a delivery from Detailing Shed to try my first bit of 'more than a hose' cleaning.
Perfect timing with the weather we are having.

MetzgerMeister

You'd be well advised to not wash or do anything to the car in direct sunlight. It just makes it a lot harder.

waraf

Curran wrote: »

I was using Auto brute Direct clay at the time which is more elastic that any other clays I've used.

Thanks Curran. Is it this one you mean? I notice it's a fine grade clay. How does it compare to the Bilt Hamber clay in terms of performance?

Mc Love

Great day for washing the car, got at it just after 8am this morning, washing black car in heat is just too hard! Washed the MIL's car as well using the half-arsed Irish approach even though I did use two buckets!

MIL's car was filthy, loads of finger prints, tar, scratches etc. The wheels are a joke, but it is looking a good bit better now. For a lady that keeps the house clean, I cant understand how she drives around in such a dirty car!

James from MX Valeting did a job on it before, i'd say he was exhausted after it!

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

You'd be well advised to not wash or do anything to the car in direct sunlight. It just makes it a lot harder.

Thats why I wish sometimes that I had a garage I could pull into to finish off detailing!

Noccy_Mondy

Mc Love wrote:

Great day for washing the car, got at it just after 8am this morning, washing black car in heat is just too hard! Washed the MIL's car as well using the half-arsed Irish approach even though I did use two buckets!

Did mine yesterday, could see the steam rising off the roof, and the water evaporating seconds after going over with the mitt. Need to be quick with the lance!

Curran

waraf wrote: »

Thanks Curran. Is it this one you mean? I notice it's a fine grade clay. How does it compare to the Bilt Hamber clay in terms of performance?

It was actually their medium one from a while back - Red Devil, but a similar consistency - didnt have a problem with the fine grade, but then I didnt use it with Demon Shine either as I suspected it was the reason it degraded slightly.
BH or it would be the two Id usually use. BH Auto Clay would be more aggressive though.

Mc Love

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

Did mine yesterday, could see the steam rising off the roof, and the water evaporating seconds after going over with the mitt. Need to be quick with the lance!

It's the worst thing, temp was still low when i was doing mine this morning. Then all the suds dry in!

I am really liking the carpro stuff, it's quickly becoming one of my favourite ranges

Mississippi.

Curran wrote: »

Strange; as you are the 2nd person to experience similar in the last 2 weeks. Wonder if its the shampoo causing a bit of breakdown.
Shouldn't happen!
I've experienced clay breakdown and become sticky but not BH Auto Clay, and it was using diluted Demon Shine as a lube.

I was using bit hamber clay about a month ago and I also found it very difficult to mould and shape. It was cool enough weather but the car was in the shed. I cut the bar in to four and had them in hot water in plastic tubs, as I was rotating them I even had the other ones in the hot press but I had to break it and join it rather than knead it to get a clean bit.
I was using bilt hamber shampoo very diluted as a lube.
It didn't mar the paint but done what it was supposed to, just not as easy as I assumed it would be.

Danger781

It's great keeping an eye on this thread picking up little bits and pieces of information. I was always the type to go get the car washed elsewhere until stumbling in here. Looking to upgrade the car some time in the next year so planning on picking up some essentials in the meantime..

Do you lads use a power washer on the car after foaming? Or just the usual bucket of water and a cloth / glove?

myshirt

Danger781, if you like you can foam, let it dwell, pressure washer rinse, foam again, don't rinse this time, just wash over it using two bucket method, then pressure washer rinse. Wash from top down. Rinse from bottom up. And run a hose rinse over the car before drying.

Use a microfiber madness incredimitt and a good quality shampoo. Not a cloth or glove. And do the wheels separate with it's own bucket and mitt. You can use a lesser quality mitt here.

Any queries, just shout. Guys here are great. Definitely come on in the run up to the new car, always good to get off to a good start and keep the car in good shape.

ratracer

Curran wrote: »

Strange; as you are the 2nd person to experience similar in the last 2 weeks. Wonder if its the shampoo causing a bit of breakdown.
Shouldn't happen!
I've experienced clay breakdown and become sticky but not BH Auto Clay, and it was using diluted Demon Shine as a lube.

Curran,

Do you think could this have been a bad batch of BH clay?? I have about a quarter of the bar left after doing the Focus, now I want to do my Mazda6 Estate, but I wonder if I would be better off with a different brand of clay? I had used diluted BH shampoo as lube?

vectra

Danger781 wrote: »

It's great keeping an eye on this thread picking up little bits and pieces of information. I was always the type to go get the car washed elsewhere until stumbling in here. Looking to upgrade the car some time in the next year so planning on picking up some essentials in the meantime..

Do you lads use a power washer on the car after foaming? Or just the usual bucket of water and a cloth / glove?

Yes indeed.
Great place here for hints and tips.

Curran has been a master in disguise to lots of members

As for Foaming.
Yes,
Pressure wash the foam off.
Then TBM wash.
Then rinse with garden hose.
Finish with open end on hose and literally let the water flow over the car, it will help remove more water than spraying it.

Danger781

Cheers lads, will look into a power washer so in the next few months. Would be handy to have one anyway for cleaning the garden and what not. I'll be back with my list for a seal of approval.

vectra

Danger781 wrote: »

Cheers lads, will look into a power washer so in the next few months. Would be handy to have one anyway for cleaning the garden and what not. I'll be back with my list for a seal of approval.

I bought this back in April
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00K6C5YZ8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

I got it on offer for £79.99 delivered to my door.
It came to around €109 all in.
Great washer so far.

cena

What is the best way for cleaning the door hinges etc.

Curran

ratracer wrote: »

Curran,

Do you think could this have been a bad batch of BH clay??

I'll ask the question; hopefully they'll give a quick response, as they are sometimes slow in getting back to emails.

cena wrote: »

What is the best way for cleaning the door hinges etc.

Bilt Hamber Surfex HD is an excellent degreaser. Spray on, allow to dwell for a few seconds, agitate with a detailing brush and rinse off. Repeat as necessary.

ianobrien

ianobrien wrote: »

Thanks for that. I'll ask in the local car washes if I can use (and pay obviously) for water and not their chemicals or labour.

Just to report back, I tried the local two nearest places that do car washes. One said "And so what the f**k are my lads doing wrong? I've had no complaints so you can get the f**k out of here!". The other answer was " No, sorry, safety reasons".

I'm still looking for a nearby self serve place.

nd

So I spray can painted my rear bumper over the last while. I was testing wetsanding the "orange peel" and compounding it today.









I've only the flat piece of the bumper done (wetsanded and compounded) so far but am happy with how it's coming out.

charcosull

So after getting my delivery from detailing shed I spent 6 hours on Friday evening hard at it.
Can't believe the results, the biggest difference was the feel of the paint after claying. (240k KM and never clayed I would guess)

I used the BH clay. The warm water tip made it very easy to work. It was very tough when cold.

Curran

Did you take any after pictures??

charcosull

Sure did, I will try get them up today. So now that the body is looking good the wheels are letting it down a bit.
I have a feeling this is a never ending pursuit of perfection that I have got hooked on.

Curran

charcosull wrote: »

I have a feeling this is a never ending pursuit of perfection that I have got hooked on.

I've bad news for you!! You've been bitten, and its near impossible to shake it off...even the slaggings you'll get from your family and friends will niggle at you initially, but soon it will be like water off a waxed bonnet, or as most would say, water off a ducks back! :P

bbari

ianobrien wrote: »

I'm still looking for a nearby self serve place.

Where are you based ?

Heathen

Curran wrote: »

...even the slaggings you'll get from your family and friends will niggle at you initially

not forgetting the neighbours standard "you can do mine next hahaha" comment every time too!!


H

vectra

Heathen wrote: »

not forgetting the neighbours standard "you can do mine next hahaha" comment every time too!!


H

Or the new one here now is
"You wont be washing it when the water charges are in" :pac:

Noccy_Mondy

vectra wrote:

Or the new one here now is "You wont be washing it when the water charges are in"

Or the "why do you bother, it'll only get dirty again straight away" or "you must have some amount of money spent on cleaning 'stuff'" or just blatantly say "you're obsessed"