Today I did some detailing...

Curran · 09-10-2016 11:39AM

That's all that's really needed. It's a very powerful product. 3 mists per panel the size of a door, for example.

*Kol* · 09-10-2016 11:53AM

Grand. That's what I used. I put it on the windscreen but it wasn't as good as Hydro2 was. That's probably what made me doubt it.

ronnie3585 · 09-10-2016 06:30PM

I finished coating the car in CQuartz and Reload this afternoon - my right arm is about to fall off!!

I'm extremely impressed with the finish, it's hugely glossy. The CQuartz required more elbow grease than I expected. Reload was lovely to work with, very easy on and off and buffed up a beautiful shine.

Last question for the experts - the CQuartz package says to remove any water for the first 24hrs. The car's outside, while there's no rain forecast for tonight, I assume it will be covered in dew come morning given the dip in temps we'll see over night. I've read a lot of differing opinions online about whether water needs to be removed after the first couple of hours and would be interested in peoples' opinions on this here. I've no problem giving it a wipe with the MF towel first thing in the morning, just don't want to waste my time if it really isn't (the neighbours already think I'm mental!)

Curran · 09-10-2016 06:32PM

No need to dry it if you will be driving it!

Personally, Id dry it, Id hate to waste all that effort and potentially not achieve maximum performance!

Arbo94 · 09-10-2016 08:45PM

ronnie3585 wrote: »

I finished coating the car in CQuartz and Reload this afternoon - my right arm is about to fall off!!

I'm extremely impressed with the finish, it's hugely glossy. The CQuartz required more elbow grease than I expected. Reload was lovely to work with, very easy on and off and buffed up a beautiful shine.

Last question for the experts - the CQuartz package says to remove any water for the first 24hrs. The car's outside, while there's no rain forecast for tonight, I assume it will be covered in dew come morning given the dip in temps we'll see over night. I've read a lot of differing opinions online about whether water needs to be removed after the first couple of hours and would be interested in peoples' opinions on this here. I've no problem giving it a wipe with the MF towel first thing in the morning, just don't want to waste my time if it really isn't (the neighbours already think I'm mental!)

Can I pm you about this I have a few questions

ronnie3585 · 09-10-2016 09:24PM

Arbo94 wrote: »

Can I pm you about this I have a few questions

Absolutely, feel free.

Curran wrote: »

No need to dry it if you will be driving it!
Personally, Id dry it, Id hate to waste all that effort and potentially not achieve maximum performance!

Cheers Curran - I'll give it a wipe in the morning.

Here's a before pic I took a few weeks ago which kinds of shows the damage, as you can see loads of nasty swirls and holograms:

Here's an after, it was very dull and the light was fading so it's not a very good photo. I'll stick up some better ones once we get a bit of sun. The paint is hyper-glossy and has a mirror finish all over. I'm happy to report the virtually all of the damage in the first photo is gone, save for some deeper hairline scratches that I wasn't brave enough to keep compounding.

Curran · 09-10-2016 09:28PM

Very nice work indeed Ronnie!

Ded_Zebra · 09-10-2016 09:29PM

I guess I'll be speaking out of turn here and what I have to say will go down like a sh!te sandwich but here goes anyway.

I just don't "get" that E46 320D at all... I mean he clearly spend thousands on the interior/retrim and wheels and exhaust and the bodywork. At the end of it he's still left with a 320D for M3 money

. Also spends loads of money on cosmetics but has the cheapest ****tiest tyres possible on it

Fur coat and all that.

micks_address · 09-10-2016 09:33PM

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Absolutely, feel free.

Cheers Curran - I'll give it a wipe in the morning.

Here's a before pic I took a few weeks ago which kinds of shows the damage, as you can see loads of nasty swirls and holograms:

Here's an after, it was very dull and the light was fading so it's not a very good photo. I'll stick up some better ones once we get a bit of sun. The paint is hyper-glossy and has a mirror finish all over. I'm happy to report the virtually all of the damage in the first photo is gone, save for some deeper hairline scratches that I wasn't brave enough to keep compounding.

Amazing results fair play

Curran · 09-10-2016 09:35PM

Ohhhh DZ, controversial

:P

I can see this going like a certian Celica thread :P Im getting the popcorn!

I know where you are coming from - but its his car, his money and if he's happy, then Im happy for him!

Perhaps its a keeper, and the value he'll get from the money invested over a number of years, will be that he's in a very nice cabin!

Foxhole Norman · 09-10-2016 10:03PM

Ded_Zebra wrote: »

I guess I'll be speaking out of turn here and what I have to say will go down like a sh!te sandwich but here goes anyway.

I just don't "get" that E46 320D at all... I mean he clearly spend thousands on the interior/retrim and wheels and exhaust and the bodywork. At the end of it he's still left with a 320D for M3 money . Also spends loads of money on cosmetics but has the cheapest ****tiest tyres possible on it

Fur coat and all that.

Mainly because he doesn't need nor want an M3. The 320D is more than enough for him, he doesn't like to take short cuts and has expensive taste, i.e, the interior/exhaust etc. Regarding the tyres, that's what came on the wheels when he got them, they were a package deal and he's had no problems with them so hasn't changed them out.

Toyotafanboi · 09-10-2016 10:18PM

Curran wrote: »

I can see this going like a certian Celica thread :P Im getting the popcorn!

You're still thinking about it

In fairness, it's a valid point. Eisenmann exhaust, full leather retrim, €€€'s clearly being spunked at the car, not that there is anything wrong with that...

But a pair of "Goform Zonda" tyres on the business end of a semi powerful RWD car where the owner clearly isn't afraid of spending money at the very least suggests that they have their priorities wrong.

Those colour coded floor mats will do you no favours when you lose the back end on a damp roundabout.

Each to their own, but it makes sense if nothing else.

Foxhole Norman · 09-10-2016 10:21PM

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

But a pair of "Goform Zonda" tyres on the business end of a semi powerful RWD car where the owner clearly isn't afraid of spending money at the very least suggests that they have their priorities wrong.

Those colour coded floor mats will do you no favours when you lose the back end on a damp roundabout.

Each to their own, but it makes sense if nothing else.

He's had those tyres on for over a year now through winter and all with no problems, if he says they're grand I take his word for it. I certainly didn't think they were bad for grip when I drove it on a wet day!

Toyotafanboi · 09-10-2016 10:32PM

It wouldn't be for me anyway. No name tyres are generally very poor from what i've experienced, but that's a whole other thread.

Maybe i've been reading CIP4's posts too much, but i'd rather have the car 110% mechanically before I go at the visuals.

Visually it's a very striking car though and I suppose that's the point of this thread

Foxhole Norman · 09-10-2016 10:38PM

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

It wouldn't be for me anyway. No name tyres are generally very poor from what i've experienced, but that's a whole other thread.

Maybe i've been reading CIP4's posts too much, but i'd rather have the car 110% mechanically before I go at the visuals.

Visually it's a very striking car though and I suppose that's the point of this thread

I'm the same, and I say it to him about the tyres all the time! This car is mechanically sound, there's nothing wrong with it, everything that was faulty is replaced with BMW dealer parts generally. Entire suspension, nut and bolt refresh, discs and Ceramic pads, remanufactured Garret Turbo, everything this car needed it got in a week of a fault showing.

ianobrien · 09-10-2016 11:06PM

Getting the thread back on topic and away from the handbags. Did a few jobs to the Escort. First was a coolant change.

Thank heavens it's standard suspension allows for a bucket to fit under the front with no jack needed.

Then followed a prewash with Bilt Hamber Auto-foam, 2 bucket wash with AG shampoo, drying and some AG Rapid Detailer. Interior was a good hoover and AG Fast Glass on plastics, vinyl and glass.

Pushing it back into the garage.....

In case you are wondering, no the Chloras is not used to clean the cars.

Also, I found out that no matter how much you scrub the vinyl roof and old window rubbers, the Dry-me-Crazy STILL gets filty!

edburg · 09-10-2016 11:07PM

Although I agree skimping on tyres would be a no no for me. The changes your man has done are his vision and his choice.

He could look at a comment like that say what boring unimaginative person that person is or perhaps looks at those going clubbing spending 100+ euro getting drunk and waking up with headache face down in toilet and food poisoning from kebab shop and think what a bunch of muppets etc etc

World be a boring place if we were all the same.

vectra · 10-10-2016 12:55AM

Great job on the Golf Ronnie.
As for drying off the Dew in the morning?
I personally wouldnt.
I did mine outdoors an it worked out fine.
I would be fearfull of dust mising with the dew and you know what happens when you wipe that

Foxhole Norman · 10-10-2016 01:47AM

I gave this Transporter an exterior decontamination and sealed it with Fusso this afternoon, sorted for the coming Winter months, the paint was a bit dull beforehand.

His VRS Octavia is next

Ryath · 10-10-2016 05:29PM

Few hours work sealing the wheels of the new bus with Dlux. Spent a few hours Saturday cleaning the two cars, Bilt Hamber SnowFoam, 2BW, Korrosol fallout remover and Bilt Hamber autowheel. So paint is pretty clean now and wheel face clean.

So time time to tackle the wheels properly, first time putting a car on stands in several years!

Barrels were bad seems like lot of the wax sealant on under carriage ended up on them as well. Looked even worse in the flesh

So Snow Foam, scrub and autowheel they were good!

Ready to dry and final wipe with Carpro Eraser before applying DLux

Finished Wheel

Also did some of the trim and grill

Very happy with the results hopefully it works as promised. Didn't take as long as I feared either about 4hrs with out killing myself. (Applying the Dlux to the wheels on the kitchen table made it a little easier

) Plan now tomorrow to do Cquartz on the paint if I have the time and energy. Assuming I better clay the car first?

Was wondering about the mirrors Dlux or Cquartz? They have a very shiny finish. Also what to use on the rubber trim around the doors?

Good practise before I tackle my wifes Leon as I had put it of and hadn't got all the products to do it. Have kept it fairly clean so shouldn't need to much prep. Taking of the wheels is not as daunting as I feared and I'll see how long it takes tomorrow to do the Cquartz on the Zafira. Hopefully I can get it all done in one day at the weekend.

Just to add a thanks to Curran for all his advice and Detailing Sheds great customer service. Will have to put in another order to get a few more bits. Need more suede applicators at the very least.

ianobrien · 10-10-2016 06:51PM

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

I gave this Transporter an exterior decontamination and sealed it with Fusso this afternoon, sorted for the coming Winter months, the paint was a bit dull beforehand.

(Loads and loads of pics I'm not going to quote)

His VRS Octavia is next

A clean work can like that does inspire confidence that the person takes pride in their machinery and by extension, their work. If the owner takes such care of their van, they'll (probably) take such care when doing work for me as a paying customer, maybe!

Edit, ignore the thumbs down at the top. I don't know how it got there (fat finger maybe) but I can't get rid of it!

Curran · 10-10-2016 08:21PM

Great work Ryath!

Cquartz on the shiney black surface on the mirrors, DLUX on the window rubbers!

Foxhole Norman · 12-10-2016 09:23PM

Got around to giving the VRS a coating this afternoon after work, had gotten very dull from various contaminants, especially Iron!

Finished Product:

ronnie3585 · 13-10-2016 10:03PM

I'm growing more and more impressed with the CQuartz/Reload combo as the days go by. The car looks fantastic, the depth of the gloss is like nothing I've seen before with polish and wax. The hydrophobic qualities are superb. It was covered with a thick layer of dew this morning, by the time I got to work it had completely sheeted off most of the car - the roof and bonnet were bone dry!

Here's a picture of it in the setting sun, it doesn't really capture the depth of gloss but it gives a good idea;

Foxhole Norman · 19-10-2016 09:06PM

Was able to tackle my buddies previously unloved E39 over the last two days. I spent two days compounding and refining the paintwork, the lights and bumper trims were removed and restored along with all the shadow line window and mirror trims. The wheels and tyres were cleaned, de-ironed, de-tared and dressed. The interior received a thorough valet with new BMW mats fitted and the engine bay was cleaned and dressed.

The exterior was in a poor state for a car with only 88k miles on the clock!