Today I did some detailing...

tech

You did a big order! Where did you go shopping

Northern Monkey wrote: »

Christmas has come early

Northern Monkey

tech wrote: »

You did a big order! Where did you go shopping

Mostly Slims but there are bits from a few other places too. The main order was made at the start of March but I didn’t get it until today as it was all delivered to my dads and we haven’t been to his house since. He fell off a ladder on Saturday and broke his leg so social distancing is now out the window!

theintern

clubberlang12 wrote: »

Lovely looking Megane. Well done on the job this morning.

Shows the level of car care dealerships perform "if" they applied a ceramic coating over paintwork covered in iron fallout particles and tar deposits!!

I'd put money on the ceramic coating being a ceramic spray wax.

PsychoPete

theintern wrote: »

I'd put money on the ceramic coating being a ceramic spray wax.

I remember that coating Renault are flogging, Gen 3 Glasscoat I think its called. Its basically washed the car,wipe down with ipa,apply the coating and only coat the face of the wheels. All in the space of 2 hours work. A dealer wont give the Valeters time to do it properly either way

clubberlang12

PsychoPete wrote: »

I remember that coating Renault are flogging, Gen 3 Glasscoat I think its called. Its basically washed the car,wipe down with ipa,apply the coating and only coat the face of the wheels. All in the space of 2 hours work. A dealer wont give the Valeters time to do it properly either way

Thats the crux of it...........plenty of the dealership valetors could do a fine job in preparing a car, but have limited time restrictions per vehicle.

It's the difference in letting a professional car care provider work on your car for a number of days to prep, enhance and apply coatings in the proper manner.....as well as use in alot of cases, superior products.

It may cost more than the dealership price(although some through it in free to sweeten a deal), but you are getting a higher level of service if visiting a genuine car care provider.

MetzgerMeister

The problem is that 95% of people buying new cars in Ireland will not pay for a superior service. They want the cheapest they can get and not to have to worry about going through an automated car wash or using a yard brush to clean it every 8 months.

The remaining 5% will ask the dealership to not touch the car and will either have it delivered to or drive it themselves to the likes of D&D for a job to be done.

ILikeBoats

Got a quick last one in on my lunch before the ban (this working from home lark has its advantages to say the least!)

BH Autowheel
Citrus prewash
2 bucket method
Towel dry

I put Gtechniq C2V3 on a few weeks ago, wow it makes the car easy to dry.

sk8board

Spending time on Father’s Day with the ones you love the most :P

Cyrus

Folks picking up a new car in a couple of weeks should I ask the dealership not to touch it at all? What do they normally do to prep new cars

Black_Knight

Cyrus wrote: »

Folks picking up a new car in a couple of weeks should I ask the dealership not to touch it at all? What do they normally do to prep new cars

If it's anything like my last service tell them to back off! They used a brush on mine!

Cyrus

Black_Knight wrote: »

If it's anything like my last service tell them to back off! They used a brush on mine!

Jesus

PsychoPete

I think it varies from dealership but with dealerships so busy now I wouldn't expect much in the way of car care. Best to look after the paint work yourself

slave1

I have an A4 printout in my car for service politely saying no washing or cleaning of any description inside or out, leave on dash and clear for all to see. I also say it verbally when booking and dropping off...

Northern Monkey

I did this a couple of weeks ago when we had a couple of days of good weather.

Single stage polish and 2 coats of CQUK.

MetzgerMeister

slave1 wrote: »

I have an A4 printout in my car for service politely saying no washing or cleaning of any description inside or out, leave on dash and clear for all to see. I also say it verbally when booking and dropping off...

I have this along with telling them politely and in no uncertain terms that if the car is washed they will be footing the bill for a paint correction.



It usually sinks in but I had the car in with Morrison BMW a while back. They had TFR sitting on the car when I was outside having a look around. I legged it in and told the service advisor what was going on. He got them to hose it down and they left it at that.

That evening I noticed that the exterior door rubbers were spotty and blotchy so I got onto them. They accepted liability (even going so far as to remind me that "DO NOT WASH" was written on the worksheet - should have reminded themselves) and gave me a good discount on the work they did.

vectra

Northern Monkey wrote: »

I did this a couple of weeks ago when we had a couple of days of good weather.

Single stage polish and 2 coats of CQUK.

https://i.postimg.cc/V6S8v1Gx/E502-C474-6-DDE-4-F10-A66-C-68-FBC604-D735.jpg

Looks great, I had CQUK on my passat and found it extremely easy to wash.
Get some Carpro Dlux on the wheels / black trim / wheel arches.
Makes life so much easier.

Northern Monkey

vectra wrote: »

Looks great, I had CQUK on my passat and found it extremely easy to wash.
Get some Carpro Dlux on the wheels / black trim / wheel arches.
Makes life so much easier.

I have gyeon rim for the wheels but ran out of energy by the time I was finished with the body! Might try and get it done this weekend if I can get a dry spell.

vectra

Northern Monkey wrote: »

I have gyeon rim for the wheels but ran out of energy by the time I was finished with the body! Might try and get it done this weekend if I can get a dry spell.

Weekend is showing good this neck of the woods, and most of next week, might even get my own wheels off and done. :P

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.