Today I did some detailing...

I probably don't belong in here, but I cleaned my car today (well.. yesterday). Hooray. I'm happy with it, but I'm sure most of ye will be sitting staring blankly at the screen wondering 'when did that yoke last get cleaned. It's filthy' :P








I picked up that Nilfisk C120 power washer that Curran posted in the other thread, from DID Electrical. Will have to figure out if i can turn it into a snow foaming machine (apparently thats all the rage these days). Might also consider picking up a buff bagwell to clean the car with too. I'd like to give it a good polishing too.

Apparently a bit of a polish will help cover up some of the small scratches that black paint loves to show off? Is that true (and if so, does it mean polishing every week? Second week, month, etc.? to keep it looking good)?

I also want to get some decent tyre shine. Shiny tyres really pull the whole car together in my opinion. Wet tyre look is impressive in my opinion, but hard to get a decent product. Have seen a meguiars(?) product mentioned a few times but havent bought anything yet (will likely wait a little while til i've a couple of Euro and pick up a few bits of Curran, if i can, at the same time, rather than picking up bits and bobs over time). Dull tyres do drive me mad though, and the sprays ive gotten in halfords, etc. have been crap to say the least.


Hopefully, over time I'll pick up a bit of knowledge and experience and be able to do a decent job of cleaning it without it taking all day (I spent about 4-5 hours on the fecking thing! Although in fairness, in person, it looked immaculate, aside from the scrapes/swirls that I couldnt hide).

Curran wrote: »

I'd say the product he is using is supplied from the likes of Autosmart or Autoglym's Trade Range.
I had meant to say earlier that Orchard Autocare's Glitz is a very durable product, way more than two weeks durability. I find having to do the tyres after a regular weekly wash a pain, so I like something durable.

I think you did mention it.. the name sounds familiar, anyway. I'll give it a shot. Do you know of any online retailer (perhaps who interact with boards users :P ) who sells it? And if so could you link to it? (even in PM if need be?)

To quote yourself, the plastics on the front are "dull and dreary" and not how they would have looked back in 04 when it left the factory. They have grey'd over time and need a bit of treatment to give them a much deeper appearance.
If the panel beater would spray it, to a finish the same as the rest of the paint work, so they are colour coded bumpers, and for a reasonable cost, its something Id definitely do. Save you having to treat them repeatedly like the tyres, and it will really give it a fresher appearance. May also be worth considering getting the whole front bumper done if its badly stone chipped, as it shouldnt cost too much extra given he'll be mixing the paint anyways.

I had a Ford Focus (2000, 1.4 hatchback) in 'Ford Aquamarine Frost' (a greeny/blue-ish colour), and panel beater said front bumper on that would be in and around €80-100 to get resprayed. I decided against it as the car wasn't worth spending money on (if I fixed it up to an 'as new' condition, i'd certainly have spent more than the car was worth).

So I'd hazard that the Rav4 bumper would be about twice the price (as the nudge bar is a second piece altogether, so would probably be the price of getting two bumpers) if not a bit more expensive as the fella has gotten a bit busier as of late (so im sure his prices have increased, too).


Just to ask you though, when you talk about the plastics being dull and dreary, are you referring to the nudge bar on the front, or the actual bumper itself? (i just ask because i think the bumper looks okay, personally? But you'd have a better eye than I would for this)?

Its not ideal, but if you think about it, when you use wheel cleaner on the alloys, it will get on the tyres anyways. You should however choose pH neutral wheel cleaner, for the sake of your alloys and tyres...something acidic or base is far from ideal.
As with anything to do with detailing, preparation is key. Tyres should be cleaned before applying any dressing, so a medium to strong APC mixture, sprayed onto the tyre and agitate with a stiff bristle brush, such as below, being careful not to get the alloys with the bristle, give them a good scrub and rinse down. You'd be surprised the amount of who dont do it and the amount of drit that will come off, and this hinders bonding of dressing.

When I did it, I used a bucket of warm water and a run of the mill kitchen sponge (you know the yellow ones, with a green rougher area on one side.. cant think of the name of them) and i used that to clean the tyres before spraying them. So the tyres themselves were relatively clean.

That said, When i'm washing the car, after i powerhosed it down (more for the novelty of using a powerhose than anything else, really, haha) I went at the car with a warm bucket of water (2 bucket method) with one of those microfibre wash mit things (like a glove) and I mixed the water with a fair dose of Tesco's very own 'wash and wax'. I assume there are many better 'wash and wax' products out there than tesco's one though. But it was just convenient I do end up using a lot of it, though.

Then I used the wax (i cant recall the name of the product.. i got it in halfords, came in a bottle, its a white liquid) and applied that using another microfibre wash mit glove.

I'd imagine I'm doing a lot wrong, but i get average/decent results. I'd like to better it though (But dont want to spend an arm and a leg on products and have no idea how to use them). I'd like to polish it.

Fella that was pricing to spray the bumper said he'd give the Rav4 a buffing/polish for €60. Im not sure if thats great or terrible, but I'd like to get the satisfaction of doing it myself. So not sure if i'll let him at it or not.

pete4130 wrote: »

Didn't you say you would probably never go off road and not need the AWD version?

Sure most stuff you can get away with 2WD once its not serious.

Last time I got stuck, 4WD didn't make a difference. when you're buried up to the chassis rails in mud soup.....its going to take a long time to dig yourself out.

I was gutted I let the Hilux down and bogged her
Thankfully a 1993 Landcruiser 70 series was on hand to snatch me out.

If I had the money (or means of taxing it commercially) I'd be driving a Hilux tomorrow. Absolutely gorgeous machine (Though completely impractical for me).

I don't really go off road, but had two photo jobs in the last couple of days that lead me into the wilderness. It'd be very rare that I'd venture off the tarmac otherwise. I was in a mucky/messy situation, but nothing that'd need 4WD. No hills and no swimming pools like in your photo above. All fairly flat-ish land, but with muck/grass/sand spraying onto the side of the the car (and underneath/wheel wells, obviously).

I find the wheel wells (if thats what they're actually called) a pain in the ass. Hardest part to clean. All the dirt...