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Today I did some detailing...

randy hickey

We have the "Today I Did Something To My Car" thread out in the main forum, and a lot of the posts on it pertain to detailing.
I thought it would be a good idea to give our various detailing activities a thread in their proper home.

I'll get the ball rolling.

Today ( ahem, last night really!), I snow foamed the car
Wasn't able to follow through and wash it properly as my back went, but couldn't believe how well it looked this morning!
In fairness I have a fair bit of LSP on it, but there was ten days worth of road film and tree sap on it.

Well impressed.

Over to you!

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advertsfox

Lads, would love you suggestions on a simple tar remover for the side skirts / underbody on my Avensis? Body is practically clean of any but mine are littered.

vectra

advertsfox wrote: »

Lads, would love you suggestions on a simple tar remover for the side skirts / underbody on my Avensis? Body is practically clean of any but mine are littered.

Tardis,
This is the only one have used and have no reason to change.
Brilliant stuff,

[Deleted User]

advertsfox wrote: »

Lads, would love you suggestions on a simple tar remover for the side skirts / underbody on my Avensis? Body is practically clean of any but mine are littered.

+ 1 for Tardis. I've used a lot of tar removers over the years but I have never been as happy with any of them as I am with Tardis.

Also apply a nice coat of wax to help dissipate the bonding of tar

[Deleted User]

http://www.woodiesdiy.com/Product/karcher-sc1020-steam-cleaner/16385/3.11.3#.U9gXabGTE09

Worth picking up in the battle against dirty fabric seats?

Hal1

If you want to do a proper job, get a numatic gve370 (aka george). I have one and cleans every surface. Carpets, seats, etc. It's about double that of the karcher steam machine but worth it.

Spike Witwicky

Mention of more aggressive pad/polish makes me think i could do with some of that.

Polished my rear quarter panel today. Rear of the car has been resprayed at some point and is looking hazy. Dont think ill be able to correct that but if i can get some of the swirl marks out i'll be happy enough.

Used CG V36/Yellow Hexlogic pad & CG microfibre cutting pad.
Then V38/ Green hexlogic pad. (wondering if i should have used CG microfibre finishing pad?)

B4

After

It does seem to be making a difference but seeing as it'll need a good few more goes i'm wondering aboout paint depth

Chimaera

Looking at the orange peel, I'm wondering if some wet sanding with 2000 grit or higher might help?

Spike Witwicky

Yeah was kinda hopin not to have to go down that route.

Curran

Safety of the run of the mill DA vs removal and risk of the Rotary or Forced DA!

A bit of wet sanding with 2000 grit followed by 3000 grit (so you'd have less scratches to remove) wouldnt be the worst option....but again, getting the perfect finish will be slow

V36 isnt the most aggressive polish in the CGs v-range. There's V34 and V32 also. Microfibre pads might also speed up the process.

DA = slow but safe!

Spike Witwicky

I know but i'm impatient :pac:

Microfibre pads better than hexlogic?
Think i might go with the most aggressive combo i can with a DA and then move on to wet sanding if needed.

Which leads me to my next question is V32 worth getting or would i be better switching?
Would Menzerna be a good choice on Merc paint?
Would applying cleanser polish be of any benefit? or stick with a cut n finish?

Curran

Microfibre pads have more cut as they generate more heat.
Menzerna is a giod range of polish, but as with any range, they have polishes suitable for all hardness of paint.
It would definitely be worth moving up the range in the Chemical Guys, to V34 or V32, or consider Wolfs The Equalizer.
No, cleanser polish is for preparing the surface...wwouldnt be much or any cut.

Curran

Had the chance to give both cars a quick lick yesterday evening.
Snowfoam, 2BM Wash, Dry, 1 qucik coat of Perfection.

Didnt get any pictures yesterday anf of course its rotten out today...but that raise another opportunity; beading! :P
Cars had absolutely no beading before the Perfection...here's how they look now! Not bad for 10 mins work on each car!!

[Deleted User]

I see yours is a house that hates BMW's :P

Curran

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

I see yours is a house that hates BMW's :P

Had you seen the state of them before the washes, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that!

[Deleted User]

Curran wrote: »

DA = slow but safe!

Too safe, perhaps. I almost wish I'd started with a rotary instead of a DA.

mb1725

This Perfection seem to be an all rounder, what's it like for static in the dry? I find the combo of most quick detailers and microfiber cloths creates a static magnet for dust.

Curran

Its quite good; and as this has a lot more protection in it than most quick detailers, it can actually take a wash or two....so its not going to wash out with a light wash....so if it did attract light dust, a snowfoam, rinse and dry might be enough!

[Deleted User]

So I googled 'steam cleaner car' and I expected a lot of pictures of people cleaning their seats, but instead got a lot of people cleaning the outside of their car... surely that can't be a good idea? Paintwork not take a hammering under the sudden, intense, heat, no?

Or is it a great idea?

Noccy_Mondy

Old Neighbour went to a wedding with my folks yesterday and left his car at ours. Car never seen a wash in his two years of ownership. Far far from detailing, I know that these pics will hurt some of ye're eyes :P It's nothing great, nowhere near the standard I'd accept on my own cars, but it's a hell of a lot better than before, funny thing, I can guarantee he won't even notice!

Bodywork is very rough!

Half done

And finished pics

Spike Witwicky

Fair play man, looks like a disgusting job. Turned out well though

quadrifoglio verde

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

Old Neighbour went to a wedding with my folks yesterday and left his car at ours. Car never seen a wash in his two years of ownership. Far far from detailing, I know that these pics will hurt some of ye're eyes :P It's nothing great, nowhere near the standard I'd accept on my own cars, but it's a hell of a lot better than before, funny thing, I can guarantee he won't even notice!

Bodywork is very rough!

Was that all the rubbish you took out! :pac:

[Deleted User]

So I've had the 407 a short while now and I'm starting to slowly get around to cleaning it.

Today I steam cleaned the floor carpet and put in new mats. I also steam cleaned the front two leather seats. Probably can't tell the difference in a photo, but in the below photo the passenger seat has been cleaned:

58F0638A78204E45A5EAB1826297562A-0000333410-0003620194-01024L-78EB1B4EB9C04C48B2123B5DBDC14CA9.jpg

58F0638A78204E45A5EAB1826297562A-0000333410-0003620194-01024L-78EB1B4EB9C04C48B2123B5DBDC14CA9.jpg

The result is a much more matte finish and a generally all-round better looking seat. Of course, the passenger seat wouldn't generally have as much wear and tear as the driver's seat, but when I was done, both seats looked a lot better than when I had started. I think it came up quite well.

I then did the steering wheel, gear stick, handbrake, and called it a day. I'd been at it 3-4 hours at that stage. I'll return to the back seats during the week.

There are builders next door, and they're cutting wood and stuff in the drive way. Needless to say, the exterior of my car is desctroyed in sawdust from them. So no point in doing anything with the exterior until they're finished up

vectra

Getting the vRS prepped for the annual Vage show.

So far.
Engine bay washed / dressed / and polished.

Bodywork, washed, Clayed, Seceral Passes of the D,A. using Wolfs "The correctional Utility" on a CG, MF pad, Gave nice results.
Finished with Wolfs "The Medium on CG Hex Green Pad.
Was happy with the finish so Gave it a coat of Prima Amigo glaze applied with D,A on a CG Gex Black pad.
Topped so far with one coat of Britemax Extreme Elements.
Will probably give it two more coats before Sunday.
Today was spent taking off wheels to give them a good cleainng and top with 3 coats of 845 along with the calipers.

Interior will be done towards the end of the week.

Windows etc will be done Saturday.

Roll on Sunday, Hope the weather holds up.

[Deleted User]

Vectra, how long is it taking you to complete a circle of the car with a DA?

Cos the way you wrote that makes it sound like you passed an afternoon taking it handy and enjoying the weather. For me, that'd be days upon days of hard sweaty labour...

mik_da_man

vectra wrote: »

Getting the vRS prepped for the annual Vage show.

So far.
Engine bay washed / dressed / and polished.

Bodywork, washed, Clayed, Seceral Passes of the D,A. using Wolfs "The correctional Utility" on a CG, MF pad, Gave nice results.
Finished with Wolfs "The Medium on CG Hex Green Pad.
Was happy with the finish so Gave it a coat of Prima Amigo glaze applied with D,A on a CG Gex Black pad.
Topped so far with one coat of Britemax Extreme Elements.
Will probably give it two more coats before Sunday.
Today was spent taking off wheels to give them a good cleainng and top with 3 coats of 845 along with the calipers.

Interior will be done towards the end of the week.

Windows etc will be done Saturday.

Roll on Sunday, Hope the weather holds up.

I'll prob bring the Audi up.
Not going into that much detail however!

On a related note. Is it just turn up and park or do you need to book?
Never been before and I'll be heading up on my tod.

vectra

Deleted User wrote: »

Vectra, how long is it taking you to complete a circle of the car with a DA?

Cos the way you wrote that makes it sound like you passed an afternoon taking it handy and enjoying the weather. For me, that'd be days upon days of hard sweaty labour...

I suppose I should have been more specific.
All in all I would say the polishing took around 20 hours or so.

mik_da_man wrote: »

I'll prob bring the Audi up.
Not going into that much detail however!

On a related note. Is it just turn up and park or do you need to book?
Never been before and I'll be heading up on my tod.

Hey bud.
Would be great if you could make it. There is always some super machinery there and well worth the visit.
Basically arrive / pay at the gate ( €10 car and driver and passenger if you bring one )

Be there before 10 AM though.

Have a look out for me,
My car will be on the AutoStadt Stand.

Curran

Sounds like you are looking for a hat-trick (is it?) of titles!!

Keep up the good work!

vectra

Curran wrote: »

Sounds like you are looking for a hat-trick (is it?) of titles!!

Keep up the good work!

Got two with the white vRS,
Missed last years show over the red one and changing over to this one.
Fingers crossed this year

Spike Witwicky

So got stuck into the swirls on my bonnet today. Took a while but got there in the end

Cutting with CG V36/CG Orange MF pad (have some Menzerna ordered)
Finished with CG V38/CG Black MF pad
Added a coat of CG Blacklight and topped off with Collinite 845

Bonnet covered in swirls. Afew passes with V36 on one side

Finished with V38

Blacklight n 845

Some amount of improvement. Might need a couple of light passes again.

vectra

The only thing is that 845 likes to be used on bare paint.
Good job though.