Clarkey666

Good Afternoon All, A good friend of mine has just bought an Audi 80 Cabriolet which has some rather worn black leather Recaro seats. I'll be polishing it at some point soon and would like your recommendations on any leather cleaning/rejuvenation products and processes you guys employ. I haven't treated any leather interiors before so I'm interested to know what works well please, any bargains you can alert me to will be most appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help folks. Clarkey.

Morning All, I'm not on here very often these days, but I thought I'd share a recent revelation (to me) with you guys that will hopefully help at least some of you. Like you, I like keeping the car clean and tidy and am always keen to hear of better products and methods, particularly if they make the process more effective as well as less time consuming. After seeing numerous detailers using pre wash cleansers and the like recently, I asked a couple of friends of mine who know more than me regarding detailing if it was worth adding this to the process. I use Bilt Hamber Auto Foam and rate it highly, and a friend mentioned he'd read of it being used as a pre wash cleanser with something like a 4% dilution rate. So, I scoured the net for a pump sprayer, and went with a 7L one from Screwfix for the princely sum of a tenner. I put about 300ml of BHAF in there and topped the rest up with water. Rather than foaming, I pressure washed the car, then applied the 'pre-wash' solution via the pump sprayer in the form of a fine mist, left for a good ten minute period to dwell and rinsed off. I must declare that the car was well protected to begin with, but also that it was horrifically dirty. It made me sad to look at. This was a few weeks ago when the roads were covered in grit and the car hadn't been washed for three weeks. I had to clean the number plate so it was legible a couple of times in order to drive- THAT bad. For the sake of a tenner, it was worth a go, although if it didn't work I'd be able to use the sprayer for something else. However, the results were rather surprising. Incredible, actually. Upon rinsing the car off, the baked on grit all over the back of the car came clean off. I couldn't believe my eyes. The sprayer, not completely full, lasted for a total of four decent washes, which is hugely economical on the snow foam usage front as I'd have used almost 300ml for one wash, let alone four. Apologies for the lack of pictures, but Hunty can vouch for the results as I showed him before/after shots. Essentially, it will cost you a tenner, but will save loads of snow foam over time and a little faffing with the snow foaming process itself. In my opinion it is well worth it. It has made my process of washing the car (followed up by 2BM, drying and application of BSD for a normal wash) a bit quicker and will save cash on foam. I assume this or something similar might have been covered, and this isn't me saying pre-wash cleansers aren't effective at all, just for me and my needs this is a very easy and economical solution. I hope this is of use to some of you. If anyone has any questions or opinions, please feel free to post. Cheers all.

Well that is a bargain. I can vouch for the quality of the setup, I've covered almost 80k miles on mine having bought it (the car with stage three kit fitted) after it had only been fitted for 2k miles. Still going strong, still a lot of fun, still 550 miles per tank. Good luck with the sale.

If I recall correctly, I think the Components were £150. I paid £850 for everything, which included: Alpine HU- CD, MP3 etc Rainbow Audio Components Hertz Amp- powers everything JL Audio 10inch boxed subwoofer Installation, sound deadening in doors and tailgate etc. It might be a fair bit to spend, but worth every penny all day for me. I got a professional, subtle install that is miles apart from the factory system plus Infinity Basslink sub I previously had.

If I can't get mine fixed this weekend I'll get in touch and have this. I doubt it'll be around by then, but I'll express my interest nonetheless.

I have Rainbow Audio Components fitted in mine by the guys at Source Sounds in Sheffield. I can't remember the model number but they are a significant improvement over the factory items. Rather loud and very clear. I'd recommend them happily.

Unfortunately, no company will ever have 100% glowing reviews; I'd advise looking a little further than one forum thread to make a decision. Mistakes happen, delays occur and so on. For me, it is how the company and it's people deal with these issues that makes the difference. It strikes me as a little unfair how Shark have been discussed in this thread. My experience of Shark has been superb. Without going on too much, I'll give a brief story of my dealings with them. My first trip to Shark was in an AA truck with my first Fabia vRS on the back soaked in oil, the turbo had blown spectacularly. A fellow forum member, wja96 (I'm still grateful for the help, thank you), recommended Shark to me after I posted asking for help and advice. After being dropped off at their first premises, Ben discussed options with me and took great time and detail doing so, handy as at that point I knew even less about cars than I do now. I collected the car following the fitting of an Allard VT2 PD150 Hybrid Turbo, Forge FMIC, Blueflame Cat Back Exhaust and all the requisite seals, gaskets etc and of course a custom remap. The result was outstanding. I was kept well informed about progress and was at no point let down. Consequently I've been to all three premises to have work done and am still a regular customer eight years later, mainly for servicing and mechanical work lately but when I get a different car I'll no doubt have an upgrade or two there. I'm reluctant to take my car anywhere else and drive 45mins each way to go there. I've always been looked after and would confidently recommend their services to anyone. I'm a stickler for reviews myself, my point is to those who haven't experienced a company first hand- look beyond the anomalies and furthermore think before writing derogatory comments about businesses. For some, this thread will be enough for them to avoid Shark, which from my experience with them would be a shame indeed.

Do you know anyone into detailing? If so I'd quiz them on products and techniques. Then have a good look over YouTube for instructional videos etc. That is pretty much what I did and whilst I'm only an enthusiast, I'm able to achieve results I'm very happy with. Plus after the initial outlay of cost for a machine, pads, polishes and waxes and so on it's a fairly economical way of keeping your vehicle in good condition. Personally I'd find it difficult to hand over £300 or so to have my car detailed knowing what that could pay for in products. Ultimately though, if you feel it is worth the cost, go for it. It surely can't hurt. Finally, I'd just say don't forget to ask on here if you have any questions; I've always had helpful answers from the usual suspects on this section of the forum. There is plenty of knowledge and experience on here, tap these boys up!

All Purpose Cleaner. Meguiars and the like produce it.

I get my methanol from a model shop, 5L for about £12. Its a 50/50 mix with water, so 5L lasts ages. I wouldn't worry too much about the cost of methanol. From what I know, I think the actual kits are fairly pricey though, plus installation and set up costs.

I'd say it is worth it personally. I have a half decent system installed in my Fabia, including Rainbow Audio components up front and a 10" sub in the boot, all of which powered by an amp. Depending upon where you are etc, you'd be welcome to have a listen to mine, it may help you make your mind up. PM me if you're interested.

They both appear to be what I'm after, thank you both. As the Skoda parts place near me is now closed until Monday, I don't suppose anyone has any of these available do they? I'm in Sheffield. Many thanks.

Hi Folks, Could anyone tell me the part number of the three M8 bolts that sit on each side of the engine bay please? I'm going to replace the ones holding the Seat strut brace as they've been in and out a few times. Thanks in advance.

I'd love something like this. SAdly I've no idea what it'd be worth either. I'll keep an eye on this to see how it develops.

Thanks guys. At least the paint now appears as the strong red it really is rather than the tinge of orange that it appeared to be on the images from the old Olympus! Money indeed well spent on the Canon.