Svend

With what is coming out of Europe regarding the dieselgate and cheating companies. The E.U. Is putting pressure on countries and companies to comply and to even encourage countries to prosecute cheating companies. Countries turning on diesel, prices of used diesels going down, so on and so forth. Probably be best to give diesel a wide berth for a while and see what happens.

The 1.4TSi is. Lovely motor, it's smooth, quiet and more than sufficient power to get around. On hills as Walrus says, you need a bit more pressure on the accelerator. But my Piglet will sit at 70mph all day, will take in the hills (I live in Cumbria) easily.

Avoid ones with liquid or California Scents. If they tip or leak the chemicals inside can do quite a bit of damage to interior plastic surfaces or the film on some plastics (some such as BMW have a coloured film on top of the plastic surface which can peel off).

No worries. That car took six and a half hours to do the interior and gave me a throbbing headache after one hour. Any questions as I say, fire away.

For a more visual perspective to what I said. Ford Focus RS. This was the wheel after it had been cleaned with Bilberry and Wheel Woolies to get into all the areas. AutoWheels sprayed onto wheel and in behind the spokes. After agitation with Wheel Woolies again. The difference is more depth and the heel stand out more.

Bilberry is a great wheel cleaner but is just a wheel cleaner. I use it as my initial wheel cleaner (ie pressure wash any excess dirt, spray on wheel cleaner, agitate and rinse) and the follow it up with Autowheels more for it's fallout properties on the wheel facing, but for both wheel cleaning and fallout removal in the back of the wheels. Clean wheel faces look good, but getting right in behind the spokes gives the clean wheel depth.

Right fella. Give the area a good vacuum to remove loose dirt, use a small brush to get into the nooks and crannies. Cover the centre console or other surfaces. Take a bottle of Valet Pro, Enzyme Odour Eater, spray at quite close range to give a light foam. Agitate with a stiff nylon brush, the fabric is surprising resilient to abrasion. Then give the area a good vacuum up. Extractor nozzles can be had from eBay for around £5, Which are ideal. Particularly nasty Ford Focus Mk1

If it's fabric, use Valet Pro, Enzyme Odour Eater. It works a treat, cleans, anti bacterial and removes odours. Spray on, agitate with a stiff nylon brush and then wet vacuum off. I'm at work so can't post pictures till the morning but any question, fire away.

Lol. I actually try not to post pics of her. I don't want to be known as, 'oh dear god, it's him with that f***ing car again'.

Petrol Blue Metallic is an amazing colour. It changes colour with the light and really comes to life in the sun.

If I recall the DRLs on the S, SE and SE Business are just bulbs where the spec up has a dual DRL and indicator set up. DRL Hazard lights DRLs at night (unlock welcome lights)

I cleaned a couple of BMW 5 Series the other week. A 535d E60 and a 520i F10, another 530 E60 came and the owners were admiring the clean cars and comparing penis engine size and power. They looked at Piglet. They admired the styling and said it must be a 2 litre because of it's size. One couldn't believe it was a 1.4TSi and has 148bhp. They admired the massive boot. Another said 'check out the rear legroom. It was a great feeling watching three guys drooling over her.

I remove the brush and tip contents into a 15-25ml plastic bottle. If not already mixed with lacquer I mix paint 60% with lacquer 40%. Give it a good shake. Then use a small amount on the end of a cocktail stick to stipple the paint into the chip, small amounts at a time building up. If done right you should get a nice flat and even covering.

It's a good machine. As with any machine, bleed any air through first, let the water run tills it stops spluttering and then turn on the washer. So many people damage their washers by that one simple thing. Air pockets from the tap through the hosepipe can cause a washer to 'hunt' (scream loudly) as it tries to push the air pocket through which in turn will burn the pump out. After use, always turn off the power and disconnect the water supply and pull the lance trigger to release any pressure before putting it away. Like anything, always look after your tools.

Gave Piglet a wash, rinse and dry a couple of hours ago. and the neighbours Eos.

It's essentially like IsoPropyl Alcohol is that it removes oils and residue from the surface ready to seal or coat. Where IPA lifts the oils which can then be rubbed back in when you wipe the surface, CarPro Eraser has cleaners in that dissolve the oils leaving you with a very clean surface to work on.

The K2s downside is the plastic pump but I always fed the water through and then disconnected the water and pulled the trigger with the power off to remove all water I could. I took delivery today of a Karcher K4 Compact (early birthday present). Metal pump, higher pressure only £100. Old and new.

Todays clean. Full exterior clean and interior decon, previous owner was a cigar smoker.

If you don't want to get into it too heavy financially, but want a product that will last. Karcher Outlet sell 'refurbed' washers. I put it in commas as some merely had damaged boxes, sat in a warehouse, etc... but look brand new and last. I've the same Karcher K2 for years and it's still going strong. https://www.karcheroutlet.co.uk/products/product.asp?id=5086 Plus £7 postage and packaging. Or keep an eye out for sales at Screwfix, Wickes, Homebase, etc... I'm a Karcher person but Nilfisk come highly recommended also. To start you'll need two buckets, (one for wash and one for rinse) these can be bought from any supermarket for about £5 each, a microfibre wash mitt (pad or glove) again canbe had from any supermarket for about £3. shampoo, glass cleaner, all purpose cleaner, wheel cleaner (if you choose, you can use the car shampoo, but if you go that route, use another mitt and do them last), drying towel, quick detailer or drying aid.

Gtechniq I2ab Triclean. Great for cleaning and anti bacterial wiping of all interior surfaces. Especially doors where there can be various substrates on one panel from.

Just got my latest delivery. Gtechniq I2ab Triclean Gtechniq T1 Tyres and Trim Valet Pro Enzyme Odour Eater Valet Pro Bilberry Wheel Cleaner CarPro Eraser Supernatural detailing swabs (three sizes) Detailing brush

I do it less and less these days. Usually once a month or so. Unfortunately it needs less and less cleaning these days. Even bird bombs are washed off with a brief rain shower so it's more a snow foam, pressure rinse then dry with a drying aid. No fun.

Ye', I've used it for several years.

It's a great product. Another one to look out for is Autobrite Jaffa Clean. It's a degreaser and protectant in one. Great for engine bays and door shuts. Spray, agitate, wipe up or pressure wash off. Dress plastics.

It's a feature to save the windscreen motor. It was brought up a couple of years ago on here when someone asked about the Mk2 Superb. Apparently the wipers will come to rest in one of three positions every four cycles.