Originally posted by Dutch4x4 in this post

Oh you misguided folk! What's this obsession with cleaning?

Don't you know that mud stripes are these days?

And look, no worries about the colour of your alloys either - they turn anthracite all by themselves!

As I was saying the other day...

I just returned from a short holiday in our southernmost province of Limburg, the rugged farmer badlands of the Netherlands - I would go there, as a 4x4 owner, wouldn't I? - and yes, used the Octy to do quite a bit of high-speed cross-country trekking...

The black beast held out well - no cracks in the sump thanks to the stiffer springs, which proved you don't need the extra rideheight! - but the car is covered with mud and dust now. Looks pretty tough and mean (I can see why some of you dig anthracite alloys...) but some day I'll have to clean it. My next business trip would be a good reason!

Any good DIY pointers for a black car, apart from a large bucket of water and a soft spunge?

I'd be most interested in knowing what to use on what part, etc... My previous car was just treated to the cheapest run in the automatic washer, but now it's going to be hand-jobs only for my precious

Q.

Followed the automatic washer routine with the Subaru, but haven't found one installation that doesn't affect the paint. Eventually it had tiny shallow scratch marks all over, after which it was best left dirty...

So back to the manual washer routine for me.

Well .... gosh, where to start. First of all I'm not a purist but this is what I've heard:

1. Wash off loose dirt and dust with a hose

2. Wash the car with a soft car shampoo, (NOT detergent) with a soft cotton cloth (NOT a plastic sponge)

3. Rinse with clean water

4. Dry off again with clean cotton cloths, NOT chamois leather

5. Apply the wax of your choice.

Sound a bit OTT? I apply a combination of steps 2 ignoring the sponge rule, sometimes 3, 4 but ignoring the chamois rule and occasionally 5. Other car "tarts" may have more stringent procedures :p

More of the same here...

1. Hose of loose dirt, especially under arches etc.

2. Start from the roof and leave the lower parts until last.

3. Use a different sponge for the lower parts/ wheels. (reduces scratching)

4. "flood" rinse with hose, not pressure wash. (avoids spotted finish)

5. I use a synthetic shammy to dry as they hold loads of water, followed by a wipe over with a soft cloth.

6. Then depending on mood i might apply the odd Autoglym product to fininsh off!

I've invested in an Autoglym 'starter kit', consisting of Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner, Super Resin Polish, Car Glass Polish, Sponge and Cloth from Halfords (

Heres my routine -

Everyones down the same route, obviously the idea is to get as much dust , grit etc off before rubbing it in.

1. power wash to arches - avoid close contact with bumpers as it may lift paint. If used to close to main paintwork will act as a sandblaster with the grit on the car so best avoided.

2. Rinse car with hose jet as much as possible to wet the car.

3. Use a car shampoo and special car type sponge - I use one that comes covered with inch long cotton strands from UK's halfords. and lots of water with light side to side movements. dont rub too hard - if you need to wash the whole car then start again the dirt should be sofened this time around. Use different sponge for sills and lower part of bumpers.

4. Rinse with lots of clean water.

5. Use a squegee to remove most of the residue water.

6. Finish with a clean chamious

Originally posted by Quinten in this post

I've invested in an Autoglym 'starter kit', consisting of Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner, Super Resin Polish, Car Glass Polish, Sponge and Cloth from Halfords (

I'll take John's advice , if it's good enough for him , then it's good enough for me - will be investing in a squeegee to cut down on the time spent with the chamois - it's a pain to keep squeezing it out all the time - Thanks John

ps , any tips for the dead flies etc , they seem to be attracted to yellow anyway .

Originally posted by mellowyellow in this post

I'll take John's advice , if it's good enough for him , then it's good enough for me - will be investing in a squeegee to cut down on the time spent with the chamois - it's a pain to keep squeezing it out all the time - Thanks John

ps , any tips for the dead flies etc , they seem to be attracted to yellow anyway .

thx mellow,

re, flies best tip is dont leave them on too long, If you havent time to clean the whole car just do the bumper it will pay dividends especially if the weathers hot. The double wash seems to work wash once getting the majority off then go for a second for the bumpers after cleaning rest off car - best not to be too impatient trying to get off in first wash. Regular applying of EGP on the bumper assists in easier removal of flies.

I case everones not aware dont leave bird droppings on the car paintwork get off imediately it contains acid and will permanently damage the paint. Yellow cars seem to be used as a target by the birds in my area (feathered sort)!

In the summer I carry turlewax tar and fly wipes (similar to baby wipes) they wipe off tar and flies - warning its got a overpowering smell that is left on your hands - when at a petrol pump get a disposable plastic glove to use with it - they contain wax so dont strip all the wax off. Auto glym fast glass can also be used for this purpose.

The blue autoglym squeges the best its bigger than the turtle wax one IMHO I was put on to the idea by a body shop - again if its good enough for them its good enough for me. Its really handy in the summer as you can get the rinse water off before the sun dries it leaving white marks.

Hmm , i may invest in a squeegee , i like washing my car but the shammying off of the water at the end is a real pain in the ar*e , it takes ages and youre forever wringing the bloody leather out!

Originally posted by mellowyellow in this post

ps , any tips for the dead flies etc.

A crematorium and a small family service....sorry.

Spend a day really cleaning, preparing & waxing the car, at least 2 coats of a good wax, make sure you really soak the car before you start to soften everything, best washed early in the morning when the paint is cool. Thereafter all you need is a good detergent free shampoo, lots of water & an extra coat of wax every 2-3 months.

Once prepared properly all you need to do is choose a day when the roads are dry, hose off, a quick lick round with the shampoo & then rinse, drive about 5 miles, come back, blot off any excess water with kitchen roll (normally only at the back of the car) & finish with a soft cloth, no need to chamois. This only works if the car is well waxed !!

On holidays etc I normally carry a large soft cloth & some quick finish, you can get the car looking 99% in about 1/2 hour

Oh & use Swissol products !!!! If you go on the swissol web site they do a free booklet on car care & its very very useful (be patient when the site first comes up as the English option on the left takes a few seconds to appear)

Stuart

Delcac Wrote

A crematorium and a small family service

For the amount of dead flies on my car at the moment I would hate all the relatives turning up and having to cater for that lot

Originally posted by mellowyellow in this post

Delcac Wrote For the amount of dead flies on my car at the moment I would hate all the relatives turning up and having to cater for that lot

I have another suggestion re flies, prevention is better than cure.

1. Remove Skoda Badge from front grille

2. Find a 2" pot with a Venus fly trap plant

3. Araldite the pot in position left by badge.

4. Ocassionally water plant when washing car.

John

Originally posted by stopan1j in this post

I have another suggestion re flies, prevention is better than cure.

1. Remove Skoda Badge from front grille

2. Find a 2" pot with a Venus fly trap plant

3. Araldite the pot in position left by badge.

4. Ocassionally water plant when washing car.

John

Now you're just being silly....water the plants indeed the wife does all that.

So to recap valeting brush to the wife watering the plants.:confused:

Only on Briskoda.

Okay, I get the general directions, but lots of English words that are new to me!

'Squeegee', 'chamois'? :confused:

A squeegee is a flat blade of firm rubber used to "move" liquids - in the case of cars, to clean water off the windscreen or even the body:

The "classic" squeegee is shown below:

A slightly more useful squeegee:

Think "that gadget" that window cleaners use as the last step in their cleaning...

Chamois Leather:

Originally, a soft pliable leather made from the skin of the chamois, a small goatlike antelope from the high mountainous areas of Europe. The original chamois was vegetable-tanned leather used mainly for bookbinding. Today, the leather referred to as chamois is a suede-finished leather made from the flesh split of a lamb or sheepskin or from lamb or sheep from which the grain has been removed by frizzing.

"Real" Chamois Leather is pretty expensive... although you can buy the sheepskin version or even synthetic types.

It's used to dry off the car, as it absorbs loads of water, but needs squeezing out regularly. Hence the squeezee, which is used to "drag" the water off the car...

Heres a picture on the Chamois and squeegee trade name (Hyrdra Blade) I use :-

Went to Halfords today and bought Zymol shampoo , and they had an offer on Turtle Wax products , 3 for 2 , you pick three items and get the lowest priced item free , so I bought a squeegee , bug and tar remover and the interior plastics cleaner , but we then took the dog for a LONG walk , so haven't raised the enthusiasm to use them yet . I will report later

Aaaargghhh!!! Put the AutoGlym stuff to work late in the afternoon, and just as I started to put the resin on, it started to rain!

Ah well, there is always next week

Q.

Ah, thanks for showing me what a squeegee and a chamois are - unusual names for familiar tools

Well, I guess that after my six years of autowasher wilderness the basics haven't changed, but the technology has certainly progressed! The mind is already boggling over the various product names that have popped up over the course of this thread.

Here are a few others I heard somewhere else: Meguiar, Holts ("Teflon" wax? For baking eggs on the hood?) and the old Zymol. No clue whatsoever on how they all compare. There are groups of people raving about the one while writing off the other and vice versa, so is it all a matter of taste?

Car cleaning, my weekend escape from the mad house .

Have order a Swissol teflon wax starter kit and will report on the results soon . The wheels on the vRS are a bit of a pig to clean, I use a halford's brush to reach to the back of the wheel and a Autoglym wheel brush and cloth for the front of the wheels :( oh well looks good afterwards .

Darren

LesPaul

My tips, once car is completely prepared 2 coats of wax on the lot + if you have time extra coat or two on forward facing bits that normally get bugged, front of roof, mirror backs, front of car.

I also wax the wheels & this helps a bit

AND DONT use detergent based waxes afterwards.

Stuart