Hi there all, I should be collecting my new mk3 vrs estate in candy white in a couple of weeks and don't intend to take the dealer-offered Lifeshine package. Therefore I've decided to protect my car myself. Having never really 'detailed' before, I could really do with some advice on products and equipment to use please without it costing hundreds of pounds. I've been provided with a 'kit list' by elite car care but it adds up to about £150! These chaps were very helpful but thought I'd put this out to the wider community.

Your help would be appreciated.

Hi

 

A question that has been asked on here many times, but each time it attracts various replies by many people, as everyone has there own techniques, tips and product preference.

 

Personally, I have been using the Gtechniq range of products for a good while now, and have nothing but praise for them, you can either go for the 'expensive' Gtech stuff or you can do like me and be a bit more 'economical'!

 

Use a standard normal car shampoo, then use some sort of glue remover, or even white spirit to run around the car and remove and last bits of residue from when the stickers were taken off, then you can use some sort of fall out remover products such as Iron X, give this a spray over the car and leave for 10 minutes, any fallout will turn purple, then rinse and wash again if you like.

 

Polishing, thats up to you, if the car is in good condition and has no or minimal swirls and marks then you can ump this step if you like, but if you decide to do it then a good hand polish should remove any final marks, again any product will be OK for this, as long as its slightly abrasive, this will remove any finals marks.

 

Then get on to the Gtechniq range, for me I use C2 as a paint sealent, this is simple, once you have cleaned and polished, give a couple of spritzes per panel and buff, simple as that, go around the whole car, should take about 20 minutes to do that, you can also use C2 on windows and wheels if you like, if you use it on the wheels then it wont last as long so would need reapplying every 3-4 months, where as on bodywork it can last 6-8 months with regular maintenance washes. Then the inside, I use I1, this is an interior fabric protector, I use a 100ml bottle, this will do the fabric parts of vRS seats, plus carpets and then the carpet mats as well, this lasts 6-8 months and is wise to reapply when its run out.

 

Obviously, you can use other Gtech products, such EXO or C1, C5 etc etc but it gets expensive then, hence why I stick to a couple of products plus my other usual products I have in the garage.

 

Thats just my preffered products, but others will have there own views, plus it might be worth going to Detailing World and having a browse on there, but beware, DW can end up in a very empty wallet and many hours polishing and waxing!!!!

 

Good luck and enjoy the car!

Hi

 

A question that has been asked on here many times, but each time it attracts various replies by many people, as everyone has there own techniques, tips and product preference.

 

Personally, I have been using the Gtechniq range of products for a good while now, and have nothing but praise for them, you can either go for the 'expensive' Gtech stuff or you can do like me and be a bit more 'economical'!

 

Use a standard normal car shampoo, then use some sort of glue remover, or even white spirit to run around the car and remove and last bits of residue from when the stickers were taken off, then you can use some sort of fall out remover products such as Iron X, give this a spray over the car and leave for 10 minutes, any fallout will turn purple, then rinse and wash again if you like.

 

Polishing, thats up to you, if the car is in good condition and has no or minimal swirls and marks then you can ump this step if you like, but if you decide to do it then a good hand polish should remove any final marks, again any product will be OK for this, as long as its slightly abrasive, this will remove any finals marks.

 

Then get on to the Gtechniq range, for me I use C2 as a paint sealent, this is simple, once you have cleaned and polished, give a couple of spritzes per panel and buff, simple as that, go around the whole car, should take about 20 minutes to do that, you can also use C2 on windows and wheels if you like, if you use it on the wheels then it wont last as long so would need reapplying every 3-4 months, where as on bodywork it can last 6-8 months with regular maintenance washes. Then the inside, I use I1, this is an interior fabric protector, I use a 100ml bottle, this will do the fabric parts of vRS seats, plus carpets and then the carpet mats as well, this lasts 6-8 months and is wise to reapply when its run out.

 

Obviously, you can use other Gtech products, such EXO or C1, C5 etc etc but it gets expensive then, hence why I stick to a couple of products plus my other usual products I have in the garage.

 

Thats just my preffered products, but others will have there own views, plus it might be worth going to Detailing World and having a browse on there, but beware, DW can end up in a very empty wallet and many hours polishing and waxing!!!!

 

Good luck and enjoy the car!

Hi there, many thanks for your advice, I shall look at the products you mentioned.

Helpful advice.

Cheers

Hi

 

A question that has been asked on here many times, but each time it attracts various replies by many people, as everyone has there own techniques, tips and product preference.

 

Personally, I have been using the Gtechniq range of products for a good while now, and have nothing but praise for them, you can either go for the 'expensive' Gtech stuff or you can do like me and be a bit more 'economical'!

 

Use a standard normal car shampoo, then use some sort of glue remover, or even white spirit to run around the car and remove and last bits of residue from when the stickers were taken off, then you can use some sort of fall out remover products such as Iron X, give this a spray over the car and leave for 10 minutes, any fallout will turn purple, then rinse and wash again if you like.

 

Polishing, thats up to you, if the car is in good condition and has no or minimal swirls and marks then you can ump this step if you like, but if you decide to do it then a good hand polish should remove any final marks, again any product will be OK for this, as long as its slightly abrasive, this will remove any finals marks.

 

Then get on to the Gtechniq range, for me I use C2 as a paint sealent, this is simple, once you have cleaned and polished, give a couple of spritzes per panel and buff, simple as that, go around the whole car, should take about 20 minutes to do that, you can also use C2 on windows and wheels if you like, if you use it on the wheels then it wont last as long so would need reapplying every 3-4 months, where as on bodywork it can last 6-8 months with regular maintenance washes. Then the inside, I use I1, this is an interior fabric protector, I use a 100ml bottle, this will do the fabric parts of vRS seats, plus carpets and then the carpet mats as well, this lasts 6-8 months and is wise to reapply when its run out.

 

Obviously, you can use other Gtech products, such EXO or C1, C5 etc etc but it gets expensive then, hence why I stick to a couple of products plus my other usual products I have in the garage.

 

Thats just my preffered products, but others will have there own views, plus it might be worth going to Detailing World and having a browse on there, but beware, DW can end up in a very empty wallet and many hours polishing and waxing!!!!

 

Good luck and enjoy the car!

That's great advice. I will also look into these products an the other one on the site you mentioned!

Hi there all, I should be collecting my new mk3 vrs estate in candy white in a couple of weeks and don't intend to take the dealer-offered Lifeshine package. Therefore I've decided to protect my car myself. Having never really 'detailed' before, I could really do with some advice on products and equipment to use please without it costing hundreds of pounds. I've been provided with a 'kit list' by elite car care but it adds up to about £150! These chaps were very helpful but thought I'd put this out to the wider community.

Your help would be appreciated.

 

I assume the fabric/paintwork protection is meaningless upselling by dealers?

 

There must be one hell of a markup/commission, when I was trying to purchase an Astra GTC bi-turbo the salesman asked me if I wanted it and when I said no he said "ok, what about if I chuck it in for free and adjust your trade-in value upwards......it won't cost you anything".

Costs them about £20 if that. Charge you £300-400. The hamsters don't even use it, they have their own stash and sell the kit you've purchased.

It really is a con. I'm an ex car salesman.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

Valeters not hampsters (predictive fail)

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

Had the GTechniq Total Surface Protection and EXO v2 applied last week on the new motor, just come in from washing it off . . . unbelievable, couldn't believe how easy it was to wash. Would highly recommend GTechniq.

Thanks for all your comments/input guys. The GTechniq seems to get mentioned regularly. I think it's going to be one of the products I purchase aswell as new buckets and a decent wash mit.

I like the Gtech stuff, but, I have stayed with the simple stuff i.e. the C2 and I1 as its simple to apply, some of the more expensive products like the EXOv2 that vrs red mentioned are excellent products but they are fussy in the application, pretty sure EXO has to be done when the panel is at a certain temperature to be able to make application easier plus to get the best out of the product, so if you go for the higher up the range products it might be worth considering getting a local pro to apply it for you maybe?

 

The C2 and I1 are excellent for people like me, i.e. dont have hundreds to chuck at car cleaning, but want a quality product that does what it says and makes washing the car on a regular basis easy, also forgot to mention tyre dressing, try the T1, its not a gloss finish, its like a slightly dull satin, gives tyres a clean, as new look but with just a slightly added satin look, and if you stick a coat on and then let it dry and apply another coat the next day or something then you will have a reasonably long lasting (for a tyre dressing which with some products doesnt seem to last more than a couple of days) tyre dressing plus when you wash the tyres the product almost 'self revitalises' if that makes sense.

 

I forgot to mention if you are a member on DW then there is a discount code, think its 7.5%?

I like the Gtech stuff, but, I have stayed with the simple stuff i.e. the C2 and I1 as its simple to apply, some of the more expensive products like the EXOv2 that vrs red mentioned are excellent products but they are fussy in the application, pretty sure EXO has to be done when the panel is at a certain temperature to be able to make application easier plus to get the best out of the product, so if you go for the higher up the range products it might be worth considering getting a local pro to apply it for you maybe?

 

The C2 and I1 are excellent for people like me, i.e. dont have hundreds to chuck at car cleaning, but want a quality product that does what it says and makes washing the car on a regular basis easy, also forgot to mention tyre dressing, try the T1, its not a gloss finish, its like a slightly dull satin, gives tyres a clean, as new look but with just a slightly added satin look, and if you stick a coat on and then let it dry and apply another coat the next day or something then you will have a reasonably long lasting (for a tyre dressing which with some products doesnt seem to last more than a couple of days) tyre dressing plus when you wash the tyres the product almost 'self revitalises' if that makes sense.

 

I forgot to mention if you are a member on DW then there is a discount code, think its 7.5%?

Once again, thank you very much for your help. I won't be spending ridiculous money on this but will make sure I do a reasonable job.

Cheers