I used to quite like keeping the Fabia clean but this constant rainy weather we are having just renders the entire process a waste of time.

 

 

I'm done with car cleaning until spring - anyone else feel the same?

In a word - Nope.

 

It's not just about cleaning it's protecting the car too so I can't in good conscience abandon doing this.

 

I have adjusted my regime to meet the demands of the season though and this has helped a lot.

 

I have previously been a big Wax man and have counted on the like of Collinite 845 to protect my car through winter.  I still think 845 is a great winter wax, but now having shifted to using a really good quality sealant as my protection of choice I have noticed that whereas with Wax the protection with something like 845 remains present the car still gets dirty quite quickly with the muck still able to cling to the wax.  With my current sealant the dirt seems to have more difficulty bonding and is washed off quite remarkably just by rain.

 

Conclusion for me was that if I want my car to stay looking clean longer in Winter then a sealant might be the best option. The ultimate protection would be sealant and then a wax, but this would be to the detriment of clean appearance in my eyes, at least if you cannot wash your car weekly.

 

If you really don't want to clean you car through winter I would suggest you put on something long lasting in Autumn to keep the paintwork protected from salt and other nasties until Spring.

Hello `Sparkly`.

So what do you call a `good quality` sealant...in other words what do you now use? 

I am using 845 but its about to run out so I might well go for a sealant instead.

My car is a grey colour, if that's at all relevant.

Many thanks and regards

Mike.

Sound advice, if only there was a dry day to apply any products!

 

What sealants do you recommend?

What sealant or sealants do you suggest ?

I still think 845 is a great winter wax, but now having shifted to using a really good quality sealant as my protection of choice I have noticed that whereas with Wax the protection with something like 845 remains present the car still gets dirty quite quickly with the muck still able to cling to the wax.  With my current sealant the dirt seems to have more difficulty bonding and is washed off quite remarkably just by rain.

 

 

Come on Sparkly, share the love!  :love:

 

What IS this mystical sealant?  :think:

clingfilm!

He uses Autobrite Hellshine Abyss

http://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/index.php/hellshine.html

Come on Sparkly, share the love!  :love:

 

What IS this mystical sealant?  :think:

Bugger, I keep doing this, sorry guys

 

and thanks Chris

I also believe that there are lots of sealants out there that should achieve exactly the same.

 

Gtechniq, Wolfs, CarPro Reload etc etc

 

My guess is it's just a difference to how these work differently to wax beading vs sheeting etc Hydrophobic vs Hydrophillic

Bought it Sparkly:

Got the last tub from iShine

http://www.ishinecarcare.co.uk/

...£45.15...delivered free through a mate

 

All I need to do now is get ALL the wax off the car.

This sealer should go well with my Sonax QD

Hi Chris,

 

Haha, I am really jealous, I wanted a tub of the paste too.  That's a good price you got there, normally it goes for £60.  Should last a very long time as well.  Hopefully you will like it as much as I did, I am also pairing with Sonax QD as it was designed to go over their own sealant and both have extreme Hydrophobic characteristics, expect them to complement really well.

 

My thoughts/observations/recommendations if you want to call them that are

 

Put as little on as is humanly possible some have complained that it's a bit of a dog to buff off but i think this is overapplication and over curing, the spray spread and spread and was really economical.  I left it to cure for ten minutes as per the instructions, the nature of the product seems to be that it just doesn't haze up like you might expect so don't wait for that or you'll leave it on too long, give the coating a finger swipe test at ten minutes, if it comes up clean then i would proceed to buffing, I used a heavyweight long knap Purple Monster Edgeless MF from CYC to buff off and it came off a treat.  Abyss can go on almost anything on the car and gives fantastic beading, protection on trim.  I coated my Team Heko Deflectors and they are behaving just the same as the paint, super tight little beads.

 

If you incorporate this into a full detail with a machine polish let me know, I'm really interested as to just how good this is on well prepped naked paint.

That's the plan....Condensation levels are too high at the moment

I plan a full polish as soon as I am able...Its 4years old and never been machine polished!!

Getting the old wax off might be a sod..TBH

I'll keep you informed.

As you can see from my other thread Chris, I got lucky last Saturday to get a nice morning to do the car with even a few hours sunshine to boot.  Otherwise it would have been a none starter.

 

I'm sure you'll figure out a way to strip the old wax off.  I'm imagining you mean 100% off too as you are a perfectionist.  My thoughts are that a full decon of IronX, TarX and Clay should remove enough and the rest should come out in polishing without spoiling the process.  If it's one of your Ceramishield type products it might be a bit of a head scratcher

Well I finally received my Magifoam and Cherry wheel cleaner from autobrite 12 days of Christmas offer :wonder:

so last weekend I set about doing a minor detail on both cars only to find after rinsing the snow foam off the cars

I have acquired dints in both of them. I Think a few weeks back when it was really windy our wheely bins got blown around

the street and I think they have caused the dints. After a minor strop and rant at the missis I downed tools and went inside

and left the cars unfinished I couldn't be bothered to face them. Its soul destroying. :(

Well I finally received my Magifoam and Cherry wheel cleaner from autobrite 12 days of Christmas offer :wonder:

so last weekend I set about doing a minor detail on both cars only to find after rinsing the snow foam off the cars

I have acquired dints in both of them. I Think a few weeks back when it was really windy our wheely bins got blown around

the street and I think they have caused the dints. After a minor strop and rant at the missis I downed tools and went inside

and left the cars unfinished I couldn't be bothered to face them. Its soul destroying. :(

 

Wow, whatever you do don't go wasting any money on lottery tickets at the weekend Scribs, you have had some apalling luck recently.  That's a real sickener, sorry to hear it.

 

Hope things turnaround soon and it doesn't prove too expensive to get the dings sorted.

 

 

Wow, whatever you do don't go wasting any money on lottery tickets at the weekend Scribs, you have had some apalling luck recently.  That's a real sickener, sorry to hear it.

 

Hope things turnaround soon and it doesn't prove too expensive to get the dings sorted.

 

I wont do anything about the dings one is on the front wheel arch on the Blue one (right on the crease) and the other is in the front passenger door of the red one. Because the wheelie bin is plastic it hasn't scratched or anything just dinted so Im probably being melodramatic and OCD about it most people wouldn't even noticed. But I have had the red one for 7-8 years now and no dints. The blue ones paint was immaculate being only 1 year old. so when something like this happens and you have looked after them better than you look after yourself it just makes you think what's the point.  Im sure ill get over it but at the minute I can't face polishing and waxing them.

Well I finally received my Magifoam and Cherry wheel cleaner from autobrite 12 days of Christmas offer :wonder:

so last weekend I set about doing a minor detail on both cars only to find after rinsing the snow foam off the cars

I have acquired dints in both of them. I Think a few weeks back when it was really windy our wheely bins got blown around

the street and I think they have caused the dints. After a minor strop and rant at the missis I downed tools and went inside

and left the cars unfinished I couldn't be bothered to face them. Its soul destroying. :(

Not sure where your location is as I'm using a phone and it doesn't come up. But I used a company called dent magic for my dings I paid £140 for 6-7 small dings around the car. They have offices in South Wales and Bristol. Hope this helps.

See sealant wise im still sold down the line of using zaino..

 

I winter prepped my van it had 3 coats of zaino z2 zfx on the next day 2 layers of z-cs and z6 finished in z8. I havnt even touched it for about 4-5 months... it beads and sheets still

 

demoed for  a customer how easy the dirt came off on a section of my bonnet and he was amazed.. Such an easy product to do and has been around years... stands up against all major brands in sealant IMO

Doing a full detail on my car today if anyone fancies popping over to Bingley and applying the Hellshine Abyss

Doing a full detail on my car today if anyone fancies popping over to Bingley and applying the Hellshine Abyss

Would love to Chris, got a busy day today otherwise i'd have been there in a shot.

Please post your results with it.

Edited 19 January, 201412 yr by Dinski

I'm on DIY duties about the house or I'd be there in a shot too Chris.

I'll have my fingers crossed the weather holds for you.

 the Hellshine Abyss

 

Is that like the opposite of a rain dance to ensure it doesn't rain as you're polishing?

Its still dark as night here..so you could be right!! LOL

It might be too damp...97% humidity on the garden weather station sender unit,  is not good

I'm still very much a Gtechniq guy with C2v3 and C1.5v2, but I'm really liking the ease of application for Carpro Hydro2. The beading is phenominal and so easy to apply.

Looking forward to the release (unless I've missed it) Gyeon Q2M Bath+, your applying the protection in washing the car and then apply a small amount neat to the car, then further washes are topping up the protection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clDf4xYjQu4