Cleaning & Detailing: what did you do to your motor today?

[nutters_uclan]

Hey all

 

In an attempt to make this section a bit more lively again, I thought I'd start off a cleaning and detailing thread. Feel free to add pics of your shiny motors, describe your process, outline future work you intend to do, recommend products, etc.

 

I'll kick off! I have owned this beast for 2 weeks now and gave it a deep clean to assess the paintwork.

 

Process (& products);

• Jet wash to loosen dirt up
• Snow foam (AD purple velvet)
• 2 bucket method wash (Sonax gloss - first time using this and I was super impressed @ £6 a litre)
• Alloy clean (Gtechniq W6 Iron & General Fallout Remover then a general wash with the remaining Sonax shampoo)
• Clay bar (Bilthamber medium with Dodo Juice born slippy lube). I've never seen as much embedded tar/crap in a car's paintwork before!
• 2 bucket method wash - again! (Sonax gloss)
• Dry (my trusty 10 year old woolly mammoth towel. Still going strong)
• Polish glass (AutoGlym)
• Protective glass coat (RainX)
• Tyre dressing (Some cheap CarPlan rubbish. I'll look at getting a decent one soon).

 

I decided not to wax it as there's a bunch of paint defects I want to polish out first. I'm about to order by first DA machine (das6 pro) to give it a go. 

 

Next time out;

• Touch in stone chips
• Polish out numerous swirls and fine scratches
• Sort out the dull D-pillar plastics
• Tidy up the interior, which TBF is in good shape already.

 

Right, that'll do for the first post. My neighbours now think I'm quite peculiar and, having written it out, I can't disagree!

 

I look forward to seeing your cleaned/detailed motors!

Danny

 

[samuir1974]

Great idea Danny - i like it!!!

 

After a busy couple of years with one thing or another - i fell out of love with detailing.

 

This weekend i got back into it..... with a new car purchased at Xmas and some new product samples given to me for test.

 

So - i'll try do a proper post later when i get time.

[nutters_uclan]

17 minutes ago, samuir1974 said:

Great idea Danny - i like it!!!

 

After a busy couple of years with one thing or another - i fell out of love with detailing.

 

This weekend i got back into it..... with a new car purchased at Xmas and some new product samples given to me for test.

 

So - i'll try do a proper post later when i get time.

Great, I look forward to seeing what you do!

 

Hopefully the thread will become a useful resource for Briskodian's when choosing products, or when we encounter specific issues.

 

At the very least, we can ogle over beautiful motors!

[Westbury63]

Your Octi is looking fine in the sunshine! Good job. You go to a lot more effort than me, but the results are great.

 

I wouldn't say I detail, but I do always wash by hand and like my motors to look clean. In my part of suburbia, I am the only one that washes their cars by hand.

 

Washed my Honda on Thursday. Process (& products);

• 1/2 bucket of shampoo for cills and wheels. Clean cills and bottom edge of bumpers first - seperate noodle mit.
• Alloy clean - Car Plan wheel cleaner, let soak for 2 mins. Then scrub with wheel brush and finish off with my wheel and cill mit. - Rinse off with rain water.
• Pre soak car - rain water as its free!
• 2 bucket method wash with Turtle Wax Car Shampoo - It's not great, but I bought loads when Wilko had it on sale at £1.50 a litre, so I'm going to use it all !!! I have a proper valeters bucket with grit guard, because you've got to right?!
• Rinse car off - I use 3 big watering cans to avoid wasting water.
• Dry - microfibe cloth
• Polish glass - Triple QX - cheap and works well enough.
• Tyre dressing - Triple QX - cheap and works well enough when tyres treated twice

Interior,

 

Just needed the floor mats removed and brushed off this week.

Edited 2 March, 2021 by Westbury63
Spelling

[nutters_uclan]

23 minutes ago, Westbury63 said:

I have a proper valeters bucket with grit guard, because you've got to right?!

You speak the truth, brother! I lug two of those bad boys around

[Westbury63]

1 minute ago, nutters_uclan said:

You speak the truth, brother! I lug two of those bad boys around

Phew! One is heavy enough.

 

The valeters bucket was £5 from Euros and the grit guard a couple of quid from Ebay. Honestly, one of my best purchases ever.

[samuir1974]

OK - as many will know, i've been on here from the days of my first Skoda Octavia vRS....circa 2008.

A big detailing fan and once an OCD detailer..... but family life has been busy of late. Just getting back to it....

 

We treated ourselves to a new car for Christmas 2020.... so far focused on enjoying the drive, not actually washed since collection!

 

 

 

Process (& products) in todays routine… my first wash of this car in my ownership:-

 

• Pressure wash to soak & loosen surface dirt; wheel arches flushed
• Snow foam treatment using Waxplanet Eight Below, 10 minute dwell then rinse
• Alloy clean with dedicated wheel bucke, EZ brushes and CYR wheel wash pad
• Chems used on wheels are Garage Therapy (GT) Wheel Shampoo, then GT Iron Oxide treatment to follow.

 

• 2nd Snowfoam layer using GT Decon Shampoo via the snowfoam lance to aid removal of old protection
• 2 bucket method wash with Simplewax Sudz shampoo and CYR wash pad
• Rinse & then Dry with Detail Freaks Absorber towel.

 

• De-tar with Autobrite Just the Tonic
• Decon/Fallout with GT Iron Oxide.
• Re-wash treated panels, rinse and dry.

 

• Some localised polishing tests with my Flex DA (Angelwax compounds used); removing some minor defects – but car still needs full polish.
• Car waxed with EZ Car Care Graphene Wax

 

• Protective glass wipedown with GT Quick detailer
• Alloy Wheel wipedown with Sonax BSD
• Door shuts wipedown with Sonax BSD
• Tyre conditioner applied using GT Tyre Serum.

   

 

Next time out:-

• Continue polishing duties on more intricate areas – front and back bumpers + sills
• Interior duties…. Waiting on new interior mats on order from AutoStyle UK.
• …or maybe I won’t have time – will end up being a quick wash!

 

My neighbours are used to it by now…. approx 4 hours worth spent on this beauty.

Sunny Sundays are generally detailing days - really enjoyed it!

 

Cheers,

Ste.

 

 

[nutters_uclan]

57 minutes ago, samuir1974 said:

OK - as many will know, i've been on here from the days of my first Skoda Octavia vRS....circa 2008.

A big detailing fan and once an OCD detailer..... but family life has been busy of late. Just getting back to it....

 

 

I think we used to interact a fair bit, 6/7 years back, as we shared the obsession. If only we could entice ChrisRs and a few others back into the fold

The new car is a stunner, I'm very jealous! Did you enjoy going through the steps again with the Audi? Thanks for outlining your process too

[Westbury63]

1 hour ago, samuir1974 said:

OK - as many will know, i've been on here from the days of my first Skoda Octavia vRS....circa 2008.

A big detailing fan and once an OCD detailer..... but family life has been busy of late. Just getting back to it....

 

We treated ourselves to a new car for Christmas 2020.... so far focused on enjoying the drive, not actually washed since collection!

 

 

 

Process (& products) in todays routine… my first wash of this car in my ownership:-

 

• Pressure wash to soak & loosen surface dirt; wheel arches flushed
• Snow foam treatment using Waxplanet Eight Below, 10 minute dwell then rinse
• Alloy clean with dedicated wheel bucke, EZ brushes and CYR wheel wash pad
• Chems used on wheels are Garage Therapy (GT) Wheel Shampoo, then GT Iron Oxide treatment to follow.

 

• 2nd Snowfoam layer using GT Decon Shampoo via the snowfoam lance to aid removal of old protection
• 2 bucket method wash with Simplewax Sudz shampoo and CYR wash pad
• Rinse & then Dry with Detail Freaks Absorber towel.

 

• De-tar with Autobrite Just the Tonic
• Decon/Fallout with GT Iron Oxide.
• Re-wash treated panels, rinse and dry.

 

• Some localised polishing tests with my Flex DA (Angelwax compounds used); removing some minor defects – but car still needs full polish.
• Car waxed with EZ Car Care Graphene Wax

 

• Protective glass wipedown with GT Quick detailer
• Alloy Wheel wipedown with Sonax BSD
• Door shuts wipedown with Sonax BSD
• Tyre conditioner applied using GT Tyre Serum.

   

 

Next time out:-

• Continue polishing duties on more intricate areas – front and back bumpers + sills
• Interior duties…. Waiting on new interior mats on order from AutoStyle UK.
• …or maybe I won’t have time – will end up being a quick wash!

 

My neighbours are used to it by now…. approx 4 hours worth spent on this beauty.

Sunny Sundays are generally detailing days - really enjoyed it!

 

Cheers,

Ste.

 

 

You can come and do my car any time you fancy! Fantastic job!

[samuir1974]

10 minutes ago, nutters_uclan said:

 

I think we used to interact a fair bit, 6/7 years back, as we shared the obsession. If only we could entice ChrisRs and a few others back into the fold

The new car is a stunner, I'm very jealous! Did you enjoy going through the steps again with the Audi? Thanks for outlining your process too

 

Yeah - i thoroughly enjoyed getting back into it Danny.... no two ways about it - very therapeutic at times getting in the zone.

Took some thinking to get the process in my head - as i've just been doing snowfoam and rinse for a couple months.

 

I had some of those new chems sat in the garage for a while; and i owed the company some feedback too.

 

Really refreshing to see that detailing is still moving forward with new companies and new potions to tackle the tough jobs.

 

Car wise - we have just finished a 3 year deal with our VW Golf R 310ps. A lovely car, and fast but not as well built as the old Passat .:R36

The Audi RS7 was a good move - build quality feels great, performance is awesome and both the missus and myself are glad we changed.

[nutters_uclan]

Well, yesterday was intense. My first time using a machine polisher to try and correct the paintwork. There were numerous scratches, scuffs and a ton of really bad swirling. I couldn't get them all out, but I did my best!

 

I debadged to make the polishing easier.

 

  

First up, the clean.

 

 

Process (& products);

• Jet wash to loosen dirt up
• Snow foam (AD purple velvet)
• Rinse
• 2 bucket method wash (Sonax gloss)
• Alloy clean (Gtechniq W6 Iron & General Fallout Remover)
• 2 bucket method wash - again! (Sonax gloss)
• Rinse
• Dry (woolly mammoth towel)

 

 

 

The value of the grit guard and 2 bucket method!

  

 

 

Some before and after shot with the das 6 pro DA and Meguiars 205.

 

 

 

 

I plan to do a finishing polish and wax soon, but it got to 10pm and I was absolutely knackered! When it stops raining, I'll drop some pics of the full car.

 

Edited 8 March, 2021 by nutters_uclan
HTML errors

[samuir1974]

2 hours ago, nutters_uclan said:

Well, yesterday was intense. My first time using a machine polisher to try and correct the paintwork. There were numerous scratches, scuffs and a ton of really bad swirling. I couldn't get them all out, but I did my best!

 

I plan to do a finishing polish and wax soon, but it got to 10pm and I was absolutely knackered! When it stops raining, I'll drop some pics of the full car.

 

 

Wow - sounds like quite a full on and long day with the polishing.

 

Always best to break it down into smaller sessions if possible. Fatigue in the user can lead to mistakes or missed areas..... or so experience tells me.

 

That said - i hope you got the results you were hoping for - it will look superb when complete for sure!!!

[nutters_uclan]

5 hours ago, samuir1974 said:

 

Wow - sounds like quite a full on and long day with the polishing.

 

Always best to break it down into smaller sessions if possible. Fatigue in the user can lead to mistakes or missed areas..... or so experience tells me.

 

That said - i hope you got the results you were hoping for - it will look superb when complete for sure!!!

 

2 hours cleaning and masking, then 10 hours polishing with very few breaks. It was quite an ordeal, tbh! 

 

I think a lot of it was just building confidence using the machine and breaking down the compound effectively. The meguiars compound didn't help matters, either. The dust was incredible and made it a far less pleasant experience.

 

I broke things down into small sections and once I got into the grove I was increasingly steady and consistent.

 

I've got a couple of areas to revisit, but the process corrected a lot of issues with the paint so overall I'm pleased!

 

 

[trickstargee]

Just out of curiousity @nutters_uclan is it just one stage correction?

How many pads are you using? My first go resulted in hologramming (Menzerna Heavy cut 400) but another pass with the Super Finish 3500 took them out...not had another go yet, only 2-3weeks ago and not had the right weather since.

 

Looks to have made a massive difference and must feel rewarding when you see the before and after - them two pics above especially the bootlid! Well done!

 

Edit: Just seen Megs 205 is Ultra Finishing Polish so i guess just one stage?

Edited 9 March, 2021 by trickstargee
Above

[nutters_uclan]

8 hours ago, trickstargee said:

Just out of curiousity @nutters_uclan is it just one stage correction?

How many pads are you using? My first go resulted in hologramming (Menzerna Heavy cut 400) but another pass with the Super Finish 3500 took them out...not had another go yet, only 2-3weeks ago and not had the right weather since.

 

Looks to have made a massive difference and must feel rewarding when you see the before and after - them two pics above especially the bootlid! Well done!

 

Edit: Just seen Megs 205 is Ultra Finishing Polish so i guess just one stage?

 

Thanks, I appreciate that. It has definitely yielded a significant improvement in some areas. The before pic of the bootlid probably doesn't do justice to how bad the scratches on it were...you've probably picked out the most improved section there!

 

So far it is a one stage, but over the course of this week I'm going to go back and finish off stage 1, do some targeted polishing over a few evident scratches and then do a finishing polish. I'll then finally be able to seal it up with some wax. Phew.

 

How did you find the Menzerna heavy cut to use? I've looked at that and Koch Chemie's 8.02 to upgrade on the Meguiars (already!).

[UndertheRadar]

Have a look at some of the rupes polishes as well. They don’t have any flick to speak of or mess to deal with compared to the glass in your above pic. I also used to use a das6 pro and magiuars da. I changed a few years ago to a rupes lhr15 machine, which just gave fantastic results even with the same technique. If you really get into it, it’s a very worthwhile upgrade. It also has very little to no real vibration either, which makes such a difference to overall fatigue. 
cars looking great. Well done. 

[trickstargee]

My experience with Menzerna is my only experience on a DA so cant really compare to anything...it certainly didnt feel very dusty?

 

Re the actual heavy cut compound, I couldnt believe how easy it was to correct, i think it is expected to leave hologram trails and so you have to use the finishing polish as well.

 

That said i never tried using the finishing polish on a medium cutting pad.

 

Would you wax manually by hand afterwards?

[samuir1974]

i think i did mention Danny - you would find the Meg's a bit dusty; that's consistent feedback i have heard.

 

Koch Chemie H8 or  newer H9 are great - with an oily tinge to help them maintain a good working time.

I normally follow this up with M3 or similar to finish/antihologram.

 

That said - also a big fan of the Angelwax compounds too.

 

Plenty to choose from; perhaps see if any enthusiasts near you can share some products to test; otherwise it can get expensive.

Edited 10 March, 2021 by samuir1974
spelling

[nutters_uclan]

A nice clean yesterday. Nothing wildly different from my initial post, but I didn't need to use fallout remover and I also paid quite a lot of attention to the glass.

 

I just wanted to highlight this new gadget I picked up;

 

Forensic Detailing - Halfords Window Cleaner

 

Absolutely awesome! Made it a much easier and more pleasant task. I, like John in the vid, always found the internal side of a windscreen to be a nightmare to do, so this was a welcome addition to my detailing kit! It was really useful for the inside of the sunroof, as well as all of the exterior glass.

Edited 21 March, 2021 by nutters_uclan
HTML errors. Again. I suck at these.

[samuir1974]

On 21/03/2021 at 11:22, nutters_uclan said:

A nice clean yesterday. Nothing wildly different from my initial post, but I didn't need to use fallout remover and I also paid quite a lot of attention to the glass.

 

I just wanted to highlight this new gadget I picked up;

 

Forensic Detailing - Halfords Window Cleaner

 

Absolutely awesome! Made it a much easier and more pleasant task. I, like John in the vid, always found the internal side of a windscreen to be a nightmare to do, so this was a welcome addition to my detailing kit! It was really useful for the inside of the sunroof, as well as all of the exterior glass.

 

Great little tool this - have similar, not the same - which was good for the rear window on the R36 and along the bottom of the windscreen too.

Be sure and pick up a few packs of the spare pads at time of purchase - as they can be hard to track down later.... or so i found.

[GordoGT]

To be fair. That does look superb already. Race blue seems to be a very rewarding colour to have!

I must try this sometime: (Sonax gloss - first time using this and I was super impressed @ £6 a litre)...That is fantastic value for money!

Really looking forward to the pics when full detail is completed. It's gonna look epic!

 

[nutters_uclan]

11 hours ago, GordoGT said:

To be fair. That does look superb already. Race blue seems to be a very rewarding colour to have!

I must try this sometime: (Sonax gloss - first time using this and I was super impressed @ £6 a litre)...That is fantastic value for money!

Really looking forward to the pics when full detail is completed. It's gonna look epic!

 

 

Thanks man. I'm looking forward to tackling the rest of it...hopefully next week, but I've been super busy with work since starting it.

 

Race blue definitely benefits from the depth a good polish gives it...the shine generated on sunny days has been lovely to look out on!

 

That Sonax gloss continues to impress me. It was £6 delivered, too, from Amazon.

[steved83]

This thread along with the "lost interest in detailing" thread got me kick started to sort the car out.

 

A move from the South to the East, two kids and juggling work so one of us is about meant I had lost time and interest in sorting the car out over a regular clean. I had it professionally done (Gyeon) when I bought it 3 years ago. That coating had all but gone and was being topped up with spray on wet products.

 

So with some time off, grandparents roped in for childcare I set to work. Well actually I set to work 3 months ago. I removed the tail trims and mud flaps, cleaned and coated with gtechnic C5 and Carpro DLUX respectively.

 

My plan was Carpro CQUK 3 and Gliss along with DLUX for the trim. Naturally I ordered everything and treated myself to a black pack grille surround then the pressure washer gave up after 7 years (New Nilfisk C135 purchased) and then it was time for 4 new tyres. I'd worn the PS4's down and the rear Bridgestone had cracked so much they had to go. 4x Assemetric 5's it was then.

 

So the normal decon process, tar, iron, clay etc.

Polish was one step using Carpro Fixer on white hex via DA.

CQUK 3 x 2 coats an hour apart

Gliss x1 4 hours after 2nd coat of CQUK.

DLUX on the trim

Gtechniq G1 on all the glass

Gtechniq C5 on wheel faces only 

Shuts and behind lights with Sonax PNS

Started at 10:30 finished at 1am (well 2am)

 

Not the best driveway pics. The lower grille is not perfect I hit it hard several times but ingrained dirt remains. I didn't dress the arches either. The wheels could do with a refurb hence I only did the faces.

 

 

 

 

Edited 28 March, 2021 by steved83
Remove 1 image

[nutters_uclan]

1 hour ago, steved83 said:

 

Started at 10:30 finished at 1am (well 2am)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yikes! Hell of a shift there! Was there much swirling to work out?

 

Car looks great. How easy were the sealants to apply? Did you do them with the DA?

[steved83]

23 minutes ago, nutters_uclan said:

Yikes! Hell of a shift there! Was there much swirling to work out?

 

Car looks great. How easy were the sealants to apply? Did you do them with the DA?

 

Once I had started I had to finish. 

 

To be fair there's wasnt a lot of swirling. Mainly inflicted by me and wash process despite being careful over the last 3 years. There's a couple of deeper marks but no time to take them out. I'm probably at around 70% swirl free which I'm happy with.

 

As for sealants very easy. I've used CQUK before (previous versions) and i find it very easy to apply. From experience on my old Leon it lasted and performed much better applying in a garage and keeping it in overnight/12 hours. I saw a drop off after 9 months applied outside and topped with reload after an hour. Applied inside well over 12 months. I've only ever done one coat of CQUK before so hoping the two coast plus Gliss this time round should see me 24 months or there abouts.

 

Gliss was new to me, its slicker than the CQUK, but I suppose thats the point in it. I struggled with the flashing and haze point of it but lighting was limited. I pretty much spread over an area for 30secs then wiped off.

 

Both CQUK and Gliss applied by hand. I used the supplied suede applicators for both and went through them all. I wiped both off with a short pile microfibre. After each complete coat of CQUK i wiped over the whole car with one of the larger suede cloths supplied just to ensure the product was removed. 

 

The DLUX i rate, my grey roof rails are now a much better colour. It is very tacky though. Shall see how it lasts