Washing Your Car!

Alan Clogwyn said:
Neither are an option sadly, I do not own a pressure washer and If I did, it would remove what's left of my clear coat!

This is in my way at work, it's sat in the warehouse!

https://www.motorsport-tools.com/blog/first-rally-for-the-motorsport-tools-escort-mk2
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Well I can think of worse things to be in the way ...


Do you have a garden pump pressure sprayer ? Like this http://www.screwfix.com/p/green-pressure-sprayer-7ltr/51100

This would give you the opportunity to douse it and allow it to soak in and then use hosepipe to remove it ?
 
andyred said:
How have you found this ? How have you found the longevity of it and do you get any runs / streaks etc when it rains ?
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It's looks good when it's put on & stays nice until it gets wet, then it does tend to run. I usually use it each time the car is washed.

Cheers T
 
I washed & dried the car @ w/end (first time for many weeks)

The moneyboss has been hinting for ages that the interior wanted doing :rolleyes: so today ...... SHE got the vac out & did it :D ( I think it was last done in August last year after the hols. when loads of sand got everywhere :jawdrop: ) I did clean the windows though. :angelic:
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Neither are an option sadly, I do not own a pressure washer and If I did, it would remove what's left of my clear coat!
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Fairly sure a pressure washer alone wont do anything to your clear coat. Compounds and harsh polishes might but not just water.
 
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Annoyingly I can’t share a photo directly on this forum via Tapatalk so has to be as an attachment.

Finally bought my polishing kit from CYC this week. Had a go on the boot lid of the E46 with the Orange pad and most aggressive of the compounds, came up a treat after 3 passes. Will probably do a panel per evening next week.
 
noneforit said:
Annoyingly I can’t share a photo directly on this forum via Tapatalk so has to be as an attachment.

Finally bought my polishing kit from CYC this week. Had a go on the boot lid of the E46 with the Orange pad and most aggressive of the compounds, came up a treat after 3 passes. Will probably do a panel per evening next week.
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Sweet.
Have you ever used a DA before? If not was it fairly easy to start using?
What clay did you get, soft, medium or regular?

ta.
 
DorsetDude said:
Sweet.
Have you ever used a DA before? If not was it fairly easy to start using?
What clay did you get, soft, medium or regular?

ta.
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Nope, first time.
Started off with white pad with 205 polish and made no difference.

BMW paint is known to need a more aggressive seeing to.

Then used orange pad with 105 and came up a treat. Any scratches deeper on the clear coat are still there but less noticeable. All the swirls have gone though.

Takes a long time though and needs to be done in cool weather, ideally indoors. I reckon the whole car would have taken me 18 hours over the space of a few weeks when finished. That’s two passes with orange and 105 and two passes with white and 205 to finish per panel.

I used the regular ones, worked really well actually. Even on a car which is kept clean weekly, the clay bar was filthy!

Now onto the Doris’ Z4 which has seen a few bushes down the sides in its time...
 
Apart from fear, is there any obvious reason you couldn't convert a random orbit sander to be a polisher? they look remarkably similar machines. Apart from the price......
 
Gave mine a coat of Fusso on Saturday and today was the first rain we've had since and the beading is niiiiiice. Someone borrowed it me so I didn't go to town on it but I may just do a full detail if I get chance on Sunday seeing as I still have it.
 
If anyone's after a 'cheap' da. Argos sell a very reasonable one for about £55. A better backing plate is needed for it then just a nice set of hex logic pads and you're good to go.

Otherwise it's a das 6/pro which is by far a much better da but twice the price. I've got the microfibre das 6pro kit that I keep threatening to sell but always think that I MAY use it again someday.

Once the cars corrected if it's maintained correctly it shouldn't really need a full correction very often.
 
Ben6 said:
If anyone's after a 'cheap' da. Argos sell a very reasonable one for about £55. A better backing plate is needed for it then just a nice set of hex logic pads and you're good to go.

Otherwise it's a das 6/pro which is by far a much better da but twice the price. I've got the microfibre das 6pro kit that I keep threatening to sell but always think that I MAY use it again someday.

Once the cars corrected if it's maintained correctly it shouldn't really need a full correction very often.
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I could be wrong but I think the Argos one is the equivalent power to the standard DAS6 as opposed to the DAS6 Pro.

I was advised to get the Pro model on the DW forum as the standard one is a little underpowered.
 
noneforit said:
I could be wrong but I think the Argos one is the equivalent power to the standard DAS6 as opposed to the DAS6 Pro.

I was advised to get the Pro model on the DW forum as the standard one is a little underpowered.
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Yes that's right. The pro is a higher wattage and has a power cable twice the length (a lot more useful than it sounds) think there's a few other tweaks too.
 
Ben6 said:
Yes that's right. The pro is a higher wattage and has a power cable twice the length (a lot more useful than it sounds) think there's a few other tweaks too.
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Apologies I completely misunderstood your original comment, I thought you were saying the Argos one is the equivalent of the DAS6 Pro.
My bad.

The extra cable length is indeed handy, think I would have got irritated with the shorter cable on the other one.
 
I must have spent 5 minutes today running a hose down the roof of the car and grinning.
 
Well gave the wife's car a clean yesterday - it was filthy after a few days away.

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Tried some new stuff out and was very pleased with it, after a snow foam and wash (the new shampoo smells loverly) the water was sheeting off very quickly

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And it dried very nicely and had a lovely gloss to it

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Needless to say, I was in the good books :D
 
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Came up a treat after a machine polish, took me a long time though.

Some scratches are still there but it looks miles better than it did before.

Will probably do my other half car then sell the kit second hand, will have cost me maybe £100 in total once I have sold it all second hand.
 
noneforit said:
View attachment 105338

Came up a treat after a machine polish, took me a long time though.

Some scratches are still there but it looks miles better than it did before.

Will probably do my other half car then sell the kit second hand, will have cost me maybe £100 in total once I have sold it all second hand.
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It's come up well, you must be chuffed.

Might be interested in the kit if you do sell on - drop me a message if you are going to sell on here (so I don't miss the for sale item) and go from there...
 
Found the old sander/polisher out earlier after I promised dad I'd wax his car, only the paint felt like sandpaper so I had to give it a good Polish and hand was taking way too much effort. Have to say it's come up nice now, scholl S3 followed by FK pink wax. Trouble is the faded trim now lets it right down. Who was it had the Civic with the same issue and what did they use to bring it back?
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Found the old sander/polisher out earlier after I promised dad I'd wax his car, only the paint felt like sandpaper so I had to give it a good Polish and hand was taking way too much effort. Have to say it's come up nice now, scholl S3 followed by FK pink wax. Trouble is the faded trim now lets it right down. Who was it had the Civic with the same issue and what did they use to bring it back?
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Me :)

You want this - http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/engine-and-exterior/gtechniq-c4-permanent-trim-restorer/prod_851.html

You will be amazed by it (and a little scared by how little you get for how much money....). Weeks later it still looks brand new.
 
Anyone after a new wash pad, my Dooka finally started shedding so went for the Adams wash pad. Tried it yesterday and I'm very impressed, it holds a massive amount of soapy water and performed as well as the natural Dooka.

Purchased on Amazon, sold by motor geek for £12.95 inc postage

Adams wash pad by Scott, on Flickr
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foggy4ever said:
Anyone after a new wash pad, my Dooka finally started shedding so went for the Adams wash pad. Tried it yesterday and I'm very impressed, it holds a massive amount of soapy water and performed as well as the natural Dooka.

Purchased on Amazon, sold by motor geek for £12.95 inc postage

Adams wash pad by Scott, on Flickr
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Looks good, might try one out
 
Managed to wax wife's car over weekend- very impressed with the gloss and pop of the flakes I got.

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Needless to say, was in good books...
 
Anyone recommend a wheel sealant for previously [ie by someone else] refurnished wheels? I was thinking of the Gtechniq C5 but obviously I'm unsure of how/what/when regarding the alloy finish.....??
 
LeeRatters said:
I'm unsure of how/what/when regarding the alloy finish.....??
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Alloy finish? If theyve been refurbed they almost certainly just been powder coated and probably clear lacquered.
Raceglaze nano wheel sealant seems good, see further up, also FK1000p wax for two to three month protection. Before applying either though the wheels need a damn good strip clean, ideally off the car. wheel cleaner, iron remover, tar remover, clay, seal. Although I did two of mine recently and only did clean, iron remover. Then made sure clean and dry then used Bilt hamber cleansing fluid, then sealed(waxed).
 
LeeRatters said:
Anyone recommend a wheel sealant for previously [ie by someone else] refurnished wheels? I was thinking of the Gtechniq C5 but obviously I'm unsure of how/what/when regarding the alloy finish.....??
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I've got Raceglaze Nano wheel sealant on mine and have been very pleased it, very simple to apply and buff up, leave an hour, repeat again and it'll give 6 months protection...

If you have a look back through this thread, I've placed a couple of photos / short review up.
 
LeeRatters said:
Anyone recommend a wheel sealant for previously [ie by someone else] refurnished wheels? I was thinking of the Gtechniq C5 but obviously I'm unsure of how/what/when regarding the alloy finish.....??
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Can't see why you wouldn't use C5. It's a little bit more of a faff than some of the others but it's holding up nicely on my car. You don't really notice it until you hose off the wheels and they come up all sparkly.

Clean them, panel wipe (which I think is a pricey way of buying isopropynol alcohol but it comes in a nice spray bottle), wipe on sparingly, wipe off.
 
Recommendations for a quick detailer? I just want something I can use to get rid of water marks because it always rains the day after I wash the car :)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Recommendations for a quick detailer? I just want something I can use to get rid of water marks because it always rains the day after I wash the car :)
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Sonax BSD seems to get raved about but I've not tried it. Available from euro car parts I believe. Autoglym aqua wax is pretty good. I also use the simoniz quick detailer spray which can be had for £2 sometimes in wilkinsons and aint too bad.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Recommendations for a quick detailer? I just want something I can use to get rid of water marks because it always rains the day after I wash the car :)
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DorsetDude said:
Sonax BSD seems to get raved about but I've not tried it. Available from euro car parts I believe. Autoglym aqua wax is pretty good. I also use the simoniz quick detailer spray which can be had for £2 sometimes in wilkinsons and aint too bad.
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I've got the Aqua wax and use it as a drying aid mainly, works really well, adds a nice additional wax layer and smells really nice :)

Not used the Simoniz QD spray - one on my list to try, especially at that price.

Sonax BSD can be got from ECP - but only buy when they have their 30-35 % off discount code.

I used Carplan No 1 Super Gloss the other week on daughters boyfriends car and was very pleased with the gloss I got from it and it's needing very well - you can use this either as a QD or drying aid...

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JonathanRyan said:
Recommendations for a quick detailer? I just want something I can use to get rid of water marks because it always rains the day after I wash the car :)
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I've been using Madcow ultra violet for a while now. Adds a lot of depth to a dark coloured car and a nice small amount of protection too. Also it stinks of the old Parma violet sweets too!
 
Re quick detailer:
A
- I've used megs last touch for a few years. It's okay but nothing special
- not been a fan of poorboy's stuff
- love the autofinesse one but very expensive for what it is
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. Hmm, maybe I'm asking for the wrong thing?

I have some Aqua Wax and it's great - but I use it for waxing :)

I want something that when there are water spots on my car (because rain) I can spray on and wipe them off. Is that a quick detailer?

BTW that Madcow stuff looks good. But if I used it I'd have to do all the panels :)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Thanks for all the suggestions. Hmm, maybe I'm asking for the wrong thing?

I have some Aqua Wax and it's great - but I use it for waxing :)

I want something that when there are water spots on my car (because rain) I can spray on and wipe them off. Is that a quick detailer?

BTW that Madcow stuff looks good. But if I used it I'd have to do all the panels :)
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I use Finish Kare #146 for such things.
 
I tend to wait till it gets washed again as even with a QD there is still a chance of adding swirls, when I do use a QD it's usually after applying a wax/sealant to make sure I've removed it all.

You could try one of those waterless wash and was sprays which would be much easier on any contaminates on the surface.

2017-07-26_08-36-41 by Scott, on Flickr
 
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