Valeting / Detailing / two bucket wronguns

[paulscavalier]

Let us know how you get on with the polar range. It sounds good

[oldcars]

Polar seal does sound good. Be interested to see how that works.

[Disco Fever]

Let us know how you get on with the polar range. It sounds good

 

 

Several hours later...The Polar Blast pre wash and the Polar Wash main wash seem very similar; all foamy. A brush over the Blast before rinsing and a sponge over the Wash before rinsing that seems to be the trick. You go over the car from bottom to top which always feels wrong to me. Still bloody hard work - don't expect the dirt to fall off like some car wash miracle. 

 

Polar seal does sound good. Be interested to see how that works.

 

Now this is interesting. It sort of beads off as it goes on and left the cars feeling very nice to the touch. I didn't have time to chamois the cars properly so I used microfibre towels to dry them down and they both came up lovely. Not too cold today and a good breeze really helped to dry them off well too. I used a modest Karcher washer and the standard wash bottle nozzle and a full bottle of each detergent diluted accordingly did both cars. Expensive outlay but given that the cars don't get washed very often, it feels like decent value.    

[volvoman]

2 buckets of water is all i need to wash a car!...oh, an 2 synthetic chamois.

1st bucket will have Fairy Liquid (not much) in it.

2nd bucket will just be plain water (warm, not hot) if its in the middle of Winter!

Best condition chamois for most of the upper parts of car(including glass)

Shitty chamois for lower parts of car/bumpers/sills/wheels an tyres.

Job done.

 

I used to have a cheapo jet washer(£40 squids worth)...but i burnt that out within a months use!!!

 

I was one of these OCD idiots for bloody years on end, who would wash their car every Sunday(without fail) even in a foot of snow!

Then one day i thought, ive got better things to do in my life, so for about a decade, i would only wash my car for its MOT!

 

I like to think ive found a happy medium now...I wash my cars more regular these days...but i dont have a feckin meltdown, if i miss a few weeks(or even a month) without reaching for the chamois.

[beko1987]

^That does seem cheap but it has to be the worst advert ever! I'm trying to work out if it's used/refurbished unit, none of which seems clear. I'm also struggling to see what attachments (If any) it comes with?

 

I'd entertain the idea of buying a pressure washer as I'm lazy and hate washing the 'fleet' using buckets/sponges in winter, but at the same time my laziness would probably also mean I'd struggle to find the enthusiasm to unravel the extension and drag the machine out of the shed...

 

Also, I'd have doubts about how effective a pressure wash alone (Sans sponges etc) would be and would probably end up breaking out the buckets and sponges anyway thus defeating the object of the exercise. How much salt/grime do these things actually remove by themselves?

It has seen some abuse! The first one was bought when I was a proper 2 bucket wrongun, so the tools have seen some hammer. Living on mum's garage floor over 3 winters killed it in the end!

 

In terms of dirt removal, a pre rinse shifts a good half, I should have photographed a 50/50 of the 406 after a rinse. Under the arches, in all of the nooks and crannies, its ace!

 

To get to the stage where a rinse and foam are all you need though, you need to go to town claying, polishing and waxing. Then the dirt rinses off, just needing a quick wash every now and again with a wax safe shampoo to reset it all, then a good polish and wax a few times a year.

 

I've not done that for years though, sadly!

[paulscavalier]

Several hours later...The Polar Blast pre wash and the Polar Wash main wash seem very similar; all foamy. A brush over the Blast before rinsing and a sponge over the Wash before rinsing that seems to be the trick. You go over the car from bottom to top which always feels wrong to me. Still bloody hard work - don't expect the dirt to fall off like some car wash miracle. 

 

 

 

Now this is interesting. It sort of beads off as it goes on and left the cars feeling very nice to the touch. I didn't have time to chamois the cars properly so I used microfibre towels to dry them down and they both came up lovely. Not too cold today and a good breeze really helped to dry them off well too. I used a modest Karcher washer and the standard wash bottle nozzle and a full bottle of each detergent diluted accordingly did both cars. Expensive outlay but given that the cars don't get washed very often, it feels like decent value.

 

Sounds quick and easy. It’s probably quite good if you have a decent coat of polish on it. I did the Honda Accord with Collinite. It appears to be a quite durable polish so would work quite well with it. I think for winter washes just getting the salt off is the big thing

[Aston Martin]

Anybody used ceramic?

[oldcars]

Anybody used ceramic?

Fancied it but seems hard to apply. I used fusso wax. It last at least 6 months even in winter and is  £25 for a big tin.

[Aston Martin]

Fancied it but seems hard to apply. I used fusso wax. It last at least 6 months even in winter and is £25 for a big tin.

Theres a UK one that I can't remember the name of. But it's a ceramic spray-type-dealeo, that goes on piss easy apparently.

[oldcars]

Carpro is it? Some of the spray on ones are more top ups rather than stand alone products.

[Dippy]

I wondered are the ceramic coatings all hype or do they actually perform.

[Aston Martin]

[Andyrew]

Anybody used ceramic?

Yes, it's a bit of a faf but seems to do the job. I only tried it as I found some at a good price.

 

I've used it on headlights that have gone yellow, I use it as the coating after I've machine polished them. Six months or so now and still looking fresh.

[Crusty Sills]

Spent today two bucket cleaning (twice) clay barring and machine polishing the Beetle after 2 days of bolt twiddling. No pics as I get the feeling most aren't interested in a 15 year old VW. Work in progress looking good so far. Going to buy some cheap ceramic coating shite to try.

[Crusty Sills]

Anyone want these?

3/4 full Poor Boys compound testers.

I've tried them numerous times but can't make them work for me, guess I'm a Farecla G3 kind of guy!!!

FOC if you want them. I keep picking them up to use, then get frustrated when I don't get the desired results, they do smell amazing though.

[Ohdearme]

Posted in my normal thread but I actually cleaned the Galaxy today.

 

I say ‘I’ what I actually did - as I do when polishing / waxing all my cars is get the hand car wash to clean it and then drive the eighth of a mile round the corner to home and polish/wax it on the drive.

 

No clay bar malarkey for this thing as too big, paints too knackered (Pink roof and mucho lacquer peel) and it’s too big to be that arsed.

 

Anyway...this lot (ex birthday stuff and bits) was applied to the Galaxy

 

 

Will see how black the Simoniz stuff really keeps my faded plastics

 

 

[Crusty Sills]

That's a proper wonky number plate!!!

Norwich plate too. Busseys?

[Ohdearme]

That's a proper wonky number plate!!!

Norwich plate too. Busseys?

 

Screws rusted through, keep meaning to fix it but will do it properly when I replace the cracked rear trim.

 

Godfrey Davis, Welwyn was the supplying dealer (original plates and window sticker back this up).

 

Although, the reg number is a bit wacky - Whenever its searched, sometimes it brings up a Ford Granada/Scorpio and insurance searches tell me the Galaxy was Cat something or other but I've no idea about that. Mismatched bonnet may be a clue to the Cat bit there you go...Mystery history, a shiter's delight. Ken may know more!

[purplebargeken]

Crikey, god knows. I really can't remember tbh, I guess it should say on the V5 if anywhere?

 

Cat stuff never bothered me. I think the 45 is cat something or other 'cos stupid carpark bump when Ben had it. 

[paulscavalier]

Anyone want these?

IMG_20190217_172817.jpg

3/4 full Poor Boys compound testers.

I've tried them numerous times but can't make them work for me, guess I'm a Farecla G3 kind of guy!!!

FOC if you want them. I keep picking them up to use, then get frustrated when I don't get the desired results, they do smell amazing though.

Yes please! I do use poorboys stuff

[Ohdearme]

Crikey, god knows. I really can't remember tbh, I guess it should say on the V5 if anywhere?

 

Cat stuff never bothered me. I think the 45 is cat something or other 'cos stupid carpark bump when Ben had it. 

 

Likewise, couldn't care less - at this age, I imagine kerbing a wheel would write it off!

[Crusty Sills]

Yes please! I do use poorboys stuff

Send me your address and I'll throw them in the post for you.

[FakeConcern]

Anyone want these?

IMG_20190217_172817.jpg

3/4 full Poor Boys compound testers.

I've tried them numerous times but can't make them work for me, guess I'm a Farecla G3 kind of guy!!!

FOC if you want them. I keep picking them up to use, then get frustrated when I don't get the desired results, they do smell amazing though.

I haven't used those, but have used Poorboys black hole glaze which is really good

 

Even did a before/after on Daughter No 2's Clio!

[spike60]

If you'll excuse a casual rather than keen car polisher I'd like a little advice. I recently bought a an 80's red Merc and while it's good condition as whole the paint isn't great, particularly on the horizontal surfaces. I hand cut the bonnet which improved it but is still patchy, what is the best way to do the rest and above all else stop it getting worse? Which polish/wax? It's 34 years old and I neither want or expect it to look new but less matt would be nice.

[Crusty Sills]

Some pics of the last few days of work.

 

 

If it was on detailing world I'd probably get banished. But it's good enough for me and in fairness after about 3 hours I was getting bored. Prob took 10 hrs in total!

There now follows a post in new news thread!!!!!!

[Bazfr69]

I recently bought one of these because I was curious about snow foam and I have to say I love it.

I don’t use a power washer for the cars and most of the foam guns seemed to be specifically for them so when I came across this it seemed like a worthwhile experiment.

[paulscavalier]

Thank you Mr crusty sills! Mrs Cav found the parcel markings hilarious especially the bit under the DPD logo! Many thanks the peugeot will benefit.

[Timewaster]

*Stalker mode*

 

Nice Google Street view pic of your Cavalier!

[paulscavalier]

Thanks, that's from 2014 when we just moved in. The front wall is gone now for easier parking. The polo is gone as well

[DaveDorson]

Gave the daily a wash.

 

received_1108552152656381 by davedorson, on Flickr

 

IMG_20190223_150328522_HDR by davedorson, on Flickr

 

Also gave DrewD's Peugeot (formerly mine, formerly AMC Rebels sisters) a spruce as I felt mega guilty giving him a car that was so hanging.

 

received_381826655971780 by davedorson, on Flickr

 

received_563463770795087 by davedorson, on Flickr

 

received_2265620303675474 by davedorson, on Flickr

 

received_305667573454097 by davedorson, on Flickr

 

Ended up picking up a cheapy Ryobi pressure washer nice and cheap and going over with a pre-wash, then shampoo, then contact wash with a bucket or two, then went over with a spray on wax/rinse aid, then buffed it a bit with a dry micro fibre.

 

To be honest both cars need some claying or something, but they'll do, and it keeps the road crud from attacking the paint for another couple of weeks.