Author Topic: What detailing have you done today?  (Read 529313 times)

Offline Booth11

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #370 on: 15 March 2016, 18:03 »
Has anyone used that ridiculously expensive Swisswax rubber treatment?
I think it's £42 but I read a great review of it somewhere.
The way the rubber deteriorated on my A3 was one of the biggest disappointments I had with the car. Don't want it happening again.
Rebecca, you must have tried it surely😄

Haha!  No I haven't but it's on my radar as I've heard good things about it too.  It's a mad price but if it works???  I think the rubber trim quality on the mk7 is crap.

Interestingly the person who tried the Gtechniq Tyre and Trim stuff had been using this previously, which he said was great. Maybe he was looking for  a cheaper alternative.

Tell you what Kalimon you buy it and try it and tell me if it's worth £42.  :laugh:
Black Beauty: MK7 R 5dr DSG, DBP, 19" Pretoria, DCC, Vienna leather, Keyless, Dynaudio, DNS Pro, Rear camera, HBA
2012 MK6 GTI DSG
2008 MK5 GTI DSG
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Offline kalimon

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #371 on: 15 March 2016, 18:16 »
Has anyone used that ridiculously expensive Swisswax rubber treatment?
I think it's £42 but I read a great review of it somewhere.
The way the rubber deteriorated on my A3 was one of the biggest disappointments I had with the car. Don't want it happening again.
Rebecca, you must have tried it surely😄

Haha!  No I haven't but it's on my radar as I've heard good things about it too.  It's a mad price but if it works???  I think the rubber trim quality on the mk7 is crap.

Interestingly the person who tried the Gtechniq Tyre and Trim stuff had been using this previously, which he said was great. Maybe he was looking for  a cheaper alternative.

Tell you what Kalimon you buy it and try it and tell me if it's worth £42.  :laugh:
You know what, I might just go for it. It's only money after all :laugh:
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Offline davewilliams000

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #372 on: 15 March 2016, 19:25 »
2 Hours per wheel, that's serious dedication!
Don't think I could be arsed spending 8 hours cleaning my wheels.
That's 2 days of window cleaning for me :laugh:

I will admit that I spent a lot more time and effort on the front wheels than the back. I did one side at a time (as you can see I have limited room on the driveway), and did the front wheel first each day so had gotten a bit fed up, not to mention knackered by the time I got to the back wheel!

Fantastic job Dave! Results well worth the effort put in! Gtechniq C5 is brilliant and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

Hope so. Hoping to get a wash in the next couple of days so will see how easily the muck comes off it now!

Started training my daughter.........

Will start training my daughter when she's old enough lol... will be 2 in a couple of months so will maybe need to wait another couple of years.

However, I am going to train my Dad soon lol, as he just got a new car (Nissan Qashqai) and I've bought him some gear to keep it clean (snow foam/lance, dodo juice orange plush towel, wheel cleaner, c2v3 for the paint)  :grin:

Also as I was doing an order from CYC, I finally bought some wheel woollies for myself  :smiley:

On another side note, someone in my parent's street has an early Audi R8, and I saw them washing the wheels of their other car (mini cooper) with a sponge... needless to say I was horrified :shocked: and hope they don't use the sponge on the R8!!

2015 65 plate Mk7 GTD Manual in Tornado Red

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Offline davewilliams000

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #373 on: 15 March 2016, 19:30 »
After a month of abject neglect, I finally washed and waxed it!  Decided to try my new pot of Swissvax Best of Show wax - what a divine smell!  Goes to the top of the list on that score.  Very pleased with the finish, really brings out the pearl flake beautifully.  I know it will be a short-lived wax with a lifespan of about a month but that's ok.  Will get a second coat at the weekend when the first coat has cured.  Did the whole interior yesterday too.

Todays efforts: 

Moistened with pressure washer
Wheel pre wash spray - Bilberry Wheel Cleaner
Snow foamed twice - ValetPro Advanced Neutral
Wheels washed - Wheel Woolies and WoWo Wheel Mitt
Pressure wash
2 bucket wash - DoDo Juice Supernatural Shampoo, WoWo Lambswool Mitt - one for upper panel, one for lower panels
Pressure wash rinse
Open ended hose rinse
Dry with Vac n Blo and WoWo drying towels
Waxed - Swissvax Best of Show - applied with Auto Finesse sponge applicator and buffed off with WoWo Microfibre cloths
Glass cleaned with Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass and WoWo Glass Cloth
Tailpipes cleaned and polished with Mothers Mag and Aluminium polish
Tyres dressed with Achem Hi Shine Long Life Tyre Dressing

All done and waxed with Swissvax Best of Show


Rebecca, your car looks the absolute business as usual. The reflections in the paint are amazing. You certainly do lead by example on here! I particularly like the 3/4 view shot above  :smiley:
2015 65 plate Mk7 GTD Manual in Tornado Red

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Offline davewilliams000

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #374 on: 15 March 2016, 19:37 »
So I picked up my new GTI on 1st March. As instructed, the dealer left it untouched.
I gave it a first detail the first weekend in, consisting of the following;

1. Water rinse
2. Snow Foam (Advanced PH Neutral)
3. Shampoo wash (wo-wo mitt, Supernatural shampoo, 2-bucket wash with grit guards)
4. De-tar/iron fallout (TRIX)
5. Rinse and shampoo a second time
6. Clay (wo-wo clay bar, meguiars quik detailer)
7. Wash alloys (soaked in bilberry wheel cleaner, wash with wo-wo wheel mitt)
8. Dry car (Gyeon towel, wo-wo towel, wo-wo wheel towel)
9. Applied Poorboys EX-P paint sealant and buffed off
10. Applied Collinite 476s wax and buffed.
11. Applied Gtechniq G1 and G2 to all exterior glass and buffed off
12. Applied Chemical Guys Wheel Guard to alloys and buffed off

Apologies for no pics of that effort, I seem to have lost them from my phone!

The Gtechniq G1&G2 took me quite some time to apply really but it is really worth the effort.


Today I gave it a second clean, as I wanted to get some more wax on the car:
1. Water rinse
2. Snow Foam (Advanced PH Neutral)
3. Shampoo wash (wo-wo mitt, Supernatural shampoo, 2-bucket wash with grit guards)
4. Clay (wo-wo clay bar, meguiars quik detailer)
5. Wash alloys (soaked in bilberry wheel cleaner, wash with wo-wo wheel mitt)
6. Dry car (Gyeon towel, wo-wo towel, wo-wo wheel towel)
7. Applied Collinite 476s wax and buffed.
8. Applied Chemical Guys Wheel Guard to alloys and buffed off

I need a pressure washer for snow foaming as the hose one just doesn't quite cut the mustard!

I've got some Poorboys Natural Look Dressing but haven't used any yet... how do you guys apply it? It says to spray it on the bottle but it seems too thick to spray? Would it be good on the honeycomb front grille?

Wow that sounds like a lot of effort... must have taken ages!

P.S. Love the Carbon Steel Grey.... that would have been my 2nd choice after Tornado Red.

^^^
Looks fantastic.  Great job.  :cool:

You can't spray the Poorboys dressing, it is too thick.  I tried it once and gave up.  Either apply to the interior trim on a soft sponge applicator, or soak some into a soft microfibre and apply with that.  Leave for a couple mins then buff off with a clean plush microfibre.  It looks like you are using a lot but it's deceptive as a bottle lasts ages.  Gives a lovely oem finish to trim and great on steering wheel too. 

I only use it on the interior but can't see why it would be OK on the grill.  I use an exterior trim dressing for that.

Ah so that's where I am going wrong with mine. Just been using on an MF cloth! I will try with the foam pad and leave it for a few mins before buffing off with the MF cloth (I only have the wo-wo ones).

I also use natural look as a tyre dressing and have used it on the black plastic in front of the fog lights as well.
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Offline Booth11

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #375 on: 15 March 2016, 20:02 »
Ah so that's where I am going wrong with mine. Just been using on an MF cloth! I will try with the foam pad and leave it for a few mins before buffing off with the MF cloth (I only have the wo-wo ones).

I also use natural look as a tyre dressing and have used it on the black plastic in front of the fog lights as well.

Thanks for the kind words Dave. I was pleased with the Swissvax Best of Show finish.

Dave, I apply my poorboy natural look on a microfibre rather than a foam pad (which would be fine) and it goes on well.  Buffed of with a fresh MF.  Have you been having problems applying it then?
Black Beauty: MK7 R 5dr DSG, DBP, 19" Pretoria, DCC, Vienna leather, Keyless, Dynaudio, DNS Pro, Rear camera, HBA
2012 MK6 GTI DSG
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Offline davewilliams000

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #376 on: 15 March 2016, 20:16 »
Ah so that's where I am going wrong with mine. Just been using on an MF cloth! I will try with the foam pad and leave it for a few mins before buffing off with the MF cloth (I only have the wo-wo ones).

I also use natural look as a tyre dressing and have used it on the black plastic in front of the fog lights as well.

Thanks for the kind words Dave. I was pleased with the Swissvax Best of Show finish.

Dave, I apply my poorboy natural look on a microfibre rather than a foam pad (which would be fine) and it goes on well.  Buffed of with a fresh MF.  Have you been having problems applying it then?

No seems to be ok, however getting a few swirl marks in the faux carbon fibre plastic on the cover for the USB port that is infront of the gear stick, and sometimes it doesn't seem to be long before the dust comes back to these parts. Other than that I think it's good stuff.

Whilst I mention swirl marks, I'm using chemical guys synthetic QD (which smells amazing by the way), and it seems to be ok down the side of the car, but I can see swirl marks in the roof and/or bonnet sometimes. I'm using it inbetween washes. Am guessing either the car is too dirty and needs a proper wash, or the towel/cloth is too dirty or has too little QD on it. I've tried applying using both the wo-wo drying towel and the MF cloth. Might try a different QD when I've used this one up.
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Offline Booth11

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #377 on: 15 March 2016, 20:34 »
Whilst I mention swirl marks, I'm using chemical guys synthetic QD (which smells amazing by the way), and it seems to be ok down the side of the car, but I can see swirl marks in the roof and/or bonnet sometimes. I'm using it inbetween washes. Am guessing either the car is too dirty and needs a proper wash, or the towel/cloth is too dirty or has too little QD on it. I've tried applying using both the wo-wo drying towel and the MF cloth. Might try a different QD when I've used this one up.

Sounds to me like you are getting swirls because you are using the QD on dirty paintwork, even though it may look quite clean. If there's any small particles of dirt or grit on the car then whatever you apply the QD with is likely to push that dirt into the paintwork causing the scratches and swirls. And of course if the towel or MF is not clean then that will make matters worse.  All paint gets swirls but rubbing the paintwork when not really clean will increase the risk of them. 

I don't 'clean' or QD my car in between proper washes at all, and I'm sure that goes a long way to keeping swirls at bay.  The more you 'touch' the paintwork the greater the chance of swirling.  I do use Chemical Guys Speed Wipe Quick Detailer (excellent stuff) but only either straight after a wash as a drying aid or in an emergency to remove bird poor or some other unwanted deposit on the paintwork.  I had to remove some fresh bird poo the other day and even though I was very careful about it, there was still some marking on the paintwork where I'd gone over it with a MF.  It'll come out with a bit of polish but the paint on the mk7 is very easily marked.
Black Beauty: MK7 R 5dr DSG, DBP, 19" Pretoria, DCC, Vienna leather, Keyless, Dynaudio, DNS Pro, Rear camera, HBA
2012 MK6 GTI DSG
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2005 MK5 GTI Manual

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Offline davewilliams000

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #378 on: 15 March 2016, 20:46 »

Sounds to me like you are getting swirls because you are using the QD on dirty paintwork, even though it may look quite clean. If there's any small particles of dirt or grit on the car then whatever you apply the QD with is likely to push that dirt into the paintwork causing the scratches and swirls. And of course if the towel or MF is not clean then that will make matters worse.  All paint gets swirls but rubbing the paintwork when not really clean will increase the risk of them. 

I don't 'clean' or QD my car in between proper washes at all, and I'm sure that goes a long way to keeping swirls at bay.  The more you 'touch' the paintwork the greater the chance of swirling.  I do use Chemical Guys Speed Wipe Quick Detailer (excellent stuff) but only either straight after a wash as a drying aid or in an emergency to remove bird poor or some other unwanted deposit on the paintwork.  I had to remove some fresh bird poo the other day and even though I was very careful about it, there was still some marking on the paintwork where I'd gone over it with a MF.  It'll come out with a bit of polish but the paint on the mk7 is very easily marked.

Right... I will stop doing that immediately then! The swirls aren't very bad.. just like something has not dried properly, so hopefully will clear up after a wash. Going to give it a full wash in the next few days.
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Offline SRGTD

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Re: What detailing have you done today?
« Reply #379 on: 16 March 2016, 16:44 »
Hope it's OK with Rebecca as Moderator of the Detailing section that I post the detailing I done on my car over the last couple of days, because.....................it's not a Golf :shocked:, but it is a GTI, and a VW.

This is what I've replaced my mk6 GTD with. I picked it up on 1st March and I'm lovin' it!  :smiley:. The dealer had done an OK-ish job of prepping it but it wasn't brilliant; quite a bit of glue residue in places, swirls on the black plastic B pillars and black trim on the tailgate roof spoiler. As the Weather's been good this week, I decided the time was right to get it up to standard.

So, after, washing, decontaminating, washing and drying, applying Lime Prime with my DA, a layer of Black Hole glaze, a layer of Collinite 845 wax (another layer to be added next week), Gtechniq C5 on the wheels, Windows cleaned with Autoglym Fast Glass and tyres and black plastic trim dressed with FinishKare Top Kote Dressing, it looks like this (sorry, no 'before' pictures);









This is a great forum, and I've really enjoyed the friendly banter over the past (nearly) 5 years that I've been a member. I'll still pop in from time to time and say 'hi'.  :smiley:
2020 Polo GTI Plus; Pure White, DSG (because they all are)
Gone but not forgotten;
2016 Polo GTI; Blue Silk
2011 mk6 Golf GTD; Carbon Grey
2007 mk5 Golf GT (2.0 170bhp TDI version); Deep Black Pearl
2002  mk4 Golf GTI (the 150 bhp diesel version); Deep Black Pearl