Detailing newbie... product recomendations

[davewilliams000]

Car looks excellent.    Beading not bad considering no protection but will be so much better when you get your C2v3 on.  Would be even better beading with wax. 

Poor boys Natural Look Dressing is the best bar none, IMO. Needs a good buffing off after application to get rid of residue, but easily done with a good quality microfibres.  Other great interior produc I couldn't do without (for leather) is Gliptone Leather Cleaner, and Gliptone Leather Conditioner. Fantastic stuff. And the smell....Mmmm.

Detailing (and buying detailing stuff) is addictive, but there are worse ways to spend your cash and time!

PS: There's no such thing Ada 'quick' wash. 90 mins sounds right.

90 mins included setting up the pressure washer and packing away again, so I was quite happy with that, and if I hadn't done the glass/vacuum it would have probably only taken an hour! However, any detailing is best done when the Mrs is at work as she wouldn't tolerate me spending that long on the car lol

My car's not leather (completely standard MY2016 GTD spec as it's a pre-reg car, but that does include a lot of kit) so need to decide what sort of fabric cleaner/etc I will purchase next. Also will be ordering some wheel woollies when I do the next order to CYC.

[kalimon]

Been really busy at the moment so not had chance to get on the PC to post an update. I did get a break in the weather last Thursday so managed to make a start (it took a while to unpack all the stuff I bought too!). I gave it a wash (snow foam, bilberry wheel wash and 2 bucket wash), and got the iron-x done, and another full 2 bucket + wheel wash, and finally dried using the MF towels. It started to rain lightly by the end so didn't really get any full pics of the car, and it didn't look much different apart from being clean, but I did get some 'beauty' shots (which I now have as my PC wallpaper  ):

I must say I'm well impressed with the snow foam and the bilberry wheel cleaner is amazing stuff. The wo-wo gear is great too, although I think I will need to get a 2nd drying towel.







As I didn't get any protection on the car myself, the beading is down to how it came from the dealer + me washing it.

I did yesterday think it was starting to look a bit dirty yesterday so did a 'quick' wash (that took 90 mins!) - snow foam, wheel wash, rinse, dry, interior and exterior glass clean (fast glass), and quick vacuum with the cordless dyson, and a couple of sprays of autoglym autofresh on the carpets/seats.

This detailing stuff (buying gear) is getting addictive - I have a torque wrench and alloy wheel socket on the way so that when I take the wheels off I can make sure they are back on properly. I also ordered some Poorboys Natural Look this morning for the interior.

Waiting for the next break in the weather to get the c2v3 on... hopefully this weekend! However, in the mean time, I am at least enjoying driving the car going to work most days! 

What torque wrench did you go for/

[davewilliams000]

I went with a Sealey AK264 1/2 inch sq drive, which is the cheapest one that is calibrated and comes with a certificate. Also was 3rd place (behind 2 much more expensive Halfords ones) in a group test in Auto Express last year.

wrench: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Premier-Micrometer-Torque-Wrench-1-2-Square-Drive-Calibrated-AK624-/311322680103?hash=item487c471b27

group test: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/84791/best-torque-wrench-2015

Also got a sealey alloy wheel socket to go with it, which has a plastic sleeve so doesn't scratch the alloys, and this will also fit my draper extending wheel nut wrench as well.

Alloy socket: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Alloy-Wheel-Chrome-Molybdenum-Impact-Socket-17mm-1-2-Sq-Drive-SX03017-/141585844804?hash=item20f72c8a44

Possibly to some might seem like a bit of overkill, but I like to do things properly so want the right kit

[Wo-Wo]

I agree with Booth, the results are great and I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole car once done. I have a bit of a soft spot for a well prepared TR Golf.

[Booth11]

90 mins included setting up the pressure washer and packing away again, so I was quite happy with that, and if I hadn't done the glass/vacuum it would have probably only taken an hour! However, any detailing is best done when the Mrs is at work as she wouldn't tolerate me spending that long on the car lol

Lol, yeah a car can be properly snow foamed, washed and dried in an hour, but it's all the "I'll just give this a quick going over" that adds the extra time!  Even if I'm really pushed for time, I can't not dress the tyres or polish up the tailpipes and give the glass a quick clean. Occasionally I'll think ok, I'm in a rush so I'll just leave the tyres, only to go back 10 mins later, tyre dressing in hand, haha.  And then there's the tidying away and careful washing and rinsing out of mitts, Wheel Woolies etc. 

Fortunately my partner is very tolerant (good job) but I'd much prefer to clean it whilst everyone else is out, as you can guarantee, the minute I want to fill my wash buckets up, he starts using the sink!!

[kalimon]

I went with a Sealey AK264 1/2 inch sq drive, which is the cheapest one that is calibrated and comes with a certificate. Also was 3rd place (behind 2 much more expensive Halfords ones) in a group test in Auto Express last year.

wrench: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Premier-Micrometer-Torque-Wrench-1-2-Square-Drive-Calibrated-AK624-/311322680103?hash=item487c471b27

group test: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/84791/best-torque-wrench-2015

Also got a sealey alloy wheel socket to go with it, which has a plastic sleeve so doesn't scratch the alloys, and this will also fit my draper extending wheel nut wrench as well.

Alloy socket: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Alloy-Wheel-Chrome-Molybdenum-Impact-Socket-17mm-1-2-Sq-Drive-SX03017-/141585844804?hash=item20f72c8a44

Possibly to some might seem like a bit of overkill, but I like to do things properly so want the right kit

Thanks Dave, they look spot on.
I take it the 17mm socket is the correct size for Golf wheel nuts ?

[davewilliams000]

Thanks Dave, they look spot on.
I take it the 17mm socket is the correct size for Golf wheel nuts ?

Yes i think and hope so! Searched a couple of forums and they said it's 17mm. It's definitely smaller than 19mm as I had an old 19mm socket laying about and it is bigger than the locking nut. I'm assuming these are the same size as the rest of them as there is only 1 size of spanner in the car toolkit.

Picking it up from click and collect tomorrow so will try and post an update over the weekend, even if I don't get any work done on the car.

[davewilliams000]

Thanks Dave, they look spot on.
I take it the 17mm socket is the correct size for Golf wheel nuts ?

Yes i think and hope so! Searched a couple of forums and they said it's 17mm. It's definitely smaller than 19mm as I had an old 19mm socket laying about and it is bigger than the locking nut. I'm assuming these are the same size as the rest of them as there is only 1 size of spanner in the car toolkit.

Picking it up from click and collect tomorrow so will try and post an update over the weekend, even if I don't get any work done on the car.

17mm is definitely the correct size as it fits the locking nut adaptor for the car. Torque wrench and wheel socket look good, however I haven't had chance to try them yet.

[davewilliams000]

It was a bit cold today, however, Mrs was at work, mum and dad babysitting, so was a good chance to give the car some much needed love on valentines day lol 

So I did a full wash:

• pressure washer rinse
• snow foam wash followed by another pressure washer rinse
• sprayed bilberry wheel cleaner on wheels (1:10), left for 5 mins, then went around with wheel mit using a bucket of water for rinsing the mit, then rinsed off with pressure washer
• 2 bucket wash whole car (except wheels as already done)
• open hose rinse
• left for 5 mins then wo-wo towel dry whole car including alloys

Then I applied gTechniq c2v3 to all paintwork on car using several wo-wo MF cloths. After that I did all the interior plastics using Poorboy's Natural Look dressing, and also used it to dress the tyres. Finally gave all exterior glass a clean with AG fast glass.

It was starting to go dark by the time I got finished, but still had enough light to get some good pics. Am very happy with the results....















I only got 1 lot of c2v3 on and will see how it goes. May do another application in a few months when the weather is better.

Now I just need to find time to get the wheels off and protect them with c5, however, I've already noticed a couple of small scratches on some black parts of a couple of the alloys, and a tiny scratch on the edge of the back door drivers side 

[kalimon]

Very nice indeed.
I'm beginning to wonder whether I will have the patience to go through that process more than once or twice a year.
Will have to see how it goes when new car finally arrives.