What have you done to your MK 7 today ?

[Booth11]

Also fitted the new Lockwood 5dr R sill protectors (yesterday).  Removed the plain etched ones and replaced with these.  And fully cleaned the interior.

[Exonian]

They look the business Ms B!

Were the old ones a pain to get off?
I'm assuming not with all your potions you have 

[chris1h]

they look good bec!  i love them matts so much with the blue stitching!  carnt way get a set! 

[Mk7-GTD]

Nice work there Booth; interesting that you power wash first, I was under the impression that snow foam worked best on a dry car, but looking at your results, I don't know why I'm raising the point 

There's 2 schools of thought on that and it's debated now and then - riveting topic eh!   But I don't 'power wash' first, I just lightly wet the car briefly.  Works for me.

I see a test next time you do your car. Spray the snow foam on one side dry and the other side wet maybe.

Car looks great as always when when you clean it. Do you or have you ever used a powered polisher on the car. As we are going to be getting at least two new cars this year and we are moving to a house with a garage that is just over 33'x16' I was thinking of investing in some serious detailing gear. However I don't want to be one of those people that have all the gear and no idea. Are they any places that one can go to be thought about how to do it right.

Someone suggested that I buy a few bonnets to practice on.

[clubsport]

Booth, the vax certainly works well on that colour.

Did you get round to trying the GT C5 on the wheels?

I did mine, a lot of work in prep, but looks great, just need to see how it lasts?

[kalimon]

Brought mine home from the dealers with all the factory covers etc still on.
Must have looked a fool driving it like that but needs must.
Took longer than expected to get all the stickers off especially from the edges of the rear window spoiler.
Gave the outside a wash and dry, nothing too special due to lack of time but it looks presentable at least.
I couldn't quite believe how dirty it actually was when I collected it.
It looked like it had been sat at a dockside for a fortnight......... oh wait, it had

[Booth11]

They look the business Ms B!

Were the old ones a pain to get off?
I'm assuming not with all your potions you have 

No lotions or potions required, just a strong pair of hands....haven't you heard, I have very strong hands.    There had been a bit of debate on the other four about how best to approach it, and warming the glue up with a hairdryer seemed the way forward so I started with that but quickly realised that actually with a bit of brute force they just pulled off without the need to heat the glue up. So it was a bare hands jobbie.  No damage to the paintwork, just a case of cleaning off the old glue residue with trusty Tardis (have you bought some yet?) and cleaning and drying the sills ready for the new plates. 

[Booth11]

they look good bec!  i love them matts so much with the blue stitching!  carnt way get a set! 

Thanks Chris. I love the mats they really are one o pf the best things I've bought for it.

[Booth11]

I see a test next time you do your car. Spray the snow foam on one side dry and the other side wet maybe.

Car looks great as always when when you clean it. Do you or have you ever used a powered polisher on the car. As we are going to be getting at least two new cars this year and we are moving to a house with a garage that is just over 33'x16' I was thinking of investing in some serious detailing gear. However I don't want to be one of those people that have all the gear and no idea. Are they any places that one can go to be thought about how to do it right.

Someone suggested that I buy a few bonnets to practice on.

Did that snow foam test ages ago - pre-moistened car for me. 

I do have a dual action polisher (DA), in fact I've just replaced my old DA with a new DAS-6 Pro Plus, and sold the old Meguiars machine to someone on another forum.  But I haven't yet polished the R - I asked the dealer not to prep it so the paintwork was in excellent condition and didn't need polishing.  The first DA polish will be done later this spring and then again (if needed) in autumn.  This is the DA I've just bought.  http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/das-6-pro-plus-dual-action-polisher/das-6-pro-plus-15mm-dual-action-polisher/prod_1452.html



Some good starter kits on here too - look under each machine for kits http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/cat_68.html

There's loads of advice on DA polishing on places like Detailing World but also plenty of advice on this forum too in the detailing section.  Some good guides here:

http://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html
http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/porter-cable-7424xp-dual-action-orbital-polisher/38399-da-polisher-articles-help-newbies-machine-polishing.html
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/images/misc/dapolishing.pdf
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice.html
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=63859%C2%A0

Practicing on a lesser car or some old panels from the scrappers is worthwhile to give you a chance to get used to the weight, speed of the machine and practice your techniques and arm pressure.  Here's a bit of general DA advice:

On a general polishing note, the rule of thumb is to start with the least abrasive polish and pad combination and step up from there as required by the severity of the swirls.  Choose your polish first used on the least abrasive pad and if not getting required result, try next polish up on the same pad. Then if required, step up to a heavier pad.  And step down when refining.
 
A garage or workshop is preferable especially one with a good light source so you can regularly check your progress.  If you do it outside (I do), the light needs to be good and you're at the mercy of the weather.  If doing it outside and over more than a day, you will need to wash the car again prior to continuing.  I'm not a pro but these are my best tips:
 
•   Assess the condition of the paintwork first in good light, so you know what is required
•   Prepare the paintwork prior to polishing - tar remover, iron remover, claying etc, to ensure it's free of all bonded contaminants.
•   Tape up all trim with low tack masking tape.
•   Take it slowly and split larger panels up into manageable areas. 
•   Start with the least abrasive pad and polish combo and step up as necessary.  Choose your polish first. Then the lease abrasive pad, if more cut is required step up to the next pad. If a more abrasive polish is required use that again starting with the least abrasive pad.....and so on.
•   Start with the correction/swirl remova polishing stage first using a cutting pad then follow with the refining stage using a finishing pad.
•   Use moderate pressure - too light and it will have little effect, too much and you will fry your backing plate screw thread.
•   Use mid speed - as too low a speed won't achieve anything.
•   Always sling the DA cable over your shoulder otherwise it can drag/trail across the paintwork causing marks (just as you are trying to get rid of them!).
•   Stop and inspect at regular intervals to see how you are progressing and what further is required.
•   Use a good LED light source to check for swirls close up.
•   Once you've primed the pad with polish make sure you place it on the paintwork before switching on    DA, otherwise the polish will fling off everywhere.
•   You might need to do several passes to achieve the required correction.
•   After polishing use a good IPA like Gtechniq Panel Wipe to remove polish residue before going on to seal/wax the car.
 
Finally look on YouTube for Mike Philips (formerly of Meguairs) DA tutorials.  He also has lots of good tips on Autogeek site.  Great for someone new to DA polishing.

Then there's the actual DA machines, pads and polishes.  It can be a minefield but have a look at these 2 recent threads where it was discussed .

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=276899.0

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=276985.0

Hope this helps.

[Booth11]

Booth, the vax certainly works well on that colour.

Did you get round to trying the GT C5 on the wheels?

I did mine, a lot of work in prep, but looks great, just need to see how it lasts?

Yeah the Best of Show is gorgeous. Swissvax waxes are so easy to apply and buff off.  They don't last very long (month) but the finish is lovely.

No I haven't got around to the C5 on the wheels yet. Currently they are making do with a couple coats of GT C2v3 for now.  It's the time it takes!  Need more hours in the day and days in the week!!!