ilogikal1

I figured seeing as I comment on a lot of detailing threads I should probably put my money where my mouth is, so have some pictures (after a lot of text, which you're welcome to skip, because there's a lot of it... sorry about that). Thanks to Waxybox and some Easter sales, I had a few products to play with and wanted to change from the sealant that was on it back to a wax for summer, no during photos because I couldn't be bothered frankly, but my process was as follows; Snow foam using Purple Magifoam, rinse followed by a second hit with the Magifoam, Whilst the second foam was dwelling I did the badges, petrol cap, etc with a Valet Pro brush and some APC. I then foamed again using Tesco's own APC followed by a rinse. Two bucket wash with Britemax Cleanmax followed by a rinse. I would normally dry at this point, but the car was in the sun and I wasn't bothered about the usual water spots this time so I sat on my a*se for five minutes instead. De-tarred with Tardis followed by a rinse. Decon with Wolf's Decon Gel followed by yet another rinse. I then clayed, starting off with the Waxybox clay & lube which I didn't get along with so I reverted back to my usual Dodo Juice Supernatural clay with a shampoo mix. A quick wipedown using just a washmit and the hose then allowed to dry in the sun again. Then I moved into the garage and taped up ready for polish. At this point I tried Waxybox's April wax on one wing mirror and the C2V3 on top and on the other mirror. After trying a few combinations with my DAS6, I eventually settled on Menz 203S on an orange Lake Country Constant Pressure pad until I was happy with the swirl removal. This was followed by Menz 85RE on a green LC CP pad to refine. Two coats of Poorboys Blackhole, the first applied by machine on a Black LC Finishing pad, the second by hand to make sure I got all the little nooks that I probably missed with the machine. This was followed by a coat of Poorboys White Natty's Paste Wax everywhere except the rear spoiler (which I'll come to shortly) and the wing mirrors as previously explained. Roughly 36 hours after the first coat, I applied a coat of PB Blue Natty's Paste Wax to the same areas. In the mean time, the wheels were removed, treated the Tardis and Decon Gel treatment then cleaned with Juicy Details Mint Wheels followed by a normal wash with Poorboys Super Slick and Suds and dried. I had intended to treat them to a clay and cleanse with Wersktat Acrylic Prime but the sheer amounts of stone chips on the inside of the wheels and the corrosion expanding I've decided I'm likely to replace or refurb them fairly soon instead, so didn't bother. So at this point I decided to seal them and stick them back on the car for now... I did take the opportunity to do a little test though, so the first wheel was sealed with Poorboys Wheel Sealant, the second wheel was sealed with Smartwax Rim Wax, the third was supposed to be sealed with something else but my sample has been delayed so this one and the fourth were left unsealed and will now both serve as the control wheels. The tyres were all dressed with Megs Endurance Gel. The trim dressed with Auto Finesse Revive followed by some extra protection in the form Dr Beasley's Trim Sealant from Waxybox. Exhaust polished was with wire wool and Megs NXT All Metal Polysh. Rubber was dressed with Einszett Gummi Pflege. Glass cleaned with AutoBrite Direct Hell Shine Pain. The interior had been done recently, so only needed a quick vacuum and dust down really. All in all, it took me closing in on 40 hours of work over about two weeks - although I should mention there was a portion of that which was spent waiting for supplies as I ran out of some stuff halfway through and I was then working around work and what passes for my life. So, on with the pictures then. Before; Some considerable time later & after; Now, the rear spoiler was used as another testbed area. Every time there's a "what wax for my wheels" type question FK1000P is brought up as useful for wheels and paintwork I decided to try Poorboys Wheel Sealant on the paint. So the spoiler got treated to that... it's not bad in terms shine, it'll be interesting (to me) to see how it lasts on the paint compared to the wheel it's also protecting.

The standard "foam bottles" that come with most pressure washers are crap for actual foaming duties - they can be quite handy for other things but nothing beats a proper foam lance. Don't expect super thick foam from Avalanche (it does still foam quite well but I've never got a shaving foam consistency with it).

Then allow me; no. I'm guessing this won't satisfy you either though as I'm not a mod...

Fixed that for you.

Yeah, but what about cleaning the car?

If the foam's not sticking, the dirt won't stick much either. It's the same with mine, in that the LSP prevents the longer dwell times that some people get, but with the right foam it still removes a good amount of dirt - it does vary quite a lot between different foams though. The only thing you can really do about it is give it a second hit of foam. I've found better results from rinsing between snow foams when I've felt the need to give it a second hit rather than just 'topping up' (as it were) the foam on the car without rinsing.

A timely bank holiday weekend deal at Screwfix; http://www.screwfix.com/p/nilfisk-c120-3-6-120bar-pressure-washer-with-trolley-230v/56192.

"Also, this has only been tested on average adults.. I'm 5-4 and she's 5-6." That's average? Useless guide! That's the average waist size in America these days...

A good snow foam, left to dwell for long enough, will also soften the more baked on grime making it easier to remove with a pressure washer leaving less muck on the car for the actual wash stage. Not to mention that I would prefer to remove as much dirt as possible before touching the paint at all. And as you can make roughly 2000 litres for about £30, it really isn't that expensive.

Nilfisk is a better bet as Karcher's are now build using plastic parts (Nilfisk still use metal) so are more susceptible to breaking sooner. As mentioned above, different fixtures for each brand, so I'd advise choosing a washer before buying a lance - there's plenty of choice and not a lot of difference between dedicated snow foam lances to be honest. I currently have a Nilfisk and a lance from Polished Bliss which does the job well. The foam itself will come down to personal preference really, I've tried a few from Megs Hyperwash, Magifoam Blue & Purple, VP PH Neutral, etc, etc, but the one I've found to clean the best is AF Avalanche. Doesn't foam as much as some, but cleans well.

As above, it depends on how deep the scratches are but anything cerium oxide based is what you need - such as http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/3m-glass-polishing-compound-cat16.html or http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/engine-and-exterior/glass-cleaners-sealants/carpro-ceri-glass-kit/prod_988.html for example. It's not an easy job, so it'll take a while by machine (rotary being better for this than DA) or take forever by hand if they're not light scratches. If they're too deep, you'll need to replace the glass.

19" apparently; http://my350z.com/forum/9992826-post18.html From here; http://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-tires/567372-avant-garde-m550-5-spoke-deep-concave.html

Scroll down.

It's worth noting that most washing up liquids contain salt. Chances are this will cause light marring, so it depends if you're intending to polish after stripping the wax... but then the polish will remove an LSP anyway, so it seems redundant. There are better/safer things to use than washing up liquid in my opinion.

I've just downloaded it and run it though 4 different scans, nothing detected on any of them.

^^ That. Plus PIAA also make aero blades as well these days if that's what you're after.

OP said he was using Poorboys wax. Poorboys Natty's Paste Wax - http://www.poorboysworld.co.uk/cgi-bin/pbw.cgi?Command=ShowEPage&db_epid=7

Natty's does tend to dust when it's over-applied. Also, as has already been mentioned, it's best to leave it a few hours (I've found with Natty's, about 6+ hours is good) between coats.

SF4500 (or PO85RD if you prefer) will be fine by hand on Nissan paint, so long as you make sure you work it fully. Good luck with getting it finished in time.

It would be a last resort prior to a re-spray for me. Always start with the least cut to do the job so I'd try polishing any scratches first. I certainly wouldn't be wet sanding without paint depth readings first either.

If the residue comes off easily (you may need to use some of the lube to shift it if it's dried on) then I wouldn't worry about it, it's probably just the lube. Could always open the bottle and have a look if it's bothering you that much.

Yep, when it's broken!

It's best not to use an acidic cleaner - any decent non-acidic wheel cleaner will be up to the job, I've recently been using Chemical Guys (when it's needed). I also like to use Tardis and Wolf's Decon Gel to completely clean them before sealing.

Yes, yes and which kit are you using? Keep repeating the process until the clay isn't picking up any fresh contaminants - i.e. the bar is still clean after it's passed over the area you're working on. It should then feel totally smooth when you run your fingertips over it. Always use plenty of lube (oo-er) otherwise you run a greater risk of marring the paint and that'll need to be polished out then. It's always better to use too much lube than too little.

I just use 2 cheap 12.5 litre buckets from B&Q (I think) and don't agree with grit guards so don't use them at all.