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Cleaning my car the Diary of a Nublet


Brimstoneboy

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So one day i buy my new toy,

yes a 350z on the way home i think "hmmm halfords i need to clean it" . :thumbs:

Now having seen the forum and read / skimmed some stuff (Now Listen kids dont do that with your homework, you will come unstuck),

I thought i knew what i was walking into, i was Wrong , O so Wrong. :surrender:

like a kid in a sweet shop im looking at all the goodies and o my, i want them , nay i need them , o my god how have i lived without this stuff :happy:

a good 40 mins later (seriously i read all the backs of products , No idea why it meant sod all to me ) i walk out with some meguires kit.

 

Shampoo gold , claybar kit (a career in pottery) , Ultimate Polish (ofc ULTIMATE says it all ) , Ultimate Wax (come on see previous), Hot wheels rim cleaner, interior detailer, Halfords Rotary polisher (yeah i know its Crap its still in box, prolly better as a face exfoliater), all the cloths ,towels and microfibres , wow meguires got me gud . :ohmy:

 

So the fun starts Cannot wait..

o how my car will shine, it will be like the day it left the factory :dance: (yeah right !)

 

i Wash it 2 Bucket method (see i did read sommat right )

 

Dry it (wow this is harder than i thought how longs this gonna take another hour what....... damn i wanna polish it now.... :angry: )

 

yay, i polish it by hand cos im not sure about using that machine, i dun wanna screw it up :scare: not yet anyways

 

after polishing the roof and then boot.im like screw this i need a proper machine it will defo be easier.

 

I know il just wax it for now another hour and half later im done :yahoo:

 

Ive achevied nothing but hey i aint screwed the car up well not yet .

i shall return and do this right ........

 

 

2 weeks later .......

 

Right i rdy for this :boxing: i wont be denied my car will shine

thursday evening i clean and dry it

 

i grab the clay bar kit and start rubbing it around is it doing anything .....

 

i think it is but man the lights is going i better put the car to bed and have a go friday after work

total time 4 half hours (this sucks Car better bloody shine) :headhurt:

 

Friday night Right lets have it ,

i Really wont be denied this time O shine you beauty like the Sun.

I clay bar for 2 hours seems to be quite easy admittedly my arms a bit sore but HEY stop being a baby CRACK ON !

i get to the drivers door + front wing What The HELL ...

Dosnt matter how much quick detailer i use its bloody hard to rub this door with the clay.

Have i broke the clay ? Neaded it to much. :unsure:

 

I break out the next bar, the lights starting to fade 3 1/2 hours in Nope still stiff , More quick detailer hammer it on.

 

Finally the cars like silk, the night is warm , i wanna drive her but, i canot take the car out till shes been fully bathed in the liquid goodness of the other meguires products ,

I sulk and put her to bed :cry:

 

Saturday morning now i have all day, todays the day the peak district meets already underway , i wanna go ,but the car ... o the car, i guess i see them all in the bar

i head down the road to auto supplys shop " give me your biggest polishing machine" i Demand.

i somehow walk out with a sealy rotary polisher a adapter for the gmops 2 x cutting pads 4x polishing pads Farecla G3 premium ,Farecla G3 Glaze, some Glass cleaner and some antimist stuff for insdie the car.

 

I start on the car with the g3 premium waaaaaaaa 3 hours later ........

i start on the car with the g3 premium with a polishing head 3 hours later.....

SCREW THIS i aint putting the glaze on , i promise myself Next time ,yeah right...... Next time.

on goes the ultimate wax Do i take it off with the polishing head No, No screw that what if it takesall the off.

 

I start to hand wax it, 2 hours later i need a bath my arms hurt , my chest hurts , i stink and im late for the meet :cry:

 

Moral of my story,

 

Read don't skim Then just book it in with a Detailer :teeth:

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Sounded exactly what happened to me on Sunday. Wanted to do the Hunstanton run. I thought I could clean the car in 3 hours and go for the meetup. First time in my life that I ever cleaned my own car. It's most likely that I would need to book it in with a detailer. Instead of making it shine, it just has streaks everywhere and patches of bad polish/wax.

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  • 1 month later...

So after reading thru the ilogikal1 test thread decide to splurge again i i went for some Gtecnic stuffz

i got some panal wipe ,c2v3, c4 trim rejuvinator also so isopronal alchol for cleaning plastics before i stick the c4 on

im sure i read c1,c4 ,c5 are same stuff ,

also got some Zanio 10 for my leather

and a snow foam lance

 

so i read you can apply c2v3 over your exsiting coatings, i glazed and then waxed the car last week so didnt wanna strip it back this week , do i need to mix it with water for this or is it better neat? whats best mix ratio if so ?

if the C4 is same as C5 can it be used on my alloys was gonna get some c5 but thought id ask might save me a few quid

i was gonna buy some bilt and hammer auto foam and also some bathe + is the auto foam gental enough not to strip any coatings ive got on

or anyone got a good recommendation

Edited by Brimstoneboy
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So after reading thru the ilogikal1 test thread decide to splurge again

 

:D

 

im sure i read c1,c4 ,c5 are same stuff ,

 

It is indeed.

 

so i read you can apply c2v3 over your exsiting coatings, i glazed and then waxed the car last week so didnt wanna strip it back this week , do i need to mix it with water for this or is it better neat? whats best mix ratio if so ?

 

You can use it neat, and that'll give you then best durability from it, but you can also dilute it. Diluting it 3:1 makes it easier to get a good, streak free finish and it'll still last well over a month.

 

if the C4 is same as C5 can it be used on my alloys was gonna get some c5 but thought id ask might save me a few quid

 

It is and you can.

 

i was gonna buy some bilt and hammer auto foam and also some bathe + is the auto foam gental enough not to strip any coatings ive got on

 

I assume the coatings you're referring to is the C4? If so then, provided it mixed to the correct ratio, Bilt Hamber won't have much of an adverse affect. Coatings resist acids very well but alkalis tend to affect coatings in the same way that acids affect sealants and waxes, BH AF is (very) mildly alkaline when correctly mixed so it may reduce the durability by a few days. :lol:

If the mix is too strong, it will have a stronger affect though. BH AF should be mixed to a maximum of 8% product on the panel.

 

or anyone got a good recommendation

 

Citrus pre-washes tend to be more effective on coatings, however if you're only coating the plastics and alloys then I wouldn't worry about that, stick with BH AF for the rest of the car. If you keep on top of it the wheels and trim won't get that dirty when coated anyway.

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Once you've given the car a good decon and put your last stage product on a quick maintenance wash will be just that.....nice and easy.

As long as you haven't let dirt cake on for months the dirt will glide off with a gentle 2bm wash.

I've been using C2v3 since it was first released.

So quick to use and so cheap I use it neat.

Gave the car a coat this morning and it took less time to coat and buff than to wash the car!

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cheers guys :thumbs:

 

so i assume 3 to 1 is 3 parts c2v3 and 1 water ,

 

Also with the B H did i read you usually apply it as 4% a panel ilogikal1 ? or did i read that somewhere else (really have been reading alot of threads on here and DW)

 

i know i read a thread last couple days where you explained how to get the % right per panel with a drum need to re read that as i dont know flow rate on the pressure washer its a old karcher and the sticker is gone .

 

one last Question im sure i read that c2v3 dosnt like many types products over it , is there anything you would recommend that would go over it when on the club stand, want it to look its best even if the zed has a few chips n knicks, ones a indoor show and the other outdoor.

 

cheers

 

stuart

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so i assume 3 to 1 is 3 parts c2v3 and 1 water ,

 

3 parts water to 1 part C2v3.

 

Also with the B H did i read you usually apply it as 4% a panel ilogikal1 ? or did i read that somewhere else (really have been reading alot of threads on here and DW)

 

Yeah, that's right, aim for around 4% PIR. At that ratio you'll get good cleaning whilst ensuring it's economical still.

 

 

one last Question im sure i read that c2v3 dosnt like many types products over it , is there anything you would recommend that would go over it when on the club stand, want it to look its best even if the zed has a few chips n knicks, ones a indoor show and the other outdoor.

 

For a show, it won't make any difference what you put on top, it'll last the day. It may not last much longer than that though which is why it's not usually recommended to top it with anything as there's not much that will bond to it properly so durability is compromised. Obviously that's not an issue with a show wax (not least of all because they tend to only last a couple of weeks at best anyway) as durability isn't the aim. If you're planning on just using a quick detailer then save yourself some money and use diluted C2v3 (anything up to 15:1, from memory) instead. Use filtered or deionised water to dilute though, to ensure there's no water spotting. :thumbs:

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Seeing as you've been so frank with your experiences and seem to be a bit shocked at how much time this detailing malarkey takes, I thought I'd share my weekends detailing efforts.

 

Started yesterday on the sprog mobile.

My 5 yr old Kia Shortage in white.

This doesn't get pampered as much as the Zed.

This past year it gets washed once a month or so.

A coat of C2v3 every few months.

And that's it.

Yesterday I gave it a more thorough going over.

Used a 5 litre pump sprayer with a wand to spray pressure on.

Left to dwell for 5 mins while I filled my 5 buckets (no outside tap :thumbdown: )

2 buckets to rinse, one for clay mitt soap and 2 for my 2bm wash.

With the pre wash soak the 4 weeks worth of dirt came off with little effort.

I didn't bother rinsing coz I then moved to my clay mitt.

Used extra soapy shampoo mix as lube and gently wipewiped over the car.

 

As I did this last year it was quick and easy as not a lot of bonded contamination.

Done in about the same time as it took my 2bm wash.

Then a rinse.

Then Pat dry with a damp MF towel.

I could have used fallout remover but I ran out :lol:.

Didn't see many yellow dots this time anyway.

 

Being a white car it really shows up ingrained dirt.

So treated once a year I treat it to a paint cleanse.

I just use autoglym SRP as I have a big old bottle left.

Didnt spend ages working it til clear like a polish, just a quickie like applying wax then buffed off.

Applicator pad wasn't that dirty after showing that semi regular C2v3 keeps the paint protected a bit.

Then topped it off with some C2v3 which was again faster than a 2bm wash.

 

Today I gave the Kia rims a good clean.

Never sealed these before but treated them today.

Used wonder wheels hot wheels gel........bought it for an amazing £1.73 years ago at Tesco and IT BLEEDS just like fallout remover :teeth:.

Wasnt bothered about perfection so didn't clay every last bump off.

A blast with my cordless leaf blower then left to dry.

An hour ago I gave a quick IPA wipedown then just sealed the faces with Gtechniq C5.

 

So for comparatively little effort the car is pretty much sorted.

Hopefully just needing quick washes and wipe downs with C2v3 over the next 12 months :thumbs:

Most grueling part was the SRP and that's just coz I'm used to a quick 5-10 min C2v3 coat :p

Edited by HEADPHONES
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  • 2 weeks later...

So MAD COW ultra violet turned up today with the BH autofoam got giddy when i got in from work and snowfoamed the world :teeth: (well the zed ,the focus and the pt cruiser) then reapplied the c2v3 and then some madcow stuffz smells yummy :thumbs: . slapped some more zanio z 10 on seats so it smells nice for sunday . Had to do it this evening cos wont have time before sunday cos of work :angry:

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