As the horrible weather decided to take a break today I thought I'd give my car a good wash and polish for the first time in a long time! A friend of mine gave me a car care kit worth £70 a little while ago so I thought I'd give it a go.

It was quite easy compared to some of the write up's I've seen on here.

I used an 'acid rain neutralising shampoo' and washed each panel seperatley then rinsed straight away. As it was drying I used some alloy wheel clean foam and a soft brush to clean the wheels. I then used a chamois to clear the last few drops of water before applying a paint sealing polish. It went on really smoothly and wiped off easily just like a fine powder but feels like a really thick wax when applying it so I think it's got good protevctive properties. Once the polishing was finished I went around the car with a bumper and tyre shine to bring up the grille, handles and trim on the bumpers.

Shiny rear

Shiny front

Bonnet shine

Shiny side

Used a bumper and tyre shine on all the black bits

Shiny badge. Took me ages to get a cloth in between all the letters and get the dirt out!

Well that's how I spent my Saturday afternoon!

Tomorrow I'm going to use the interior carpet cleaner and leather treatment for the seats then give the dash a polish.

Mike

Good job mike!

a detailer in the making..once you start, you can't stop  

Rossi wrote: Good job mike! a detailer in the making..once you start, you can't stop

Cheers Rob! Well I did spent over 3 hours fitting a new sunroof to the wifes Galaxy. Interior handles, sun blinds, alarm sensors, rear heating controls, pillar trims and lights off, headlining down, unbolted runners and had to try and hold it up until the last bolt then slide it out of the car with glass dropping all over the place then do it all again in reverse. After all that, I was NOT in the mood to clean my car but as you say, I washed it and thought what the hell then got carried away!

Mike

that's the sort of thing I do also..

...start one one thing which leads to another and before you know it, it's half the day gone! (but, only on the car though )

I spent over 3 hours on the interior today. Now that all the car seats are gone, time to clean up the horrors of having children in your beloved car.....

BEFORE:

Biscuit and crisp crumbs in the grooves of the seat not to mention the sticky residue of a spilt drink (though I have previously banned drinks from the car!) and two wine gums stuck fast onto the leather!

Milk spilt on the seat from the baby!

AFTER THE CLEAN UP:

All traces of dink and sweets gone! I used a leather care cleaner. Damn good it was too!

Milk gone too

Shiny door trim

Took my knob off and rubbed it with polish until shiny! then I took the leather boot off and cleaned that too. I also took out the window switch and cleaned all the dust out from between them all, the air vents got the same treatment too.

I even took a little time to polish the step trims on the bottom of the door aparture.

Thats it done now, all I got to do is keep on top of it, though that should be easier now with the kids not going in it!

Mike

Well done to you!! the car looks great and when you do it yourself it can be quite rewarding when it starts to sparkle better than paying some carwash outfit £5-15 and they cant get the same results.

Thanks DSK, it really is rewarding. I don't think I've ever spent so long cleaning a car or to as much detail but it won't be the last time I can tell you!

I did notice one small problem though. I saw streaks along the side of the car today. The black restore stuff must be like some type of silicone spray and with the rain yesterday it must have run. I had to rub underneath all the side trims and door handles with a cloth. I think I may have overdone it. Afterall, I did use 3/4 of a can lol!  Lesson learnt for next time!

Mike

For that black plastic, I use turtle wax's trim something or another, its a red coloured solution.  I actually spray it onto the tip of a cloth (wrapped around my finger) and use that tip to rub the solution onto the black plastics.  This way you gon't get any on the paintwork followed by the streaks.

Rossi wrote: Good job mike! a detailer in the making..once you start, you can't stop

I agree, in fact I think this should be in the detailing section!

thepits wrote: Rossi wrote: Good job mike! a detailer in the making..once you start, you can't stop   I agree, in fact I think this should be in the detailing section!

Isn't that the lonely section where no-one reads anything? or is that your point?

Come on pitsy, credit where it's due, you are impressed are you not? even if it is a van

Mike