Detailing Becky

[AndyRKett]

Thats a pukka job. Agree autoglym products are quality.

Cleaning the car is like meditation for me, gets me away from everything for a few hours.

AutoGlym is good but not the cheapest, I tend to buy bits now and again to build up a collection over time rather than bankrupt myself buying it all at once.

If I compared the costs of whats in my car cleaning kit to whats in my wife’s make up box I’m sure I spend a hell of a lot less.

I do also tend to get a bit obsessed with details, Recently added some Wolfsburg Germany numberplate holders when I needed new number plates.

 

[The Panda Nut]

If I compared the costs of whats in my car cleaning kit to whats in my wife’s make up box I’m sure I spend a hell of a lot less.

Ha its clear its not a Panda or you wouldnt have had to check that! I have never found a bad Autoglym product but I am sure products have changed and improved hugely over the last 20 years and others are now as good. I use their tar remover and had been using their gold paint sealant and polish but its not good on dark cars. Matters are much improved by adding a dollop of back to black polish and mixing as this reduces it highlighting minor scratches. I use the back to black on any laquer scratched it does a good job of hidng them until you polish them out. This auto bright stuff seems to do as good a job but no residue at all. With all the black bits on my bumpers is a real bonus.

your car is 2.0 GTD do keep using diesel clean or equivalent in the fuel regualrly. I watched mine die due to turbo failure. AtT a performance level of >98% of normal it went into limp home and I was told by a local specialist - ex VW technician who ran his own gargae- its a known issue with that engine. Newer ones may have been sorted but his words were turbos are going like they were out of fashion. In 2009 Garrett had 20 of both the types used on the shelf ready for immediate dispatch at about £1000 each. I was told if I had used an additive to keep soot down in the turbo it wouldnt have happened. Something to do with it interfering with the variable vein geometry. If they had been prepared to assist with the cost I would probably still be driving VW. Trying to fix the thing nearly bankrupted me. Stonking car otherwise. A real case of having your cake as well as eating it.

All 3 dirty cars are outside in the sun while I think again about how dirty they are and probably will be tomorrow.

PS I absolutely hate - beyond words- waterless wash and wax. If you have a life, you wont have one after trying that stuff.

 

[AndyRKett]

your car is 2.0 GTD do keep using diesel clean or equivalent in the fuel regualrly. I watched mine die due to turbo failure. AtT a performance level of >98% of normal it went into limp home and I was told by a local specialist - ex VW technician who ran his own gargae- its a known issue with that engine. Newer ones may have been sorted but his words were turbos are going like they were out of fashion. In 2009 Garrett had 20 of both the types used on the shelf ready for immediate dispatch at about £1000 each. I was told if I had used an additive to keep soot down in the turbo it wouldnt have happened. Something to do with it interfering with the variable vein geometry. If they had been prepared to assist with the cost I would probably still be driving VW. Trying to fix the thing nearly bankrupted me. Stonking car otherwise. A real case of having your cake as well as eating it.

So technically it is a “Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet GT TDI Blue Motion Tech” as its a post September 2015 it is also a Euro6 engine, which means there is No soot out the back, even after 7 years the tail pipe is clean bare steel, with no black build up or soot on it. I have no idea if there is an issue with the turbos on these Euro6 cars I’m sure if it was that common or much of a problem they might have tweaked something but given the lack of soot out the back I suspect it’s not a problem. Also worth noting almost all my miles are motorway, I live 20 miles from the nearest anything so aside from the Tesco 1km down the road, every other journey is 20 miles +

Only ever known it to regen the DPF once about 3 years ago, and it got driven hard at high revs for the few miles the light was on to make sure I burnt off as much as I could

 

[The Panda Nut]

All 3 dirty cars are outside in the sun while I think again about how dirty they are and probably will be tomorrow.

Just put 3 dirty cars away again. I have managed to move the fire wood that was in the way of planned electrical works but Im done for a couple of days now.

 

[vexorg]

I have no idea if there is an issue with the turbos on these Euro6 cars I’m sure if it was that common or much of a problem they might have tweaked something but given the lack of soot out the back I suspect it’s not a problem.

Maybe VW were trying to con the world with their emission figures, that would cause a global outrage if true!!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

As many of you may have gathered, I'm a bit of a ditherer, especially when it comes to a subject about which I know very little. So it'll probably come as no surprise when I tell you I've been doing quite a bit of research into detailing products. I've fired off a number of letters of inquiry to manufacturers/retailers and received back a variety of recommendations. I'm also very grateful for you guy's input and value that more than anything.

However - I've stumbled across a slightly "left field" brand - Bilt Hamber - a name I've been aware of when looking at anti rust treatments. Pete Hamber himself no less, replied to my inquiry and made some very specific recommendations about which of their products might be best for me to try.

I've got less than a thimble full of shampoo left at present so I think I'll give their Auto Shampoo a go for a start: https://bilthamber.com/product/auto-wash/ Their clay attracts me too especially as it only needs water as a lube: https://bilthamber.com/product/auto-clay/ He recommends their "soft" grade unless contamination is heavy or I'm dealing with overspray, which I'm not. Then their Cleanser-polish: https://bilthamber.com/product/cleanser-polish/ and finishing off with Double Speed Wax: https://bilthamber.com/product/double-speed-wax/. The only variable I'm undecided over is as to whether to use their Korrosol: https://bilthamber.com/product/korrosol/ after the wash, before polishing. Pete didn't mention it at all so I've emailed him back asking his opinion.

I've been looking at reviews of these products and they are all very positive - haven't seen a poor review yet. Probably going to involve spending a wee bit more than I'd intended but less than filling the tank with petrol I think!

I'm finding myself "strangely attracted" to this brand, no doubt influenced by Pete's enthusiastic and detailed reply, so I'd like to ask if any of you have used this brand, especially the clay. All the other clays seem to recommend using a detailer or dilute soap to lube but this one seems to work with just water?

 

[AndyRKett]

I've been looking at reviews of these products and they are all very positive - haven't seen a poor review yet. Probably going to involve spending a wee bit more than I'd intended but less than filling the tank with petrol I think!

I'm finding myself "strangely attracted" to this brand, no doubt influenced by Pete's enthusiastic and detailed reply, so I'd like to ask if any of you have used this brand, especially the clay. All the other clays seem to recommend using a detailer or dilute soap to lube but this one seems to work with just water?

First point about online reviews is they never tell the full story. Only the most happy dedicated to the brand people leave positive reviews and the most slighted angry customers leave a negative review and for the most part the moderately happy content people go about their lives without reviewing everything.

Really the only way to find out how you will get on with something is either a trade show or stall where you can get a hands on demo or trial, or bite the bullet and spend some money.

I’d maybe by one product from an unknown brand and see how I got on with it, then expand onto something else.

To be honest car shampoo is car shampoo and I don’t buy into all the marketing hype, really anything will do, but if you detail your car you might want something that’s not going to strip all the waxes so you might want to match the brand of shampoo to the brand of wax you use.

If you’re really keen on a company or influenced by the CEOs reply, then go for it.

 

[The Panda Nut]

As many of you may have gathered, I'm a bit of a ditherer, especially when it comes to a subject about which I know very little. So it'll probably come as no surprise when I tell you I've been doing quite a bit of research into detailing products. I've fired off a number of letters of inquiry to manufacturers/retailers and received back a variety of recommendations. I'm also very grateful for you guy's input and value that more than anything.

However - I've stumbled across a slightly "left field" brand - Bilt Hamber - a name I've been aware of when looking at anti rust treatments. Pete Hamber himself no less, replied to my inquiry and made some very specific recommendations about which of their products might be best for me to try.

I've got less than a thimble full of shampoo left at present so I think I'll give their Auto Shampoo a go for a start: https://bilthamber.com/product/auto-wash/ Their clay attracts me too especially as it only needs water as a lube: https://bilthamber.com/product/auto-clay/ He recommends their "soft" grade unless contamination is heavy or I'm dealing with overspray, which I'm not. Then their Cleanser-polish: https://bilthamber.com/product/cleanser-polish/ and finishing off with Double Speed Wax: https://bilthamber.com/product/double-speed-wax/. The only variable I'm undecided over is as to whether to use their Korrosol: https://bilthamber.com/product/korrosol/ after the wash, before polishing. Pete didn't mention it at all so I've emailed him back asking his opinion.

I've been looking at reviews of these products and they are all very positive - haven't seen a poor review yet. Probably going to involve spending a wee bit more than I'd intended but less than filling the tank with petrol I think!

I'm finding myself "strangely attracted" to this brand, no doubt influenced by Pete's enthusiastic and detailed reply, so I'd like to ask if any of you have used this brand, especially the clay. All the other clays seem to recommend using a detailer or dilute soap to lube but this one seems to work with just water?

Its a good sign if the top man himself bothers to respond and a great bit of customer service. Ill be interested to hear how it goes.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Its a good sign if the top man himself bothers to respond and a great bit of customer service. Ill be interested to hear how it goes.

Yes, I think I'm leaning in their direction just now. I'll give the others a couple of days to reply just out of interest though.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Well, now I'm well impressed. I emailed Pete Hamber this morning about using the Korrosol and he quickly got back to me informing me that it's especially designed to address the problem of metallic particles - from brake discs etc - embedded in the paint. This then leaves the clay to deal with other contaminants so making the clay's job easier and making it last longer. The clay will do this but it makes the claying more of a task. He wasn't trying to pressure me into buying, just quietly giving advice. I think it may be advantageous to do this first big clean with some but then, maybe, hold back for a while on subsequent cleans.

If I go for the whole "package", shampoo, Korrosol, soft clay bar, Cleaner-polish and Double Speed wax, it's going to cost £77.75p with free shipping on orders over £60 so no shipping cost. The shampoo is highly concentrated so will likely last me for years and I shouldn't need to clay more than, say, twice a year - maybe less? so that potentially should last many treatments. I think the Korrosol decontaminating fluid will be used up quite quickly but I shouldn't need to use it very often and the polish and wax should last a good many applications. So, although a bit expensive to set myself up with it all, I think it'll work out reasonably affordable if considered over the "whole lifetime" of the products.

Just got to decide whether I want to lay out nearly £80 to get myself going with it. On the other hand I'd like to see some "serious" protection applied before the winter sets in.

 

[AndyRKett]

Just got to decide whether I want to lay out nearly £80 to get myself going with it. On the other hand I'd like to see some "serious" protection applied before the winter sets in.

These prices are not what I’d call “cheap” looking at their website, I would say they are pretty comparable to other products on the market, but other brands do have more of a reputation, more providence, that’s not to say these products are not absolutely amazing they might be the best out there. but they may also be terrible, or you find you hate them, in which case you’ve spent £80 on a load of crap.

I’d recommend getting a cheap shampoo from a good well known brand shampoo doesn’t have to cost a fortune

A bottle of autoglym (500ml) magma is the same as the Korosol, you’ll find once you’ve used it you don’t need to use it every time (it takes a long time for iron particles to build up again) you can get a bottle on Amazon for about £8-9 and you can get a clay kit for £27 that comes with polish if you want to try a clay bar.

In a position of starting with nothing I think it’s far better to go on recommendations and slowly build a set of products you like and get on with, than to spend £80 on everything all in one go, and find you don’t like it or it doesn’t work.

No disrespect to the company you’ve been talking to, but generally the head of the company’s time is taken up with more important things than replying to customer enquiries so I assume they are very small?

I don’t really want to stomp on a small company that’s trying to grow against all these bigger companies so do still buy from them if you are really impressed with what’s been said and let us all know, but perhaps don’t buy everything at once.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

These prices are not what I’d call “cheap” looking at their website, I would say they are pretty comparable to other products on the market, but other brands do have more of a reputation, more providence, that’s not to say these products are not absolutely amazing they might be the best out there. but they may also be terrible, or you find you hate them, in which case you’ve spent £80 on a load of crap.

I’d recommend getting a cheap shampoo from a good well known brand shampoo doesn’t have to cost a fortune

A bottle of autoglym (500ml) magma is the same as the Korosol, you’ll find once you’ve used it you don’t need to use it every time (it takes a long time for iron particles to build up again) you can get a bottle on Amazon for about £8-9 and you can get a clay kit for £27 that comes with polish if you want to try a clay bar.

In a position of starting with nothing I think it’s far better to go on recommendations and slowly build a set of products you like and get on with, than to spend £80 on everything all in one go, and find you don’t like it or it doesn’t work.

No disrespect to the company you’ve been talking to, but generally the head of the company’s time is taken up with more important things than replying to customer enquiries so I assume they are very small?

I don’t really want to stomp on a small company that’s trying to grow against all these bigger companies so do still buy from them if you are really impressed with what’s been said and let us all know, but perhaps don’t buy everything at once.

That's food for thought Andy, thanks. I'm not especially rooting for Bilt Hamber but it is a company I've been aware of for many years due to their involvement in stuff like rust protection and eradication products which frequently turn up being used in projects in magazines like Practical Classics etc. Reports have always been very positive and results seem good: https://bilthamber.com/ So they do seem to have credibility and a track record. I think they manufacture their own stuff or maybe have some of it manufactured for them to their specs. I don't see any evidence to support the possibility that they are a relabeling/reselling setup. This feature may interest you: https://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk...er-new-look-for-2020-same-impressive-results/

However you have a point about spending that much cash in one go on a product range I've little experience of - no experience of their detailing product in fact. I still have a little of my existing shampoo left and, of course I have my 2 bucket wash system and drying towels etc already. I'm quite keen to give their product a go though so maybe I'll buy the claybar and cleanser-polish, try it on something like the tailgate and see how I get on with that? They have a 2/3 day delivery promise so if I like it I can always then go on and buy the rest.

 

[AndyRKett]

However you have a point about spending that much cash in one go on a product range I've little experience of - no experience of their detailing product in fact. I still have a little of my existing shampoo left and, of course I have my 2 bucket wash system and drying towels etc already. I'm quite keen to give their product a go though so maybe I'll buy the claybar and cleanser-polish, try it on something like the tailgate and see how I get on with that? They have a 2/3 day delivery promise so if I like it I can always then go on and buy the rest.

I don’t think that’s a bad idea, I’d certainly be interested in how you get on with the clay bar.

They’re a legitimate chemical company so actually I don’t thing they’re getting anyone else to make their stuff, looks like they are still quite small and only been about ~15 years ?

 

[AndyRKett]

I don’t think that’s a bad idea, I’d certainly be interested in how you get on with the clay bar.

They’re a legitimate chemical company so actually I don’t thing they’re getting anyone else to make their stuff, looks like they are still quite small and only been about ~15 years ?

Autoglym do a spray that sounds a lot like the Korosol it’s called Magma when you spray it on, it reacts with iron particles and actually then turns pink so you see anywhere there is iron you get pink streaks.

This video shows what I mean and how it works.


The thing is as explained in that video if you do high miles or park near rail lines the iron contamination can be a problem. The first time you use it you’ll be shocked how much of a reaction you’ll see when you spray it on. But…

The next time you use it you’ll find a very unimpressive reaction as it takes a long time for the iron to build back up again.

If you used a product like this I think you may use it once and then not need it again for years especially if using clay a couple of times a year. So while these products are very good, you might not benefit much spending £15 on something you only use once or twice.

You can get the autoglym stuff for about £9 on Amazon right now, (smaller bottle) which is a much smaller investment to leave on the shelf.

If recommending things for someone to build a kit, I’d always start with shampoo which doesn’t have to be anything fancy and a good polish. If you then find you’re happy to spend a couple of hours washing an polishing then you can consider getting a good wax.

Wash-dry-clay-polish-wax each stage is going to add between 30-60 minutes to the process and you’ll need to be happy to dedicate that much time to the process.

My Apple Watch always thinks I’ve done a full work out after cleaning the car

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Thanks Andy. Being retired I've got time on my hands - although the grandchildren take up a lot of the slack.

I'm feeling extremely fed up right now though. I walked down to the library, to pick up a book they'd got in for me, just after posting above and when I returned Mrs J said "I can't get the satellite to work" (we have Freesat as our main viewing option). I tried it and sure enough the box showed no response, just sat there with it's red light mocking me. (it's a Humax box). So I unplugged it and went to make a cup of tea. Five minutes later I plugged it back in and it did start to spin it's hard disc so I left it to initialize for a few minutes then hit the power button and it started to wake up. Displayed the Humax logo and briefly displayed BBC1 (which was the last channel tuned to last night) Then it shut down - went to a black screen - but then started up again and showed the Humax "stuff". Then it shut down again but then started up and showed the Humax "stuff" again, then shut down again, and so on and so on. It seems to be locked into a boot up - you can hear the hard drive chattering away to itself - the only way to stop it is to pull the power plug. So I think it's dead but I'm going to do an online search to see what I can find - probably not much a simpleton like me can do though?

If it's dead the detailing money, and then some, will have to be spent on a new box I suppose.

Ah well, Chaos theory exerting itself again? Now the question will be: do we just buy another Freesat box or should we try Freeview this time round? we have a very good outside aerial and somewhat older sat dish so could go for either. Shame, I was getting quite excited thinking about how the cars would look - nice and shiny!

 

[StevenRB45]

Wash-dry-clay-polish-wax each stage is going to add between 30-60 minutes to the process and you’ll need to be happy to dedicate that much time to the process.

My Apple Watch always thinks I’ve done a full work out after cleaning the car

Got no idea where you find the time with a little-un..

Korosol/magma sounds interesting given the whole car is covered in this..legacy of being parked next to a T junction for years. All the brake particles all the time.

However realistically..I bought a none aggressive wheel cleaner to sort the wheels out (the black bits are brown in places...). That was 2 years ago pretty much now when we paid off the car. It's still sealed in the shed..

This car has literally never seen polish....one day I'll get to do it probably in preparation for selling it, or I'll crack and pay someone to fully valet the interior and correct the paint.

I like to think it gets away with it being a pastel colour, if it was a deep shade...you'd be able to see the swirl marks from space.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

If it's dead the detailing money, and then some, will have to be spent on a new box I suppose.

Apologies if I'm going off subject here, but I've commented above about my Satellite receiver so thought you might like to know the outcome?

Ah well, the Sat box would appear to be deceased. It just sits there with it's wee red light on, doing nothing. The light doesn't blink when you trigger the remote and, although you could hear the hard disc running and chittering away to itself yesterday, today there's no hard disk noises at all - total silence. I've tried all the usual quick fixes - like turning it off and on again at the plug, holding the machine mounted button down with power off and then turning the power on - all to no effect. I was on the computer yesterday looking for solutions and although some "knowledgeable" folk, with similar symptoms, had managed to get theirs working again the fixes seem to be short lived and their machines had died again within quite a short time.

So, time to bite the bullet and spend some cash, ouch! Been assessing my options and a new sat box to similar spec to the old Humax is £299 and the new one now can record 4 channels at the same time - Mrs J will like that. In fact I think one reason why the old machine failed is because she gives it a very hard life. It seems to be always recording. She has rubbish like Eastenders on permanent series record and other somewhat less rubbishy stuff too like Morse, Midsommer Murders, etc etc. Then when replaying she's forever rewinding and fast forwarding and pausing etc etc. The only problem with going down the Satellite route again is that my dish is still the old one from many years ago when we had Sky, the dish is heavily corroded and the LNB is not suitable for the new box so I'd have to add the cost of a dish and new wide band LNB - probably another £150? There's also the fact that Humax are not making Sat Boxes now and the new box was badly criticized when introduced although many of the issues seem to have now been "fixed" with software/firmware updates, however it still seems to attract adverse comment compared to my old Humax box.

So I think I'm decided I'm going to go Freeview with a Humax Aura - £279 for the 2TB disc model: https://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/freeview/humax-aura-4k-android-tv-recorder.html. With no extra costs like renewing the dish (I have a relatively new outside roof aerial) Have to say though that, being a science fiction "nut", I really liked the thought that I was viewing pictures from "outer space" on the Sat box! The plus side is that there seems to be a lot of "smart" stuff to explore on the new box, and a lot of it available for free! Looking forward to exploring that. I think it'll also be better at pushing sound to my AV amp when compared to the old box?

So I think this unexpected expense will force me to reappraise and take a carefully considered approach to my detailing purchases.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

So I think I'm decided I'm going to go Freeview with a Humax Aura - £279 for the 2TB disc model: https://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/freeview/humax-aura-4k-android-tv-recorder.html.

So, grasped the nettle, done the deed, New box due within 5 days with free 2 year guarantee and free delivery from John Lewis. Now I'm over the shock I'm very much looking forward to playing with the new toy!

 

[The Panda Nut]

Have to say though that, being a science fiction "nut",

A fellow nut, marvellous!

Sorry to hear about the sat box. I had a Ross sat box that did the same. I apporached them and they did offer to help but its just sat up there waiting to be reomoved. Was good while it lasted. (not long)

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

A fellow nut, marvellous!

Sorry to hear about the sat box. I had a Ross sat box that did the same. I apporached them and they did offer to help but its just sat up there waiting to be reomoved. Was good while it lasted. (not long)

Oh yes. Cut my teeth on E C Elliott's Kemlo books back in the '50's - I think I still have the whole set somewhere. Moved on to W E Johns space novels - Kings of Space, Death Rays Of Ardilla, etc before moving on to Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination and Robert Heinlein, Heinlein was the one who really set me alight - Starship Troopers, Have Space Suit Will Travel, Farnham's Freehold, etc and I've just never lost the "magic" of it all. It was Heinlein who cemented my fascination for military SF and I'm currently reading Miles Cameron's Artifact Space with Troy Denning's Halo Shadows of Reach and Eyal Kless's The Puzzler's War waiting "in the wings". I'm utterly incurable!

The Humax Sat box has withstood Mrs J's abuse for about 6 years I think. I'm astonished it wasn't the remote that failed first because it's buttons must have been depressed into the millions of times! I think I'll gift it to the chap who stays a couple of doors up the street from us who is deeply into his electronics and computers, I'm sure he'll enjoy fiddling with it and even if he can't make it work again he may be able to salvage components?