Detailing discussion...

[redmeat]

Great post but life's too short for all that messing about.

£3 for the drive through does me

Thank Christ, thought it was just me thinking that.

[Shewie]

Great post but life's too short for all that messing about.

£3 for the drive through does me

Thank Christ, thought it was just me thinking that.

Don't get me wrong, I understand people take a lot of pride in their motors and for some it's their profession. I've been driving company lease cars for the last 12 years and have probably become lazy, I do like a shiney clean car but nowadays I just wet it down and then wash with the old bucket and sponge, a quick chamois and a polish maybe once a month if it's lucky. I'll probably say I'm pretty obseive about having clean alloys though, seeing a nice motor with the wheels caked in dust does my head in.

When I was younger in the Max Power days, I admit to spending quite a bit of time making either my Escort RS, XR2 or R5 GT as good as I could get it. But now I have to give the cars back after three years I'm a bit more reluctant to give the time the cars probably deserve.

[gavmac89]

I suppose its up to your own preference, I quite enojy taking some time on the car and making a good job as you get to see the end product and there is a sense of satisfaction at the end and if something goes wrong you only have yourself to blame i.e big swirl marks from a sponge or worse damage to the paint work from a drive through!

[alanstead]

I enjoy getting the car super shiney, its part of being enthusiastic about your motor and taking pride in what you've bought. My Rocs my first ever new car and I saved dam hard for it, I think alot of people out there have company cars or plenty cash and just arent bothered about there motor! Shame on you!! The car wash, oh dear, or worse, the immigrant car wash! Poor car.

[gavmac89]

This is my first new car too, I have got it through my work but I get the option to buy after 3 years which I probably will. Although it is company leased I will treat it as if its mine and after the 3 years I can add some nice mods to it. To be honest I dont see the point in spending 20 grand on a very nice car and sticking it through a drive through!

[redmeat]

This is my first new car too, I have got it through my work but I get the option to buy after 3 years which I probably will. Although it is company leased I will treat it as if its mine and after the 3 years I can add some nice mods to it. To be honest I dont see the point in spending 20 grand on a very nice car and sticking it through a drive through!

Don't get me wrong, I like seeing my car looking clean and smart but the thought of spending hours and hours claying, waxing and polishing (what's all that about?) leaves me cold.
At the end of the day, as much as I love my Roc, it's a working vehicle and gets washed when it's dirty and waxed when I've got nothing better to do (about twice a year max).
I can understand people spending all that time if they're into showing etc, but for me if it ends up a little dull with a couple of swirls after three years then I'm not going to lose any sleep as I'll probably be getting rid anyway.

[alanstead]

Lucky you, I'm looking after mine cos I'm gonna have to keep it for ages to justify buying it new!! And the better I look after it, the more I'll get for it when I eventually do sell. As you say, I suppose some people see their car as an interest, and other people just have it as you say as a working car. Mines for weekends and holidays, so spends most its time in the garage staying clean!

[autoperfection]

We seem to have created a bit of a divide!

We're not saying that everyone has to look after their car this way - we haven't put this post up with the intention that everyone must follow it! We're simply trying to help out those of you who do want to look after your cars in the right way

[alanstead]

Right ways the only way!! Excellent guide guys.

[redmeat]

We seem to have created a bit of a divide!

We're not saying that everyone has to look after their car this way - we haven't put this post up with the intention that everyone must follow it! We're simply trying to help out those of you who do want to look after your cars in the right way

No divide at all.
Horses for courses and all that.
I would be interested to see whether maintaining a car to this degree has any significant impact on residual values....somehow I suspect not, however if that's your bag, go for your life.

[dtsfan2k]

An excellent post guys and definitely something I'll be going to once I get the Roc (Not ordered yet, but should have it in by the end of the month. So a May delivery I guess, good time to get that initial clean).

I think it's a great idea to give the routine in its entirity as you can tailor it to your particular routine. In my case, my work shifts are all over the place, so makes it very difficult to fit in cleaning. Can't say that I'll be able to keep to the regime 100%, but I'll definitely be doing the lot once the car is finally in my possession. From then on, I will try and go through the cleaning process every couple of months, although I will admit, Winter will be difficult to keep to it, not so much that it's cold, but that it rains 90% of the time! All I can say is, I will try my best to clean the car when the opportunity arises!

[alanstead]

Def helps at resale cos your car dont look tired and worn out, but I do cos I spend all my time cleaning and cleaning! Its OCD, I cant help it. All my previous cars have been super well looked after and sold in minutes, often without even advertising. My friend that dont bother much, always get stuck with his and never gets what he wants for them, cos there not that great nick. If you were looking at a second hand motor and theres a clean shiney one with no scratches and spotless interior, or one with swirl marks and worn interior, what would you go for. It may not affect price alot, but they def shift quicker. In my opinion I must add.

Alan (OCD sufferer)

[trix]

To save Taryn & Jim's comprehensive guide getting lost in a 2BM or carwash debate I'm moved it to here so you can discuss to your hearts content...

There are no right or wrong ways to clean your car everyone has different amounts of time spare & does it/or doesn't do it for their own reasons.

I personally didn't look after my previous car much it was lucky to get washed twice a year, it had been a company car before I got it so it was never loved & I never had the impetus to do it. As I the roc is my first new car & I plan on keeping it for a considerable amount of time I have more reason to protect it & keep it as well as I can for as long as I can (before I get bored)

S

[RW1]

For me,

Weekly or more frequently:
Wash car just after it rains.
1 dollop from 5 ltrs Halfords Advanced Car Wash in a bucket of 10 litres of water.
2 cheap bright yellow 99p sponges from Halfords. (1 = body, 1 = wheels)
1 Halfords "black lamb's tail" brush (lovely woolly thing) to get on the inside of wheels.
Rinse off with stored rain water.
1 Autoglym shammy to finish off to a dry state..

Six weekly after washing as above:

Rain-X on windows, lights and side mirrors.
then
One micro-fibre foam pad applicator
One Grand Blitz Wax (applied when weather is slightly damp air)

Tescos microfibre cloths (3 for £1.50) to shine off.
For final touch, Cotton rags each 0.25m square made from cutting a bed top sheet cotton flannelette (soft furry feel).

This has worked a treat for years and requires not too much effort to maintain a very presentable car in every day use. Paintwork remains like new, no marks, no scratches etc.

I also use other "methods" on my show cars with show & shine products such as DoDoJuice and Maguires but for daily use these don't last the course and need a fair amount work to maintain their just applied appearance from experience on a dialy run around.

C.

[autoperfection]

Not wishing to argue, but I have to disagree with one of the points made about Dodo Juice and Meguiars not lasting... it's not because they're not durable enough to stand up to daily use - it's because you're using a cheap shampoo from Halfords. The shampoos you can buy in bulk aren't wax friendly, as in, they're not pH neutral. They do a very good job of getting the car clean, but this is because they strip everything off, including the wax and/or sealant.

To get the best out of any car care products, they need to be maintained in the right way. Using a pH neutral shampoo will get the car nice and clean, but it won't eat at the wax, which means the car stays shinier for longer

Taryn

[gavmac89]

Is the Lusso Oro wax hard or soft and how long will it last for?

Gavin

[autoperfection]

It's a soft wax - if you apply two thin coats to start with and you've done a good prep before the wax is applied, it should last up to 3 - 4 months without having to reapply. We recommend topping it up once a month though, just to keep the shiny gloss and protection topped up.

Hope this helps

Taryn and Jim

[alanstead]

Hi Taryn and Jim, out of interest what shampoo would you use which is acid free? I use HD wax on my car and snow foam it with bilt hamber every two weeks, then lambswool it with autoglym bodywork shampoo, yes, I am an Autoglym fan! This seems to work as the wax is lasting very well so far. But I'm always up for trying new products so any suggestions welcome!

Alan

[autoperfection]

Our all time favourite shampoo is Lusso Auto Bathe
http://www.autoperfection.com/shop/Luss ... 237ml.html

It's a great shampoo that is pH neutral, so won't touch any wax or product that's already on the car. It adds a real deep, gloss to the paintwork and smells delicious too (coconuts)! You use one cap-full to a 20 litre bucket, which makes it an excellent value for money product in terms of dilution ratios and it suds up nicely with loads of thick bubbles.

A good alternative is Dodo Juice Born to be Mild, which again, is a good pH neutral shampoo. It's smells good (not quite as nice as coconuts, but pretty close!) but it doesn't tend to suds up as much as the Auto Bathe.
http://www.autoperfection.com/shop/Dodo ... 250ml.html

Hope this helps

Taryn and Jim

[alanstead]

Cheers guys, will be ordering soon!