Vince's XM...213k and slowing....

[Deanxm]

Dont forget you bangin tunes bruv

D

[CitroJim]

I've got furry dice in the Activa

[Deanxm]

are they for measuring cornering g's?

D

[CitroJim]

They do swing about a bit...

[vince]

The X rally sounds interesting but the first show i will be making it to is the northern rally.....money, work etc

[vince]

Well today i got finished on my next "Pallas" job. A low mileage C class mercedes in silver. It was booked in for a wash, hand wax and interior clean up as it was full of dog hairs. After washing i decided it didnt need waxing, what it needed was paint cleansing as it had a few marks on it and a rust spot on the roof where a stone chip was. The product i used by hand was Meguiars Ultimate Compound as it finishes really well and cleans the paint to a nice clean lustre. I did the interior with Autoglym vinyl and rubber cleaner, Im not the biggest fan of this stuff as it finishes quite matt (i personally prefer a shiny finish) but whilst im working on customer's cars a factory finish is what i go for and this is good enough for Bentley and Aston so its good enough for me on that basis.

Done over 2 days due to weather/snow interruptions this is how it ended up...customer was chuffed with it

[Citroenmad]

That looks like a great finish Vince, like new!

The interior looks good, I prefer matt plastics rather than shiny. Ive never used Autoglym vinyl and rubber car on dashboards, might give it a go

[vince]

Chris what have you been using on dashboards? I could do with trying some other options.....the Autoglym works well but you have to follow the instructions to the letter. If you apply it and wip it over it will finish poorly. If yuou apply it with a cloth or sponge, wipe it on if that makes sense so its still quite wet and then leave it for a few minutes (whilst you do the next bit for e.g.) then go back and buff it with a dry microfibre then it comes up well. After your done give the whole lot another wipeover and it finishes like in the photo. Its ok stuff i suppose

[Citroenmad]

Because I dont like shiny dashboards I dont use a dashboard cleaner in fear of them making them shiny or greasy. I do clean the dashboards but only ever with Autoglym Fastglass (actually great for cleaning pretty much any material, I think its a superb product, does glass very well too!) and rub it over with a microfibre cloth.

It does what i want, leaves it nice and clean and matt.

[vince]

Well thats the main thing.. if you get the result you want it doesnt matter what you use to be honest. Most products are cleaners of some description or other so they will do pretty much the same job. The only thing to watch out for are acidic cleaners which could affect certain delicate materials sich as leather etc.

A mate of mine left his car at Porsche to get valeted. i dont know what the guy used but he ruined the dash finish and it ended up having to be replaced by porsche! Not something you want to happen.

[Citroenmad]

Thats true and ive not had any problems using autoglym fastglass, it seems quite a mild cleaner.

Ouch, I bet that wasnt cheap!

[Citroenmad]

Jim, if your looking for a good quick fix ready for next weekend, nip to Halfords and get some Meguiars Ultimate Compound. Its about a tenner i think....also pick up a Meguiars applicator sponge pad for about £3 i think they are, and then in Asda they sell Kent microfibre cloths in a 6 pack for £3.

You can hand apply the Ultimate Compound and work it in in a straight line pattern rather than a round and round pattern. You know when its ready to come off as you can do the swipe test with your finger, when it swipes a grease free line its ready to come off...takes about a minute or so. Use one cloth to remove the compound, then the second to buff the area. You will remove 80% of your holograms that way and it will finish up really well. Its up to you then wether you wax it or not.

Im trying to get some of this Ultimate Compound (my local Halfords has not had it in since you poasted this, ill try another tomorrow), im just wondering what wax you recommend to protect the finish after?

Couple of good videos on the product here:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/car-polis ... d_554.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was thinking about Meguiars Cleaner Liquid Wax for the wax layer. Have you tried that?

Some very good stuff on there, I'll get some on order

[Trainman]

Jim, if your looking for a good quick fix ready for next weekend, nip to Halfords and get some Meguiars Ultimate Compound. Its about a tenner i think....also pick up a Meguiars applicator sponge pad for about £3 i think they are, and then in Asda they sell Kent microfibre cloths in a 6 pack for £3.

You can hand apply the Ultimate Compound and work it in in a straight line pattern rather than a round and round pattern. You know when its ready to come off as you can do the swipe test with your finger, when it swipes a grease free line its ready to come off...takes about a minute or so. Use one cloth to remove the compound, then the second to buff the area. You will remove 80% of your holograms that way and it will finish up really well. Its up to you then wether you wax it or not.

Im trying to get some of this Ultimate Compound (my local Halfords has not had it in since you poasted this, ill try another tomorrow), im just wondering what wax you recommend to protect the finish after?

Couple of good videos on the product here:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/car-polis ... d_554.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was thinking about Meguiars Cleaner Liquid Wax for the wax layer. Have you tried that?

Some very good stuff on there, I'll get some on order

Chris,

Let me know if you can't get any and I will try over here for you

[Citroenmad]

Chris,

Let me know if you can't get any and I will try over here for you

Thanks Steve

I want it for this weekend ideally so im going to try another place today. If I didn't want it so soon I would order it from that website, as they are reaonsbaly priced and have all sorts of things. Ill order some stuff anyway I think.

[vince]

Hi Chris,

The next wax i will be buying is Collinite 476....its the most protective wax/sealant on the market. Its cheap too....you can find it on cleanyourcar.com Normally i use Meguiars Tec Wax its amazing stuff and ive used it for years.....i cant see myself ever stopping using it altogether as its that good (also available from halfords) but the collinite has the best long term protection by far.....also Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection is a good sealant, but works best after using Super Resin Polish....