Where do I start?

safrane

Member
Messages
16,714
Water Blades are a NO NO...One speck of grit and you drag it across your lovely car causing long scratches.

Just use old towels (but not your other halfs bath towels)
 

BennyD

Sea Urchin Pate
Messages
14,992
Water Blades are a NO NO...One speck of grit and you drag it across your lovely car causing long scratches.

Just use old towels (but not your other halfs bath towels)

Really, why not? I'm certainly not going to use mine! :D
 
Messages
1,116
I'd love to take Cheshire's approach, but I find that if I start on the GT by the time I'm half way there it's either

a) Too bloody hot and everything dries instantly
b) raining.

I'd love a shaded car port

C

Well I have been caught out occasionally with the weather - started off fine but then clouds over and starts to rain. Nothing I can do. I don't have a shaded car port.

On the other hand these is something that can be done if its too hot and the car dries quickly leaving spots of lime on the paintwork (if its a hard water area). To overcome this problem in very hot weather when I feel I will tire out easily in the heat, I give a final rinse with a water softener that takes out all minerals - Zero PPM - the car is rinsed and left to dry off naturally and not one single spot or lime streak anywhere. Then when its cooler (same day) I do the wax treatment to build up the layer of wax. If I threw a pint glass of water at the Maser or the Porsche, the water will just bead off and leave itself dry - such is the water repellancy of multiple layers of wax.

I use this water softener:
http://www.raceglaze.co.uk/race-glaze/400-litre-0ppm-car-washing-filter/

Initial price seems dear, but consider that another cheaper product at £60 has (a) a poor aspect ratio so does not have the same softening capacity for a given flow rate as this one and (b) has to be thrown away once the resin is "spent" where this pone can be refilled with fresh resin for £45. A call to them first will establish how hard your water area is and if this product is suitable. Found them very helpful over the phone. Don't buy the connectors from them - they are cheaper at DIY stores such as Wilko. Even the wheels when rinsed with water passed through this apparatus dry spotless.

I spend around 4-6 hours on each car every month in the spring/summer months - but only one car per session.
Its something that gives me pleasure to see the fruits of my labour - and that pint of water thrown on the car test is really stunning for many people - when they see it beads off and dries spotless in a few minutes never showing any signs that water had been thrown at it!
 

jasst

Member
Messages
2,313
I couldn't believe it when I drove past my local polish car wash on sat, and there was a new Bentley Bentayga being washed, obviously spent so much buying it he cant afford to get it cleaned professionally!!
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
Thanks for the further replies. I've sent an email to sportscarprotection, and am slowly building up a wish list of products I need to buy... It's looking like it will be expensive initially, but then again, putting 3 cars through the local hand car wash would cost me £50+ a week, so it will payback eventually.

Do any of you have views on pressure washers and snow foam lances? From a bit of research it appears Kranzle are the best pressure washers, but are very expensive. I'm guessing I may be more of a Karcher or Nilfisk type of guy...
 

m1980k

Junior Member
Messages
467
I use a pressure washer and Angelwax Fastfoam. If you get it nice and thick so the foam sits on the bodywork and slides off slowly, it takes practically all the dirt off when you rinse. DO NOT get a Karcher K2. They're garbage. I'd only used my about eight times when I smelled burning and the washer was lit up like a lantern. I hear good things about the Nilfisk ones you can pick up for about a hundred quid.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,480
Thanks for the further replies. I've sent an email to sportscarprotection, and am slowly building up a wish list of products I need to buy... It's looking like it will be expensive initially, but then again, putting 3 cars through the local hand car wash would cost me £50+ a week, so it will payback eventually.

Do any of you have views on pressure washers and snow foam lances? From a bit of research it appears Kranzle are the best pressure washers, but are very expensive. I'm guessing I may be more of a Karcher or Nilfisk type of guy...

I've got a little Nilfisk that I got from Maplin of all places. I think it was about £50 or something in a sale.

Autobrite direct foam lance and snow foam is the dogs danglies.

C
 

outrun

Member
Messages
5,017
Indeed Jon, what Peter (Safrane) says is true, treat it to a proper detailing and even a 'paint correction' in the right hands it will transform the car to better than new. Don't know where you are in the world but have a chat with Dave Bowerman at Sportscar Protection to get an idea what you are letting yourself in for. I have been known to offer master classes at various SM events but I have also been known to lead convoys up gravel roads!!!!

Ha!

Still finding bits of tar...
 

CLRut

Member
Messages
120
Thanks all, much appreciated (and special thanks to Cheshire for such a comprehensive answer)

3/4s of my car is covered in PPF, and one of the things on my list now that I've bought a little run around is to get the car booked in to a decent detailer who can take off the PPF, and replace it with a really high quality crystal protection... Once I've done this, I'm hoping I can gradually learn to keep it looking slick and span on my own...

Jon - I would echo a lot of comments in here about getting a really good detailing at the outset; just had mine done at Reep Midlands using GTechniq Crystal Serum Black and am very pleased with the outcome. It was not cheap, but was intensive and has left the car looking stunning - and also easily cleaned on a regular basis. To do this I have a foam lance on a decent Nilfisk, using Bilt Hamber snow foam. I then hose this off with a plain hose and either use the two bucket approach with a ph-neutral shampoo or simply dry off the water with an absorbant microfibre towel. Reep recommend Koch Chemie products to go with the GTechniq which is what I intend to use going forward.

The clay bar/multiple polish option is great fun and rewarding to do and I did it for about 4-5 years, each 6 months, on the TVR. The benefits can still be seen some 6-7 yrs hence, but it was very time consuming and I regrettably don't have that kind of spare time any longer :)
 

spkennyuk

Member
Messages
5,919
If your going down the do it yourself detailing route then PM me and i can give you a run down of what you will need. A decent DA and 3 stage polish kit can be had for around £150 if you know where to get them from.

In addition to your choice of shampoo and wax or sealant then you will need a wash mitt clay bar for small details and intricate areas and a farclay clay mitt for the main body of the car. Much faster than claying the whole car and just as effective.

Snow foam and other bits and pieces can be added later.

Halfords usually have a 3 for 2 offer on so you could get a clay mitt, meguires gold shampoo and say Nxt exhaust polish or a decent fluffy wash mitt for £20.
 

spkennyuk

Member
Messages
5,919
If your going down the do it yourself detailing route then PM me and i can give you a run down of what you will need. A decent DA and 3 stage polish kit can be had for around £150 if you know where to get them from.

In addition to your choice of shampoo and wax or sealant then you will need a wash mitt clay bar for small details and intricate areas and a farclay clay mitt for the main body of the car. Much faster than claying the whole car and just as effective.

Snow foam and other bits and pieces can be added later.

Halfords usually have a 3 for 2 offer on so you could get a clay mitt, meguires gold shampoo and say Nxt exhaust polish or a decent fluffy wash mitt for £20.

Link here to the thread i did on a 4200 detailing.

http://www.sportsmaserati.co.uk/showthread.php/20869-Detailing-4200?highlight=Detailing+4200

I spent a couple of days last week repeating the process.

20160720_213231.jpg

The picture above is on an alfa i did so it gives you an idea of what can be achieved gloss and reflection wise with different colour cars and different products.

This picture is an alfa 166. The paintwork hadnt been touched for years by previous owners but you can see with a bit of effort and the right equipment you can transform tired paint.

20170719_171529.jpg
 

safrane

Member
Messages
16,714
I think the OP just wants to wash the car...and here we are convincing him to become a pro detailer... he'll be back at the Kosovan Kar wash soon!
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
Thanks all - I'm taking the car into Sportscar Protection in Surrey tomorrow morning to see what they think is needed. This is the outfit that Newton suggested, and having looked up various reviews for them they seem to do a bunch of work for, and are well regarded by, the Owners Club for Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin.

I suspect with taking the film off, doing a paint correction, and applying a really good layer of protection, this might be my first chunky bill with the Maserati... However, it will be good to get her in tip top shape, and looking sparkly before I start trying to keep her clean myself.

Thanks for all the suggestions on what I need - I'm not sure I'm ready yet for a 3 stage DA and polishing kit!
 

highlander

Member
Messages
5,212
£350 and you can have a good DA, Polish, wax, pressure machine, snow foam........just need 3 days to get to this point.
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