THE Fiesta Detailing Thread

[Michael P]

If it makes a difference in your decision, 3M smells of cherry but also the container is pretty crappy for pouring as it is veeeery runny and just pours out like water.

Hmm, pouring like water cannot be a good thing....choices choices!!

[thesilverfox]

The 3M stuff is a third of the price of the DoDo Juice. I know what I'll be trying next.

FWIW, 3M have free delivery from their own site at the moment.

[Michael P]

The 3M stuff is a third of the price of the DoDo Juice. I know what I'll be trying next.

FWIW, 3M have free delivery from their own site at the moment.

Cheers for that :)

[Michael P]

Also i have lots of microfibre cloths and the foam pad things that could do with a wash, how would i go about doing this ?? :)

[Gazjs]

Also i have lots of microfibre cloths and the foam pad things that could do with a wash, how would i go about doing this ?? :)

I use pink Woolite for my microfibres and usually just buy new pads/applicators but i imagine fairy liquid would do the trick if well rinsed out.

[thesilverfox]

I shove stuff in the washing machine at 40 degrees, making sure NOT to use fabric softener.

[Magenta]

By the American stuff - you probably mean Meguairs. They make several good products - the only two I use myself are the NXT metal polish and their excellent tyre dressing. If Halfords still have their 3 for 2 on, it's worth picking some products up in there and then finding the rest from an online detailing supplier such as I4D, Ultimate Finish or Clean Your Car.

Megs gold class wash has good reviews generally and so does their clay kit. However - things like their paint cleansing system and polishes seem to be out performed by other (and cheaper) brands.

As greeny says - it's all down to budget really. A comprehensive detailing set up can pass £500 easy, but at the same time the basics can be had for £100.

Absolute essentials as far as I'm concerned -

High quality shampoo (Dodo Born to be Mild or Sour Pour or Supernatural, Megs Gold Class or similar)

Microfibre or lambswool washmitt (Dodo Wookie's fist or my favourite - the Megs microfibre mitt)

Large drying towel (Dodo Supernatural, Sonus or similar)

Good hard wax (Autoglym High Def, the relevant Dodo wax based on your car's colour, or Dodo Supernatural all spring to mind)

Tyre dressing (Megs or Blackfire)

A good number of decent microfibre cloths

A few foam applicators

Then to be considered -

Snow foam lance and foam for a pressure washer

Two buckets - both with grit guards

Citrus prewash

Wheel cleaner (ACID FREE - Bilberry or AG Customer wheel cleaner for example)

All purpose cleaner (Megs' is great)

Degreaser/machine cleaner (Megs again, Autoglym works ok)

Detailing clay (Sonus green or Dodo Supernatural) and lube (Dodo Born Slippy)

Paint cleanser/primer (Dodo Lime Prime)

Quick detailer (Dodo Red Mist, Megs Last Touch)

Machine polisher

Excuse my ignorance but what is detailing clay ? To my horror I have acquired a couple of stone chips on the bonnet of my year-old Fiesta (Hot Magenta) and want to know the best way to deal with them other than taking the car into Fords bodyshop. Advice appreciated.

[greenymk7]

personally i would leave stone ships to the experts, you can get touch up sticks but they don't always match well.

A detailing clay is something you use to take sandy deposits out of the cars paint work. used with a lubricant it will make your paintwork feel perfectly smooth before putting any wax or sealant on the car

[Tyrefryer]

Excuse my ignorance but what is detailing clay ?

[Michael P]

I use pink Woolite for my microfibres and usually just buy new pads/applicators but i imagine fairy liquid would do the trick if well rinsed out.

I shove stuff in the washing machine at 40 degrees, making sure NOT to use fabric softener.

Cheers mateys :)

[aph1101]

Hi all,

Couple of things....first of all, got out of the car today to take the L plates off and on the bonnet, to my horror, I found that my idiot of a cat had taken it upon himself to jump onto the bonnet the previous night and scratch the bonnet to hell It's not that bad but there are at least 3 or 4 medium to light scratches of about 2-4 inches each on the bonnet.

I am absolutely gutted to find the first damage to the car after spending so much time protecting, and taking care of it. Needless to say, I would like to get rid of the scratches as much as possible. It isn't worth a machine polisher, so I thought about getting some lime prime. However, when looking on I4D I saw words like micro-abrasive and that scared me somewhat. After all that wordy garbage, I was wondering whether I could do more damage than good with lime prime and whether LP lite would be better.

I also want to re-stock myself for the easter detail so would like to use the lime prime (lite) on the rest of the car as a cleanser/wax stripper.

Second of all, I would like to run by you all my list of prospective goodies:

I4D Tyre gloss - has anyone got any experience of this?

I4D MF Cloths 12x

I4D drying towel

DJ Lime prime (lite?)

Apologies for the wordiness of my post and any answers would be appreciated :D

[Michael P]

Needless to say, I would like to get rid of the scratches as much as possible.

Shoot the cat??

[thesilverfox]

Shoot the cat??

Trim its claws ... shouldn't scratch surfaces, unless the cat thinks it's slipping (quite possible on a shining car)

[Michael P]

Trim its claws ... shouldn't scratch surfaces, unless the cat thinks it's slipping (quite possible on a shining car)

Failing that, a paraplegic cat must be just a little bit funny.

OR you could try....no, i'm no good at useful advise.

[aph1101]

Shoot the cat??

!Removed! tempted last night

[Gazjs]

Well today I went upto Halfords for some shampoo that I didnt think I needed

I ended up buying some Zymol and I have to say it is really good stuff, much better than I though it would be. Lovely coconut smell to it aswell. Bubbled up very well and there were even suds left in the bucket at the end of the wash, sheeted off the car perfectly and lifted everything I needed it to.

While I was getting this I noticed that there was a 3 for 2 offer on. Now my mum owns a taxi and i never have enough time to give it a good wax without it needing to go out. So i bought some AG Aqua Wax not expecting much at all really, and WOW, this stuff really does the trick for a quick protection. I had applied some hard candy to the bonnet just last week so i tested the beading and sheeting difference and to be honest i could see no difference in beading or sheeting! i suppose durability will allow the hard candy to be the winner though.

To finish off the 3 for 2 i got some AG vinyl and rubber care which i have yet to try out.

AQUA WAX BEADING ..

HARD CANDY BEADING ..

End result of clean ..

[Amie07]

!Removed! tempted last night

A few days after getting my new car next doors cat took a fancy to it and decided it would make a nice new seat, luckilly i spotted him and went out and lifted him off so gently even though i felt like throwing him off (and i'm a vegetarian and cat lover!) Strangely he never ever sat on my old scratched to bits fiesta tho! :o

[aph1101]

Thanks to Michael P, I've decided to buy my first clay. I've already decided on the lube, but am not sure really which clay to get. At the moment, I am veering towards I4D Uber Lime Ultra Fine Detailing Clay . For a 4 or 5 month old car with 6k miles on it, would this be a reasonable clay to get?

Thanks :)

[Torque]

Sonus Ultra fine detailing clay is all that I've ever used and this sampler kit will give you a good taster.

Re the lube; when you rinse off your wash don't dry it go straight to claying and then the water acts as a lube, you may need a little bit for areas that have dried out but you'll save quite a bit :)

A place that I've just started using and I'd like to mention to fellow detailers out there this place; excellent service, quick, free delivery and order complete.

[Gazjs]

Does anyone know of any other good detailing websites apart from the following

CYC

I4D

The Ultimate Finish

In a bit of a situation when i am having to use all three to complete my list of products and i am not keen on 3 lots of postage

I4D is where most of my stuff is coming from with TUF providing my BH Auto clay and CYC my CG new look trim gel.

[aph1101]

Does anyone know of any other good detailing websites apart from the following

CYC

I4D

The Ultimate Finish

In a bit of a situation when i am having to use all three to complete my list of products and i am not keen on 3 lots of postage

I4D is where most of my stuff is coming from with TUF providing my BH Auto clay and CYC my CG new look trim gel.

If you're a member of detailing world forums, they have a section for approved detailers, and there is a list on there of websites such as CYC and I4D and there are reviews/praise (or otherwise) for each trader. Hope that helps :D

Linky: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=29

[Torque]

Does anyone know of any other good detailing websites apart from the following

CYC

I4D

The Ultimate Finish

In a bit of a situation when i am having to use all three to complete my list of products and i am not keen on 3 lots of postage

I4D is where most of my stuff is coming from with TUF providing my BH Auto clay and CYC my CG new look trim gel.

Detailing World

Autobright, although not strictly a forum

Detail addiction

Motorgeek, not a forum but some good guides and some items that you'll struggle to find elsewhere

Polished Bliss, blog / guides / products

[pouly]

A few days after getting my new car next doors cat took a fancy to it and decided it would make a nice new seat, luckilly i spotted him and went out and lifted him off so gently even though i felt like throwing him off (and i'm a vegetarian and cat lover!) Strangely he never ever sat on my old scratched to bits fiesta tho!

you lucky girl i had next doors cat jump off my garage roof and put 2 tram lines the full length of my roof

[Strutter]

Hello, quick question for yas.

As recommened here I got the meguires gold shampoo and then waxed a layer of auto glym super resin, then on top of that a layer of the high definition stuff.

Question is how long should that last on it? Also seeing as the dirt just lifts off now, is their a way to remove the dirt to quickly clean it up again, without removing the wax too much?

[Gazjs]

Hello, quick question for yas.

As recommened here I got the meguires gold shampoo and then waxed a layer of auto glym super resin, then on top of that a layer of the high definition stuff.

Question is how long should that last on it? Also seeing as the dirt just lifts off now, is their a way to remove the dirt to quickly clean it up again, without removing the wax too much?

The AG High Def should last a good few months. You will notice when it is starting to remove as the water will not beed or sheet as easy.

Meguiars Gold Class will not affect the Wax so dont worry about how much you wash it :P