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 Post subject: Winter Car Detailing
 Post Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 2:46 pm 
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Sparkplug
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Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:45 am
Posts: 16
Location: Preston
Vehicle: Nissan
model: Qashqai NTEC+
edition: 1% GTR!
Ive had quite a few messages asking for advice on what products to use / how to detail your car over the winter period, after all no one wants to stand out in the cold for 5 hours feezing you Christmas novelty boxers off!

Hopefully most of you will have done a deep clean and protection of your car and be looking for quick and simple tips to go forward with it. If you haven't done this yet......look through my tips and how to guides for help, or if you simply dont have time then you may be able to use some of this advice to get some work done brfore the real cold hits us.

So why is it important to get some good protection on your car?

Two reasons really...the main one - salt and muck over the winter causes corrosion, and it will get into everywhere! Stone chips, scratches, kerbed wheels - salty water will find the easiest route to ruining your paintwork, and ultimately cost you money in your pocket to getting it sorted. The second reason to putting some effort in is that using good products in the first place actually makes washing the car after easier. LOTS easier!!!

Lets start with the Interior - leather and fabric does not like water, especially not salty water!!

Start with a good quality leather cleaner / conditioner and clean the leather up - you will be surprised at what can come off!

This is what I use for all cars:

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And the results speak for themselves...

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Dont forget the interior fabrics and trim too. I can highly recommend Autobrite's FAB cleaner. This was after a 'used VW' had been prepped by the dealership for a customer...

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For protecting interior leather once its been cleaned and conditioned - I can highly recommend G|Techniq products:

I1 for fabrics:

http://gtechniq.com/shop/3s-for-cars/in ... rt-fabric/

L1 for Leather:

http://gtechniq.com/shop/3s-for-cars/in ... her-guard/

The best way of applying the sealants onto leather Ive found, is to use a foam applicator (http://www.monzacarcare.com/special-off ... r-pads/48/) with the product sprayed on, then wipe it over your leather. Allow to dry and do the same again, wipe any excess away with a microfibre cloth. Don't forget your arm rests and any door cars that have this on (and if your posh enough - leather dashboard! :wink: ) The fabric sprays are simply a case of spraying and wiping over the surfaces with a clean microfibre. 2 coats will see you through 3-4 months easily.

So thats the interior ready for winter - now the exterior.

Waxes or Sealants? Whats the best for winter? What one will last longer??!!! The easiest way to understand what they are is like this - waxes are made up of lots of oils, natural products and of course wax, Sealants are chemical based water repelling liquid solutions with gloss enhancers that bond to your paintwork. As pure waxes are made up of natural products, salt eats into them faster and degrades them quicker than a sealant too. To give some positives back to waxes - manufacturers are creating 'Hybrid' wax and sealants that offer wax based application and looks, with sealant properties so that they last longer than normal waxes, and sheet water in the way that sealants do.

Sealants are very much 'the modern way' of protecting your car - and for good reason. They are easier to apply, they make the car easier to clean in the future, dirt and salt sticks less to a sealed car, and finally most sealants are not affected by temperature conditions when you apply them (the cold and heat vastly affect how you apply waxes, how long they take to cure and how easy they are to buff off) so for me, the best choice for winter is a sealant based Last Step Product (LSP). A great example of the difference visually between a sealant and a wax is with this. The bonnet is my daily driver Note, with 3 different products applied it. As you look at the bonnet - the two waxes sit in the left and middle of the bonnet, with the sealant on the right:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx6bTlJtcxg[/youtube]

Before applying any LSP (wax or sealant) its best to give the car a quick polish first. Now waxes are generally happy to sit and work over any sort of polish - I can highly recommend Auto Finesse Tripple, and Auto Finesse Rejuvenate (as they are dead easy to apply by hand or machine) and buff off spectacularly easily. Both leave paintwork clean and ready for a wax to be applied. Sealants are slightly fussier however. The sealant products ill recommend below will work fine over both of the above polishes, but the length of time that they work for is compromised by around a third as the oils in the polishes stop the sealant from bonding properly to the paintwork. The best way to apply a sealant (for maximum protection) is on completely clean paintwork. If you do use a polish under a sealant, clean it afterwards with an alcohol based cleaner (IPA / GTechniq Panel Wipe / CarPro Eraser are 3 products for this purpose) Alternatively, use a polish thats designed to work under sealants providing maximum bonding power whilst offering a level of gloss too. My personal choice is Auto Finesse Tough Prep:

http://www.monzacarcare.com/pre-wax-cle ... leanser/0/

For applying any polishes by hand - I find tri-core foam pads are excellent and speed up application:

http://www.monzacarcare.com/applicator- ... tor-pad/0/

If applying polishes by DA - either a Green, White or Black Hex Logic pad is best

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing ... at_82.html

Spray on Sealants - these are very easy to use, and I can highly recommend them if you want to be done as fast as possible and back inside before your Sunday roast.

Image

The 3 above are:

Auto Finesse Tough Coat - 3 months protection
G|Techniq c2v3 - up to 8 months protection
CarPro Reload - up to 3 months protection

The Gtechniq and CarPro products offer outstandingly easy application and looks - both offer fantastic looks and great protection when used neat onto your car (ill come back to this in a minute as both can be watered down) This is how easy they are to use:

http://gtechniq.com/shop/3s-for-cars/ex ... silo-seal/

Although the product is slightly different to the ones mentioned above, application is exactly the same and equally easy. 20 minutes and your whole car is done. These products can be applied on wheels, chrome, plastic, rubber trim (Reload actually darkens it like a full blown trim sealant) - 2 coats is best to ensure full coverage.

The Auto Finesse Tough Coat sealant is slightly different in application, in that you spray the product onto a foam applicator (like the ones mentioned above in the interior section) and apply it over the car like a wax, a few pannels at a time - in circular motions. It buffs off REALLY easily once hazed and looks great. Again - 2 coats are best.

If you prefer a wax style application - I can highly recommend DoDo Juice Supernatural Hybrid.

Image

It is a wax / sealant hybrid product - that is applied exactly like a wax, and buffs off VERY easily indeed. its the product in the video above sheeting water away. It lasts around 6 months, can be applied over any polish, and also can be used on wheels / exhausts to aid protection on there too.

Maybe you want even more protection still.......you can apply a wax over over a sealant, but not the other way around. I use the Gtechniq c2 with Bouncers Satsuma Rock over the top for my winter details, this has the potential for up to 12 months protection... 8)

Once you car bodywork is protected, all that is required is a regular wash down with a pressure washer, some snow foam (Valet Pro Advanced PH Neutral - http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-a ... _1087.html) and a quick wash with a PH Neutral shampoo (I use one of the following - Car Chem Luxury, Autobrite Banana gloss or Auto Finesse Lather) and it will leave the car gleaming. If you want to remove water spots, whilst adding more protection, I tend to do a quick spray and wipe around the car using either Reload or the C2 product and the car comes up like new again - basically these act like a QD but use more product, alternatively both can also be watered down to be used like a QD - although this obviously dilutes the protection levels too. If you want a dedicated Quick Detailer (removes water spots, finger prints etc..) Sonax Brilliant shine Detailer is a stunning product
( http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/detailing ... _1178.html) It also adds a small layer of protection too. If you have a really filthy car - use a citrus pre-wash (before you snow foam) around the lower areas and filthy bits of car. I use this (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/valeting- ... d_728.html) Valet Pro Citrus pre-wash through a garden pump sprayer to do the job. Careful with these around chrome trims as they can mark if left on them for too long. This can be polished out however with some hard work!

Wheels:

Wheels take the brunt of salt and muck off the roads - and it is very important to use either a dedicated wheel sealant or a suitable wax / sealant product for long term protection. Make sure that they are clean first -

Use good quality wheel brushes:

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And a Mitt:

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Also for speed - use a quality wheel cleaner with fallout remover. I use Car-Chem Revolt - its and OUTSTANDING cleaner and fallout remover in one.

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Remove any tar on the wheels to make sure they clean - Autosmart Tardis is outstanding for this on wheels and bodywork:

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And you are good to go with your wheel protection once you have dried wiped down your wheels.

The market leader in sealants for wheels is Gtechniq C5 wheel armour:

http://gtechniq.com/shop/3s-for-cars/ex ... el-armour/

This last up to 18 months on your wheels - and makes cleaning of them a doddle going foreward (a simple shampoo and wash mitt is all thats needed)

Another highly recommended product is CarPro Dlux wheel sealant

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/carpro-cq ... jnh7uqbop0

However, maybe you dont have time (it takes a while for these sealants to cure fully) or don't want to spend that sort of money on a wheel sealant?

I can recommend Planet Polish Wheel Seal and Shine very highly, (http://www.planetpolish.com/index.php?m ... ducts_id=5) however in winter, salt can affect it's performance and it lasts around 2 months.

Other products that work very well on wheels, yet they are also great for bodywork (so an all in one product) are:

FK1000P sealant (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/ ... d_589.html)

and

Collinite 845 Insulator Wax (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/colli ... d_208.html)

Both of the above products will work on wheels, chrome, exhausts and bodywork through winter and beyond (around 3-4 months). Application of both on bodywork in cold weather can be a little tricky though, with application of only one panel at a time so that you can buff them off easily enough.

Once your wheels are sealed, they provide a barrier against brake dust and salt, and future washing requires little more that warm soapy water and a wash mitt to remove the offending dirt. wheel cleaners and harsher chemicals will start to break down the wheel protection, so these should be avoided as much as possible.

A tyre dressing finishes off the look - GTechniq T1 is my favourite - and it lasts around 2 weeks and looks great too.

Image


So their you have it. Protection inside and out, and a handy guide to looking after the car going forward :)

Its worth noting that some of these chemicals we use are quite strong, and using some good quality latex / nitrille gloves is a good idea, plus it helps keep your hands warm in the cold! 8)

_________________
www.remyrocdetailing.co.uk - Professional, Insured, Mobile Car Detailer, working across Lancashire and beyond!


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 Post subject: Re: Winter Car Detailing
 Post Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 1:13 am 
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Site Admin
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Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:13 pm
Posts: 282
Location: The Northwest UK
Vehicle: Aston Martin V12
edition: GT
Nice write up James :-)

Thanks for the contribution!

_________________
=================================
Best Regards,

NWSCC - NorthWest SuperCar Club

PSCM - Preston SuperCar Meet
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