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Ask Si@Fiskë your detailing questions!


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Hi All,



I thought I would put up a post as somewhere for you all to ask questions when it comes to detailing.



I saw that there was a historic post that recently has not been active and without some questions being answered so, as this is what I do, I thought I would post up a topic!



Detailing can be mind boggling, confusing, and hard to know which products do what and when / where to use them!



Please feel free to post any queries you may have about Washing / Claying / Polish / Wax & Sealants / Machine Polishing / Paint & clear coat depths / Decontamination / Swirls / Random Deep Scratches (RDS) / Marring etc. etc. - you name it I have seen it!



I look forward to helping you all!



Regards



Simon @ Fiske Automotive.


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Afternoon Simon,


A couple of newbie questions you might be able to help with.

  • What’s a normal detailing routine?
At the moment, having clayed any car after I’ve bought it, I polish (a basic SRP) and then wax (Collinite 845) twice a year. In between this I just wash as and when. Can / should I polish and/or wax it again?

  • What can I do to improve my paintwork?
I currently can’t afford to spend hundreds of pounds on a detailer’s services (as much as I’d really like to). What can I do to improve my paintwork beyond a basic polish and wax by hand?


Thanks for your help!
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Hey Si.

My Starlet will be due back from a full respray soon, and obviously, I want to make sure I don't start inadvertently wrecking the paint. I already use a deep bucket with grit guard in the bottom with wash mit for the actual washing, with a foam gun snowfoam before that to drag any loose dirt off.

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Afternoon Simon,
A couple of newbie questions you might be able to help with.
  • What’s a normal detailing routine?
At the moment, having clayed any car after I’ve bought it, I polish (a basic SRP) and then wax (Collinite 845) twice a year. In between this I just wash as and when. Can / should I polish and/or wax it again?
  • What can I do to improve my paintwork?
I currently can’t afford to spend hundreds of pounds on a detailer’s services (as much as I’d really like to). What can I do to improve my paintwork beyond a basic polish and wax by hand?
Thanks for your help!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi slo7899,

I would firstly try using a tar and glue remover ( Dodo juice supernatural tar and glue is decent and not aggressive on the paint / lacquer)

Let it soak in for a minute and then gently take a clean micro fibre to it. If there is too much "material" - some adhesives are almost like a foam/fibre adhesive - use a heat source gently (you can use a hairdryer) to break down the bond and peel away the majority of the adhesive. Once the majority is off then spray the remaining glue with the dodo juice tar and glue remover and that will start to safely loosen and remove the rest!

Hope this helps and further info drop me a pm!

Thanks

Simon

Hi mate.

What would be the best method and product to use to remove the sticky adhesive stuff that is used under the wind deflectors to stick them down.

Cheers.

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Hi Si

My glanza has some pretty rough sun damage where the lacquer has gone cloudy just above the rear quarter windows. Is there anything I can do to at least make it look a little nicer until funds allow a respray? It's 205 black.

Thanks

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Hi Si

My glanza has some pretty rough sun damage where the lacquer has gone cloudy just above the rear quarter windows. Is there anything I can do to at least make it look a little nicer until funds allow a respray? It's 205 black.

Thanks

Hi!

Thanks for the post! Its hard to tell without seeing the car. Have you got some pictures which will help? If the lacquer has not "burst" I could likely machine polish it back to life for you removing the oxidation and cutting back the lacquer. Naturally I would need to very carefully measure this prior but it is deffinately a possibility dependant upon condition - saving the expensive of a respray!

Look forward to hearing from you!

Simon

Evening Si,

I'm looking to give my engine bay a good clean. I've done it before on other cars, giving it a light spray with a hose before etc.

My question is - anything I should pay particular attention to covering up on a Glanza?

Cheers.

Evening!!

Great idea and as you mentioned it is something you need to be careful with! As a rule of thumb the 2x things you need to consider are 1) electrics 2) intake.

Dependant upon the state of the wiring, cover and protect as much as you can (water / moisture can travel back up within a wire to modules / ecu etc!!) and also cover your air filter to make sure no water enters through this into the intake!

Hope this helps!

Simon

swirl marks form a car wash got a new daily and its coverd in them bearing in mind ill be doing it by hand.

cheers nick.

Hi Nick,

Not wanting to be the bearer of bad news you will find it almost impossible to remove these marks by hand. Especially if it is a german daily with tough clear coat! What you can do by hand it select a glaze suitable to the colour of your car ( I can help with this) apply and remove. What this will do is fill in the swirls and marring and help hide them. What you then need to do is seal the glaze in with a wax or a sealant to help aid longevity to your hard work. Unfortunately this wont rid your swirls or hide them completely but it will help!

Hope this helps!

Simon

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Hi!

Thanks for the post! Its hard to tell without seeing the car. Have you got some pictures which will help? If the lacquer has not "burst" I could likely machine polish it back to life for you removing the oxidation and cutting back the lacquer. Naturally I would need to very carefully measure this prior but it is deffinately a possibility dependant upon condition - saving the expensive of a respray!

Look forward to hearing from you!

Simon

Evening!!

Great idea and as you mentioned it is something you need to be careful with! As a rule of thumb the 2x things you need to consider are 1) electrics 2) intake.

Dependant upon the state of the wiring, cover and protect as much as you can (water / moisture can travel back up within a wire to modules / ecu etc!!) and also cover your air filter to make sure no water enters through this into the intake!

Hope this helps!

Simon

Hi Nick,

Not wanting to be the bearer of bad news you will find it almost impossible to remove these marks by hand. Especially if it is a german daily with tough clear coat! What you can do by hand it select a glaze suitable to the colour of your car ( I can help with this) apply and remove. What this will do is fill in the swirls and marring and help hide them. What you then need to do is seal the glaze in with a wax or a sealant to help aid longevity to your hard work. Unfortunately this wont rid your swirls or hide them completely but it will help!

Hope this helps!

Simon

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  • 1 month later...

Afternoon Simon,



I've been trying to clean up my standard Glanza alloys but can't seem to shift some of the grime. I've got a feeling it's baked on brake dust but I'm not sure.



I started with shampoo and elbow grease and then moved to poundland's finest wheel cleaner, spraying on, agitating and leaving for a couple of minutes.



Detailing World talks about Tardis, IronX, Bilberry etc and I start to get a bit lost. On a budget, what's going to give me the best bang for my buck / be something I can use for other jobs on the car?



Cheers


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Afternoon Simon,

I've been trying to clean up my standard Glanza alloys but can't seem to shift some of the grime. I've got a feeling it's baked on brake dust but I'm not sure.

I started with shampoo and elbow grease and then moved to poundland's finest wheel cleaner, spraying on, agitating and leaving for a couple of minutes.

Detailing World talks about Tardis, IronX, Bilberry etc and I start to get a bit lost. On a budget, what's going to give me the best bang for my buck / be something I can use for other jobs on the car?

Cheers

Tbh the standard finish on the stock wheel are poo. You will Struggle to get them right. I'd just wet sand all the face of the wheels down and re spray then yourself
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Afternoon Simon,

I've been trying to clean up my standard Glanza alloys but can't seem to shift some of the grime. I've got a feeling it's baked on brake dust but I'm not sure.

I started with shampoo and elbow grease and then moved to poundland's finest wheel cleaner, spraying on, agitating and leaving for a couple of minutes.

Detailing World talks about Tardis, IronX, Bilberry etc and I start to get a bit lost. On a budget, what's going to give me the best bang for my buck / be something I can use for other jobs on the car?

Cheers

Iron x should shift the brake dust

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi,

I'm having a bit of trouble with my red paint work on my fto, I've owned it for 2 months now and it was gleaming red paint work when I first bought the car.

The owner before me had it mopped over at the cost of £400, what's happening is that after me washing the car then using autoglym there's red coming off on to my cloth and now the car is starting to look pink in places, just wondering what might have been used when the car had a professional mop and can I buy the stuff so I can get it looking good again.

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got myself a clay bar, whats the best process/order to use it in?

Once you've cleared your car use some warm water to soften the bar up by folding it over and over once you've madeit into a nice flat surface use some water in a spray bottle and spray a section of panel at a time and with the clay bar on its smooth flat surface slide it up and down over the wet surface, you could also use quick detailer as the clay lube if you want to. But remember if you drop the clay bar. It's dead just throw it in the bin because it will trap the grit and dirt.

Once you notice the claybar looks abit dirty that means it's working and pulling the contamination of the paint. Fold the claybar and keep going. Bear in mind once you have done the will leave your cars paint bare with no protection so follow up with some wax/sealant

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cheers bud! ill give it a go this weekend

Once you've cleared your car use some warm water to soften the bar up by folding it over and over once you've madeit into a nice flat surface use some water in a spray bottle and spray a section of panel at a time and with the clay bar on its smooth flat surface slide it up and down over the wet surface, you could also use quick detailer as the clay lube if you want to. But remember if you drop the clay bar. It's dead just throw it in the bin because it will trap the grit and dirt.
Once you notice the claybar looks abit dirty that means it's working and pulling the contamination of the paint. Fold the claybar and keep going. Bear in mind once you have done the will leave your cars paint bare with no protection so follow up with some wax/sealant

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Ryan,

Sorry I havent checked this in a while!!

The above is fine but no all clays can be used with water, some have to be used with a lubricant! Other than that work on a area usually 50cmx50cm and you may need to polish the car afterwards prior to waxing/sealing. I hope you get some good results.

Regards
Simon


P.S please PM me with the questions as I get an email notification so I can respond quickly :)

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