Polished bliss!

Is red or dead?

So this is the extreme! But this is what can be achieve by some T.L.C with some patient detailing polishing. This is how you restore faded paint.

This is what was used on this job -

• Farecla G3 http://www.autosgleaming.com/cutting-compounds-farecla-cutting-compounds-c-101_103.html
• Orange 160mm 30mm DG Mop Head http://www.autosgleaming.com/waffle-heads-diamond-glide-diamond-glide-c-57_124_128.html
• Masking Tape http://www.autosgleaming.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=masking+tape
• Mini Jet Sprayer (with water) http://www.autosgleaming.com/mini-jet-bottle-and-head-p-86.html 
• Malco Paste Wax http://www.autosgleaming.com/malco-flash-liquid-paste-p-262.html
• Micro Fibre Cloth http://www.autosgleaming.com/micro-fibre-cloths-p-190.html 
• Mask Roll for cabriolet protection or any other similar areas.

This is what I used to use although I would now use the Presta range due to the fact it’s so much easier and cleaner. And that is the secret. Being neat and tidy will save no end of time when using Farecla, 3m’s, Autosmart and similar compounds.

1. Make sure all paintwork is clean and free of debris (clay bar paintwork will also help)
2. Mask up around headlight, lights, trim, scuttle’s and similar areas.
3. Centre your polish head on your orbital polish and spray with a very light dusting of water on the head for lubrication. (if the head is new need until a little more subtle).
4. Squeeze a small amount on to a panel, place the head on the paint and gently spread around the designated area.
5. Start the machine on lowest rpm setting and work up to rpm which is required for the designated job (the harder the job the faster the rpm required).
6. Repeat this process to until desired finished is obtained.
7. Once the aggressive compound is used you can work through finer grades to increase finishes. (an option is to wash down the vehicle to remove excess compound throw off before further application)
8. Hand polish to increase your finish. The compound restores, the polish enhances. Wipe all over with micro fibre cloth to pick up any dust or throw off.

removing decor marks

Livery lost!

Dead?

Oooh Red

Razor Blade scratches CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE SEVERE SCRATCHING

Paintwork flattened with 1500 grit wet and dry to remove scratches

polished up with Presta Supercut, Presta Ultra cutting creme & Prest Light

When removing scratches always start with cutting creme as wet flatting as above will take more polishing and may not be neccessary. The less aggressive the better, as if the lighter creme does the trick it will save you polishing time, if it doesn’t work then you haven’t wasted much time.

So this particular vehicle had to be rectified as an idiot tried to remove cement off paintwork with a razor. So with plenty of water and some 1500 grit wet and dry the paintwork was flatted horizontal, vertically and circular motion working the worst areas more. Then I used Presta Super cut which Presta claim will remove up to 600 grit with orange waffle head. Personally I wouldn’t want to try removing 600 grit marks, but it did certainly remove the 1500 grit very very quickly. Then I switched to Presta Ultra cutting creme with white waffle head to increase the shine and finish, followed by black waffle super soft head with Presta Ultra Cutting Creme Light for a fantastic finish.

If you are looking to rejuvenate reasonable paintwork of any type or age, then Presta Ultra Cutting Creme Light is awesome. Not only is it exceptionally economical, easy to use, but also any throw off (which is minimal) wipes of without any effort at all. This being as it’s water based. The presta range is entirely user friendly for both the professional user or enthusiast. Presta requires very little lubrication and leaves and extremely smooth, deep shine finishes. Until I find something better, Presta cutting cremes are exactly what I will always use.

PRESTA SUPERCUT http://www.autosgleaming.com/presta-super-cut-compound-p-325.html

PRESTA ULTRA CUTTING CREME http://www.autosgleaming.com/presta-ultra-cutting-creme-p-282.html

PRESTA CUTTING CREME LIGHT http://www.autosgleaming.com/ultra-cutting-creme-light-p-286.html

http://www.autosgleaming.com/waffle-heads-diamond-glide-160mm-30mm-waffle-heads-c-57_124_125.html

All the scratches removed with presta ultra cutting creme without wet flatting

Removing cement from vehicle paintwork is not as difficult as you may think, if you use the correct process. This video will enlighten viewers not only how you can remove cement safely, but also how not to do it! The short video will educate you on how to remove the contamination, but does not tell the full story of this particular job. The affects of the individual who decided the best way of removing the cement was with a razor blade, can also be seen in the photo’s below. The result of the razor blade was lots and lots of scratches all over the vehicle and four hours of needless paint rectification. This could have been avoided with the correct process.

Fall Out Removal

What a razor blade does to the paintwork! Click to enlarge

As the video explains removing cement can be quick and easy, but the chemical used (Concept chemicals Surge) is a bit of a ‘Vinny Jones’. It performs well, but can be an aggressive nasty damaging individual.  Firstly it is absolutely imperative that appropriate skin, eye and respiratory protection is worn. If your a smoker and you want your lungs cleaned out just take a deep breathe of Sargent Surge. That will do the trick. The first time I used this chemical I brush it on the effected area and as it frothed up and started to break down the cement I thought it would be a good idea to gently knock the contamination to help the process along. A piece of cement flew off and landed in my eye. I’m not sure which hurt more, the acid dissolving my eye or the cement breaking down and scratching my pupil. My immediate reaction was to grab the garden hose running with water and plant it in my eye. My eye sight was eventually fine, but please do learn from my mistake.

So make sure that all plastics, rubbers, brushed/satin finishes or chromes are masked over to avoid damage. http://www.autosgleaming.com/masking-tape-2-p-315.html

Although if any chrome is affected it will re-polish back up with metal polish http://www.autosgleaming.com/metal-polishing-kit-p-301.html

Surge doesn't like plastic!

This is how the residue on my gloves affected the brand new Kranzle pressure washer trigger gun.

The best way to apply Surge

The best way to apply Surge is with this interior sponge.     If you apply Surge with a brush (soft or hard bristles) it will absolutely destroy the bristles sending them rock hard. So if you use  this sponge it not only withstands the aggressive chemical it also has the excellent value of being hard and abrasive to help remove the cement. But not to abrasive to mark the paintwork.

The secret in using this chemical is to apply a small amount of chemical to the sponge to treat the affected panel/glass by wiping over  small areas at a time. Allow a minute or so to penetrate and just simply wipe away. To avoid any damage to rubbers, chrome etc treat no more than a panel at a time.

http://www.autosgleaming.com/interior-sponge-p-340.html

However if by some chance some loony has decided the best plan of action is to use a razor blade to remove the fallout, then this is what you will need to do.

Fall out and scratches removed, ready polishing!

First I used 1500 grit wet and dry , followed by 2000 grit wet and dry with plenty of carpet and upholstery cleaner lubricant. I used this chemical as it gives a nice little soapy fluid and allows the wet and dry to glide across the paintwork without biting to much. You can use water if you wish but I find this a more efficient way.

http://www.autosgleaming.com/carpet-upholstery-cleaner-p-279.html

Rectified Paintwork and a perfect finish

I then used Presta Super Cut with orange waffle head. Presta claim Super Cut removes 600 grit scratches (which personally I wouldn’t like to experiment on) but certainly removed the grit marks almost immediatley. The saving grace of this vehicle was the colour. I wasn’t going to suffer from swirl as much as if I had a dark coloured vehicle. However I still worked down the grades of Presta’s Ultra Cutting Creme with the white waffle head, Ultra Cutting Creme Light with black super soft Waffle head with the rotary polisher used at the appropriate rpm with each cutting creme.

http://www.autosgleaming.com/waffle-heads-diamond-glide-160mm-30mm-waffle-heads-c-57_124_125.html

http://www.autosgleaming.com/cutting-compounds-presta-cutting-compounds-c-101_102.html

The boot (pictured above) of the Mercedes Benz was the worst affected area of the vehicle, although the whole vehicle had been damaged with the razor blade. However Presta’s Super Cut removed the rest of the scratches all on it’s own. Not only easily, but as I’ve mentioned before – one of the best attributes of the Presta range is that is so efficient and so so tidy. No messy messy over throw, and where there is over throw it easily wipes off.

So this is the final result. Complete vehicle detail to the expense of £180. Lets not forget it could have been easily avoided by using the correct procedure, which would have cost £60.

Fall out removed, flatted, polished and finely detaiied

Any person or business involved with the presentation of cars, vans or lorries and indeed any form of transportation, will benefit from the performance of these products..

Speaking to a valetor of  twenty five years only yesterday (09.10.2011) I commented that he still had an old tin of Autoglym radiant wax, not the newer re-vamped version. To which he replied “I hardly polish vehicles anymore, you don’t need it with the quality of wash and waxes and wax additives’. I kind of agreed. He built his business on a similar line as my own twenty year established business. This being, use the best possible products to give the best results in the quickest time. So valet lots, quickly at a competative price. I underline the word ‘valet’ not ‘detail’ as I believe there is a big difference between the two. I believe the definition of detailing is spending 12 hours+ on a single vehicle.

What he meant was the trade dealership work was not getting the hand polished treatment, as the combination of these three products would do the job and save him time. Plus the regular valets only needed maintaining with these products, with the occasional polish once in a while. My valetor friend carries out a lot of trade work and as with many dealerships squeezing every department and cost they possible can, the use of this products allows him to maintain competatives prices due to shorter labour time.

So how do they work?

Ultra violet for me is the best wash and wax you can possibly buy at the present time. The value for money is quite incredible, two litres of concentrate will make over 50 litres. That’s 27p per litre! It’s performance is very good, deepening shines and beading water. It is true that other wash and waxes such as Autoglym Autogloss Rinse or Autosmart Duet perform in a similar way, but Duet or Autogloss  are not as economical on the pocket. Being such an economical product makes Ultra Violet attractive to detailing enthuisiats and especially to trade users having to do the dreaded forecourt maintenance wash & leathers. We already sell large volumes of this product to static hand car washers and too businesses who traul large retail parks with a simple trolley, Ultra Violet and water waffles/powerchams 2′s.

So once you have washed and rinsed your vehicle simply spray on your nano care Aqua Wax and just leather off. The water instantly begins to disperse and in turn enhances shine. Being a nano car care product it protects and leaves a super smooth finish. It could be said that the results you gain from this process alone are sufficient, but if you are a perfectionists or have a dark coloured vehicle you can further your finish. You can use Aqua Wax on dry paintwork, spraying onto paintwork and wiping with a micro fibre cloth for increasing that shine. However, I find Malco’s Showroom Shine easy and quicker to use. Using this final action of Showroom Shine and a micro fibre cloth, eliminates any water marks on windows and paintwork leaving a georgous super smooth shine. Once your micro fibre cloth has a small residue of Showroom Shine on the cloth simply wipe the window to remove water marks. The Ultra Violet on it’s own is outstanding on windows.

RESULT!

I personally, and customers alike have noticed the difference in rain water beading, visible depth of shine and all round finish to vehicle paintwork. You don’t have to use all of these products, but combining all these products together will be a extremely time efficient and cost effective way of acheiving a showroom finish usually achieved by hand polishing alone. Shine On!!!!!

Super charged, super shine!

Easily clean your alloy wheels with Ali brite

Wheel cleaner car care needed!

Detailed inner & outer rim for an impressive result

What do you need to clean your wheels, or indeed do you actually specifically need a specialist wheel cleaner car care product?

In a lot of cases the requirement for a specialist wheel acid or alkaline is not actually necessary. If you are a valetor or a vehicle detailer then you will probably not agree with that statement. However if you just clean your car, it’s wheels and you want to do it the most economical way then there are other options.

So how do you know what is the best chemical you require to clean your wheels?

Before you buy a alloy wheel cleaner there are certain factors that have to take into account. Firstly, how old are your wheels? If your wheels are not old and haven’t done many miles, you will be able to use a caustic traffic film remover (TFR) to remove brake dust/dirt. Cyclone http://www.autosgleaming.com/cyclone-10-litres-tfr-p-217.html would do this and the powerful Triple Wash diluted down 1:4 parts would also do the job http://www.autosgleaming.com/triple-wash-5-litres-p-216.html. The Porsche wheels above were cleaned with Triple Wash. Sprayed with 1.5 litre pump spray (diluted 1:4 parts) and blasted with a pressure washer. Then where necessary sponged with a little more Triple wash.

I have noticed that on ebay certain cleaners have been advertised as wheel cleaners, such as Clover chemicals Viro-sol. This being a non caustic multi purpose cleaner which it is not a wheel cleaner. It is true that they will clean wheels, as will Multi-G http://www.autosgleaming.com/multi-g-multi-purpose-cleaner-p-276.html or outrageous orange. But these will take longer to clean your wheels and will run out off puff on serious dirt and brake dust. There are plenty of people selling well known branded  professional wheel cleaners on ebay, but I would question are you getting what is advertised as it is not labeled and could be watered down.

So if your wheels don’t have heavy brake dust, then traffic film remover in low dilution is the product for you. The added bonuses of this is that you can also use this excellent car care product for fly/bug removal, engine cleans, wheel arch cleaning, chassis cleaning and general washing. This being diluted at the ratio that you require. Making this highly efficient car care valeting chemical.

However if you have heavy brake dust and have nasty little black specks seemingly welding onto your wheel, then you will need a specialist alloy wheel cleaner. A decent wheel acid will remove rust specs and oxidisation .

Click on each image for full page view.

Those annoying bits old welded brake dust

Alibrite goes to work on the nasty bits!

Brush lightly to remove the hardened brake dust

All Brake dust removed

To prove this is the same wheel note the little tar speck on every photo. This was removed with tar and glue remover. You could use petrol or white spirit as a substitute

Both wheels were rusty! One treated on Alibrite alloy wheel cleaner, the other not.

Both wheels were rusty! One treated on Alibrite alloy wheel cleaner, the other not. Alibrite applied to this steel wheel, left to soak for a five of minutes before brushing the rust away. The rust will slowly re-appear in time as this strong alloy wheel cleaner just cuts the top rust off the wheels. So in the past I have treated wheels with Alibrite wheel cleaner to remove top rust, rubbed the wheels down with 800/1200 grit wet and when dry, painted (and lacquered when required). Usually this process is carried out on steel wheels on vans, trailers and similar vehicles. Some times it’s difficult to mask tyres up. So to get around this I dressed the tyres heavily in silicone tyre dressing and then painted the wheels. The paint will not then adhere to the tyre when the dressing is around the tyre and when paint has finally dried on the wheel you can still will wipe off any over spray on the tyre relatively easily. Or as I usually did, fit a wire brush to a drill and brush off in seconds.

Japanese wheels are always difficult. Toyota, Mitsubishi’s and others always cause problems as they either have wafer thin lacquer or none at all. With the thin lacquer they chip easily making them really vulnerable to the elements and especially to road salt. Thus causing pitting and oxidisation. Once again Alibrite will remove the black marks but will not prevent them re-appearing especially if the wheels are not regularly cleaned.

Will you damage your wheels with wheel acid? It is very unlikely that you will damage any wheels with wheel acid, however any polished metal or chrome will not like any aggressive acid or akaline. Wheel trims may also be tarnished by wheels acids. It’s not a good idea to use acids on motor bike as they have many surfaces including wheels that are not only effected by acids, akalies and even caustic cleaners. If in any doubt test a small area first.

So that is the low down on the cheapest and best way to clean alloy wheels, and as ever if you require any further advice or questions please do contact.

www.autosgleaming.com

info@autosgleaming.com

Malco metal and chrome polish is a great product for restoring a mirror finish to any kind of aluminium, metal or chrome. Click on the link above to see how easy you can gain a mirror finish to chromes and metals. Watch the reflection of me running for my black polish head and when purchasing quote ‘forest’ upon check out notes for a free orange head.

Application

A great and affordable way of applying Malco metal polish and gaining a superb finish is with a drill fitting backing plate and foam buffing head. However it is not essential. You can still gain excellent results using lint free cloth, stockinette and super soft micro fibre cloths. Malco metal and chrome polish will restore high gloss shine to lorry fuel tanks, motor bike exhausts and in fact any kind of chrome or metal. I polished the back box on my VW camper and it will remove all those brownie black tinges you get on metals that experience high temperatures as well as pitting and light rust. I found that using drill fitted head saved loads of time and gave the best results. But as exhaust pipes are a funny shape I had to apply by hand. This was no problem, but just took a bit more time. The secret of hand application is patient. Don’t rub to hard, just take your time and let the polish do the work.

I especially liked the drill attached foam heads as the foam held the thin consistency of the polish into the polish head. This meant that not only did application become very easy and quick, but a small amount of polish went a long long way.

Malco polish drill fitting and polish heads

You can buy on a special offer http://www.autosgleaming.com/metal-polishing-kit-p-301.html

However and whether you use this product on alloy wheels or the kitchen sink, this is great performing and affordable item.

Take a look at how quickly Presta removes bird dropping marks in record time.

This is the perfect final finish on the rear door of a 2009 Nissan Qashqai which had the whole near side mullered, by what? The driver was unaware??? (to see the door before treatment just scroll down, it’s impressive!!!!!)

The first phase was with Presta Ultra Cutting Creme, which  gave a extremely impressive shine in a very very quick time.Presta’s cutting creme removed all the scratches really easily. I found this cutting creme really user friendly and is a truly impressive trade product, but also and excellent product for an amateur enthusiast. I especially liked the way I could always visually see what I was doing whilst buffing due to the consistency of the creme. Other cutting compounds such as Farecla, 3m, Autosmart, Concept, Neilsen, Autoglym  and others – usually tend need constant lubrication which can sometimes make it difficult to see the area you mopping as well as (if you are not careful) being messy. On the other hand, overloading your mop head without lubrication and it just won’t work full stop! With Presta’s cutting Creme you don’t need to lubricate. It does however leave a kind of greasy haze which is easily removed either with black super soft head or micro fibre cloth, but nothing like the difficult residue of other compounds. You can visually see a change in colour of the cars  panel whilst mopping as the depth of shine instantly changes. The reasons why I found this the easiest cutting agent was for these reasons

• far less throw off
• when you do get throw off it’s very easy to remove
• massively efficient as with instant shine
• overloading the head with compound doesn’t result in rolls of excess compound firing off everywhere
• you don’t get any or have visual holograms
• no need for loads of masking up and covering 
•  best of all it’s quicker to use both with machine & clearing excess dust/unwanted throw off.

It is very neat and tidy.

For my application process read on!

I like driving in my car...... through bushes and woodland

These scratches ran the whole length of the near side of the vehicle. As you can see from the photo above the results were a perfect finish with no signs of any marks or blemishes.

So this is he equipment and products I used -

• Presta ultra cutting cutting creme – applied with our white 160mm 30mm head
• Presta ultra cutting cutting creme light – applied with our yellow 160m 30mm head
• Presta Swirl Remover – applied with our black super soft 150mm 50mm

Well here we go, hello and welcome to our blog. This is where you can share a wealth of trade knowledge from over twenty years experience in valeting and detailing world. I am Matthew and I have worked on virtually every form of motorised and static vehicles. Including cars, vans, lorries, caravans (teardrop aluminum), fork lift trucks, Samsung diggers, motor bikes and loads loads more. Amongst other issues I will be advising you from personal experience why it is a good idea to wear goggles when removing cement from paintwork and how to treat a car that’s had ten litres of ice cream sitting in it’s boots spare wheel well, for a week!

WE’LL GET YOU MARRIED!

We aim to solve your valeting issues and marry you up with products which produces the best results, in the least amount of time and of coarse is suited to your budget.

Way back in the day when I first started valeting as a spotty teenager working on Mini’s Metro’s, Vauxhall Chevette’s and model T Fords, the automotive chemical industry roost was ruled by Autosmart. In those days a trade product was a quality product (for that era) and a retail product was……. well was a load of tosh.

The introduction and emergence of detailing and valeting suppliers such as Meguiars, Dodo Juice, Chemical Guys, Swiss wax and many many more has brought healthy competition to the industry. Although the market is flooded with apparently the ‘best product on the market’ it has increased the quality of all valeting and detailing items. However, as with virtually all items for sale in the market place the best product isn’t always the best known. For instance Megquiars spend massive amounts on marketing, but products such as drying wizard and clay bars are massively over priced. So we aim to be your arsenal against the industries marketing heavy weights and of coarse uncover the under the radar items.

WE BUY THEM…YOU TRY THEM!!!!!!

We would love to say that we know best and are always right, but alas we are all males here and we all know that only females are the only ones that know it all! (sorry ladies).

We will always give are honest advice and the best of our knowledge to help you find the best product. However one persons best could be another persons worst and we can’t try them all. But we will do our best.

WHO’S GOT THE BEST, WHO WILL WIN?

So we will be inviting experienced trade outfits and enthusiasts to try out products we stock and ones we don’t to find the winner of the tried and tested. Where we can we will provide products unlabeled so there is no bias what so ever. We will tell you where you can buy the tested products, regardless of whether we stock the item or not.

WHAT WILL BE TESTING AND REVIEWING?

We will be testing every aspect of valeting and detailing over the next few years and you can always look at our blog history for information. We will be covering -

• Vehicle washing – TFR’s, wash and waxes, wheel cleaners, sponges, brushes (telescopic and standard)
• Vehicle drying – Chamois Leathers (synthetic & natural) microfibre cloths, water wizards and more.
• Polishes, glazes, cutting compounds and sealers.
• Window cleaners
• Tyre and Trim dressings
• Air freshening, sanitising and fogging

EQUIPMENT TESTING

We will also be advising and testing equipment, enlightening you to little gems of information. Such as a pressure washer which will run without a water supply, dragging water from a drum.

TELL US

Finally, you might disagree, or you might you supply or use a better product. Well if that’s the case, LET US KNOW!!!

We look forward to your company!!!!

Demolition Lorry, made beautiful