you guys are going alittle of subject i want cleaning tips and recommendations not how you love cleaning If you love it that much - come and clean mine
I didn`t mention anything about loving cleaning my car for day`s on end, it`s like heroin, once you start, you know its bad for you & you will end up looking like sh*t, but you can`t stop , you just need to buy one more thing! Right back on subject, a good cleaner for getting rid of or helping to remove crap/oily/greasy crap is Autosmart Tardis, it`s a product used in the car bodyshop trade ( i beleive). Try not to breath in the fumes though! I also use Poorboy`s bug & tar remover to aid fly removal when i wash.( more so on the front end). Autoglym fast glass for headlight`s & mirrors/ screen.:blink:
Yes, you're right, I've hijacked that one a bit and I apologise. I'll go back to my earlier post, I like using snow foam because it shifts loose road grime without the danger of dragging grit across your paint, Meguiars Gold Class or NXT wash for the same reason, it leaves a slippery film on the paint while washing so reduces swirl marks and Meguiars fast detailer for in between washes. A clay bar only really comes into it's own for removing those pointy little bits you can feel when you draw your hand over a clean panel that washing doesn't shift, but they are pretty hardcore and if you get it wrong you're in a world of pain. I've never had the courage to use one on my car or bike, but now Mrs Ken has inherited my previous car I might be tempted. I prefer a separate polish and wax so that I know it's done what it's supposed to, combined polish and waxes leave me a bit 'did it or didn't it', and I keep away from combined wash waxes for the same reason. I rinse with a deioniser filter on the hose to cut back on leathering and use synthetic cloths for the leathering to take advantage of the technology advances over mk 1 leather. I think I've tried every glass cleaner known to man but Nilglas is head and shoulders above the rest.
You see, I've just gone onto the Meguiars website to check a spelling for the above post and seen they now do a headlight restoration kit and I'm reaching for the plastic. It's a bloody addiction!
With regards to detailing, ZAINO is one of the best products on the market, used by the professionals. Zaino - Show Car Polish Back in the day I was a huge fan of Autoglym. In recent years started using the Meguiars range and was highly impressed................................... until I decided to spend a small fortune on the full range of Zaino products. Just used the Zaino clay on my Aston Martin and BMW during the last few days. Then applies the Zaino Z-2 polish mixed with ZFX flash cure. Cleaned the car with Zaino Z-6 before re-applying Zaino Z-2 with ZFX. It is possible to build up 6 coats of Z-2 with ZFX. All I can say is the finnish is jawdropping..................amazing Sorry guys for ranting on, but the Zaino range is something else.
If you were closer to where I live, I would clean it for you :becky: As for tips, everything is in the prep and goot quality products are essential. If you want good stuff you can get at Halfords, the Meguiars stuff is hard to beat. Get two buckets and a decent wash mitt (NOT A SPONGE!). Fill one with clean water, one with water and a car shampoo mix. Hose the bike down to get rid of excess dirt and soften bugs etc. Then working from the top down, clean the bike using the wash mitt dunked in the car wash mix. Every so often, rinse that mitt out in the clean water to get rid of dirt in the clean water. Hose the bike down and dry using a decent drying towel. Polish using foam applicator pads and then buff off with microfibre cloths. If you so desire, apply a wax or sealant, again using foam applicator pads and buffed off with microfibre cloths. For metal work that isn't lacquered, use a metal polish applied with a microfibre cloth, then buff to a shine with a clean microfibre cloth. Admire your clean bike, take photos and then realise you've joined the dark side. Then get into clay bars, automatic polishers and tubs of wax that cost 100s if not 1000s of pounds! Copious amounts of tea are compulsory throughout the bike cleaning process.
Hey Sossige, being on the Berkshire/Hampshire/Surrey boarder you must be a stone throw away from me, you can pop around and clean mine................... LOL !!!! Where abouts are you......Blackwater, Sadhurst, Farnborough ???? By the way, try some ZAINO produact and see how they compare to Meguiars !!!!
May I just add that there are microfibre cloths and there are microfibre cloths. A pack of 5 from Poundland is worth exactly what you pay for it.
I am indeed a stones throw from you, but would rather not say where on a public forum. I actually use other products over and above Meguiars, but suggested it because their stuff is easily available. I'm a Chemical Guys man by choice.
Never a truer word spoke. Spot on kpone, I invested in a set from eBay about £15 for a pack but boy they are great, so soft and guaranteed not to scratch. I was using a microfiber to polish a plastic screen once and the bugger was scratching it as I polished! Absolute crap. Buy the best you can afford lads.
Mrs V (kind words discussed in previous threads) suggested that I should "stop poncing around with my bloody bike and come and have dinner with my son, seeing as the only time I'd been home early enough during the week to do so in the last 6 months was today, and what was I doing? Washing my bloody bike". I then took the decision to risk her wrath by topping up my oil & lubing the chain. Didn't leave any time for photo's though.
