GR86 All DIY Detailing Things

[Conscript]

Is that from ceramic coating or wax?

Ceramic coating - details here

GR86 - Car protection coatings - Gen-3 Fusion coatings on car worth it?

Hi All, What are thoughts on car protection such as Gen-3 Fusion, supposed to protect the interior and exterior? https://www.gen-3glasscoat.com/gen-3-fusion Cost about £500 applied, read mixed reviews on this, reminds me of the diamondbrite dealers used to sell. Worth it or cheaper to get a...

www.gr-zoo.com

 

[ZN8]

Car was freshly cleaned over the weekend and I couldn't resist snapping this photo of the dew beading up in the morning sun when I went out earlier.

View attachment 19207
It's sad how this sort of thing entertains me

Oh yeah, perfect, how do you find it holding up? What are you using to clean? Have you used the stinky old W6 yet?

 

[Conscript]

Oh yeah, perfect, how do you find it holding up? What are you using to clean? Have you used the stinky old W6 yet?

Pretty well, although bear in mind that this portion of the car (front rightwing) was the one that had the bump. So it's only been a couple of months since that bit had the ceramic coating re-applied, and they gave the whole car another wash and round of the Exo stuff when they did so.

Generally for washing, I just use Bilt Hamber Auto Foam (KDS said they didn't really think snow foams are worth it over just normal pressure washing, but I think BH does actually work so I'll continue using it, especially if the car is filthy and I'm not using the W6), then wash using the Gtechniq W1 G-Wash shampoo and their good quality wash mitt. Then I rinse with an open hose and Raceglaze filter - no need for drying towels then.

The W6 - I bought some, as they recommended, but I have only used it once so far, I think a couple of months after the initial application (probably early March?). But there was very little reaction, so I guess the car didn't have much fallout on it. So I haven't used it since and I reckon I could probably get away with only having to use it a few times a year if I don't see it reacting much. I'll try it again in the autumn and see how it goes. It's pretty expensive and using a pressure sprayer, you can go through it pretty quickly, so I'll be pleased to only have to use it infrequently.

In general though, really happy with the coating so far. The car stays noticeably cleaner and is easier to wash - the wash I did on Sunday, I didn't even bother with a snow-foam. Just rinsed with the pressure washer and washed as above, and as you can see, it's rejuvenated the beading effect nicely.

My only gripe so far is that I seem to have a residue on my windscreen which is very noticeable in the low sun - not sure if it's something that was applied when the coating was done, or if it's some residue left from the factory, but driving into a low sun the other morning, I could barely see a thing. I've given the windscreen a going over with a claybar and some Autoglym Glass Polish, which seems to have helped, so I will go over it a bit more thoroughly again and see if it helps.

 

[Silver Fox]

My only gripe so far is that I seem to have a residue on my windscreen which is very noticeable in the low sun - not sure if it's something that was applied when the coating was done, or if it's some residue left from the factory, but driving into a low sun the other morning, I could barely see a thing. I've given the windscreen a going over with a claybar and some Autoglym Glass Polish, which seems to have helped, so I will go over it a bit more thoroughly again and see if it helps.

You've probably already considered/done this, but when I collected my car I noticed a significant improvement after using Autoglym glass polish in both the outside and inside of the windscreen.

 

[Conscript]

You've probably already considered/done this, but when I collected my car I noticed a significant improvement after using Autoglym glass polish in both the outside and inside of the windscreen.

Yup, that's what I used....but I only had a few blobs in a bottle which has been sat in my garage for probably close to a decade. I nipped to Halfords earlier and bought a new one so I can give it another going over.

In my case it's definitely not on the inside of the screen though...I've already cleaned that thoroughly and given the inside of the screen a wipe didn't clear it. I will probably do the inside with the AG polish too. But doing the inside of the windscreen is a pain in the arse.

 

[ShootinJack]

Pretty well, although bear in mind that this portion of the car (front rightwing) was the one that had the bump. So it's only been a couple of months since that bit had the ceramic coating re-applied, and they gave the whole car another wash and round of the Exo stuff when they did so.

Generally for washing, I just use Bilt Hamber Auto Foam (KDS said they didn't really think snow foams are worth it over just normal pressure washing, but I think BH does actually work so I'll continue using it, especially if the car is filthy and I'm not using the W6), then wash using the Gtechniq W1 G-Wash shampoo and their good quality wash mitt. Then I rinse with an open hose and Raceglaze filter - no need for drying towels then.

The W6 - I bought some, as they recommended, but I have only used it once so far, I think a couple of months after the initial application (probably early March?). But there was very little reaction, so I guess the car didn't have much fallout on it. So I haven't used it since and I reckon I could probably get away with only having to use it a few times a year if I don't see it reacting much. I'll try it again in the autumn and see how it goes. It's pretty expensive and using a pressure sprayer, you can go through it pretty quickly, so I'll be pleased to only have to use it infrequently.

In general though, really happy with the coating so far. The car stays noticeably cleaner and is easier to wash - the wash I did on Sunday, I didn't even bother with a snow-foam. Just rinsed with the pressure washer and washed as above, and as you can see, it's rejuvenated the beading effect nicely.

My only gripe so far is that I seem to have a residue on my windscreen which is very noticeable in the low sun - not sure if it's something that was applied when the coating was done, or if it's some residue left from the factory, but driving into a low sun the other morning, I could barely see a thing. I've given the windscreen a going over with a claybar and some Autoglym Glass Polish, which seems to have helped, so I will go over it a bit more thoroughly again and see if it helps.

We have the same ceramic coating then. I was also provided the same recommendation on using fallout remover vs snow foam.
My car is very easy to clean, I purchased some valet pro snow foam, it's OK and does help a bit. But I haven't yet let my car get very dirty, real test will be in winter.
The W6 helps massively on my wifes car, but that doesn't get washed very often and is usually filthy when I do.

 

[WpR]

KDS said they didn't really think snow foams are worth it over just normal pressure washing

They should watch some comparison videos
I see a huge difference using BH vs just pressure washing as well.

 

[Conscript]

Just thought I'd give a recommendation for a glass cleaning product - Glaco Glass Compound

For the last few months, I've had a frustrating issue with my windscreen. There appeared to be some sort of residue on it, which i'm guessing might have been a coating applied when it was detailed. It helped the screen repel water, and most of the time appeared to be unnoticeable - but every time I drove into the sun, it became visible as a kind of haze on the screen...and not being totally uniform, it was very noticeable. It was off-putting at worst, but a couple of times, it made seeing through the screen incredibly difficult when driving into sunrise/sunsets. (@ZN8 - as going to ask if you'd experienced the same also having your car detailed at the same place?)

It looked like when the inside of your screen fogs up, but wiping it with a sleeve had no effect, so it was definitely on the outside. It's appearance didn't change with regular washing. I tried normal good quality glass cleaners and polishes (AG Fast Glass/Stoners Invisible Glass, AG Glass Polish), and I also tried claying the screen twice - nothing would shift it. I actually began to worry that it was something between the layers of the screen.

I then remembered this Glaco stuff...seen a few videos of it. It's actually a series of hydrophobic coating products like RainX, but the one I linked is meant to be used first. It's basically a compound designed to absolutely strip your windscreen of any existing traffic film, residues, fallout or previous coatings. Decided I've give that a try. Washed the car as normal yesterday evening, and went over it with the compound. I've just taken the car out now the sun is falling low in the sky - and hey presto, it's worked! No more haze turning the screen into an opaque mess.

I'm pretty chuffed. Usually I would have thought a clay bar would be the be-all and end-all of stripping coatings off something. But I guess whereas with a clay bar, I had just gone over it lightly with just water as a lubricant, this Glaco stuff is applied like a polish, so presumably it's a cutting compound - plus, it's provided as an applicator designed so you can get really heavy handed and really scrub away at the screen with it.

So I'm most pleased. Of course, the screen has no water repellence any more - the whole point is that you use this stuff to thoroughly clean the screen then apply one of their other products to help the water bead up and roll off. I just wanted something to get the screen cleaned for now so only did the first step,, but I think I'll go ahead and order the complimentary products in the range now.

 

[ZN8]

For the last few months, I've had a frustrating issue with my windscreen. There appeared to be some sort of residue on it, which i'm guessing might have been a coating applied when it was detailed. It helped the screen repel water, and most of the time appeared to be unnoticeable - but every time I drove into the sun, it became visible as a kind of haze on the screen...and not being totally uniform, it was very noticeable. It was off-putting at worst, but a couple of times, it made seeing through the screen incredibly difficult when driving into sunrise/sunsets. (@ZN8 - as going to ask if you'd experienced the same also having your car detailed at the same place?)

No issues here mate, I'd definitely would have spoken to KDS about getting them to address it, given their reputation and level of work I don't think they would hesitate to sort it for you.

 

[Conscript]

No issues here mate, I'd definitely would have spoken to KDS about getting them to address it, given their reputation and level of work I don't think they would hesitate to sort it for you.

It's okay. To be honest, I wasn't even certain it was from whatever they'd applied because the side and rear glass is all perfect. When I next take it them for the annual wash/coating checkup I'll mention it and maybe ask them not to apply anything else to the windscreen just to be on the safe side.

 

[Sonic]

For those of you that love collecting Detailing Cloths et-al, the website at Mcrofbre.com is offering 15% off with the code 'ThankYou'. Should you want to see them being reviewed, Dave over at Epic Automotive has them featured on his Youtube channel HERE. That's yet another £100+ of stuff to add to my 'Detailing Corner'. I'll soon be needing to put in an application with SWMBO to increase the area of my Man-Space - That never ends well

 

[Conscript]

Good shout. Since getting the ceramic coating, I don't really do anything with the bodywork anymore, and I use a water filter to avoid having to drag a towel over the paint; but I have always lusted over some properly soft cloths just in case I do need them.

 

[NunoHenriques]

Good shout. Since getting the ceramic coating, I don't really do anything with the bodywork anymore, and I use a water filter to avoid having to drag a towel over the paint; but I have always lusted over some properly soft cloths just in case I do need them.

Do you mind me asking what's the water filter you use?

 

[Sonic]

I don't really need a water filter up here as the water is soft (49.06 mg/L CaCO3 to be precise) so I tend to follow the full Gtechniq routine, with Citrus APC, Fallout Remover, Citrus Snow Foam, 3 Bucket Method, followed by Ceramic foam and other Si (approved) coatings. Standard wash time is around 3 hours - but I am retired so I can take as long as I want ... or at least until I get shouted at from indoors for making too much noise with the 'Nilfisk P200' or 'BigBoi BlowR Pro' drier

 

[Conscript]

Do you mind me asking what's the water filter you use?

Sure, this one: https://raceglaze.co.uk/shop/race-g...-drying/refillable-0ppm-water-filter-7-litre/
It was about £100 when I bought it, and the only on-going cost is that you have to replace the resin, usually about once a year, but that's not too expensive, and can be bought from multiple places and in bulk.

Our water is very hard, about 280ppm I think I measured it at...after running it through the filter, it comes out at 0ppm. I can wash the car, rinse with filtered water and just leave it to dry and there's no water spots whatsoever. I even once did it in direct sunlight as a test - absolutely perfect. I always find drying the car is the worst part of cleaning for me, and it also always feels like it's the part where you risk doing most damage to the paint. Whereas now, the only time I actually make contact with the paint is with a soft mitt and decent shampoo. So it's saved me a huge amount of effort and lowered the risk of swirling the paint. Without a doubt the best money I have spent on any car cleaning product.

 

[NunoHenriques]

Sure, this one: https://raceglaze.co.uk/shop/race-g...-drying/refillable-0ppm-water-filter-7-litre/
It was about £100 when I bought it, and the only on-going cost is that you have to replace the resin, usually about once a year, but that's not too expensive, and can be bought from multiple places and in bulk.

Our water is very hard, about 280ppm I think I measured it at...after running it through the filter, it comes out at 0ppm. I can wash the car, rinse with filtered water and just leave it to dry and there's no water spots whatsoever. I even once did it in direct sunlight as a test - absolutely perfect. I always find drying the car is the worst part of cleaning for me, and it also always feels like it's the part where you risk doing most damage to the paint. Whereas now, the only time I actually make contact with the paint is with a soft mitt and decent shampoo. So it's saved me a huge amount of effort and lowered the risk of swirling the paint. Without a doubt the best money I have spent on any car cleaning product.

Awesome, thank you a lot!

Drying the car is always the worst part indeed, every time I think I did a great job, there's always a water spot somewhere

 

[ShootinJack]

Awesome, thank you a lot!

Drying the car is always the worst part indeed, every time I think I did a great job, there's always a water spot somewhere

I always go over with a quick detailer after drying, eliminates any water spots.

I'm going to look to the water filter though, not having to dry the car would be a big bonus.

 

[GRistopher]

Just finished getting rid of the worst of the factory fitted swirl marks. Hand polishing, built up a bit of a sweat!

Edit: added 2nd pic

 

[Eoin]

...... My only gripe so far is that I seem to have a residue on my windscreen which is very noticeable in the low sun - not sure if it's something that was applied when the coating was done, or if it's some residue left from the factory, but driving into a low sun the other morning, I could barely see a thing. I've given the windscreen a going over with a claybar and some Autoglym Glass Polish, which seems to have helped, so I will go over it a bit more thoroughly again and see if it helps.

This is probably detailing heresy, but I've sometimes seen this on Mrs Eoin's Audi when is comes back from the local hand wash and used Bar Keepers Friend*. It comes up perfect. No idea what they use to leave this residue, I tend to be a minimum washing kind of guy.

* Note for any grammar pedants, the missing apostrophe is how it's written on the pack.

 

[Triggaaar]

Does anyone here have the Karcher K7 (or K5) compact? I understand that you adjust the pressure on the lance, but what if you're using one of the short triggers? Is it possible to adjust the pressure? A K7 on full power all the time is a bit much.