Hi All,

I have purchased a lexus from an authorised lexus dealer which is not my local dealer. My question is whether I can get my car washed for free on Saturday by my local lexus dealer? I understand Lexus offers free car wash on Saturdays. Does this only apply to the dealer you purchased your car from?

Thanks.
Alex

[quote name='roc888' timestamp='1322591822' post='768330']
Hi All,

I have purchased a lexus from an authorised lexus dealer which is not my local dealer. My question is whether I can get my car washed for free on Saturday by my local lexus dealer? I understand Lexus offers free car wash on Saturdays. Does this only apply to the dealer you purchased your car from?

Thanks.
Alex
[/quote]


It shouldn't be, but you probably need to be on their books for servicing. I bought my IS250 from Lexus Bristol (Sytner group) but Lexus Cheltenham (Lister group) offered the free Saturday car wash. However, as I make a point of not letting anyone else, apart from myself and Christian Gouldson, valet my cars, I politely refuse. They also know not to wash it when I take them in for a service.

[quote name='Tango' timestamp='1322602103' post='768342']
[quote name='roc888' timestamp='1322591822' post='768330']
Hi All,

I have purchased a lexus from an authorised lexus dealer which is not my local dealer. My question is whether I can get my car washed for free on Saturday by my local lexus dealer? I understand Lexus offers free car wash on Saturdays. Does this only apply to the dealer you purchased your car from?

Thanks.
Alex
[/quote]


It shouldn't be, but you probably need to be on their books for servicing. I bought my IS250 from Lexus Bristol (Sytner group) but Lexus Cheltenham (Lister group) offered the free Saturday car wash. However, as I make a point of not letting anyone else, apart from myself and Christian Gouldson, valet my cars, I politely refuse. They also know not to wash it when I take them in for a service.
[/quote]

Hi Tango,

Why dont you let them wash it?

I would presume that Tango would not trust the "rookies" that clean the cars to do a proper job and cause paint work damage from doing a shoddy job.

Exactly. I'm sure they'll take reasonable care but I'm not prepared to risk it as it would take me longer to polish out any swirls than I would to wash the car properly.

[quote name='Tango' timestamp='1322608537' post='768360']
Exactly. I'm sure they'll take reasonable care but I'm not prepared to risk it as it would take me longer to polish out any swirls than I would to wash the car properly.
[/quote]

+ 1

I would not want the dealer or any one else clean wash and clean the car... I am a part time detailer myself...and as all Lexus models have soft paint as opposed to other german rivals which comes with hard paint..... its very easy that the car's paint might end up with swirls with one bad wash

[quote name='ironrose' timestamp='1322649463' post='768373']
[quote name='Tango' timestamp='1322608537' post='768360']
Exactly. I'm sure they'll take reasonable care but I'm not prepared to risk it as it would take me longer to polish out any swirls than I would to wash the car properly.
[/quote]

+ 1

I would not want the dealer or any one else clean wash and clean the car... I am a part time detailer myself...and as all Lexus models have soft paint as opposed to other german rivals which comes with hard paint..... its very easy that the car's paint might end up with swirls with one bad wash
[/quote]


Thanks for the advice!

[quote name='ironrose' timestamp='1322649463' post='768373']
[quote name='Tango' timestamp='1322608537' post='768360']
Exactly. I'm sure they'll take reasonable care but I'm not prepared to risk it as it would take me longer to polish out any swirls than I would to wash the car properly.
[/quote]

+ 1

I would not want the dealer or any one else clean wash and clean the car... I am a part time detailer myself...and as all Lexus models have soft paint as opposed to other german rivals which comes with hard paint..... its very easy that the car's paint might end up with swirls with one bad wash
[/quote]
This is all interesting stuff, but I have to confess to being somewhat ignorant in such matters.

My "who I will let wash my car" threshold is somewhat lower than yours as I tend to draw the line at bob-a-job cub scouts who I'm worried will scrach the car (out of ignorance rather than carelessness).

I also agree that the Lexus paintwork is quite soft, although I'd always put that down to modern water based paints (but I'm not claiming any expertise or knowledge in this area so I'm probably wrong).

However (and this is where some of you are probably going to cringe ant tut-tut), this is the external cleaning regime that I use on my four year old IS250.

About once a month:
[list]
[*]A tiny dash of fairy liquid on the windscreen with a little water to remove the grease/oil film.
[*]Two buckets of warm water and a clean-ish (and stone free) sponge. Wash the car down from top to bottom with fairly random sponge movements.
[*]Rinse the car with a couple of buckets of clean water and dry off with a chamois leather.
[/list]

After every third wash or so I also:
[list]
[*]Check for stone chips and treat accordingly.
[/list]

About twice a year (typically spring and autumn) I'll polish the car with turtle wax.

And that's it, apart from the free dealer wash twice a year when the car is being serviced.

Now, to my untrained eye and 70K miles later, the car is in immaculate condition, even when I inspect it in good strong daylight from all angles. No sign of any swirls, or marks of any kind. Maybe the car lacks some of it's original showroom shine, but it looks pretty damn good to me after a wash and I'm probably fussier than the average guy.

To be honest, the one thing that really lets my car down and is noticable after a wash and polish are the shabby alloys, but that's another story as we all know.

What I guess I'm asking for are any tips that other users could pass on that might benefit me (and I'm guessing there are plenty). For example, is there a proper way to use a sponge, or should I even be using one? Is a car shampoo really important? Is fairy liquid a bad idea (I don't get it on the paintwork)?

Thanks

[quote] I guess I'm asking for are any tips that other users could pass on that
might benefit me (and I'm guessing there are plenty). For example, is there a
proper way to use a sponge, or should I even be using one? Is a car shampoo
really important? Is fairy liquid a bad idea (I don't get it on the
paintwork)?
[/quote]


This is a subject that could be discussed ad infinitum, but it comes down to how picky you are about the state of your cars bodywork. You do not say what colour your car is, but light colours, especially metallic silvers don't show up imperfections like swirls so readily, whereas the darker colours do. Here's an article attempting to explain why a sponge and plain old water isn't such a good idea [url="http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27"]http://www.cleanyour...wtopic.php?t=27[/url]


As an example of the difference between a good finish and one that has swirls and degradation from poor washing, heres a couple of recent pics of an Aston Martin in its process of paint correction from Christian Gouldson of Invisable Touch Detailing. The pics were taken after removing the tape used for sectioning off the panels and shows both pre and post paint correction.


[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/210/dsc04936m.jpg/][IMG]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3492/dsc04936m.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/687/dsc04938t.jpg/][IMG]http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/2914/dsc04938t.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/804/dsc04965x.jpg/][IMG]http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/3866/dsc04965x.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[quote name='dazed' timestamp='1322732955' post='768437']
This is all interesting stuff, but I have to confess to being somewhat ignorant in such matters.

My "who I will let wash my car" threshold is somewhat lower than yours as I tend to draw the line at bob-a-job cub scouts who I'm worried will scrach the car (out of ignorance rather than carelessness).

I also agree that the Lexus paintwork is quite soft, although I'd always put that down to modern water based paints (but I'm not claiming any expertise or knowledge in this area so I'm probably wrong).

However (and this is where some of you are probably going to cringe ant tut-tut), this is the external cleaning regime that I use on my four year old IS250.

About once a month:
[list]
[*]A tiny dash of fairy liquid on the windscreen with a little water to remove the grease/oil film.
[*]Two buckets of warm water and a clean-ish (and stone free) sponge. Wash the car down from top to bottom with fairly random sponge movements.
[*]Rinse the car with a couple of buckets of clean water and dry off with a chamois leather.
[/list]

After every third wash or so I also:
[list]
[*]Check for stone chips and treat accordingly.
[/list]

About twice a year (typically spring and autumn) I'll polish the car with turtle wax.

And that's it, apart from the free dealer wash twice a year when the car is being serviced.

Now, to my untrained eye and 70K miles later, the car is in immaculate condition, even when I inspect it in good strong daylight from all angles. No sign of any swirls, or marks of any kind. Maybe the car lacks some of it's original showroom shine, but it looks pretty damn good to me after a wash and I'm probably fussier than the average guy.

To be honest, the one thing that really lets my car down and is noticable after a wash and polish are the shabby alloys, but that's another story as we all know.

What I guess I'm asking for are any tips that other users could pass on that might benefit me (and I'm guessing there are plenty). For example, is there a proper way to use a sponge, or should I even be using one? Is a car shampoo really important? Is fairy liquid a bad idea (I don't get it on the paintwork)?

Thanks
[/quote]



I would personally not put fairy liquid on the car even if its just on the windscreen...

I would recommend to get a PH neutral shampoo .. not the ones sold in halfords ...... there are a number of brands available online and are reasonably priced.....thats always the safest for any paint work ...

give up on sponges and go for a noodle wash mitt and try the two bucket method.. one bucket with the shampoo concentrate and clean water and the second bucket with just clean water to rinse the wash mitt every time before you soak the wash mitt in the shampoo bucket... this way grime just stay in one bucket and will never go back on to the car....

and as for your comment on shabby alloys .. i would recommend a smartvax rimvax or PB's alloy wheel sealant... apply it on the alloys and you will see that the brake dust never sticks to the alloys like before ... and a tyre gloss if you want the wet and brand new look ... and a QD for once a month topup ...

the best and easiest way to test if there are any swrils on the car is in night at a petrol station which has the bright halogen lights ...

This is what normally i do and my product choices for the customers cars or on my IS250 as an yearly treatment ... in my case I do this just after MOT

1. Wash the car with pressure washer
2. Apply Snow foam with I4D snow foam or autobrite... trust me this removes a lot of the grim out
3. Clean the wheels with wheel cleaner - I use Valet pro Bilberry wheel cleaner
4. Shampoo with wash mitt and britemax clean max shampoo (two bucket method) ... never sponge .. thats just a personal thing.. but i have friends who are full time professional valeters using sponges...
5. Dry the car with MF cloth
6. Clay the paint work with Dodojuice born slippy lubricant, this picks up safely all the grime that gets into the paintwork and prepares the paint for the next stage
7. inspect the paint work for imperfections, scratches, swirls with bright LED
8. tape the car up for bits that dont need polish .. logos/ plastics etc
8. depending on the damage use the relevant polishes and polishing pads to correct the paint - 3M and Menzerna range are my choices
9. give it another wash with clean water
10. treat the plastics and all the black bits with AF revive or C4
11.chrome and metal bits with Britemax metal twins
12. work on the interior (thats a whole process in itself)
13.dress up the engine bay with Aerospace 303 protectant
14 wax the paint with AG HD wax or Swissvax BOS for a nicer cars
15.wax the wheels with smartvax rimwax apply some I4D tyre gloss to the tyres
16.Clean the glass and windscreen with 3M glass cleaner

this all takes a minimum 6-8 hours and that should make the carlook glossy and great, if anything betterlooking than brand new... i had customers when they had their cars detailed with 30 miles on the clock

And as for the weekly work on my IS250 ... I keep things simple ..

1. wash it with plenty of fresh water ... the self wash centre at tescos .... ( i am in a flat now and dont have access to a hose pipe)
2. Dry it with MF cloth
3. Apply Britemax QD every alternate weeks or once a month depending on usage of the car and top up alloy wheel wax once every three months.. i got to be honest.. i never found a alloy wheel wax that lasts longer than that .. and the wax once on the paint work every spring and autumn

Hope this helps .. or PM me your number .. I can call and explain if you have any specific doubts .. i love talking about detailing cars ...

Thanks Tango and Ironrose for taking the time to pass on such useful information. I'll seriously consider acting on some of the suggestions.

Just for the record, my car is Brechin Slate (a sort of light icy blue, so quite light in colour) which might partly explain how I'm getting away with such a shabby regime.

Thanks again.

Serious question: How do I remove swirl marks?

[quote name='Baldchap' timestamp='1323172490' post='768761']
Serious question: How do I remove swirl marks?
[/quote]

Depending on level of swirls, there are various stages of cleaning and levels of polishing, finishing and waxing or sealing that needs to be done. You might have to do all the steps in my previous post. I am sorry there is no one word answer for the question.

may be this link from Dave @ Detailing world .. is probably the best link for polishing the car ...

[url="http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=63859"]My link[/url]

Just out of interest.. whats the colour of the car ?????

OK thanks.

It's dark blue of course! It shows every mark!

[quote name='Baldchap' timestamp='1323179347' post='768772']
OK thanks.

It's dark blue of course! It shows every mark!
[/quote]


Have a look at this link, done by a Pro in portugal... hope it helps ..

[url="http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=236973"]Lexus IS250 Detailed [/url]

[quote name='ironrose' timestamp='1323179963' post='768774']
Have a look at this link, done by a Pro in portugal... hope it helps ..

[url="http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=236973"]Lexus IS250 Detailed [/url]
[/quote]
Good heavens. That really does look impressive - almost mirror like.

I've clearly got a lot to learn.

[quote name='dazed' timestamp='1323185288' post='768781']
[quote name='ironrose' timestamp='1323179963' post='768774']
Have a look at this link, done by a Pro in portugal... hope it helps ..

[url="http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=236973"]Lexus IS250 Detailed [/url]
[/quote]
Good heavens. That really does look impressive - almost mirror like.

I've clearly got a lot to learn.
[/quote]


Well .. it has to be....no wonder the SV Crystal Rock Wax costs £795.00 a pot ...

But IMO the SV BOS (£195) is good for Lexus and SwissVax do a wax specially for Lexus vehicles called SV Finesse and costs about £90... havent tried it so far... will do this year and post some pics up ...