PJ S

Give me a shout Chris - I'll bring it back to how it was/should be. PM me and we can discuss things in more detail. That wax made under licence by TW for Zymöl Europe, is not £18 a bottle - more like £6-8, iirc. The only Zymöl bottle for £18 I can think of (without running off to visit their site to confirm) is the Field Glaze, which is more of a quick detailing spray. Edit: Seems I was in error of the price of the wax - seen it online for £18-21 before delivery. Wow, that's steep for what it is! Must've been thinking of the shampoo at the price I thought the wax was. Zymöl's prices are just crazy!

Disagree on a higher skill level needed - just more respect for what you have, and how you use it, but both if used in a blasé manner, will damage paintwork. The key to both machines, and the rotary in particular, is to start with the least aggressive combination of pad and polish, before moving to something more aggresive, to remove the swirls/scratches - and not all can be, if they're too deep. RO's (or DA's - dual action to use an Americanism) can produce quite a bit of heat, if used at the highest speed setting and pressure applied - that's where the numpty aspect as mentioned above, comes into play. So long as you keep the pad moving over the area at a lower speed, and don't let the polish dry out (until you become much more experienced and use it to burnish the paint), you should have no problems in using a rotary to correct the paintwork. As always, when advising anyone contemplating DIY paint correction - buy a scrap panel (bootlid/door) and practice on it with the pads and polishes, at different speeds to understand what it takes to screw up the paint, and to hone your technique to remove the defects, before starting on your own, unless you happen to be good friends with a local sprayer!

Is that the car in the banner - silver metallic? Should you fancy swirl removal - 2 options open on a full rotary rather than random orbital machine. 1) Silverline (orange version better than blue, and not much more costly) from ebay sellers 2) Chicago Pneumatic/Milwaukee - 2x the price of the Silverline, but then a better long term investment, all things considered. Paul @ Glossmax would be worth speaking with on the Milwaukee, and pads. Ben @ carnaubawaxshop.co.uk does the full gamut of BH products, Glossmax, only the wash/clays/balm. Ok i was thinking about buying a polisher for the car. Just want to know why a full rotary rather than a random orbital machine. And yes I have some swirl marks also. I was thinking about the Meguiers machine,would this be a good buy or not ? Thanks Mole. Meg's G220 is not a half bad machine, but its first offering had either poor QC or reliability due to inferior parts supplied/chosen or assembly techniques (dry joints?) The revised version should be all that's sold now - but don't quote me on that - and if being used to replace fault originals, would seem to be a better quality unit, with the lack of noise about how its failed as well. That said, if you're a complete numpty, it's possible to damage paintwork no matter which type of machine polisher you have in your hands at the time.

Interesting. I need to clay my car soon, and I've got some Autobalm that I'm intending to apply after. Anything that can save me some work, like not having to dry it before the Autobalm, is a good thing in my book ! Thanks for the tip :) No problem - only slight issue with the tip, is the water hardness in your area, and how quickly the water will evaporate, leaving behind the telltale mineral deposits. Two solutions are to use Duragloss Aquawax (basically a QD spray) or IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) which can be picked up from a range of places locally or the 'net. The latter may be the better of the options, due to using at 50-75% neat, it'll leave the surface as clean as can possibly be (mind the rubber seals), which the 'balm will appreciate. The DG AqW may leave a little something behind, but then again, as the 'balm has chemical cleaning abilities, it may remove what was laid down. A third solution is to invest in a water filter to remove the mineral content, so as you don't have to worry about getting round the car quickly enough, and on occasions, can be completely lazy - rinse off, and go have a beer/soft drink/cuppa, while it air dries. Have a read - http://www.civinfo.com/forum/cleaning/1668...ish-used-2.html

LTT Solutions or Furniture Clinc probably know more about leather in reality than the other manufacturers put together, knocking out any old thing that is benign (useless) or harmful over time. Spend a bit of time talking to Judy at LLT or the chap at FC, whose name escapes me - you'll soon understand there's a lot of wheat amongst the chaff that needs dispensed with. Won't go wrong with either company's products.

Is that the car in the banner - silver metallic? It won't be oxidised, as it'll have a clearcoat over the paint, and silver tends not to fade like singlestage reds and blacks do. Foregoing the polishing route, unless there's swirls and scrapes galore, then I'd suggest a good wash, clay, and sealant will do the trick. 1) Get some Bilt Hamber Surfex HD - dilute to 10% strength, and use in a pressurised garden sprayer all over, including the wheels. Leave for 2-3 mins (try not to let it dry out), then rinse off - warm water if possible, as this makes the product more active, so cleaning better. 2) Wash with chosen shampoo - Bilt Hamber Autowash or Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild. 3) Clay with their own Autoclay (soft version) using water in a trigger/pump spray bottle or the hose attachment. 4) Dry and apply whichever LSP (last stage product) you fancy/have.* Now, this is where it can get a bit technical and confusing: * If you have swirls, but don't go down the machine polishing route, you'd be best to use a filler sealant like Bilt Hamber Autobalm. The same product can be used regardless of whether its fillers are being utilised or not, but other sealants like Carlack/Klasse (the former based/derived on the latter from what I remember reading - not sure the exact tie-in between the two companies) or Zaino/Duragloss, they will highlight the defects more - so polishing to a highly mirror-like finish is better to appreciate them better. If you shunned the polishing aspect, and went for Autobalm, the drying aspect, after rinsing could be omitted, as it'll disperse and set-up on a wet surface no problem, and which will help the applicator pad remain well damp to aid the spreading of the product. Should you fancy swirl removal - 2 options open on a full rotary rather than random orbital machine. 1) Silverline (orange version better than blue, and not much more costly) from ebay sellers 2) Chicago Pneumatic/Milwaukee - 2x the price of the Silverline, but then a better long term investment, all things considered. Paul @ Glossmax would be worth speaking with on the Milwaukee, and pads. Ben @ carnaubawaxshop.co.uk does the full gamut of BH products, Glossmax, only the wash/clays/balm.

Yes, AG HD wax is carnauba based. R222 is a cracking wax, but has bugger all durability, although with the newly released (somewhat) 100% carnauba R222, it'd be interesting to see if the looks have been retained, and the durability improved upon. Otherwise, you might consider Dodo Lime Prime Lite or Meg's #7 under Victoria Concours.

I'd say he was deliberately stupid - but then again, he could've been just stupid stupid.

You could've probably made do with Tesco Daisy or Stardrops, which you can pick up in £1 shops for the vast sum of £1. Alternatively, Bilt Hamber Surfex HD which can be diluted to various strengths for whatever the job is.

Don't know about meths - but I'd suggest IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol or Isopropanol) or Panel Wipe (same thing) diluted 50% or 75% strong. Neat maybe for tar. Gives the wax/sealant the cleanest surface to adhere to.

As I said above, the clay bar won't affect paint, irrespective of whether it's metallic or pearlescent, and singlestage or clearcoated. Think of claying as using a lump of plasticine to remove blocked pores in your skin. All those black and white heads are the bonded contaminants, and the plasticine pulls them out leaving your skin cleaner and fresher looking. As spearsy said, if you want to deep clean the pores before putting on the "moisturiser", then a cleanser is needed. If you use Autobalm, then something like 50% diluted IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) or panel wipe is best. If you go down the wax route, as opposed to sealants like AB, EGP, then a glaze would be an option to enhance the appearance. You've many choices from Zymöl's HD Cleanse, Swissvax's Cleaner Fluid (medium is slightly abrasive), Meguiar's #7, and Dodo Juice's Lime Prime Lite (LP has micro abrasives), and Clearkote's Vanilla Moose Hand Glaze Wax (a bloody mouthful and ultimate daft way of simply saying "vanilla smelling Glaze"). Any one of those under a wax would be an alternative to just a clean panel as provided by IPA/panel wipe. The oils left behind in the micropores and voids are designed to add a bit more depth/wetness to the looks once the wax is applied. Don't use with sealants, which are more fussy about what they bond to. But in all honesty, I'd be extremely surprised if you found the appearance Autobalm provides to be anything less than very pleasing. One other thing - SRP is an abrasive, and continual use will be like rubbing a fine sandpaper on the paint. Over time - quite a bit admittedly, you'll lose precious µm of paint or clearcoat. Fine if you're removing swirls/light scratches and using a proper wash/dry technique to prevent further defects, but if the paint has been properly deswirled, then there's no need for SRP. If you're using it for its swirl masking ability, then save yourself the hassle of it and EGP for a half decent durability combo, and use the better masking ability of Autobalm, not to mention its superior durability too. A bit more expensive than the AG twins, but then only a smidgeon is needed to cover a panel, so it'll last a long time before needing replaced with another jar. So, some food for thought before rushing out and spending money on the first thing that comes to hand or grabs your attention.

Clay bars are not abrasive - not in the conventional sense. So, you can use one from now 'til doomsday, your paint will not be affected. What a clay bar does do, is pull out bonded contaminants from the pores of the paint and surface - such as tree sap, iron filings from railways, road tar, and various other industrial contaminants. It'll also remove overspray, and bug remains, and baked on brake dust on wheels, as well as deep clean glass. So long as you use plenty of lube, you'll not leave any marring (skid marks) on the paint - which are easily dealt with, with a bit of panel wipe/IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) or AG SRP. One thing you will notice after claying, is how much brighter and clearer the paint looks - daft to a degree, but there really is a glow that you'll have not seen before/in a while, and that's before you put any wax or sealant on it. I'd recommend the Bilt Hamber Autoclay soft as your introduction to the world of claying - massive bar (200g) which goes a long way, designed to use water as lube rather than a more costly QD product, and mild on paint, but aggressive enough to tackle the most stubborn of contaminants. You can get it direct from Bilt Hamber or the following resellers: Clean Your Car Elite Care Car Pro-Detailing Ultimate Finish Carnaubawaxshop

Doubtful, if they're a bit more severe than the ones already hidden, but you never know. If you're feeling particularly energetic some day, use some Autoglym SRP to knock back the swirls, etc, then put the 'balm on.

Foaming pre-wash? Ease/quickness of rinsing on warm/sunny days? Flash unit now discontinued, but useful for those in soft/medium hardwater areas. Anything harder - forget it, it'll kill the filter in one use. Even then I've found it less useful in a relatively soft water area with each replacement cartridge I swapped in. So, unless they have a used by date, there's something not right with the extras I bought at the same time. Will now be upgrading to this, with enough filtration to last a full year of rinsing once a week. At about £90 or so, it's expensive enough, but not overly so.

Emulsion or gloss? If the former - scrape/pick off, then warm water and damp cloth. If the latter, then you'll have to use isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and wash the area when done with a mild pH neutral soap (Dove, etc or car shampoo) to break down any residue left. Don't soak, use the suds, then dry and leave to for an hour or two before applying a conditioner. One thing to do though first, is check the IPA on an inconspicuous area first to see if it has any adverse effect.

Water beading is merely a function of surface tension rather than an absolute indication of any LSP being there or not. Irrespective, monthly reapplying is better than winging it to see if you can do it once every other month. But it's also worth remembering to remove all the wax 3-4 times a year anyhow, since carnauba degrades due to sun's rays, airborne contamination, bird bombs, industrial fallout, etc, etc. So aged wax needs removed rather than continually layered upon.

Wacko - kill two birds here with one stone. Get some Autobalm, it'll hide any light marks on it, and as it has some chemical cleaning capability, if you see any black transfer on the pad, then you'll know it's solid paint, although if it's been looked after pretty well (assuming we're not talking about it being brand new) then you might find there's little oxidised paint to remove. Since it's black, it's going to show up more marks, more of the time - so if you want to keep it looking it's best, then a machine polisher and a good selection of pads and polishes will do that better than Autoglym's SRP by hand. You'll also want to get a clay bar too - and if you're going for the Autobalm, you might as well just get the Autoclay Soft (clear tub)

dgman, as you know, I'm a big advocator of Bilt Hamber - try their Autofoam before you decide foaming is a waste of time/effort. There's a bit of maths you'll need to do, in order to get the 4-5% PIR (panel impact ratio), which is the correct concentration for not pulling off your LSP (up to 8% if using Autobalm incidentally). It will loosen, remove, and soften the dirt on there, giving the regular wash stage less potential to create more/new scratches and swirls. I've posted it on another forum, so I'll find it later and post it here for you to take onboard.

£100? Try a decent one nearer £250 and you'll have something that'll last you at least 5 years before showing signs of needing any attention. Don't think you've any need to look towards a Kranzle unless you'll be using one solid each day for 5 hours+, but then when you're measuring life expectancy as 3000 hours versus 50 hours for the basic ones at £35-40, as well as greater flow rate - even they start looking value for money over the long term. That said, I've been looking into pressure washers myself, and have found a range that are looking very promising. If you're in no rush, I'll be able to provide further info soon, all being well, and may be able to sort out a bit of a deal - but I'm making no false promises.

1) Yes/not exactly 2) Off 3) Any open areas (alternator, etc), battery terminals - wrap in cling film 4) Heavy degreaser - Bilt Hamber Surfex HD, 303 Aerospace, Meg's Super Degreaser, and so on, and so forth.

Zaino are good products, but still a bit more expensive than you need pay when compared to the practically identical Duragloss range. Only for ZFX which allows for multiple layering in a day, the two are the same, but then you could polycharge or ZFX Duragloss's 111 or 105 if you didn't want to wait 24 hours for each layer to cure before the next one can go on. Anyway, the main point I was wanting to make is that both will highlight the imperfections you may have, so you need a really well prepared surface onto which to apply. In the absence of that and the paintwork having some imperfections, then something with fillers like Autobalm will do the job.

And he throws the swirls in for free, or are they a cost option? Sounds like a keeper. :)

AG SRP by hand with a German applicator (yes, that's the name of it) will remove a good bit of swirling and light scratches. It'll also knock the V notch out of deeper ones, making them more rounded, which will reduce their "sticking out like a sore thumb"ness. If not that deep after, SRP itself or Autobalm will mask what's left with 2 layers applied 30-45 mins apart. If you do get a machine polisher, SRP can be very effective with that too, albeit with dusting it's main issue. Bit of light reading - http://www.civinfo.com/forum/cleaning-styl...-auto-balm.html http://www.civinfo.com/forum/cleaning-styl...-wash-clay.html

FWIW, orange peel is a sprayer's problem, not what buffing compounds you use. If he lays it on too thick, it sags, resulting in OP. Trizact is only a range of 3M polishes - they could easily use Menzerna, Farecla, Meguiar's, among numerous others. Not comprehending the correlation to my comment and forensics. I know jokes aren't as funny when you have to explain them, but go on. Just this once.

As above, or TPCL - tell Mike I sent you, and ask him if he's finished "evaluating" my towel. It's only been 5 months!!