Its all in the detail

[Ninja59]

Originally Posted by MikeIOW

Shiny sinks? Must ask the missus about that one

Wonder if a wax like Collinite can go on top of a system like Werkstat.....like a sacrificial but tough layer. Anyone any ideas?

It will as colly is a wax assuming you have the werkstat acrylic kit which is a sealant sealant first then wax on top.

In honesty though no one should need anything under colly. Even if personally I can say it dulls the finish slightly.

[MikeIOW]

Thanks Ninja!
My plans to manually do it all myself are being regulated with the "tennis elbow" I am now suffering :-(
....which means "elbow grease" will be in sort supply!

The Werkstat system looks relatively 'easy' to apply, whereas the Coll may nee rather more effort.....hence wondering if I use the werkstat first, then apply some Coll a bit later may be an option...

:-)

[MikeIOW]

Well, my lad & I had a bit of practice today, on our SMax.
Snow foam (fun!)......car wasn't too mucky to begin, so I'm not convinced that did much this time round (but was the first time I've foamed!)

2BM wash.....thought it looked good.

Then we got a bit of bilt hamber soft clay, and clayed the car for about an hour.

Wow.

We could feel some "roughness" under the fingers before starting....but after water & clay, the surface was very quickly smoooooth, like glass!

First time I've ever used one. Very easy. Very effective.

We then ran through the werkstat acrylic kit: a layer of Prime (relatively hard work to buff off...that's why I got the lad involved!), a couple of layers of Jett sealant (somewhat easier to apply - spray on, wipe off, with 30+ minutes between coats), then a wipe of Gloss.
Pretty simple, and to my eyes, looks good!

The real surprise was how effective the clay was. If you haven't tried one, I recommend it! The bilt hamber one just needs water as lubricant, so keeps the cost down.

[Ninja59]

Snow Foam in a majority is a pre wash you can use spray pre washes from the likes of Valet Pro instead. Although with snow foam it is more fun. Essentially a pre wash is where people completely miss the point it does not completely remove dirt it is not designed for that it is there more to soften dirt before a contact wash.

In addition I always re snow foam after the first rinse (so two coats of SF) to do a 2BM on, many don't these days but it means lubrication is huge on the car, essential to reduce the potential for defects to be introduced into the car.

Regarding clay did you use any fallout remover or tar remover first as using the chemicals before claying is helpful?

I have found that in the past as well regarding the initial layer of prime. Using a DA does make the finish better (additionally for many sealants prime is a good cleaner and base once you feel confident about experimenting with the "topping" of prime).

Jett I like but for the 30 minute cure it does annoy me quite a lot as it is quite a slow process to build them up.

Glos is definitely necessary otherwise the beading can be lacklustre with this particular kit and is definitely the item you find finished first out of it (once confident with experimenting you can use other top up spray sealant products).

I would say Glos every one to two washes, and use Jett probably once to twice a month to keep a good base.

The finish with the kit is good, but it is slightly let down on the durability front as it relies so heavily for it's water behaviour on Glos (in my view slightly to much). The finish though is worth the effort.

From my point of view beyond prime the kit is showing it's age now and definitely needs a revamp - my next trial is on Sonax NPT Xtreme protect and shine which definitely makes this kit feel old (and virtually use one applicator leave for two minutes wipe off, panel at a time). In regards to quick detailers/spray sealants (for top up) Glos is terrible in comparison with Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer (which has made many definitely a "poor product").

[MikeIOW]

Originally Posted by Ninja59

Snow Foam ....essentially a pre wash is where people completely miss the point it does not completely remove dirt it is not designed for that it is there more to soften dirt before a contact wash.
<snip>

Regarding clay did you use any fallout remover or tar remover first as using the chemicals before claying is helpful?

<snip>
I would say Glos every one to two washes, and use Jett probably once to twice a month to keep a good base.

The finish with the kit is good, but it is slightly let down on the durability front as it relies so heavily for it's water behaviour on Glos (in my view slightly to much). The finish though is worth the effort.

Thx Ninja!

Yup, I know the foam is a "pre-wash loosener". Fun indeed :-)

Didn't use any removers - I had used some bug stuff about a week ago, but for the Volvo we do have Iron Out & Tardis to use as well (this was just the warm up!!). Tardis. Hmm.....TARDIS......reminds me: my cousin is on TV soon....he is the voices of ALL the Daleks!!!

Yup, I suspect durability may not be as good as some options....& will reapply accordingly......but the werkstat was recommended due to us not having a "clean indoor" environment to apply anything more substantial....plus I think Bob had a good experience with it. I think (hope!) it should easily match or better the "regular" garage options.

As I say....the massive surprise was the clay bar work. Astonishing difference!

[Ninja59]

Originally Posted by MikeIOW

Thx Ninja!

Yup, I know the foam is a "pre-wash loosener". Fun indeed :-)

Didn't use any removers - I had used some bug stuff about a week ago, but for the Volvo we do have Iron Out & Tardis to use as well (this was just the warm up!!). Tardis. Hmm.....TARDIS......reminds me: my cousin is on TV soon....he is the voices of ALL the Daleks!!!

Yup, I suspect durability may not be as good as some options....& will reapply accordingly......but the werkstat was recommended due to us not having a "clean indoor" environment to apply anything more substantial....plus I think Bob had a good experience with it. I think (hope!) it should easily match or better the "regular" garage options.

As I say....the massive surprise was the clay bar work. Astonishing difference!

Auto Finesse Iron Out - Hmm I will say next time buy another product ml for ml one of the most expensive you are better looking at Iron-X LS for example. And definitely not a better product overall.

Tardis - for godsake make sure you use it as directed. It is a good product though, but remember it is trade strength and mainly comprises of xylene.

Hmm part of the problem of using polished bliss (a hunch) means you miss out on a lot of spray products that don't need hours or infra red lamps to dry.
In the future I would definitely consider looking at the likes of Gyeon can coat, or wet coat (which are available from PB), or the likes of the sonax products mentioned above.

It would be an interesting one to do, prime, jett and then Sonax BSD you might have the best of both worlds and increasing the amount of durability then.

[AngloScot]

I use sonax brilliant shine detailer on my car, it's easy to put on and buff off one panel at a time and the car looks like brand new again. The beading is superb. I have also been using asda wheel cleaner on my alloys at £2 a bottle you can't go wrong (maybe it works so good as the alloys are still new). Very good though.