Below Freezing Detailing
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Saturday 8am – 19/12/2009
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…Press snooze….9 minutes later…BEEP BEEP BEEP… Switch off the alarm. I open one eye and feel the blistering cold air freeze it open. To my surprise I see a text on the phone and the detail is on. At this stage I check on the for the current weather conditions I will be facing hoping for a lovely forecast….Minus -3 degrees, GREAT! Looking outside in amazement that it can be so cold at 8am on a Saturday morning, my golden retriever is rolling around in the snow/ice barking at the massive pigeon mocking him from the tree...I just wished I could borrow his coat for the day
It took me 30minutes to warm up the Leon and get the ice off the car and another 5 minutes trying to open the door handles as they were frozen shut. Arriving an hour late I am presented with this car.
I have never cleaned a car in such freezing conditions before. I knew that using a pressure washer blasting freezing cold water was just not going to work. Warm water through the hose was the only way I was going to get the frozen dirt off the car. With this plan in mind I already picked my tools of choice to get this job moving.
PRODUCTS
Wash n Drying
- Megs NXT Gen Shampoo
- Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser
- Bilberry Wheel Cleaner
- Megs All Purpose Cleaner
- Super Plush drying towel
- Chemical Guys and Megs microfibers
Body Work
- Sonus Green clay
- Megs Last Touch
- Menzerna P3.02 Intensive Polish
- Dodo Juice Lime Prime
Glazes, Sealants and Waxes
- Chemical Guys Blitz
Plastics, Rubbers and Glass
- Chemicals New Look Gel
- Autoglym Fast Glass
- WD40
Tools
- Meguiars G220 mk2 machine polisher
- Hose and Warm water
- Lake Country Yellow Compound Pad
- Sonus DAS Green Polishing Pad
- Swissvax Detail Brush
- Vikan Brushes
- 3M 3434 Masking Tape
As the car was very very dirty and the weather was making my fingers feel numb Rams kindly took control of the camera work whilst I thought through the process.
PROCESS
1) Rinse the car with very warm water
2) Apply Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser on the lower sections of the car. Rinse the car again.
3) Clean alloy wheels with Bilberry Wheel Cleaner and Megs All Purpose Cleaner.
4) Clean tyre walls with Megs APC. Then rinse the whole wheel.
5) Wash wheels with Shampoo solution and rinse with hot water from hose.
6) Clean plastics and rubbers with Megs APC using Swissvax brush.
7) Wash with car with Megs NXT Shampoo (quite a strong solution).
8) Clay the body work with Green Sonus clay.
9) Wash car again and dry with Ultra Plush drying towel.
10) Drive the car in the warm garage and tape the car up.
11) Machine car with Menzerna IP
12) Second machine stage with Lime Prime to clean and nourish.
13) Clean all plastics and rubbers.
14) Apply coat of Chemical Guys Blitz.
15) Clean Glass inside and out (thanks rams!!)
16) Final inspection and tidy up.
I would normal now start typing about my thoughts during the detail however I think its best I let the pictures do the talking.
-----
Saturday 8am – 19/12/2009
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…Press snooze….9 minutes later…BEEP BEEP BEEP… Switch off the alarm. I open one eye and feel the blistering cold air freeze it open. To my surprise I see a text on the phone and the detail is on. At this stage I check on the for the current weather conditions I will be facing hoping for a lovely forecast….Minus -3 degrees, GREAT! Looking outside in amazement that it can be so cold at 8am on a Saturday morning, my golden retriever is rolling around in the snow/ice barking at the massive pigeon mocking him from the tree...I just wished I could borrow his coat for the day
It took me 30minutes to warm up the Leon and get the ice off the car and another 5 minutes trying to open the door handles as they were frozen shut. Arriving an hour late I am presented with this car.
I have never cleaned a car in such freezing conditions before. I knew that using a pressure washer blasting freezing cold water was just not going to work. Warm water through the hose was the only way I was going to get the frozen dirt off the car. With this plan in mind I already picked my tools of choice to get this job moving.
PRODUCTS
Wash n Drying
- Megs NXT Gen Shampoo
- Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser
- Bilberry Wheel Cleaner
- Megs All Purpose Cleaner
- Super Plush drying towel
- Chemical Guys and Megs microfibers
Body Work
- Sonus Green clay
- Megs Last Touch
- Menzerna P3.02 Intensive Polish
- Dodo Juice Lime Prime
Glazes, Sealants and Waxes
- Chemical Guys Blitz
Plastics, Rubbers and Glass
- Chemicals New Look Gel
- Autoglym Fast Glass
- WD40
Tools
- Meguiars G220 mk2 machine polisher
- Hose and Warm water
- Lake Country Yellow Compound Pad
- Sonus DAS Green Polishing Pad
- Swissvax Detail Brush
- Vikan Brushes
- 3M 3434 Masking Tape
As the car was very very dirty and the weather was making my fingers feel numb Rams kindly took control of the camera work whilst I thought through the process.
PROCESS
1) Rinse the car with very warm water
2) Apply Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser on the lower sections of the car. Rinse the car again.
3) Clean alloy wheels with Bilberry Wheel Cleaner and Megs All Purpose Cleaner.
4) Clean tyre walls with Megs APC. Then rinse the whole wheel.
5) Wash wheels with Shampoo solution and rinse with hot water from hose.
6) Clean plastics and rubbers with Megs APC using Swissvax brush.
7) Wash with car with Megs NXT Shampoo (quite a strong solution).
8) Clay the body work with Green Sonus clay.
9) Wash car again and dry with Ultra Plush drying towel.
10) Drive the car in the warm garage and tape the car up.
11) Machine car with Menzerna IP
12) Second machine stage with Lime Prime to clean and nourish.
13) Clean all plastics and rubbers.
14) Apply coat of Chemical Guys Blitz.
15) Clean Glass inside and out (thanks rams!!)
16) Final inspection and tidy up.
I would normal now start typing about my thoughts during the detail however I think its best I let the pictures do the talking.
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