[Inverted]

I decided with the delivery of my new A1 1.4TFSi S-Line on the 1st March, i'd make an effort and clean and wax it properly from now on in. With thanks to John at Polished Bliss for all his knowledge etc here are the results of 5 hours work today to get the car protected....

Foamed with Magifoam. rinsed, wheels sprayed with Blackfire Wheel/Tyre gel, 2BM wash, rinse, dried. Blackfire gloss enhancing polished, AG HD wax. Wheels sealed with 2 layers of Poorboys sealant...

Chris

 

[candyknapper]

Wow, looks great.. is that brilliant black?

 

[Inverted]

Wow, looks great.. is that brilliant black?

nope its phantom black... the flake "pops" on brighter days... you can just see the effect in the door with my feet in the reflection...

 

[candyknapper]

ah yes!

 

[beev]

Nice!

I took delivery of a shiny black one today (brilliant black). Doesn't look as good as yours as it's without the contrast line.

It arrived on the back of a transporter from several hundred miles away and was in need of a good wash. I used a soft brush on it, but somehow this has covered the car in thousands of tiny scratches. They are only noticeable if you look very closely in the right light. I've never waxed a car in my life, or used any special treatments of any sort.

Can anyone recommend what I should do next? Can I treat these scratches? Is there a particular type of brush/sponge I should be using to wash it?

Thanks!

 

[yorky40]

Looks great, Are those rear fog lights in the defuser or reflectors ?

 

[Inverted]

oooh...
you've opened a can of worms there This is my first black car (Incidently i think they look just as good without the contrast )

Those scratches you see are commonly referred to as swirl marks. They appear as a result of grit/dust adhering to the brush/mit/sponge and damaging the paint. You can go quite in depth with what you do (see top of my post) , but a good start to prevent this is as follows:

1) Rinse all the worst crud, muck, mud off of the car. a pressure washer is handy as you wont make contact with the paintwork

2) wash the car using 2 buckets and a lambswool mitt. 1 bucket with the shampoo solution 2nd bucket with clean water (rinse bucket)

3) Wash the car top to bottom (bottom is the worst for grit etc). Inbetween refreshing the mitt with new shampoo solution rinse it in the clean water bucket. This removes any dirt picked up by the mitt. Then cary on and repeat.

4) rinse

After this, as you already have some fine scratches, you can "polish" these out with various products. I recommend Autoglym Super resin polish, or Autoglym Ultra deep Shine.

After you've polished out the swirls its always good to add a layer of wax on top. The super resin polish has some waxes in it as well so theres no real need to add another wax layer....

A bit of work, but i find it all quite therapeutic..

 

[Inverted]

Looks great, Are those rear fog lights in the defuser or reflectors ?

Reflectors...

 

[tim]

looks really well,I would rather pay for this than Lifeshine

 

[Eddie1]

Very nice.

Can you tell me where to get the products you have used so I can spend a few hours working up a sweat?

 

[beev]

Thank you so much for the info. I got some Autoglym Shampoo and some Super Resin Polish from Halfords and did the roof. Looks so much better now! Didn't have time to do the rest but I'll finish it off soon!

What is the benefit of the Poorboys sealant on the wheels?

Thanks again!

 

[Eddie1]

Apparently it delivers a high level of protection that is able to withstand the corrosive effects of brake dust and road salt for up to several months at a time.

 

[Inverted]

That's correct. it acts as a barrier so that any contaminants don't damage the wheel. It also aids the cleaning process later by reducing any scrubbing needed...
Glad the polish worked

 

[lee3482]

i have the poorboys wheel sealant on my wheels, been on for a couple of weeks and working quite well, wheels don't seem as black. found it quite difficult to buff off, might have left it to cure for too long, did all 4 wheels then moved onto buffing off.

 

[Inverted]

Very nice.

Can you tell me where to get the products you have used so I can spend a few hours working up a sweat?

Online:
Magifoam and lance from autobrite.co.uk
Blackfire products: polishedbliss.co.uk
Poorboys: detailedobsession.co.uk

Hd wax I got from eBay. A LOT cheaper there

Polished bliss have a great set of tutorials on their site
Hope that helps

 

[vipefire]

That's correct. it acts as a barrier so that any contaminants don't damage the wheel. It also aids the cleaning process later by reducing any scrubbing needed...
Glad the polish worked

Once you sealed them don't EVER use the blackfire wheel gel as it will just remove the protection.

Use a decent washmitt, a none wax shampoo, the two bucket method and a good detailing wheel brush like the ez detail. Once protected they are an ease to wash.

To be honest on a new car you don't really need a dedicated wheel cleaner. Only older cars with a large build up of brake dust need them

 

[vipefire]

Thank you so much for the info. I got some Autoglym Shampoo and some Super Resin Polish from Halfords and did the roof. Looks so much better now! Didn't have time to do the rest but I'll finish it off soon!

What is the benefit of the Poorboys sealant on the wheels?

Thanks again!

SRP will only fill the swirls it won't remove them. I'd recommended machine polishing if they are really bad.

You can get cleaners that will remove swirls by hand but they can be hard to use.

 

[beev]

What an idiot I am

Brand new car and I go and cover it in scratches!