28th August 2010, 18:31
| #3046 | |
| BHPian  | Quote:
On the bottom of the page it says: Kit includes: 80 gram Clay Bar, 16 oz. bottle Showtime Instant Detailer, 4 oz. bottle Original Formula Carnauba Wax. So not sure ultimately what the actual contents are I called up Mr Ramesh who is the jopasu dealer in bangalore. He told me around 900 bucks for a 250-300g clay bar. Is this a correct value? @mkh - I have sent you a PM Last edited by pras.oct25 : 28th August 2010 at 18:33. | |
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28th August 2010, 19:41
| #3047 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: May 2009 Location: New Delhi
Posts: 1,271
Thanked: 229 Times
| @mkh - Oh I love it when clueless SA oogle at cars!! I remember a similar episode when I was at the hyundai dealership for the first service. a few SAs were like checking out he car and the ppl in the showroom began to look out of the showroom glass window!!!  (kinda acceptable as the cars inside were swirled and to mask those, all of em were white!)And actually the customer who approached your car was wrong! For him and most people, there's nothing which is better than a 'new' car!! whereas serious detailing is all about making your car count in amongst the 'show cars' and show cars are far ahead in paint condition/finish/protection compared to any 'just out of factory paint finishes'!! Yours is a fine example of what show cars are all about. And I can confidently say that your paint finish is far better than 'just out of factory' finish when you first received it! Mine too was kinda swirled pretty bad on the bonnet and when I compare the 'delivery pics' and the pic now (after a year of regular and careful paint care), it actually looks a LOT better and relatively defect free.(new car = swirled car! lol) so its technically much better than 'new' I'd say the word, 'new car' is overrated here!! |
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29th August 2010, 13:25
| #3048 |
| BHPian  Join Date: May 2009 Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 278
Thanked: 5 Times
| And the bug bit me as well. The work done by sohail, mkh and others inspired me to attempt a detail for my Alto. It's an year old and had it's share of swirl marks. Knowing that it'll be a huge task to detail without a DA Polisher (even for a small car like Alto), I decided to divide the detail over 2 days (which translates to 2 Sundays for us Software Engineers) Day 1: Bonnet / Fenders / Front Doors Day 2: Rear Doors / Hood / Boot Ended up spending ~14 hours on my ride but the satisfaction of a DIY detail was totally worth it!  Car Wash -> Clay -> Polish -> Cleaner Wax -> NXT 2.0 sealant Without further ado, here are a few pics: My Partners in Crime  Swirls Removed to Quite an Extent, thanks to the Meguiars Microfiber Applicator Pads (without a DA, complete removal will be humongous task)  One will find most scratches under door handles, removing them with Sonax Polish was a nice experience  Buckets of Sweat!   Most swirl marks removed but it deserves a proper DA Polisher  Meguiars Cleaner Wax and then NXT 2.0 to seal it. Am planning to coat another layer of NXT 2.0 in couple of days  |
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29th August 2010, 14:23
| #3049 | |
| Senior - BHPian  | Quote:
I have been rearing to go at my car with all guns blazing, but the monsoon's been stopping me. We all need DA sooner or later to fill out our appetite for perfect detailing. | |
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29th August 2010, 15:20
| #3050 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New Delhi
Posts: 1,589
Thanked: 1,463 Times
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29th August 2010, 15:23
| #3051 |
| BHPian  | Awesome results paaji , loved the last pic most !!!  Paaji , what have you used for rubber beadings.  any update for my work ??? |
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29th August 2010, 15:58
| #3052 |
| BHPian | @fine69 - I spoke to Mr Ramesh who deals in Jopasu products in Bangalore yesterday. He is out of town and will be back on monday. He told me that if possible he can ship the clay bar contents to me. Perhaps you can try the same. Still trying to ascertain the exact price and the size of the bar from him. I will post an update here in case he gets in touch with me. Else I will call him myself sometime over the next 2 days. Please PM me if you want his contact number. On an entirely different note - After 2 weeks of rain I finally got around to cleaning the interiors. The rain had made the interiors filthy with sand and twigs and what not from the shoes. Started off with the watchman doing the general cleaning up with water mixed with LOC (an amway product) which on a normal day does a decent job on the beige interiors, but on this occasion didnt help at all with all the dirt marks on the foot pads and the doors. So then had to get down to extreme measures. Took out the trusty sponge pad which has a slightly rough surface which helps get rid off the dirt marks. Repeated the whole process myself this time throughout the interiors, spraying the soap water mix everywhere, scrubbing thoroughly and then cleaning everything out with plain water and a cloth. Once I was satisfied with all that, took out the Clear Shine spray that I got from turtle wax. As it turns out you CANNOT use just this to clean out the dirt. It only provides a glossy effect to the interiors and has a citrus scent to it which was quite pleasant. So sprayed this throughout and wiped it off using a cloth. Not sure if this product is really worth the cost of 250 odd bucks. Finally I was satisfied that my beige interiors had been restored to their original colour. A real pain maintaining them. Contemplating changing my seat covers to a darker colour, which are also a pain to maintain since its been almost 2 years. A few snaps of the interiors post the cleaning process. Do any of our gurus have any pro tips for interior cleaning? @mkh you had a verna yourself. How did you do interior cleaning? |
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29th August 2010, 16:19
| #3053 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: New Delhi
Posts: 1,271
Thanked: 229 Times
| Nice work thelord and pras Really great to see that your rides are getting the proper care and attention they deserve! Keep up the great work! Tomorrow is my last exam, after that I'm game for a big paint overhaul!!! I'll be aiming for a 'show car' finish this time! Hope I'm able to achieve that. btw whats with the couriers not shipping liquid/semisolid stuff?? |
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29th August 2010, 16:43
| #3054 | |
| BHPian | Quote:
 Not sure what the issue is about. Perhaps the liquid spilling over and spoiling other packages?  Can you recommend any interior cleaning product? Something that helps to get rid of the dirt marks on the beige panels. What do the guys at the service center normally use? | |
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29th August 2010, 16:56
| #3055 |
| BHPian | |
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29th August 2010, 19:18
| #3056 | |
| BANNED Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 88
Thanked: 35 Times
| Hi, Read that a lot of guys suggesting diesel to remove oil/tar stains. Even dealerships are notorious in using such practices. It works real quick but you should also be aware that diesel and kerosene thin the clear coat. Especially if someone is using it in the sun it is disaster. Has anyone had a spill on their paint while filling your gas tank. You will see a permanent mark on the clear below the petrol cap if not wiped off properly. There are many safer products to use. The general rule for paints is to use a product which is safe for your face. Then that product is safe for your car. I do not think anyone would use diesel or kerosene to clean their face. Maybe their hands but not their face. Sometimes quick solutions are not always safe. Quote:
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29th August 2010, 19:29
| #3057 | |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: New Delhi
Posts: 1,271
Thanked: 229 Times
| ^ I agree! But I wish we had stuff like 'TARminators', tar and bug removers etc. here. without all that, we kinda have to improvise! :( (I read somewhere that tar removers are either kerosene or mineral spirit based) Quote:
I don't think they clean the interiors!! lol btw I use TW cockpit cleaner and Interior1. Both work ok!(actually I never let the interiors get dirty in the first place) but I tried Interior1 in my dad's car and was really impressed!! Last edited by sohail99 : 29th August 2010 at 19:30. | |
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29th August 2010, 19:39
| #3058 |
| BHPian | @notorious - Thanks bro. Its pretty hard work maintaining a car in tip top shape. Though satisfying in the end. The drivers and stuff who work for other people in the apartment keep looking at me cleaning the car these days and ask why I do this and why I do that. I think more than anything they are amused that I pay the watchman for cleaning and end up doing more work myself. But they are all pretty impressed with the efforts put in. I think the fact is that the population of car owners who actually take efforts to maintain their cars is very less. @sohail - Will keep an eye out to see if I find any of these products. And yes +1 to the point about service centers not cleaning interiors at all. I remember the one time I had gone just for a thorough wash and an interior cleaning and they started to spray the soap water and cleaning agents in the car with the carpet mats still inside. Got damn bugged and shouted at them and started barking instructions at them. All this with the service manager standing right there  I always give only an 8 or 9 to the point of car cleanliness when hyundai calls for feedback. Everything else gets a 10 always except when they ask "how was the cleanliness level of the car sir". Also I must comment on your point about not letting the interiors get dirty. I think that a certain level of education is needed for people when it comes to sitting in other's cars. Not everyone takes care to maintain the interiors of the car. Most people will step on the side panels and rub the soles of their shoes on the doors while stepping out. By the time they leave the car they would have kicked the floor mats to a corner. We have to be prepared to do the hard work ultimately if we are going to let others into the car, though sometimes it seems more convenient just us driving around alone. Last edited by pras.oct25 : 29th August 2010 at 19:42. |
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29th August 2010, 20:13
| #3059 |
| BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kollam, Kerala
Posts: 368
Thanked: 2 Times
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29th August 2010, 20:43
| #3060 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Faridabad
Posts: 719
Thanked: 40 Times
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