Team-BHP - A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide

Guys I need some advise here. I own an Octy L&K with beige interiors and beige leather seats. I have been terribly busy over the past 6 months and have had precious little time to take care of my car interiors. Prior to that I used to clean the interiors with Collinite interior cleaner every quarter or so. However this time the beige leather has taken on a darker hue and so have some of the interior plastics. Even though my car interiors do not look bad, I think professional is the only way to go this time as I really do want spotless interiors.

Can anyone please advise what sort of interior treatment should I be going in for and what to expect post the treatment? I need the leather, the plastics, the carpet and the ceiling fabric - which are ALL beige in my car - cleaned thoroughly. I am not averse to spending good money on the cleaning and would appreciate if someone could also suggest a nice place to get this done in Gurgaon/Delhi area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos007 (Post 2139821)

A warm Hello To all Guru's !!!

Here are Some Pics Of Notorious Verna which has recently finished the paint correction. all smork work like interior cleaning and dressing is still pending.

it Takes a lot of time and patience but the outcome is great . Hope you will like them !!! :)

Notorious ji, the pictures have come out very well & you have selected a nice place too ! Do clean up & protect the wheel caps & tires too, they will add on like a cream topping on top of a cake ! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelord (Post 2141273)

Couple of layers of Megs NXT 2.0, Diwali lights = great chance to click a few pics :D
Please excuse my limited skills at night photography.

Having tried a few brands of waxes and sealants, I've found that the slickness offered by NXT 2.0 is unparalleled. Gives you a nice feel once the job is done. :)

The lord, your pics have come out well with the lighting ! White is a difficult color to get gloss out of & you have done a great job clap: Please elaborate whether you have used anything for the chrome rims ? Agree with you about NXT, its definitely one of the best VFM products out there !

Quote:

Originally Posted by pras.oct25 (Post 2144315)

I ordered the eagle one interior cleaning spray from ebay india.
Have used it for a couple of weeks. Cant say that it does any kind of magic to the interior panels. Just using a cloth to buff does not help. Needs a scrubber or something to have a decent effect, then a cloth and lots of water.
Is there a more magical solution available for beige internal panels of the verna? The monsoon is taking a heavy toll on the interiors.

Pras - I am using Sonax interior cleaner to clean up the beige interiors of our cars. its very easy to use too. Just spray on & wipe off with a wet cloth. Keep a bucket of water handy to rinse out the cloth between cleaning. If you brush the seats with a carpet brush to remove the dust & dirt, then the results will be better.

I pick it up from either the Shell bunks or SPAR. If not available in your area, you can order it online from Gamut Auto also. I have used their services recently & they have good customer service with competitive prices !

Like Sohail has mentioned, you can try the Scotch guard for protection, i don't have experience with it, but would love to try it out !

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThinkBig (Post 2146451)

@Garigopal and fellow BHPians, it seems that my photos and my comments have formed a different opinion at this forum. It has been deleted by the administration. I hope everyone goes about this subject with the same thought as I did. To enlighten persons who were wanting to look after their cars. Unlike many who name so many products I have refrained to do so as it would have been an infringement in the policy of team bhp. I have discussed technology and technology only. Hence if anyone wants any advise (no product names/services just suggestions and ideas on detailing) please pm. I am going to go into slumber as it hurts people who form wrong opinions about others without really understanding the subject.

Think big- too bad that the mods have deleted your posts, looks like Ive missed the pics. This forum surely can use your experience & i have found it useful. I guess sharing your general experiences about detailing wouldn't hurt !

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasoo (Post 2146472)

Planning a "detailed" detailing of my car with all the stuff I have bought this weekend. Will be back with before and after pics next week.

Good going Vasoo ! What all products do you have & what have you planned ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThinkBig (Post 2146451)

Thinkbig - Yes I saw that the post has been deleted. But the post did seem like a curtain raiser to a revolutonery product about to emerge and it did appear like you were acting as its ambassador in the forum. In fact I believe that if you had named the product and then opined on its pros and cons, it would have been accepted by the moderators and would have been useful to the members. By shrouding the whole thing in mystery and then noting that it will be available at a discount to BHP members you created a "promoting" environment which is a no-no on the forum and rightfully so. The product names used by the members all relate to their experience with them and their recommendations and views. If you follow the same approach we can all benefit from your experience and product knowledge.

Rgds

Quote:

Originally Posted by sohail99 (Post 2141446)

Really liked your setup!!

And the paint is literally amplifying the diwali decoration lights!

Great work with NXT2.0. Its indeed great to work with

Quote:

Originally Posted by rk_sans (Post 2144221)

@thelord
Your car looks superb. What did you use for tyre dressing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit (Post 2146618)

The lord, your pics have come out well with the lighting ! White is a difficult color to get gloss out of & you have done a great job Please elaborate whether you have used anything for the chrome rims ? Agree with you about NXT, its definitely one of the best VFM products out there !

Gentlemen, many thanks for the encouraging words. :)

@rk_sans
I use Turtle Wax Wet'n'Black Aerosol for tyre dressing. Gives a nice deep wet-shine.
@nirmal
Nothing special, the rims get the car shampoo treatment once a week and that's it. They stay quite clean (thanks to the Chandigarh Administration for providing such amazing roads here)

By the way. I took the car out for servicing today. And you gotta love the expressions when the service engineers see the shine and gloss :D They could not believe that it was achieved without any orbital/DA machine.

I have been a silent observer of this thread for sometime now, was just soaking in all the knowledge the thread has to offer. You guys are Wonderful, the way you share all the information amongst all the auto enthusiasts.

My Problem:
I have a white car (8 months old) which has swirls all over right from the day the car came out of the showroom (i.e. did not get the Teflon treatment), I recently bought Motomax 2K rubbing compound and tried it on a little section of the bonnet and to my surprise the swirls almost vanished. Now I plan to do the entire car but my car has lots of small tar dots on the doors.

My query is should I clay the car before I use the rubbing compound or just go ahead with the rubbing?

Regards,

Sanjay R

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanrjay (Post 2148937)

Get it done professionally. . . don't do it on your own.
Have the tar removed and then think of using the rubbing compound.

There are some special solvents that help removing tar; not sufre if petrol does the trick.

My friend here does this job, so i never actually bothered to look into it. Once in 4-5 months, I hand my var over to him and he does the exterior for me.

as for the interiors and tyres, I use ArmorAll products once in a month. It keeps the interiors in top shape :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanrjay (Post 2148937)

Detailing spray with Clay bar is best suited to remove tar deposits. You can go ahead and try, should get good results. Mothers and Megs are famous clays.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelord (Post 2141273)

Sir ji , When are you come to delhi ??? will plan a photoshoot for sure

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanrjay (Post 2148937)

soak tar stains with diesel, wash that area with car shampoo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanrjay (Post 2148937)

Swirls are sure to come with the car, its an inescapable fact. Teflon coating is all hogwash, they do not give you any value for what they quote(4K and above). Do not try removing by hand- its not possible. All you end up is visibly hiding them, till a few washes and they can be seen back again. Trust me, cause i have had hours of painful experience with hand. If you really want swirls to go, a professional job is needed. PM me if you are keen on getting a proper swirl removal, its been discussed many times in previous threads, do not wish to clutter up the board again with the loads of info on swirl removal. I can also help you with a pro job on swirl removal.

Snrjay - A clay bar & detialing lube will help you get rid of not only tar, but other deposits like bird poo, brake dust, environmental pollution, etc.
Its one of the safest ways to clean up tar & i have used it on the lower sills especially.

Doing by hand is not only tiring , but you will not be able to get the results as you would by machine. As MKH has pointed out, get a professional treatment done, then you can maintain the finish yourself, to maintain as swirlfree a finish as possible ! You can pick up a good shampoo, car duster, microfiber towels & use them to maintain.

Rk Sans - Nice effect ! Good work with the NXT ! Not sure from the pictures whether you have applied tire shine, if not then that would make the tires stand out too !

For the rust on the rims, try cleaning them up with clay bar & applying NXT to seal them ! If you have a dedicated chrome polish like Megs All Metal Polysh, then you can try that too !