Phantom Mark

There is a local detailer who reckons he can detail the bodywork/paint etc for ?180, would it be worth having a pro do it at that price first and then carry on from his hard work in the future maybe ?

No idea what the going rate is for that kind of work ?

The UK is full of crazzies, thankfully most of them are not from the UK tho, they may just go back home if we are lucky

pigapumbu

Doubt it. Our government won't allow that to happen. They will bring it the crazies but not the hardworking, decent and honest ones. Go figure!!..

Anyway I can't really say what is the best solution for hard water but I have a Reverse Osmosis filter in my house. Use it to drink the water but its great when washing the car using a bucket method. Can't really connect this to the hose sadly.

As for minor swirl marks and a great finish, I used Autoglym ultra deep shine, then autoglym super resin polish and a week later, autoglym extra gloss. All "cheapish" and can be obtained at halfords who tend to do a buy two get one free for these products.

You will need only some good polishing clothes to go with it, some free time at the weekends and a bit of effort. I got rid of most of the swirls in the paint which was left by the previous owner having the car washed by a auto machine I think. BTW, my car is black and in the sun now, the swirls are gone. I tend to polish my car twice a year like mentioned above. Rest of the time its just washing it every week once.

It all boils down to what you want, how much effort you will put in it personally and how much you are willing to pay for it.

cheers

ps: here is what the car looks like after those autoglym products were put on.

Phantom Mark

Looks really good, thanks for the other input, never considered clothes before but now you mention it it makes perfect sense, zip/button free options etc yer ?

Yours Sapphire Black btw ? or Jet Black ?

pigapumbu

Sorry it was late in the night when I typed that. I meant cloth pieces. That said if you wear appropriate clothes when polishing or washing the car is also a good idea.

My previous car was once washed by some polish guys at a tesco here ( I was down with a bad case of influenza) and the guy was wearing a watch. he left a deep scratch along the whole side of my car (front fender, front door, rear door, rear panel) and half of the bonnet where he was working on. I think it was done on purpose but no proof so thats it. I have never ever taken my car to any of these car wash places. I rather the car covered in muck and filth than to take it to one of them.

BTW, the paint is azurite black. In the sun its darkblue. Log book has it down as black / blue.

cheers