Hi

[Scorpius]

Hi all

I'm new here. Regular on the VWClub where a couple of you may know me from.

Great forum you have here. Been browsing around for a bit and found it very informative. I'm nowhere near serious detailing. Dont think I have the patience, energy and time for it. Also when you have a white car that doesnt show work as good as other cars, its hard to keep motivated

The range of products out there is mind boggling. My garage is pretty much exclusively Meguiars but the Chemical Guys wash I've been reading about, the Sonax wheel cleaner, and some of the Autoglym stuff as well have me intrigued.

My main questions would be on how to wash the engine bay. No clue how to and too afraid to do it frankly. Also would love to know if one could get a foam lance that attaches to a hose without having to splash on a Karcher. And importantly, how the heck does one properly detail a white car to give it that real shine and gloss and lovely wet look that the darker colours can get. Maybe I should post in the other sections. Will go hopping about after my intro

Cheers

[freerider]

Welcome to the forum, Megesh recognised you from the VW forums

Glad you finding the threads informative, no doubt you will be contributing very soon

We detailed a white Land Cruiser this past weekend and topped it with Chemical Guys Extreme Top Coat, which is a sealant with carnauba wax in it, the results really amazed me, knowing how the results never really blow you away with a white car.

I find also that with a white car, to make the final result wow people a little more, its important to properly treat everything thats supposed to be black just makes the white pop out that little extra.

Generally for engine bays, I use an all purpose cleaner, spray it on and agitate with a brush then spray it off again, treat all the rubber and plastics with a protectant and then close your bonnet and let your engine idle for 10mins.

Don

[MeTsU]

Hey Scorpius,

Glad to see you've registered here - recognise you from the VWClub forum.

Yea, white is an easy colour, in some peoples minds, as they can get away without having to work like a machine on it all the time like I'm starting to have to do on my Magic Black Sportline. But, white is also the the colour that it's hard to see results with, were as say the Magic Black looks the dogs bollocks.

I've seen a couple details with CG Extreme Top Coat on DW and I must say I'm pretty impressed. Let the long road to obsessive detailing begin.

[springbok]

Hi and welcome

As far as engine bays are concerned, it also depends on how bad a state yours is in. Just remember if you are going to start spraying water all over the show you should take some time to cover up vital components. Modern engines are full of expensive electronic gizmos which don't take kindly to water. Depending on how new your car is, it is likely that you have a lot of plastic covers which, quite frankly are mostly there for show. These actually make it easier to keep your engine compartment clean and neat as they cover up all the dirty/dusty areas. You will just need to wipe them (the covers) down with a good grease cutter and then dress them to make them shiny.

If however you have an older car you will be able to look down into the depths of the engine and thus see all the dirt clinging to the block/gearbox etc. If you want to clean this off then go the route of an all purpose cleaner and a brush to agitate the dirt and then rinse off.

[Carn]

Heya Scorpius, good to see you have made your way over here

White cars can look really good with proper care but as you have mentioned will never offer the same visual impact a spotless black or dark metallic car would.

[Woodie]

Hi Scorpius and welcome to the forum.

As an owner of a white car I can relate to your frustration. The best tonic for this is to detail your car then drive down to the nearest shopping centre/parking area and look for another white car like yours. Park next to it and then you'll get to appreciate the results of your effort.

[Scorpius]

Thanks guys for the warm welcome!

@Carn and MeTsU: Nice to see some VWC guys here. My SO, friends and colleagues think I'm a nut with all the products I buy and the time spent and method used to wash my own car. That said, these are people that would 'treat' their cars to a car wash maybe once a month and wouldn't think twice about letting the Sandton City car park professionals give their car a good scrub down. If only they knew what serious detailing was about they'd see what a tame novice I am. I'm hoping to learn more here but also to resist getting serious and obsessive. I'm well aware its a steep slope that could cost me a small fortune.. and maybe my SO lol

@freerider and springbok: Thanks for the advice on engine bay cleaning. I have a few more questions before I feel comfortable and ready to tackle it myself. I'll post in the correct section. Btw yes it would be easier for me. Have a pretty new car. 2008 Audi S3 with a pretty engine cover shielding the vital bits

Also thanks for the advice on the Chemical Guys Top Coat. I really must try that then. Never heard of them before until browsing this forum (which I accidentally stumbled upon while searching for correct method to clay my car and then polish and wax by hand btw).

@Woodie6250: Good suggestion though I've always put it down to all whites not being equal. Recently attended the Ford ST Club dyno day and a white Ford Focus ST was behind me in the queue. Very friendly oke. Was complaining though about my car making him dislike his colour for the first time. It was night and day. His Ford looked 'egg-white' in his words.

Thanks all. I'll go post in the relevant sections. Looking forward to spending some time here learning and eventually getting good enough to keep my car in tip top condition. Only thing left to complete is to figure a way to make all the stonechips magically disappear and install a forcefield to stop them forever!

[calypso]

On a modern engine like that i wouldnt be too scared, everything is covered up pretty well. Just use common sense when washing. When i do engines i never cover anything, but i avoid electronics and intakes.
Have not destroyed an engine yet.

[Scorpius]

Cool. Thanks calypso!

[Carn]

+1 On what Calypso said. Providing you use a fine mist and not the open end of the hose it should be fine. Haven't caused any damage on one yet either

[Starvekos]

Hi Scorpius and welcome to the forum

Scorpius Wrote:That said, these are people that would 'treat' their cars to a car wash maybe once a month and wouldn't think twice about letting the Sandton City car park professionals give their car a good scrub down.

After my first coat of Werksat Carnauba Trigger a couple of weeks ago, I dropped in at Sandton City. While getting out of the car in the parking lot, a young lady wearing an apron (not as inviting as the lass clad in the black Chemical Guys apron) approached me and offered her services (detailing services that is) using the "one bucket" system.

I was shocked and I asked her whether she thought my car was in such a state.

[Scorpius]

lol @ Starvekos. Certainly very surprising seeing that its your car.

Hey Siyabonga. Dont know if you remember but met you for the first and only time at the first GTI Breakfast Run to Harties that we had. I remember it clearly because my car was dusty and unwashed (my old TR G5 GTI) and your car looked wetter and shinier than any other TR G5 GTI I've ever seen (to this day still). Best of all, when we entered the parking lot before taking pics, you parked your car next to mine. lol