My first attempt at 'detailing' an A Class by hand (1 Viewer)

[Dazzlin]

And when it's all washed and polished.... Who thinks it drives better...?

If you just clean the windows and mirrors, it always feels cleaner when driving and only takes 5 mins!

Always seems that it does to me..

 

[jockaneezer]

I admire your perceiverence, I foamed Busty for the first time last week and had similar results on the roof, it's mostly little black spore type dots that won't come off unless I put a splash of bleach in some shampoo and agitate with a long handled brush.

 

[TheWM]

I admire your perceiverence, I foamed Busty for the first time last week and had similar results on the roof, it's mostly little black spore type dots that won't come off unless I put a splash of bleach in some shampoo and agitate with a long handled brush.

Yes, there were LOTS of those. I do hope that I do not have to deal with them ever again.

PS - is it me or 'I foamed Busty' seems a perfect title for a series of adult vids...

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[Rob and Val]

Reading about all that you did and seeing the photos I can only say

 

[TheBig1]

PS - is it me or 'I foamed Busty' seems a perfect title for a series of adult vids...

think I've watched it....... just for the purpose of education though. I thought, poor girls must be cold because they cant afford proper clothes

 

[jellybeen]

many thanks for your excellent article and for your perserverance. the end results look great and you must be proud of your efforts.
i am wondering were did yoi find out about the various products you used and also puzzled by the names of some of the products(brand names) collinite for instance and also some ideas of where you purchased them from halfords or motor accsessories shop.
many thanks agin

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[JockandRita]

Hi TheWM,

A great job well done. The bit about nearly sliding off the roof and down the windscreen? I've been there and nearly done that, and realised that I should have polished the front cap from the bottom upwards. doh. Fortunately both my hands were damp when I started sliding down, and by spreading my palms out on the dry windscreen, I was able to push myself back up. needless to say, I sh1t myself.

I use traffic film remover (diluted) on the roof, after raising the TV aerial, Sat dish, and skylights, then using a soft brush (and an old tooth brush where necessary) and away I go but in stages, then rinsing immediately after each stage.

My biggest problem is keeping a shine on the front and rear GRP caps and I have resorted to gentle slow speed power polishing now. The painted alluminium side walls are a piece of cake to keep a shine on.

I do ours twice a year spending a couple of days each time, and for 99 year model, she looks absolutely smashing, as moany on here have seen for themselves at shows and rallies.

Happy motorhoming.

Jock.

P.S. I've not been up there since I broke my leg back in May.

 

[Hammie]

Great thread thanks for the tip about gummy flegg

 

[Peter Sansom]

You have obviously put a lot of work into it, and it has paid off dividends. Looks great. When I clean ours its a bit more complicated as it is parked in a public car park ( we pay for an annual residents permit). Ladder that folds into weird and wonderful ways to access the roof and having to take a couple of 25 litre containers of water down in the back of the car. Not ideal, takes ages but wotchagonnado! Have you been using the 'special' window cleaner fluid for plexiglass? Apparently the ordinary stuff (Windolene etc) is bad for it. Next step will be to squirt Fenwicks Bobby Dazzler on it

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[DBK]

I did ours with Collinite yesterday. It was much easier to apply than I expected - but top tip - don't leave it on too long as it is a lot harder to buff off. I coated an entire side in one go but quickly reverted to doing a panel at a time. I may be tempted to apply a second coat!

 

[FJmike]

For those of you struggling with taller vans, Ali are selling a combination ladder tomorrow for £49.99. It comes complete with platform and is similar to the one I use for all my valets

 

[Charlie]

Fantastic effort !

If you were to spray Autosmart G101 which is a general purpose cleaner over the green roof it would remove most if not all of the growth.
Mix it strong at 4 to 1 and spray it on with a garden sprayer. G101 will remove and waxed surfaces it gets onto but that means rewaxing which you are doing anyway.

I would avoid using claying products on the surfaces on your MH as they can and will degrade the surfaces which in turn means the green/growth will return with a vengeance.

Again don't clay over decals and don't use tar removing products anywhere near decals.

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[wizzer59]

Fantastic effort !

If you were to spray Autosmart G101 which is a general purpose cleaner over the green roof it would remove most if not all of the growth.
Mix it strong at 4 to 1 and spray it on with a garden sprayer. G101 will remove and waxed surfaces it gets onto but that means rewaxing which you are doing anyway.

I would avoid using claying products on the surfaces on your MH as they can and will degrade the surfaces which in turn means the green/growth will return with a vengeance.

Again don't clay over decals and don't use tar removing products anywhere near decals.

Great thread

I second Autosmart G101, its what I used on my roof at the start but rinse off well and wax afterwords

 

[Cleve]

Just a quick note about the ladder from Aldi, I got one a couple of years ago the same and have found it invaluable. Clive

 

[FJmike]

Another thumbs up for Autostart G101, I could not run my business without it.

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[Charlie]

Another thumbs up for Autostart G101, I could not run my business without it.

There are a few products that I not so sure I could function without.
Top of the list has to be.
Detailing spray.. Awesome !
Really nice quality ................ Hang on a minute rather than invade this thread perhaps we should start a thread where we can discuss what we use and why ?

 

[TheWM]

many thanks for your excellent article and for your perserverance. the end results look great and you must be proud of your efforts.
i am wondering were did yoi find out about the various products you used and also puzzled by the names of some of the products(brand names) collinite for instance and also some ideas of where you purchased them from halfords or motor accsessories shop.
many thanks agin

Thanks. I have to say that whilst I found a lot of the products online 'shopnshine.co.uk' seemed to have great service at a reasonable price, a lot of trips to Halfords, mainly as they were open and I could get some last minute stuff. They have a very good AutoGlym range (although expensive), no doubt you could probably buy most product there (although a lot less choice/range than online).

I did take a lot of advice from a good friend who often wins trophies so was led by him to a certain degree as well as doing a lot of reading on some detailing forums.

You have obviously put a lot of work into it, and it has paid off dividends. Looks great. When I clean ours its a bit more complicated as it is parked in a public car park ( we pay for an annual residents permit). Ladder that folds into weird and wonderful ways to access the roof and having to take a couple of 25 litre containers of water down in the back of the car. Not ideal, takes ages but wotchagonnado! Have you been using the 'special' window cleaner fluid for plexiglass? Apparently the ordinary stuff (Windolene etc) is bad for it. Next step will be to squirt Fenwicks Bobby Dazzler on it

I used the AutoGlym glass cleaner stuff which worked a treat (still need to do inside) although its good for plexiglass.

Fantastic effort !

If you were to spray Autosmart G101 which is a general purpose cleaner over the green roof it would remove most if not all of the growth.
Mix it strong at 4 to 1 and spray it on with a garden sprayer. G101 will remove and waxed surfaces it gets onto but that means rewaxing which you are doing anyway.

I would avoid using claying products on the surfaces on your MH as they can and will degrade the surfaces which in turn means the green/growth will return with a vengeance.

Again don't clay over decals and don't use tar removing products anywhere near decals.

The G101 sounds like it's a must have for all MH owners then - given that was the hardest task and that the rain will hit the roof more than it will hit the panels.

Good point - yes I did not clay over decals or use tar removing products (or anything remotely containing solvents) near them. That said, I did notice some water spots on the decals as I'm in a very hard water area, I found that giving the decals a wipe whilst removing the wax (off the body) helped.

 

[chaser]

Is that a solar strapped to the sat dish, never seen that before !

You can get these already done , when we first went out to Europe in our old van , we parked beside someone who had one, in the day time the thing followed the sun round and in the night it turned round and followed the satellite,all automatic, very impressed with it till I asked him the price, it was the same price that our van had cost.

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[JockandRita]

I used the AutoGlym glass cleaner stuff which worked a treat (still need to do inside) although its good for plexiglass.

I'm not trying to hijack your thread TheWM, but I would like to ask the professionals valeters and detailers on here please, if there is a good quality ant-misting or anti-fog glass polish, that I can use on the interior or the glass windows.
I did try the Autoglym ant-fog polish, but felt I had wasted my money.
I have looked at a products used in the aviation industry, but they all seem to come from the USA.

Any suggestion for a "quality product" would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Cavs]

This is probably a daft question but what is the difference between wax and polish? I had assumed that the words were interchangeable but reading this thread it seems they're different. Could someone enlighten me, please?

 

[funflair]

A Polish "cuts" a Wax "protects", but some polishes also protect but no wax cuts as far as I know.

Martin

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[DBK]

This is probably a daft question but what is the difference between wax and polish? I had assumed that the words were interchangeable but reading this thread it seems they're different. Could someone enlighten me, please?

Just to clarify, a polish is essentially an abrasive and is used to remove swirl marks and light scratches from paint but as mentioned above the common car ones often have other things in them as well.

 

[JockandRita]

Bump.......

I'm not trying to hijack your thread TheWM, but I would like to ask the professionals valeters and detailers on here please, if there is a good quality ant-misting or anti-fog glass polish, that I can use on the interior of the glass windows.
I did try the Autoglym ant-fog polish, but felt I had wasted my money.
I have looked at a products used in the aviation industry, but they all seem to come from the USA.

Any suggestions for a "quality product" would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Jock.