Paintwork TLC.

[CaliBear]

To be honest I’m not convinced that snow foam really does much, which is why I only bought the cheap Karcher. I’ve not tried any of the premium foams, so maybe I need to stump up and give Meguires a go.

Me too! It is useful as a pre wash though. I can recommend Bilt Hamber Autofoam. It's better value than Meguires (probably a bit better product too). If you buy direct from Bilt Hamber it's about £17 for five litres rather than around £20 for less than one litre. Once you follow the mixing ratio guide and measure the discharge rate from your snow foam lance or detergent tank, it's surprising how little product you use. Also helps to mix the snow foam with hot water in the lance bottle/detergent tank.

 

[ArunAlec]

I’m just using Karcher

Me too! It is useful as a pre wash though. I can recommend Bilt Hamber Autofoam. It's better value than Meguires (probably a bit better product too). If you buy direct from Bilt Hamber it's about £17 for five litres rather than around £20 for less than one litre. Once you follow the mixing ratio guide and measure the discharge rate from your snow foam lance or detergent tank, it's surprising how little product you use. Also helps to mix the snow foam with hot water in the lance bottle/detergent tank.

cheers I will give it a go.

 

[Taff Tenor]

I’m just using Karcher

cheers I will give it a go.

Me too! It is useful as a pre wash though. I can recommend Bilt Hamber Autofoam. It's better value than Meguires (probably a bit better product too). If you buy direct from Bilt Hamber it's about £17 for five litres rather than around £20 for less than one litre. Once you follow the mixing ratio guide and measure the discharge rate from your snow foam lance or detergent tank, it's surprising how little product you use. Also helps to mix the snow foam with hot water in the lance bottle/detergent tank.

Thanks Calibear

 

[Fred holland]

My wife's sq5.the door handle is black.

 

[willwander]

Finally got chance to give my black van a little machine polish with the DA.

Bear in mind this is a brand new van, this is how it arrived when I picked it up from the dealer in December.

This is what it looked like before I started


After a quick polish



If you care about your paintwork don’t ever let a VW dealer near your van

 

[willwander]

My neighbours think I’m nuts, after spending the entire morning machine polishing van, I’ve now just washed it !

Used G2 detox shampoo to get rid of any residue or oils from polish. Now to apply a wax. But which one? I have so many

 

[willwander]

Oh no !
I’ve finished, what the hell am I going to do tomorrow!



I have a whole bunch of different waxes/sealants from top end Swissvax to cheap turtle wax sealant from Morrison’s.
Couldn’t decide which to use so did a wax test and put a different one on each panel.

I’ll be honest, I can’t really tell the difference between any of them, the only thing I can say for sure is that the expensive ones smell nicer.

I’ll see how they hold up, if I ever get to drive it.

 

[Big Ted]

Looking good.
I moved on from polishing the van to doing the wheels.
This helped pass another morning.

 

[CaliBear]

Looking good.
I moved on from polishing the van to doing the wheels.
This helped pass another morning.
View attachment 57254

View attachment 57253

You could almost eat your dinner off those!

 

[willwander]

On our recent trip to Devon. Picked up some light scratches from tree branches on the tiny lanes. So did a quick polish with the DA today

 

[tuono001]

Nice looking vans, I wish I had the time to sort mine out. Unfortunately 3 children, their activities and job means quick rinse at best

 

[Pips Dad]

On our recent trip to Devon. Picked up some light scratches from tree branches on the tiny lanes. So did a quick polish with the DA today
View attachment 63816
View attachment 63817
View attachment 63818

Nice looking van. Like the chrome side strip. Looked into buying some for my Ocean but they were incredibly expensive from VW. So wallet said “No”!

 

[SusiBus]

Good result. Love black vans, but always chickened out, and gone for grey. What polish did you use?

 

[willwander]

Good result. Love black vans, but always chickened out, and gone for grey. What polish did you use?

‘Lazy grey’, You never have to wash it, great colour ha
I used a quick pass with meguiars m101 followed by menzerna sfp3500 finishing polish, you need to use a polishing machine with these (DA or rotary), hard work by hand.

 

[Taff Tenor]

Lovin the side strips ...onto VW now for a quote for fitting along with front grill strip...wheels are cool also what type though and are they 17’s or 18’s ? I have 17’s in Devonports at the moment.

Cheers

Taff T.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

I do it 3 times a year. Once before wintertime to keep all the salt at bay, after Christmas and then the summer when it not in the sun. Feel the paint for ruff spots and you will know if it needs to be done.

Has anybody opted for the Diamondbright treatment offered by dealers? Many people consider it a waste of money and just a way for the salesperson to boost their commission. Others suggest buying the chemicals for a DIY job at a fraction of the cost. In the past I’ve always declined but wondered, now that water based paints are used by manufacturers, whether there’s value in the treatment. I’d be interested in other people’s experience.

 

[willwander]

Has anybody opted for the Diamondbright treatment offered by dealers? Many people consider it a waste of money and just a way for the salesperson to boost their commission. Others suggest buying the chemicals for a DIY job at a fraction of the cost. In the past I’ve always declined but wondered, now that water based paints are used by manufacturers, whether there’s value in the treatment. I’d be interested in other people’s experience.

Not familiar with Diamond bright, but I expect there are better alternatives, something like gtechniq nano coating products, which are pretty good.

Few points...
1. I wouldn't trust a dealer to even wash my van, let alone do a decent valet, you'd be better off taking it to a reputable detailer.

2. 'Paint protection' products are mainly hype, you are much better off learning how to wash your van properly using two bucket method etc. and learn how to care for your paint.

3. Never, ever, ever, ever use hot foam brush at petrol stations or take it to a local 'hand car wash' places, which are not much better, they will ruin your paint in one wash.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Not familiar with Diamond bright, but I expect there are better alternatives, something like gtechniq nano coating products, which are pretty good.

Few points...
1. I wouldn't trust a dealer to even wash my van, let alone do a decent valet, you'd be better off taking it to a reputable detailer.

2. 'Paint protection' products are mainly hype, you are much better off learning how to wash your van properly using two bucket method etc. and learn how to care for your paint.

3. Never, ever, ever, ever use hot foam brush at petrol stations or take it to a local 'hand car wash' places, which are not much better, they will ruin your paint in one wash.

Thanks for the advice which echoes my own thoughts. I’m sure I’ll be spending a lot of time looking after my new toy when it arrives.

 

[a892374923874]

Jumping in here with a question please. My Indium Grey van is nearly a year old and covered in tree sap. I have an Autobrite snow foam lance and some Magifoam. So far all I have done a couple of times is foamed the van, pressure washed it off, foamed again and pressure washed it off. That all takes about 30 minutes.

I've not used a sponge or mitt or clay bar or polish because I don't have them and don't want to make the paint worse.

If I wanted to spend up to an hour cleaning the van, say 3 or 4 times a year, what would be the best use of time? Foam, Spray, Foam, then a mitt and 2 buckets, Spray? Which mitt?

 

[willwander]

Jumping in here with a question please. My Indium Grey van is nearly a year old and covered in tree sap. I have an Autobrite snow foam lance and some Magifoam. So far all I have done a couple of times is foamed the van, pressure washed it off, foamed again and pressure washed it off. That all takes about 30 minutes.

I've not used a sponge or mitt or clay bar or polish because I don't have them and don't want to make the paint worse.

If I wanted to spend up to an hour cleaning the van, say 3 or 4 times a year, what would be the best use of time? Foam, Spray, Foam, then a mitt and 2 buckets, Spray? Which mitt?

I don't find snow foam that effective, it's ok as a pre-wash, if you're a bit OCD, but can't replace a good two bucket wash with lot's of shampoo and a mitt, then rinse well and dry with a drying towel.

If you want to take it a bit further, I'd use a clay bar a couple of times a year. Also, apply a wax or sealant 3-4 times a year, or If you have a lance, I find Autogylm polar seal pretty good, just spray it on after a wash.

Most tree sap should come off with shampoo, for any really stubborn bits you could use Autoglym instant tar remover.

You probably don't need to polish for a while, unless you have any small scratches, then Autoglym SRP is pretty good.

Product wise, anything from Autoglym or Meguiars is good enough, you can get these from Halfords.

These mitts are good, last longer and easier to look after than lambs wool, again you can get them from Halfords.

Meguiars Super Thick Microfibre Car Wash Mitt | Halfords UK

Shop the latest Meguiar Super Thick Microfibre Car Wash Mitt is the ideal for getting that showroom finish. at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

 

[a892374923874]

shampoo

Thanks for this, I've ordered the wash mitt, polar seal and tar remover.

What shampoo would you recommend? The Polar Wash?

Cheers.

 

[willwander]

Thanks for this, I've ordered the wash mitt, polar seal and tar remover.

What shampoo would you recommend? The Polar Wash?

Cheers.

Polar Wash is good through your snow foam lance, and helps get a lot on, so smooth wash, but I find it a bit tricky to get the concentration right and you seem to end up using a lot of it. I’ve gone back to just using a normal shampoo in a bucket so would probably go for something like the normal ‘Autoglym bodywork shampoo’

There are tonnes of other options and brands and everyone has their favourite, but a lot of it is hype and all the above will be fine.

Get yourself a drying towel, especially if you wash in warm weather, it’s a good finishing touch, make you proud of your wash and will help especially on the grey.

Always make sure you don’t drop your mitt or towel on the floor, you need to avoid getting grit on them.

You’ll be a detailing geek in no time lol

 

[a892374923874]

You’ll be a detailing geek in no time lol

Lol, thanks for the info. I've occasionally dipped into detailingworld, but severe laziness and a desire for a machine to do the work has always won the day so far

Although I'm developing a guilty feeling after seeing some of the shiny shiny van pics on here, compared with my scruffy wreck outside.

 

[willwander]

I used to spend quite a bit of time on detailingworld, but it seems to have gone down hill last few years, too much hype and product promotion.

 

[Nick.C]

‘Lazy grey’, You never have to wash it, great colour ha
I used a quick pass with meguiars m101 followed by menzerna sfp3500 finishing polish, you need to use a polishing machine with these (DA or rotary), hard work by hand.

Hi Will, great finish, you certainly would not know the scratches had been there! What polishing pads did you use with you DA polisher?