Discussion
JayK12 said:
I have Siramik HR APT on my wheels/calipers/exhaust tips. Body is mostly covered with PPF so haven't bothered. Also I have Siramik waterproofer on the hood and interior.
I have found Siramik to be great, the waterproofing is brilliant. The coating on alloys is beautiful too, muck flys off.+1 for Russell at Reflectology. I have all the Siramik products on my Cayman, including a gold flake/tint to lift the meteor grey paint a little and diamas professional. Russell is a true obsessive, he simply will NOT let a mediocre job leave his premises. He specialises in high end cars but as I'm a regular he did my mum's Up!. She panicked when he said he'd found a major defect, turned out to be a small finger nail mark on a window seal 
He is meticulous. I just snow foam, rinse, chamois and drive now. Still looks great after 12 months and beads water as it did when first applied.
PS
He accredits a few hand selected detailers throughout the UK too.
He is meticulous. I just snow foam, rinse, chamois and drive now. Still looks great after 12 months and beads water as it did when first applied.PS
He accredits a few hand selected detailers throughout the UK too.
I'm getting the front and rear bumpers Xpel wrapped, I've only had the car two months and have had people scuff the rear bumper twice! Hazard of living in London and parking in the street outside my house. Bit pricy but I suspect that buyers will be fussy about minor blemishes when I sell on so hopefully worth it
Forget wax, it's old tech, go for ceramic, have a look at Automotive Addictions FB page, they are in Telford, there's a few pics of my Vantage on there with a ceramic coating just applied after they corrected shambolic AM main dealer prep work...
Edited by kbooker on Saturday 24th December 16:53
kbooker said:
Forget wax, it's old tech, go for ceramic, have a look at Automotive Addictions FB page, they are in Telford, there's a few pics of my Vantage on there with a ceramic coating just applied after they corrected shambolic AM main dealer prep work...
Wax is still perfectly good. It isn't as long lasting, but does its job.Edited by kbooker on Saturday 24th December 16:53
Many people enjoy the ritual of waxing every 2, 3 or 4 months.
I polished and waxed a friends car back in Sept. I must admit to enjoying the process, although both my daily and 981s I use ceramic coatings
Ceramic coating is the way to go IMO.
The durability is second to none and the uplift in cost is worth it when a wax may last 4-6 months but the ceramic sealant will stay durable for 18 months or so.
The whole point of detailing is to correct paintwork imperfections, swirls scratches etc, and protect it, and also make it easier to wash.
It's worth it IMO. But I would say that.
The durability is second to none and the uplift in cost is worth it when a wax may last 4-6 months but the ceramic sealant will stay durable for 18 months or so.
The whole point of detailing is to correct paintwork imperfections, swirls scratches etc, and protect it, and also make it easier to wash.
It's worth it IMO. But I would say that.
Tim bo said:
Some awesome pics of a Spyder from one of the detailers I linked ...
Edited by Tim bo on Thursday 22 December 04:50
He did my CLS 55 and brought it back to new using Kamikaze products. It looks incredible and is so easy to wash and maintain now.
The Kamikaze coating is better than ALL the other stuff out there - I swear by it and so does Rob with his Voodoo Spyder
Can only recommend Autowerx Telford. Although they do travel to customers. Ben Siramik'd my GTS wheels, calipers, exhaust tips. Tell Ben I directed you to him, top guy.
I haven't put any Siramik on the body as most of it is covered in PPF. But I do apply Autoglym Gloss Protection to the body, lasts a good amount of time and keeps a layer over the paint even after multiple washes. I'll keep using it for sure.
I haven't put any Siramik on the body as most of it is covered in PPF. But I do apply Autoglym Gloss Protection to the body, lasts a good amount of time and keeps a layer over the paint even after multiple washes. I'll keep using it for sure.
andy355 said:
Once detailed can the finish get easily ruined? Good car washes in central London are hard to find or the ones that are good need to be booked in advance
Speak to Mike at Minutia Detailing, ive had mine done there and he's only in croydon so i just pop down and get him to wash it properly to stop any marks etcmdianuk said:
Pictures are pretty pointless when it comes to discussions about detailing, as the quality of ones service is down to how well they restore/protect the paint, and the finishes applied. It is hard to see in pictures, and most posted just look like a nice clean car.
That's just what I was thinking!Perhaps the posters here are just trying to justify spending £1000+ getting someone else to make their car look shiny rather than spending a few hours doing it themselves?
I see no reason for spending this much when I can clay, cleanse, polish, and wax for under £100 on a brand new car and then have loads left over to keep it shiny?
PPF will have to be replaced expensively if it gets scuffed. As for ceramic coatings, what do you do when a stone chips the paint?
Just a load of old hogwash. Emperor's new clothes etc...
Oh... and "Bah... Humbug"
DJMC said:
That's just what I was thinking!
Perhaps the posters here are just trying to justify spending £1000+ getting someone else to make their car look shiny rather than spending a few hours doing it themselves?
I see no reason for spending this much when I can clay, cleanse, polish, and wax for under £100 on a brand new car and then have loads left over to keep it shiny?
PPF will have to be replaced expensively if it gets scuffed. As for ceramic coatings, what do you do when a stone chips the paint?
Just a load of old hogwash. Emperor's new clothes etc...
Oh... and "Bah... Humbug"
Because a decent machine polisher costs around £275 - That's what my Flex rotary cost me.Perhaps the posters here are just trying to justify spending £1000+ getting someone else to make their car look shiny rather than spending a few hours doing it themselves?
I see no reason for spending this much when I can clay, cleanse, polish, and wax for under £100 on a brand new car and then have loads left over to keep it shiny?
PPF will have to be replaced expensively if it gets scuffed. As for ceramic coatings, what do you do when a stone chips the paint?
Just a load of old hogwash. Emperor's new clothes etc...
Oh... and "Bah... Humbug"
Silverline Polishers for £45 are s
t. No lock on, speed is too high, they weigh more than the car you're trying to polish.Polishes themselves are not cheap. 250ML bottle of Scholl S3 (cutting) polish is around £15-£18. That will do 2-4 cars depending on how big they are and how hard the paint is.
Then another £15-£18 for a bottle of S40 or similar (refining polish).
A couple of decent pads are around £15 for say an orange and a black pad (Chemical Guys hex or Scholl Spider pads or similar).
Clay is £10
Iron fallout remover is £15
Tardis (tar remover) is £20 or so.
Ceramic coating is around £50-£100 and then several hours of application.
Then you need the skill to actually polish. Polishing is easy. Polishing well and not making a faff of it is much harder.
I've been doing it for 5 or 6 years and still I am learning.
Porsche paint is generally very sticky and not easy to polish compared to say a Golf.
The polisher grabs and pulls and is just not very nice to do.
Then you have to accept the fact that it will take 15+ hrs to wash, decon, dry, polish in several stages, rinse, re-dry and seal the car. Make it closer to 20 hrs if you put a ceramic coating on and not forgetting the curing time needed for the coating.
Ideally you need a garage large enough to walk round the car with the doors open, decent fixed lighting to see the polishing as well as the "eye" and knowing what to look for.
So it's a lot more than a few hours and while £1000 is right at the top end around £500-£600 for a Boxster (convertible so don't need to do the roof) is bang on the money and considering the time, insurance, workshop costs, and costs of materials, it's not a lot of money when you've spent £50k on your car.
xjay1337 said:
Because a decent machine polisher costs around £275 - That's what my Flex rotary cost me.
Silverline Polishers for £45 are st. No lock on, speed is too high, they weigh more than the car you're trying to polish.
Polishes themselves are not cheap. 250ML bottle of Scholl S3 (cutting) polish is around £15-£18. That will do 2-4 cars depending on how big they are and how hard the paint is.
Then another £15-£18 for a bottle of S40 or similar (refining polish).
A couple of decent pads are around £15 for say an orange and a black pad (Chemical Guys hex or Scholl Spider pads or similar).
Clay is £10
Iron fallout remover is £15
Tardis (tar remover) is £20 or so.
Ceramic coating is around £50-£100 and then several hours of application.
Then you need the skill to actually polish. Polishing is easy. Polishing well and not making a faff of it is much harder.
I've been doing it for 5 or 6 years and still I am learning.
Porsche paint is generally very sticky and not easy to polish compared to say a Golf.
The polisher grabs and pulls and is just not very nice to do.
Then you have to accept the fact that it will take 15+ hrs to wash, decon, dry, polish in several stages, rinse, re-dry and seal the car. Make it closer to 20 hrs if you put a ceramic coating on and not forgetting the curing time needed for the coating.
Ideally you need a garage large enough to walk round the car with the doors open, decent fixed lighting to see the polishing as well as the "eye" and knowing what to look for.
So it's a lot more than a few hours and while £1000 is right at the top end around £500-£600 for a Boxster (convertible so don't need to do the roof) is bang on the money and considering the time, insurance, workshop costs, and costs of materials, it's not a lot of money when you've spent £50k on your car.
+1Silverline Polishers for £45 are s
t. No lock on, speed is too high, they weigh more than the car you're trying to polish.Polishes themselves are not cheap. 250ML bottle of Scholl S3 (cutting) polish is around £15-£18. That will do 2-4 cars depending on how big they are and how hard the paint is.
Then another £15-£18 for a bottle of S40 or similar (refining polish).
A couple of decent pads are around £15 for say an orange and a black pad (Chemical Guys hex or Scholl Spider pads or similar).
Clay is £10
Iron fallout remover is £15
Tardis (tar remover) is £20 or so.
Ceramic coating is around £50-£100 and then several hours of application.
Then you need the skill to actually polish. Polishing is easy. Polishing well and not making a faff of it is much harder.
I've been doing it for 5 or 6 years and still I am learning.
Porsche paint is generally very sticky and not easy to polish compared to say a Golf.
The polisher grabs and pulls and is just not very nice to do.
Then you have to accept the fact that it will take 15+ hrs to wash, decon, dry, polish in several stages, rinse, re-dry and seal the car. Make it closer to 20 hrs if you put a ceramic coating on and not forgetting the curing time needed for the coating.
Ideally you need a garage large enough to walk round the car with the doors open, decent fixed lighting to see the polishing as well as the "eye" and knowing what to look for.
So it's a lot more than a few hours and while £1000 is right at the top end around £500-£600 for a Boxster (convertible so don't need to do the roof) is bang on the money and considering the time, insurance, workshop costs, and costs of materials, it's not a lot of money when you've spent £50k on your car.
The correction is the most important part of the process. No point polishing, waxing and sealing a poor paint finish. Brand new cars don't have perfect blemish free paint. I know I certainly don't have the expertise to correct paint, let alone the equipment. Personally I don't see paying an experienced detailer any differently to other professions, mechanic, decorator, electrician etc etc. I don't fancy wielding a drill and sanding pads on my paint I'm afraid
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