Auto Glym: Aqua Wax

Thanks David.

Sounds interesting. I have never heard of this stuff before. I used to polish my red and black cars maybe ten or fifteen years ago (as those colours always need polishing), but have never bothered polishing my last two or three "daily" cars.

I may well buy one of those clay kits. Sounds interesting. Can you get rid of the dirt and old wax from the clay, or do you have to renew the clay when it becomes totally soiled? Doesn't sound too expensive and three or four hours on a weekend evening should be do-able.

Thanks for the info.
 
Dan, Mike & David

You are all AWESOME!!! super quick and it surely put me to rest.

I love this forum!

And the fact that it happened to you as well Mike, just reinstated my confidence. If it happens to the best ones...it's not that bad

I'll definately look in to buying a smart charger David...after getting stuck this morning, and having to walk for an hour to get to work (takes me 10 min normally), I think I need one.

I'll try it tonight and I'll let you know how all goes tomorrow.

Speak soon and once again thanks a million for the help.

Jose
 
Lee S said:
Thanks David.

I may well buy one of those clay kits. Sounds interesting. Can you get rid of the dirt and old wax from the clay, or do you have to renew the clay when it becomes totally soiled? Doesn't sound too expensive and three or four hours on a weekend evening should be do-able.

Thanks for the info.
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Lee,

The clay bar will look dirty throughout when it is worn out. The kit I mentioned come with 2 separate pieces and an air tight box to keep them in once opened, which is a nice touch. I have just thrown away the 1st bar from my kit after claying 5 cars, one of which was very bad! I did rinse the dirty clay under the tap, but I think I just washed most of it away!!!!! ;) So I will use a new bar next time. I would guess that a dirty clay bar will scratch the car just like a diry sponge?

David
 
Aah, Claying - yes it's amazing what crud a claybar will remove from what you think must be a clean car - really helpful especially when you live in an area with a lot of sooty particulate pollution - the nasty stuff that sticks to the paint. I haven't clayed the A2 yet, will get to that when it warms up a bit. Hopefully my claykit will still be ok from when I last used it in about April last year.
 
Lee S said:
I have always hand washed it since I had it, rinsed thoroughly before washing and changed water whilst washing, used different sponges for the paint work, wheels and under-body areas such as sills and bumpers.
You guys would probably say that it's a disgrace if you saw it, but it looks OK to me.
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None of us would say any such thing! :D

I've learned quite a bit about detailing over the last 5 years or so. My cars only get the full works twice a year then a wash every week or two. Its really easy to clean the car when its been well prepared and sealed with good wax.

If you do nothing else though, throw the sponges away and get a couple of wash mitts. They dont have to be expensive ones - my everyday one was 99p I think.;) Benefit here is that you can throw them in the washing machine after use. Sponges will always retain grit and contamination which scratches the paint - regardless of how well your rinse them. If you do spend some time on the car and clay/prep and wax it, make sure the washes following this are with luke warm water. Stuff wont stick to the paint the same anyway and hot water will wear away the wax. :D
 
Thanks for all the info and tips guys.

I am curious to have a go with the clay stuff now. I will leave it until the weather gets better though. I washed it this weekend and its filthy already after doing a single 170 mile trip home last night. :(

I think I will replace the wheels with some 17" or 18" in a couple of months, so when they are on and I have some mudflaps fitted, then hopefully I will give it a good cleaning inside and out.

Cheers all,

Lee
 
Hey guys, just spent the last hour and half trying to jump start the battery...

Unfortunately no luck...is it me or is this weird, I mean up until friday the battery was in perfect condition and now no sign?!

Does that mean that when you totally drain you battery, it can die too, no chance of survival??

I mean in the morning, at least it tried to work, but now it seems the more I charged it, the more it drains, at the moment nothing the engine doesn't even make any noise... I can open the car with the keys though (pressing the button I mean), and the dashboard and all lights come on, it's just the engine...can it be something else?

I guess I need to buy a replacement, if so any suggestions?!

Thanks

Jose
 
Hi Peter,

The jump start pack will only be good for a couple of go's at starting the engine. They are quite powerful, but go flat quite quickly, the mate you borrowed it from should have a charger to re charge the pack.
Otherwise I would suggest getting the RAC/AA out to jump start it from their van, hopefully you have membership??
If not, then your other options are a jump start from a neighbours car, or last resort a push start (but this can damage the catalyst in exhaust, so is a real last resort).
A good battery charger, like the one mentioned earlier will take about 18 hrs to charge from a totally flat battery. If you have a multimeter check the voltage across the battery, anything less the 12V means a relatively flat battery, anything less than 7 or 8 and it won't start the car.

Not sure what else to suggest? The RAC rescued me twice this year when I had battery problems, well worth the money.

Good luck,

David
 
Re-charge the booster pack, connect to the battery, turn on ignition does everything light up and glow plug light go out ?, try starting in no joy try jump leads but a trick with them, leave them connected with the other car running for a couple of minutes before trying to start yours as this will give yours a bit of a charge

Cheers Phil
 
If you've a flat stretch of road, get a few neighbours to give you a bump start - you'll need to get a decent speed up (around 10mph) and do the bumping in second gear.

I had to have this done with Tank at last years Somerset social after having the lights on to assist late comers with tent erection!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Thanks so much guys, it seems like the battery booster takes a good 48 hours to recharge...

And regarding using another car or pushing, unfortunately because I've just recently moved up to Derby, I don't really know people around me willing to do that... "I don't have any friends!!" :eek:

I think the best option is as David mention, to call out RAC. Unfortunately Dave, I am not affiliated yet, as my A2 as been faithful and never had problems trough out this 2 years.
It seems that now it's the ideal time to do this... Good peace of mind and they are not as expensive as I first though.
I think I am going to go with RAC, sounds better

Jose
 
Right so my car is up and running now...

I drove around for about 30 to 45 minutes, and remembered that I used rain-x on the exterior and interior of the glass.

On the exterior the famous, spray on, so the water beds, AWESOME stuff, really amazing how clear the view is...perfec day to test it out as it was pouring hard.

What I didn't like so much was the stuff that I used inside, it's from rain-x also, but it's an anti-fog liquid. This leaves the window REALLY greasy, and it's difficult to see-through, especially when there's lights pointed straight at the windows they look all smeared... Plus I didn't really saw much difference as the windows still fog as much as before. So all in all not great...

Here's the reference image: http://www.holden.co.uk/getImage200...\www\productimages\096_716.jpg&WorH=w&max=300

Was wondering if you guys use this stuff also?

Thanks

Jose
 
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