My A2 so far...

timmus

timmus

A2OC Donor
Well, having had glarious weather for the past few days, I decided I'd give the wee beastie a good clean and a couple of coats of Collinite. I've now owned my A2 for 2 and a half years and huge progress has been made, but there's still a long way to go until completion.
Nevertheless, what better way is there to mark my 1000th post on the A2OC than posting a few photos of my A2 so far?...
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9631-2.jpg
    IMG_9631-2.jpg
    487.9 KB · Views: 475
  • IMG_9563-3.jpg
    IMG_9563-3.jpg
    413.4 KB · Views: 531
Last edited:
Hi Tom,

It looks really good all clean, bright and shinny......it must have taken some effort to put those rear windows down (oh I forgot, just a click of a button....:p....!!)

Well done on hitting the 1000 mark.

Cheers

Jeff
 
Thanks Jeff. It certainly took a bit more elbow grease to get the car looking so shiny than it did to put the rear windows down! :)

Tom
 
Very nice. Which Collonite product did you use - 476S? My wife's A2 is Cobalt Blue (looks like black). Always looks good after it's been polished with Mezerna 203S first, etc.
happy0034.gif
 
Hi Spartacus,

It was indeed 476S that I used. Sadly, given that the car is parked under sycamore trees, it no longer looks like it does in the photos above. :(

Cheers,

Tom
 
timmus said:
Hi Spartacus,

It was indeed 476S that I used. Sadly, given that the car is parked under sycamore trees, it no longer looks like it does in the photos above. :(

Cheers,

Tom
Click to expand...

The Collonite 476 is fantastic, and still maintains water-beading 3-4 months after use, which is more than can be said for Meguiars Carnuba Wax, although it's easier to apply and remove.
 
I tend to do the whole car and then polish. Takes around 10 minutes, then polish with the simple machine.
If I've done EGP (which I'll very strongly recommend) then that curing is the single thing which takes the most time.
Including shuts. I'd do the interior while the EGP is curing. I'll probably do the whole thing again at the summer house in three weeks as there's only colly on now and I don't want to have to touch it again for another 9 months, which is how long the EGP+476 combo lasted and it was still beading!

- Bret
 
Bret,

Which EGP do you use.....I've just started using Autoglym but not massively impressed, although it may be my technique as I'm not using a machine (as not brave enough). Also, what machine do you use?

Cheers

Jeff
 
Last edited:
Could you expand a little, please? You cover the whole thing in Colly, and then remove it with a machine polisher? What's EGP?
I'm completely new to this and am finding that my beading isn't lasting too long at all. Admitted the car is showered with sycamore rubbish for at least 6 months of the year, but nevertheless.

Cheers,

Tom
 
right.
AG = AutoGlym
EGP = Extra Gloss Protection

So:
- wash with two buckets and a "dreadlock" mitt; one bucket with clean soapy water, the other to rinse in. Soapy water onto the car, dirty mitt into the rinse, rinse, repeat. The clean water stays relatively clean, the rinse water gets filthy.
- clay with autobalm (cheap, simple, car's already wet - one more step saved)
- rinse, dry.
- rubber with AG bumper care
- apply EGP in a thin layer all over, let it cure. add in where necessary, it dries with a nice white film. I apply with a single clean, thin cloth everywhere.
- after curing (20 mins? 30? can't remember, it's on the bottle), I polish off with a microfibre and then a cheapo rotary (€10 job, the ones that have two handles). They're crap for getting marks out but great - with a terry or wollen bonnet - for getting a nice shine.
- add then colly to the entire car, applied by non-fluffy MF (I get some Vileda stuff here with "magic pockets" and they're rather good for this)
- polish off that lot with a fresh bonnet on the machine.

Should stay beading for a while. Rinse it occasionally with water / high pressure and you should still see beading after six months.

I don't use my kestrel very much in anger, mainly because a) I don't really need to on this car, the paint's pretty good still, thanks and b) I've seen what it did to the 307's bumper ;)

Hth.

- Bret
 
Thanks Bret, and Vonnie. Hopefully my next attempt will last a little longer.

Between treatments like this, how do you wash your car? Just the two bucket method?

Cheers,

Tom
 
I tend to only wash infrequently, but essentially I try now to do it the following way:
- APC (in this case, it's "Tolu", diluted @ 3:1 or so, so three parts water to one part APC) (Tesco's "daisy" has a good rep elsewhere) sprayed onto the wheels before I go to the garage
- repeat at least once on the way
- rinse the whole car at least once before washing to get rid of loose crud and the worst of the dust
- wash with twobuckets, but with only a minimum of suds (I tend to use Ecover as we have major water table restrictions here and it suds beautifully in my nice, soft water without any issues) to make sure I'm not taking too much wax back off again
- dry as necessary

I have been known to wash the car in the rain as it saves me rinse problem, and TBH, I tend to do it once a month at most. The paintwork is protected by the sealants, so most of the job is simply getting it to look OK; I don't worry too much about getting a perfect result every time. It's a good idea to lose the salt and grit of winter on a regular basis, though, as that really does stick like the proverbial poo to a blanket, and I can see and feel it. So the car gets a rinse on an irregular basis in winter to mitigate the worst issues and then a really good clean, clay and wax twice a year. Once before and once after summer.

- Bret
 
I don't know what EGP is but i used Carlack sealant then Colly 476 and can conclude it does last nearer 1 year than 4 months, althoug sometimes i dry the car from wet with a touch of demon wax in the rinse. Collinite is amazing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top