I've been looking forward to this! A day in the garage with two cars to detail and nowhere else to be! Despite the heat, nothing was going to stop me getting out there!
I decided to start on the Ranger. Like last week, no rain for several weeks now and everything is just so dry and dusty. The amount of brown that came off the crisp white paint was alarming. I gave the tyres a scrub with Brake Buster, the wheels got cleaned with NV Snow+. I then hit the paint with Megs Hyper Wash before finishing off a bottle of NV Boost v1 for the drying aid. I then vacuumed the interior and wiped everything down with Pilot. Glass with classic Invisible Glass, the engine bay given a quick wipe down with ECH20. I then topped the wheels with Amplify and dressed the tyres with Tire+.
With the Ranger sorted, it was the Jaaaaaag's turn next. Yep, it's
on the road again........................
Today's theme was to focus on using NV products, kinda like a refresher after using mostly Amour stuff recently. You will note the Ranger was part of that, but the Jag got it more liberally.
I've been using NV Snow+ for many years now, but this is the first time I've sampled the latest version which is now colored in a vivid blue rather than clear, still unscented thought. Snow+ produces a runnier foam compared to Snow, but it has excellent dwell time to help break down dirt and grime.
With the Jag having recently done a 500km road trip to Geelong, I felt the need to be a little more thorough today. The engine bay was part of that, which was foamed with Snow+ and then agitated with a Detail Factory synthetic brush and EZ-Detail brush.......................
Rinsed, the entire engine bay was doused with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing mixed at 5:1 for a super subtle finish. If you have the 1:1 pre-mixed RTU bottle of Hyper Dressing, you will need to further water it down to achieve that natural finish. If you are using Carpro Perl, I'd probably use 2:1 or 3:1. Motorplast, use undiluted but know that it will be a more pronounced enhancement.
Don't stress about getting it on the painted sections, it's totally fine and doesn't harm anything or look greasy.
From here, you can simply close the hood and walk away, but I like to go over the engine bay with the EGO first. This removes excess water and helps distribute the Hyper Dressing. I then lower the hood and start the engine to help with drying. I typically leave the engine running while I clean the wheels, long enough to get things 95% dry under there. I will then return to the engine bay at the end of the detail.
With the rolling stock, I scrubbed the rubber with Wise Guy, needing two rounds as they were producing quite a bit of brown. The wheels were cleaned with NV Snow+. I then topped up the Hydr02 and spritzed the rotors with Atom Mac.
Dirtier than normal, I decided to pre-soak the car, again with Snow+............
After rinsing, it was time for the contact wash. Sticking with the NV theme, I switched to Snow. This version produces much thicker foam and has a lovely subtle scent. This is a world-class soap that I tend to forget how good it is.
S for Snow.....................
Clean and blown down with the EGO, I then grabbed another NV product, Boost v2. It's been a very long time since I used this product, and I'm sad to say, Boost has been left behind. It's easy enough to use, but after grabbing ADS Amplify to wipe down the door jambs, Boost just doesn't have the user experience. Amplify is far slicker, far easier to work with and smells absolutely epic.
Overall, Boost v2 feels and behaves much like P&S Defender, as in it doesn't have much lubrication underneath the towel and feels quite grabby to use. So, while longevity is supposed to be decent, the user experience just isn't good enough.
From here, I vacuumed the interior then wiped everything down with ADS Pilot. I also needed to clean the driver seat and steering wheel, selecting Carpro Cleanse. What a dud of a product, one of Carpro's worst. Likewise, the matching Lotion that followed. Actually, I'm annoyed at myself for wasting time using these two. After cleaning the glass, it was time to return to the exterior.
The Wise Guy did a great job resetting the tyres, ready for dressing.
Once again, NV was in the box seat, with Onyx being chosen for the tyres. Compared to Boost which has fallen behind, Onyx is still one of my absolute favorite tyre dressings. It's velvet smooth to apply, offers a
just-right enhancement, and smells divine.
Finally, I returned to the engine bay with a towel to level off any Hyper Dressing high spots. I used to detest engine bay detailing, but the method I have adopted makes it a breeze. And doing it like this on a periodic basis, it means you don't need to spend hours fastidiously cleaning nooks and crannies.
Back to spec........................
Returning to NV, it's amazing how fast things move. Five years ago, the NV brand was punching well above it's weight across most of the product line. But other than Boost v2, not much has changed. Without doubt, the soaps are still class leading, as is Purge, Purify and Onyx. However, I think its time for some reformulation elsewhere.