DFB's Garage

So after yesterdays confusion over the measured pH readings of NV Snow, I wanted to mix up a proper measured amount at the recommended dilution. And still, the readings are too high -



A figure of 9.7 is just too far from a neutral reading of about 7.5, I really don't know what to think now. Perhaps an email to Waxit/NV for clarification is needed.

I then tested another soap to make sure it's not operator or equipment error, this time the product I intended to use today, Optimum Car Wash.



A reading of 6.94 is ever so slightly acidic, but close enough for me.

In use, this soap is quite interesting. It pours quite thickly, but foams much thinner than I'm used to. It's very much like P&S Pearl in consistency and it's ability to cling and just "hang" on the paint.



I like a thicker foam but it smelt nice and provided good cleaning and lubrication. It rinsed well too.

The Ranger also provided another opportunity to use ECH2o, this time to wipe the door jambs and tray.



So far, I really like this product. I really need to try using it as a rinse-less wash before making any more comment.

I used Bead Maker for the drying aid today, it's pretty hard to go past Bead Maker for gloss. It really makes paint pop, especially remarkable on a pretty boring flat white finish.

 
DFB said:
So after yesterdays confusion over the measured pH readings of NV Snow, I wanted to mix up a proper measured amount at the recommended dilution. And still, the readings are too high -



A figure of 9.7 is just too far from a neutral reading of about 7.5, I really don't know what to think now. Perhaps an email to Waxit/NV for clarification is needed.

I then tested another soap to make sure it's not operator or equipment error, this time the product I intended to use today, Optimum Car Wash.



A reading of 6.94 is ever so slightly acidic, but close enough for me.

In use, this soap is quite interesting. It pours quite thickly, but foams much thinner than I'm used to. It's very much like P&S Pearl in consistency and it's ability to cling and just "hang" on the paint.



I like a thicker foam but it smelt nice and provided good cleaning and lubrication. It rinsed well too.

The Ranger also provided another opportunity to use ECH2o, this time to wipe the door jambs and tray.



So far, I really like this product. I really need to try using it as a rinse-less wash before making any more comment.

I used Bead Maker for the drying aid today, it's pretty hard to go past Bead Maker for gloss. It really makes paint pop, especially remarkable on a pretty boring flat white finish.

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I've been playing around with Ech20 a lot lately. The rinseless washes are such great, versatile products. Ech20 has been excellent on all interior and exterior surfaces diluted 1:20/30.

I like Optimum Car Wash. Not quite as good as Reset (is anything?), but for the money I think it's a very good shampoo.
 
Thanks DFB for the info about the EZ Detail GO Brush. I picked it up and really like it. I normally don’t do the wheel arches because it is so tight on our cars but this brush works even on my sedan. I also used it to detail an engine bay and it seemed to work well. So thanks!

DFB said:
This was my first chance to try my new EZ Detail GO Brush. I bought this specifically for wheel arches, a job it does very well.





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dgage said:
Thanks DFB for the info about the EZ Detail GO Brush. I picked it up and really like it. I normally don’t do the wheel arches because it is so tight on our cars but this brush works even on my sedan. I also used it to detail an engine bay and it seemed to work well. So thanks!
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Excellent, I'm glad you like it.

I try so many different products and tools that sometimes I never really know if I will like something or not, however the GO version of those brushes surprised me. I actually spotted Sandro from CCAD using one for wheel arches and decided to give one a try.

At this point I am going to say that the EZ-Detail brushes are well worth the added cost over and above the similar and cheaper Chinese knockoff's.

I ran four of these Maxshine versions for a while and they were just not that good. One of the smaller ones came adrift from its handle, the rubber protector tip went AWOL on one of the larger ones and they just haven't maintained their shape. They are brand new below and certainly don't look like that now -





The EZ-Detail versions are much, much better made and are holding up to regular use better than the cheaper alternatives.







I primarily use the small and large versions for wheel cleaning, but they also get use for engine bays and exhaust tips. I did not expect the GO version to be much different, but its very, very good for cleaning wheel arches.











I absolutely love these brushes; they are so versatile. This is definitely a case of "you get what you pay for".
 
I have the small and large and had them nearly 5 years i snapped the handle off the large but fixed it with some metal tubing. Still going strong i have a cheaper Chinese that is bent to hit up the back of the spokes.
 
Therapy day!

The XR8 has been sitting uncovered for a long time now, since the incident with the little grey things. It's been bugging me for weeks now, other cars taking my attention away from it. You know how it is...........next week, next week, next week.........

After clearing a few chores, it was on with the noise cancelling headphones and I slipped into my detailing trance and devoted my attention to my favorite car.

I'm trying ReTyre again, this time with the correct spray head, and found it to perform much better.



As mentioned, I was just pottering around and letting things flow without a time limit hanging over my head, so no other product features for this detail. I used OG Drying Aid across the paint, under bonnet surfaces, door jambs and wheels. The tyres featuring OG Tire Dressing.



Part of the delay in getting to this car was the need to launder its cover. Now that I have figured out that it can actually fit in our washing machine at home, this made the process much easier than having to find the time to go down to the laundromat. I also put it in the dryer to speed up the process. For detergent, I use the same stuff I use on microfiber towels, Rags to Riches.



I'm feeling so much better now having that sorted.

The Ranger was also in need of attention.



I used Reset today, the same as used on the XR8. I sort of wished I had grabbed the NV Snow that is more aggressive in it's current form to deal with that road film.

Drying Aid for the Ranger was Stjarnagloss Silke -



Silke is a traditional quick detailer, so no added protection, as such it's exceptionally easy to use. I like how quick detailers don't require the added attention that a protective drying aid needs, you literally spray and wipe with these products.

Next on the list to try was Stjarnagloss Gummi -



I know, another tire dressing, I can't help it. These tires were also cleaned with ReTyre in prep for the application of Gummi.





These tyres always amplify a dressing, so the gloss that appears in the pics will be less on other tyres. I really liked the user experience of this product, the way it wiped on with no effort was pleasing, if the scent was better, it would be almost perfect.

Just wish the weather was better for my day off, I'm missing some seat time in cars other than a Ranger at the moment.
 
I needed a distraction for my afternoon, the Jaguar was it. This car has been sitting for far too long, longer than I care to admit to. Thankfully it started but it was shouting warnings at me about low battery charge.

It wasn't particularly dirty, just dusty from sitting so long. Today I decided to use Stjarnagloss Sno for the first time.







Foam quality is brilliant, the scent a faint aroma of coconut oil.

Stjarnagloss sell two soaps, Sno is called a "Snow Foam Pre-Wash" while Bubblor is for bucket washing. Normally I tend to ignore that sort of product labeling as marketing speak, I don't use two different soaps when washing a car, as in one to foam and one to bucket wash with. However, Sno felt strangely tacky and less slick under the wash mitt. This would be one of the only times where I have noticed a difference between a foam-cannon soap and bucket-soap.

I used Sno for wheel cleaning as well today, ReTyre for the rubber.

As the car hadn't been touched for a long time, I went all over the car, including the engine bay with Bead Maker. I'm going to daily this for a few days, so I wanted the paint to POP, Bead Maker is almost as good as it gets.



Interior was wiped over with InnerQD and the front seats given a quick application of NV Nourish. The interior glass was quite hazy for some reason, so I had to go to town with the Reach & Clean Tool and Gyeon Glass.

With stripped tyres, I went with Adam's Graphene Tire Dressing today.





Ignore the Graphene marketing aspect, this is a really nice dressing, especially if you prefer a matte finish.

With the battery protesting the whole time, I hooked it up to the new CTEK for the evening.



Spending some time alone with the Jaguar was what I needed this afternoon.
 
I know this might be a shock to some, but I actually got some time to drive the Mustang over the last couple of days. Enough to need cleaning? Probably not. Enough to give me an excuse to clean it? Absolutely!

I tend to work in circles with products, soaps, drying aids and tire dressings in particular. After playing with a variety of products over the last few weeks, it was nice to return to a few favorites in the form of GSF, OG Drying Aid and OG Tire Dressing.

OG Drying Aid is just so easy to play with, no streaking, no excessive buffing, just wipe on and wipe off for glossy perfection. I can't wait to be able to have easy access to it in the coming months.





This week's new product to try was Koch Chemie All Surface Cleaner ASC.



ASC is a residue and streak free mild cleaner for use on a variety of interior surfaces. Being a part of their "blue line", I gather this has an alcohol base like other similar products on the market such as Carpro InnerQD or Meguiar's QID. Koch recommend spraying the product directly onto the surface to be cleaned, and I guess that would be correct for dirtier interiors. I like to use these by spraying them into a towel until damp, then wiping across the areas to be cleaned or dusted. This is a very easy product to use and doesn't leave behind a slick or greasy finish. I think I still prefer InnerQD, mainly because of the scent.

I also decided to clean the leather seats, door trims, steering wheel and console lid today with Colour Lock Mild Leather Cleaner and the Colour Lock Brush. Not that these areas were particularly bad, although the driver's seat was starting to get a little shiny.



Once cleaned, I followed up with Colour Lock Leather Protector, applied with their specific sponge.



As mentioned, today's tire choice was OG Tire Dressing. During the wash, I had used a fresh batch of Shine Supply Wise Guy, which I followed up with a scrub with Stoners Tarminator to really strip then down good and proper. I then applied the dressing with a brush, left to sit for 15 minutes and then buffed off to an even finish. The wheels were then given a wipe over with some NV Boost v1.



I also took delivery of two more Solo sprayers. One of those will be used in my gardening business, the other I haven't decided on yet. And after a quick demo, I also managed to convince my employer to get two for the nursery! :dance



I mentioned last week the XR8 was my favorite car, well the Mustang is my favorite car to detail.
 
I just bought myself one so i can save the trigger finger
 
I use KochChemie ASC in my house on about everything. It does very well, even in the bathroom. I wish it was sold in gallons.
 
Azure said:
I use KochChemie ASC in my house on about everything. It does very well, even in the bathroom. I wish it was sold in gallons.
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ASC is available in 5 liter / 1.32 gallon size bottles :xyxthumbs:
 
DFB said:
ASC is available in 5 liter / 1.32 gallon size bottles :xyxthumbs:
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I just checked after reading this. This is great! I think I like it in the house more than anything.
 
DFB all the Solo sprayers are on back order till December :mad:

I tried telling them i'm a special case but the place i thought i bought mine from said
Santa Claus is busy making them.Im the MAN
 
Tasmania said:
That's where i went description says not available till mid December
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Ahh, sorry, my bad. Odd that they put it in the product description rather than having the usual SOLD OUT tab.
 
Ok, so I have been chasing this for months now, but I had the next phase of my garage improvements delivered today.



Actually, this is something I have been wanting for longer than that. I have become to appreciate how useful compressed air is in detailing, especially in combination with a Tornador gun.

Currently, my air tools are driven via a pretty basic hose that is looped on the end of my air compressor when not in use. Being stored like that, the hose has memory and is frustrating to use as it binds up and snags as I move about the garage.

It took me many hours researching and reading about the various compressed air standards, something I found so complicated with countless thread standards, fittings and hose size options. Complicating the matter was the want to have the air reel matching the Recoila electrical reel, except I didn't like Recoila air hose options, so I had to compromise and go with a Retracta. Actually, I would have preferred to have both of these reels to be Retracta from the beginning, I think they look better, but Macnaught don't offer power reels in their range.

This air reel will be mounted on the opposite side to my power cord reel that I installed a few months ago.



The Retracta-Flex hoses offer superior flexibility & kink resistance and are memory free, meaning it lays flat on the floor. The bend restrictor installed on the outlet is a bonus too.

I also managed to find a supplier in Australia that sold the Prevost S1 couplers, a direct fit to the new hose. Included in my order were Euro-High-Flow fittings to convert my current tools to work with the S1 coupler.



The hard bit now is finding some time to install it all. :doh:
 
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