How Do You Wax Yours...?

[D87 SMW]

Ok, what do you use to get your showroom shine on your Maesty or Monty...?

I spent this morning, washing and waxing GGT. After defrosting it of course. ;) :rolleyes:
I use 151 (Car Pride) Spray Wax. Smells nice ;) and gives the car a good shine.

[D87 SMW]

Also used the 151 Bumper Black for the end caps, and Marks and Spencer Tyre Shine, which gives the tyres an "as new" appearance...

:cool:

[Austin-Rover]

"AUTOGLYM" Extra Gloss is the only way to shine up the paintwork. Its expensive (£5.95 for 325ml) but lasts ages and is easy to use.

As for the interior - nothing the Dyson and some Mr. Sheen wont fix!

:cool:

[H48HPE]

typical wash on a saturday includes:

carplan shampoo in a bucket with warm water used with a sponge.

then rinse off with clean water

either dry with chammy leather or on alternate washes i polish with auto glym super resin polish, i find this polishes well and seems easy to apply. I have used carplan polish and that was ok but not quite as good as autoglym becaus it wasnt as easy to polish off.

i use carplan tyre foam to clean the tyres and it usually works well, as long as they are dry when its applied.

I have used black trim wax on the door handles and mirrors but ive found that the first time it rains on them I end up with black streaks down the car.

I think I use simoniz window cleaner on the glass, which is good stuff.

on the inside I use carplan (i think) plastic trim cleaner which leaves things nice and shiny, particularly the black plastic facia. once got some on the steering wheel and it felt horible whilst driving so now i make sure it doesnt get on there. regular vacuuming inside keeps it smelling clean. + i cant stand dirt inside. once a mate got a bleeding lump of mars bar on the back seat and sat on it, needles to say i was not pleased at the mess and he is now banned from eating in the car!

ive used t-cut on twice to good effect it shifts light surface scrathes, but I dont go OTT with that stuff.

For the engine bay i used gunk, two applications with the aerosol cleared away all the oily mess then a year and a haf on it still good just needs a brush up every so often to keep it nice.



Andy

[MGTurbo]

For the bodywork, i use Autoglym radiant wax, trade only, after cleaning using a generic wash and wax shampoo. Dry off large surfaces with a dedicated silicone blade, then a micro-fibre cloth of Autoglym Aqua dry chamois to finish.

Autoglym rubber conditioner for the tyres and all exterior plastic and rubber trim. Autoglym TFR for cleaning the wheels once diluted 50/50, also used for cleaning the engine, dead fly removal, grease from door shuts and lower half of the car. TFR diluted 100/1 used for cleaning interior plastic. Autoglym glass cleaner polish in and out.

Autoglym Extra Gloss protection is a waste of time and money. It's exceptionally difficult to use for what it is, and doesn't last at all. I've used the best, most expensive paint work sealers there are (Diamond Brite, SupaGard etc, which is basically what the Autoglym product is) and they offer NO extra protection from the elements.

There is no substitue for regular waxing and careful washing between waxes.

Gareth

[Beaker]

Waxing!!! Whats that? Definitely and Alien Concept to me :laugh:

[Austin-Rover]

Originally posted by Skatiechik
Definitely and Alien Concept to me :laugh:

Not for much longer i hope now there is a VDP in the garage...

:cool:

[G51 NAV]

As for washing your car, I haven't noticed a great deal of difference between the various products; how clean your car is before you wax it boils down more to your technique than the product used. Ignore the claims of any products which say they are a wash and wax; nothing beats waxing the car separately, if you want a long-lasting shine.

As for waxing, I too have great faith in AutoGlym products, and can recommend the Super Resin Polish, certainly on solid colours. I have had mixed results with using it on the metalic finish on my Astra; the paintwork was very smeared as though I'd gone over the whole car with a tub of butter. I have not noticed any benefit of using the Extra Gloss Protection; perhaps I'm just not doing it right.

Call me a cheapskate but windows come up a treat with a £1 can of Car Pride Traffic Film Cleaner, which goes on like shaving foam and is best removed with paper towels. Buy it from cheap pound-shops.

AutoGlym Engine Degreaser will degrease your engine and clean your wheels (if aided with a stiff brush) plus it comes in a much bigger bottle than the dedicated wheel cleaner and is better VFM.

Spray all the rubber-bits (including tyre walls) with AutoGlym Rubber and Vinyl Care.

There you have it: one perfect-looking motor!

[Maria]

Autoglym everything.

[D87 SMW]

151 everything, I say.
The bumper black does a good job on the tyres, and I have even restored the dashboard with it once! :eek: ;)
Everything black, like the window surrounds to ariel cap and even washer jets get's I use Bumper Black on.

:cool:

[topgear]

For washing i use Turtle Wax. for polishing i use Mer, you cant beat it, and the bet thing is you can out it on if the cars wet! :-)

[MaestroMatt]

I use Mer for everything: panels; chrome door handles and trim; mirrors; and windows (not front or rear windscreens as the wipers don't like it). As Topgear says, there is no need to chamois too thoroughly as it actually goes on better if the car is still a bit damp and it buffs up to a real gleam (as you will see if you look at the current Car of the Month on the Unofficial Austin Rover Web Resource (http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/). Sorry - shameless plug).

[Beaker]

Just had a quick read of the 'Car of the Month' made a nice read and a good review. A82 WHR looks smashing in the pics :)

How do you manage to get your Car on 'Car of the Month' anyway. Obviously they wouldn't be interested in my immaculate VP as yours has just been featured. But George being an ex police car could make a nice car of the month.


Lindz

[E_T_V]

Albeit a very rusty one :p

[MaestroMatt]

Originally posted by Skatiechik
How do you manage to get your Car on 'Car of the Month' anyway.


Keith saw the pictures on my homepage and asked if he could use them for Car of the Month. I was lucky really, as there are a couple of other VPs around in just as good a condition. I can only commend him on his choice of car though - the mark one VP is the best of all Maestros. Well, except for the Turbo if I am being really honest...

[E_T_V]

Sorry I just had a vision of a Turbo MG VP :D Now that would be my ultimate maestro :D

[G51 NAV]

Originally posted by E_T_V
Sorry I just had a vision of a Turbo MG VP :D Now that would be my ultimate maestro :D
You mean like this? I have VP wooden door-cappings on, not visible in the pic.

All I need now is leather seats :laugh:

[MaestroMatt]

Originally posted by E_T_V
Sorry I just had a vision of a Turbo MG VP :D Now that would be my ultimate maestro :D

I was saying much the same to Simon R (F153) a few weeks back. Ideally: I would take my VP complete with Mk 1 interior and digidash; up-rate the brakes; lower it an inch or so; get some alloys on it; and put in the engine and transmission from a Turbo (an irreparably crash-damaged one, obviously). The perfect Maestro: looks like a VP, moves like a Turbo. I dare say I would then commission Gareth to do to mine whatever tuning job he has done on his, for that extra added bhp!

We can but dream...

[onza100]

I am a great fan of autoglym although im busy trying to get rid of wax, its not good to paint over! Also a really fine cutting compound like G10 does wonders for the shine

[MGTurbo]

Originally posted by MaestroMatt
I was saying much the same to Simon R (F153) a few weeks back. Ideally: I would take my VP complete with Mk 1 interior and digidash; up-rate the brakes; lower it an inch or so; get some alloys on it; and put in the engine and transmission from a Turbo (an irreparably crash-damaged one, obviously). The perfect Maestro: looks like a VP, moves like a Turbo. I dare say I would then commission Gareth to do to mine whatever tuning job he has done on his, for that extra added bhp!

We can but dream...

The same thought crossed my mind just a year ago when a friend wanted his Maestro VP T16'ed with a Turbo bodykit. Never happened though.

I've been thinking recently about fitting a K series 1.8 VVC into a Maestro, much better than the standard T Series and pulls just as well low-down. Would handle better than any fast Maestro out there IMO too. A nice alternative to all those T16'ed Maestro's and wouldnt be much slower because of a better power to weight ratio and no turbo lag.

Gareth