Megane R26
My recent addiction to purchasing Auto Finesse products of late, resulted in another delivery of them today from James and Sian. I must say, the level of service was outstanding (arrived at 8:30am, the day after ordering!) and the order was very well packed and well presented. Nice business cards too guys!
I'd already used Rejuvenate quite extensively via machine, after taking a punt on it after talking to Tim at CYC whilst placing a recent order, and was immediately very impressed by its correctional ability via machine, and the superb finish it leaves by hand. For me, it bettered Lime Prime, which I was a long standing fan of via Rotary, for quick 'enhancement' type details. It cut a little better, and seemed to leave a slightly slicker finish.
I think the 'tipping point' for me was Polished Bliss choosing to stock the range, which forms some kind of 'seal of approval' of quality. It was at this point that I decided to buy into the range a little more, so I ordered Lather and Tripple from PB on Sunday (still awaiting delivery - used the 'free option' so not expecting it yet!), so I'm looking forward to trying those out when I receive them - in fact when I get my Spirit sample which James is kindly sending me (agreed to ages ago - thanks James!), I intend on stripping everything from my own car and performing a 'full Auto Finesse' detail - watch this space
Anyway, I took advantage of Sian's very kind HTST offer yesterday of a bottle of Imperial Wheel Cleaner, and added Gloss (Tyre dressing), Crystal (Glass Cleaner) and Tough Coat (Sealant) to my collection. I have Glisten too, which I've had for a while.
My GF was popping over about 7, her car was in a bit of a state, so I decided to spruce it up a little and write some thoughts on my new AF products.
So, today's subject - one Ford Ka in dirty red. This is the faded grey bumper special edition.
P1050942 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050943 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050944 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050945 by RussZS, on Flickr
The line up:
P1050931 by RussZS, on Flickr
I have to say, I logo James's new logo, and the boutique look to the range, yet at a very good price point - they feel special and are still new and a bit rare, which I like a lot.
First up, a quick play with Imperial Wheel Cleaner.
So, take one dirty Ka wheel:
P1050932 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050933 by RussZS, on Flickr
There's about 2 months' worth of crap on there...
Imperial was sprayed liberally over the wheel, and also to the tyre - I personally like to be able to use a wheel cleaner as a tyre cleaner too, but I appreciate that a degreaser is a better choice generally:
P1050934 by RussZS, on Flickr
It foamed up very well and was clinging well too. Almost instantly, we saw the dirt and dust begin to run from the filthy wheel:
P1050935 by RussZS, on Flickr
On the tyres:
P1050936 by RussZS, on Flickr
Agitated with one of James's wheel brushes:
P1050937 by RussZS, on Flickr
It did a superb job of cleaning up the rubber!!
Next up we agitated the wheel with one of James's brushes. I personally love 'foamy' wheel cleaners - a lot of them seem very 'dry' and 'watery' (sounds like a contradiction!) and don't 'froth' up very much at all. I loved how frothy Imperial was. The smell was decent too.
P1050938 by RussZS, on Flickr
and rinsed...
P1050939 by RussZS, on Flickr
Very clean indeed!
Action shot on the OS front wheel:
P1050948 by RussZS, on Flickr
We were both very impressed indeed. It felt like a delicate, safe wheel cleaner, and not harsh like a lot of them out there. It was very nice to use too. I'd say that in 250ml size, the value isn't great, but I'll be buying the new concentrate and decanting into the 250ml bottle, as the foam head is superb! In reality I used about 30-40ml per wheel, so not a massive amount at all.
Next up, we washed the car with Born To Be Mild (no Lather yet that should be here tomorrow )
The car was then quickly clayed with BH Soft:
P1050950 by RussZS, on Flickr
Then cleansed with Rejuvenate.
P1050951 by RussZS, on Flickr
Rej never fails to impress me with its cleansing ability - that pic was taken after doing half of the bonnet, AFTER claying - it picks up dirt very well indeed, and leaves a squeaky clean surface!
Next up, we used Gloss on the tyres.
Now, I am VERY fussy about my tyre finishes, as I like a dark, wet look, but hate sticky, slingy dressings and am not keen on spreading and applying 'gels'. I recently tried the Megs Endurance Spray Dressing but was left massively unimpressed b it - it's not that wet looking and doesn't seem to last too well. Now, in terms of application and finish, Gloss is PERFECT for my personal preference in tyre dressing, being very easy to spread and apply and leaving a lovely, glossy, dark, wet finish. Finally! It's cheap too!
P1050954 by RussZS, on Flickr
Next up, we applied Tough Coat to the paintwork. I followed James's application video on YouTube and applied TC to a foam applicator, then spread this onto each panel, left for a few mins, then buffed to remove. It doesn't come much easier than this! Some may prefer WOWA sealants, but I have always struggled a touch with application on some of them, so prefer to 'buff' a product off. The finish was very glassy and felt incredibly slick!
P1050957 by RussZS, on Flickr
It was getting dark so we were rushed to finish, so I have no update on beading or sheeting today, but this will follow...
We finished up by using Crystal. Wow. Best glass cleaner I've used! It does smell very strong, but its so effective, I can look past this.
We did a wipe down with Glisten too, but it seemed to streak a little bit, but that could be down to the time of day and moisture in the air, so the jury is out on that until I can test it on my own car. I have Dodo BOB QD to test it against too.
The plastics were dressed with CG New Look Trim Gel....
P1050955 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050962 by RussZS, on Flickr
Not bad for 90 mins!
Hopefully I'll have Tripple and Lather along with a Spirit sample tomorrow to assess and I'm tempted to get the Clay and the other bits to try too, given how impressed I've been so far. I need to work out cost per use on Imperial and test Glisten a little more before being convinced, but otherwise, massive thumbs up from me :argie:
Thanks for reading
Russ.
Oh and we put a new Ford badge on too!
P1050964 by RussZS, on Flickr
I'd already used Rejuvenate quite extensively via machine, after taking a punt on it after talking to Tim at CYC whilst placing a recent order, and was immediately very impressed by its correctional ability via machine, and the superb finish it leaves by hand. For me, it bettered Lime Prime, which I was a long standing fan of via Rotary, for quick 'enhancement' type details. It cut a little better, and seemed to leave a slightly slicker finish.
I think the 'tipping point' for me was Polished Bliss choosing to stock the range, which forms some kind of 'seal of approval' of quality. It was at this point that I decided to buy into the range a little more, so I ordered Lather and Tripple from PB on Sunday (still awaiting delivery - used the 'free option' so not expecting it yet!), so I'm looking forward to trying those out when I receive them - in fact when I get my Spirit sample which James is kindly sending me (agreed to ages ago - thanks James!), I intend on stripping everything from my own car and performing a 'full Auto Finesse' detail - watch this space
Anyway, I took advantage of Sian's very kind HTST offer yesterday of a bottle of Imperial Wheel Cleaner, and added Gloss (Tyre dressing), Crystal (Glass Cleaner) and Tough Coat (Sealant) to my collection. I have Glisten too, which I've had for a while.
My GF was popping over about 7, her car was in a bit of a state, so I decided to spruce it up a little and write some thoughts on my new AF products.
So, today's subject - one Ford Ka in dirty red. This is the faded grey bumper special edition.
P1050942 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050943 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050944 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050945 by RussZS, on Flickr
The line up:
P1050931 by RussZS, on Flickr
I have to say, I logo James's new logo, and the boutique look to the range, yet at a very good price point - they feel special and are still new and a bit rare, which I like a lot.
First up, a quick play with Imperial Wheel Cleaner.
So, take one dirty Ka wheel:
P1050932 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050933 by RussZS, on Flickr
There's about 2 months' worth of crap on there...
Imperial was sprayed liberally over the wheel, and also to the tyre - I personally like to be able to use a wheel cleaner as a tyre cleaner too, but I appreciate that a degreaser is a better choice generally:
P1050934 by RussZS, on Flickr
It foamed up very well and was clinging well too. Almost instantly, we saw the dirt and dust begin to run from the filthy wheel:
P1050935 by RussZS, on Flickr
On the tyres:
P1050936 by RussZS, on Flickr
Agitated with one of James's wheel brushes:
P1050937 by RussZS, on Flickr
It did a superb job of cleaning up the rubber!!
Next up we agitated the wheel with one of James's brushes. I personally love 'foamy' wheel cleaners - a lot of them seem very 'dry' and 'watery' (sounds like a contradiction!) and don't 'froth' up very much at all. I loved how frothy Imperial was. The smell was decent too.
P1050938 by RussZS, on Flickr
and rinsed...
P1050939 by RussZS, on Flickr
Very clean indeed!
Action shot on the OS front wheel:
P1050948 by RussZS, on Flickr
We were both very impressed indeed. It felt like a delicate, safe wheel cleaner, and not harsh like a lot of them out there. It was very nice to use too. I'd say that in 250ml size, the value isn't great, but I'll be buying the new concentrate and decanting into the 250ml bottle, as the foam head is superb! In reality I used about 30-40ml per wheel, so not a massive amount at all.
Next up, we washed the car with Born To Be Mild (no Lather yet
that should be here tomorrow )The car was then quickly clayed with BH Soft:
P1050950 by RussZS, on Flickr
Then cleansed with Rejuvenate.
P1050951 by RussZS, on Flickr
Rej never fails to impress me with its cleansing ability - that pic was taken after doing half of the bonnet, AFTER claying - it picks up dirt very well indeed, and leaves a squeaky clean surface!
Next up, we used Gloss on the tyres.
Now, I am VERY fussy about my tyre finishes, as I like a dark, wet look, but hate sticky, slingy dressings and am not keen on spreading and applying 'gels'. I recently tried the Megs Endurance Spray Dressing but was left massively unimpressed b it - it's not that wet looking and doesn't seem to last too well. Now, in terms of application and finish, Gloss is PERFECT for my personal preference in tyre dressing, being very easy to spread and apply and leaving a lovely, glossy, dark, wet finish. Finally! It's cheap too!
P1050954 by RussZS, on Flickr
Next up, we applied Tough Coat to the paintwork. I followed James's application video on YouTube and applied TC to a foam applicator, then spread this onto each panel, left for a few mins, then buffed to remove. It doesn't come much easier than this! Some may prefer WOWA sealants, but I have always struggled a touch with application on some of them, so prefer to 'buff' a product off. The finish was very glassy and felt incredibly slick!
P1050957 by RussZS, on Flickr
It was getting dark so we were rushed to finish, so I have no update on beading or sheeting today, but this will follow...
We finished up by using Crystal. Wow. Best glass cleaner I've used! It does smell very strong, but its so effective, I can look past this.
We did a wipe down with Glisten too, but it seemed to streak a little bit, but that could be down to the time of day and moisture in the air, so the jury is out on that until I can test it on my own car. I have Dodo BOB QD to test it against too.
The plastics were dressed with CG New Look Trim Gel....
P1050955 by RussZS, on Flickr
P1050962 by RussZS, on Flickr
Not bad for 90 mins!
Hopefully I'll have Tripple and Lather along with a Spirit sample tomorrow to assess and I'm tempted to get the Clay and the other bits to try too, given how impressed I've been so far. I need to work out cost per use on Imperial and test Glisten a little more before being convinced, but otherwise, massive thumbs up from me :argie:
Thanks for reading
Russ.
Oh and we put a new Ford badge on too!
P1050964 by RussZS, on Flickr
