197 Nimbus detailing kit

[oferh]

Basically - I want the clio to shine and gloss like a mirror and preferably break bystanders neck as it zooms by. I have plenty of time for detailing. What I lack is a proper kit, so I'm thinking of getting a proper detailing kit. It's a Nimbus 197. Budget is up to 500 pounds.

One note regarding polish - I'll get it polished properly at a bodyshop because the paint preparation was pretty meh. Don't want to mess with it myself because I'll **** things up for sure. No need for a polisher then.

So - what goodies should I get for max gloss/wow effect (exterior/interior/rims/tyres)?

 

[Rickyboy]

Hey mate.

Difficult to get silver or grey to gloss to be honest. Here are my tips anyway...

Don't get a bodyshop to polish the car - get a pro detailer to do it. (If you let me know what area of UK you might be in then I could easily recomend someone for you.) Bodyshops are well known for causing numerous defects on car paintwork as they don't tend to be specialised in the subject - whereas a pro detailer is.

For Nimbus Clios I would recommend using Jeffs Acrylic Kit as your pre wax cleaner (Jeffs Prime) and as your last stage product you would use the Jeffs Trigger sealent. Very durable and if your car has been prepared well by a pro detailer then your car will look incredible.

Waxes and sealents make absolutely no difference whatsoever to a car if there is no preparation. As I said, if the car is prepared well by a pro then you will notice very very slight differences between LSP's.

Don't be fooled into buying the most expensive products out there thinking that they will somehow magically make your 197 look incredible - simply put, they wont. From cheap products to insanely expensive products - it's all about technique and preparation as to what results you will get.

Get a pro to come out and do it for you and ask him first hand to tell you his thoughts on what you will need, how to keep it clean properly, what LSP to use and what other products he would advise that you buy.

 

[RussZS]

Very sound advice there - Nimbus looks very impressive after being machine polished properly - this will give you 90% of the gloss/final finish.

Then, as suggested, something like the Acrylic Jeffs Werkstat kit would work very well on Nimbus

 

[oferh]

Rick - thanks a LOT for the thoughtful reply. I took your advice to heart and talked with a pro detailer (someone I know in Miami that details supercars starting at $1000, he's good). He also gave bunch of solid advice.

I told him the paint came originally with noticeable "orange peel" texture and he said that fixing it could be very expensive and risky. He mentioned sanding it. Also - he said that a clay bar might help a bit. I don't have a close up of the problem but this might show some of it (notice door panel):


And that's with a fresh 3M finish, looks like shit lol. The engine cover and roof are spotless, only the side panels are this terrible. I guess I'll have to get this settled somehow.

Regarding wax - I guess no need for something too expensive, the man recommended collonite. Shampoo - probably Dodo's BTBM. Will probably have to get a clay bar kit as well.

On different matter - as you can see in the photo I got most rubber\plastic parts stained with wax marks long ago and still can't figured out how to remove them properly. Any tips?

 

[Ribena]

Peanut butter does the trick. (I'm serious.) You can also get products that are dedicated to remove wax from plastic trim.

 

[oferh]

Update:
First, great stuff, the peanut butter tip. :thumbup: Luckily, some aggressive work with micro and the spots are gone.
I bought megs clay, tin of collonite and bunch of quality microfibers and today washed/clayed/waxed it. The paint is almost flawless (zero scratchs and zero swirls) but the reflection is just gross. Had much better results with 3M wax but it's not the wax to blame because I get an amazing reflection on the headlights.

So now it's pro detailer time. No way around it. Will update with results.

Cheers mates.

 

[jaxx]

Ive been using Jeffs Acrylic on the Volvo for about 12 months now, and i find it average to be honest...

The Auto Body shampoo they do is... well to put it kindly... rubbish and expensive

I used Prime when it was new by hand just to get some fine swirls and other marks out (wasnt bad from the showroom!) then ive been using Jett and Glos on a regular basis.

One thing is they're easy to use, but always seem a little feeble as your using them, as your spraying a watery substance and then bufffing it with a towel, but the results are nice... however its not very "tough" the car looks amazing as soon as your done and will continue to for a day or so (in good weather) then it just starts to dull off...

Heres some pics of the finished result...








The thing with detailing is, its a dark art. No two peoples methods will be the same, and everyone is after something different.

I contacted several detailers and asked their advice for various cars, then sat down and figured out what i would like to try, got some products in and went for it.

You soon start to find you like one thing and dont like another, and so try something else.

Eventually you get to a point where you build your own collection of detailing kit (ive probably amassed around £600 worth of product by now, not including towels and tools) and you find your own "way" to creating your desried finish