Albsterama
11-05-2006, 12:06 AM
Well after waiting like a 2 weeks after the initial order, wait for it to get here and THEN find some time this weeked to actually work on my Jaguar XJ8. After starting at around 11:30 AM I finished the car at around 7:00PM (well time for lunch and a few beers in that time)
I made a few mental notes about some of the products from Autogeek or available on their website:
Meguiars's Gold Clas Shampoo - I got this one at Pepboys at the last minute. Trully an awesome shampoo, lasted for hours (wash 3 cars today) and the foam never stopped. Smelt nice and my hands were not wrinkled like prunes after all 3 cars. Rating 10/10
The ShMITT - WOW ! I was skeptical at the 1st dunk but I was converted after the a few whirls on the roof. This thing is amazing for the foam, holds waters pretty well...and something that I did not consider, I was able to wrap around the parts of the car and appluy as much or little pressue as needed. The underside was a cinch, just rotate the ShMITT and use the yellow, "rough" foam to clean....boy, I was in love with this mitt. Absolutely no comparison to my sheepskin sponge that I had been using for years. It really worked great with the Meguairs shampoo...so much foam! Rating 12/10
Pinnacle Safe Scrub Tar and Bug - this one wasn't too bad and it got into some areas and cleaned it up well. Handled the "tougher" spots that the yellow shMITT could not take out. But I had some tar which I scrubbed and scrubbed and I was maybe expecting a little too much to expect my life to be easier in getting rid of the tar with this scrub. The marketing said the honeycomb should make removal easier, but I did not see that much of a diff compared to say, a net scrubber. In the end, I have to start looking for solvents to remove the tar and whatever nasty stuff I find down the bottom....Rating 6/10
EZ Detail Brush (for cars) - Love this one as well. Flexible and got all the way to the end of the rims. Judging by how black the foam got...it got in there. Iwas a little concerned about the handle towards the end as it was slightly bent or so it seemed. Learnt a lesson, never wear a white tshirt when washing the wheel...that foam just flies all over the place. Anyway, nice big tool here...just what the doctored orderd. Rating 9/10, lose 1 for the bent handle.
Klasse High Gloss Sealant - top stuff. If its not for this forum, I would have laid it too thick but the finish was fantastic. I layered the turtle carnubba wax over it since it did not have any souv and that made it even better. 10/10.
DP Wheel Glaze - jury is still out on this one and i'll see how the brake dust settle on the wheel after a week, as this stuff is meant to keep it off. No rating at this stage.
Connolly leather cleaner and hide food - much easier to apply that I expected. Not too much dirt either. The hide food was put on by hand and the finish was kinda sticky..i'll leave it till the morning and hope the lanolin sinks in. Jury is still out but looking good..no rating at this stage.
Cobra Supreme Guzzler Waffle Weave - the first few minutes I was skeptical, coming from a chamois background but as I wiped it down..it was working and working. No water to twist out. Did some more. Still no water to twist out. Did the whole car and not a single twist of the towel to get out the water ! I was amazed with the absorbency ! Then I tried my old chamois on the other 2 cars...yep, had to scrunch and twist it every few minutes to get out the water. The Guzzler felt like a world class towel..too good to use on a car...12/10.
Cobra Deluxe Jr Towels - I only ordered 3 of these. They got here and they were nice, like their bigger brother Guzzler. Then on Friday, I popped by Pepboys and picked up some other microfiber towels, one of those 8 for $9.99 deals. Huh, no comparison to the Cobra. The Cobra were thicker, plushier so the Pepboy towels got to do the dirty jobs while the Cobra got the easier life as the wax polisher and interior cleaner. Love'em and regret not getting more. 10/10.
Meguiars Gold Class Trim Detailer - Another quality product. Got some chrome on the Jag with the front metal mesh grill and the chrome trims around the bumper bars and the windows. The trim detailer worked awesome to clean up the water marks and dirt stubborn dirt and bring a nice sparkle. However, it looks like the chrome around the windows are pretty dull and not even the detailer could bring back the trully nice shine to it. Its weird maybe Jaguar went cheap on this chrome trim or maybe it copped a lot of bad weather but regardless, its not "as shiny" as what I would have expected. 10/10
Yeah...so thats about it. I'll see how the wheels hang with the DP Glaze. Thanks for all the info guys and the great products at autogeek like those Cobra towels...
Remaining tasks:
1. Clean up that BLOODY lipstick from the visor
2. Discoloration on the bonnet. I think the bird crap did the damage, its a slight yellowish white and there is nothing that I can do as far as I know.
:cheers:
I made a few mental notes about some of the products from Autogeek or available on their website:
Meguiars's Gold Clas Shampoo - I got this one at Pepboys at the last minute. Trully an awesome shampoo, lasted for hours (wash 3 cars today) and the foam never stopped. Smelt nice and my hands were not wrinkled like prunes after all 3 cars. Rating 10/10
The ShMITT - WOW ! I was skeptical at the 1st dunk but I was converted after the a few whirls on the roof. This thing is amazing for the foam, holds waters pretty well...and something that I did not consider, I was able to wrap around the parts of the car and appluy as much or little pressue as needed. The underside was a cinch, just rotate the ShMITT and use the yellow, "rough" foam to clean....boy, I was in love with this mitt. Absolutely no comparison to my sheepskin sponge that I had been using for years. It really worked great with the Meguairs shampoo...so much foam! Rating 12/10
Pinnacle Safe Scrub Tar and Bug - this one wasn't too bad and it got into some areas and cleaned it up well. Handled the "tougher" spots that the yellow shMITT could not take out. But I had some tar which I scrubbed and scrubbed and I was maybe expecting a little too much to expect my life to be easier in getting rid of the tar with this scrub. The marketing said the honeycomb should make removal easier, but I did not see that much of a diff compared to say, a net scrubber. In the end, I have to start looking for solvents to remove the tar and whatever nasty stuff I find down the bottom....Rating 6/10
EZ Detail Brush (for cars) - Love this one as well. Flexible and got all the way to the end of the rims. Judging by how black the foam got...it got in there. Iwas a little concerned about the handle towards the end as it was slightly bent or so it seemed. Learnt a lesson, never wear a white tshirt when washing the wheel...that foam just flies all over the place. Anyway, nice big tool here...just what the doctored orderd. Rating 9/10, lose 1 for the bent handle.
Klasse High Gloss Sealant - top stuff. If its not for this forum, I would have laid it too thick but the finish was fantastic. I layered the turtle carnubba wax over it since it did not have any souv and that made it even better. 10/10.
DP Wheel Glaze - jury is still out on this one and i'll see how the brake dust settle on the wheel after a week, as this stuff is meant to keep it off. No rating at this stage.
Connolly leather cleaner and hide food - much easier to apply that I expected. Not too much dirt either. The hide food was put on by hand and the finish was kinda sticky..i'll leave it till the morning and hope the lanolin sinks in. Jury is still out but looking good..no rating at this stage.
Cobra Supreme Guzzler Waffle Weave - the first few minutes I was skeptical, coming from a chamois background but as I wiped it down..it was working and working. No water to twist out. Did some more. Still no water to twist out. Did the whole car and not a single twist of the towel to get out the water ! I was amazed with the absorbency ! Then I tried my old chamois on the other 2 cars...yep, had to scrunch and twist it every few minutes to get out the water. The Guzzler felt like a world class towel..too good to use on a car...12/10.
Cobra Deluxe Jr Towels - I only ordered 3 of these. They got here and they were nice, like their bigger brother Guzzler. Then on Friday, I popped by Pepboys and picked up some other microfiber towels, one of those 8 for $9.99 deals. Huh, no comparison to the Cobra. The Cobra were thicker, plushier so the Pepboy towels got to do the dirty jobs while the Cobra got the easier life as the wax polisher and interior cleaner. Love'em and regret not getting more. 10/10.
Meguiars Gold Class Trim Detailer - Another quality product. Got some chrome on the Jag with the front metal mesh grill and the chrome trims around the bumper bars and the windows. The trim detailer worked awesome to clean up the water marks and dirt stubborn dirt and bring a nice sparkle. However, it looks like the chrome around the windows are pretty dull and not even the detailer could bring back the trully nice shine to it. Its weird maybe Jaguar went cheap on this chrome trim or maybe it copped a lot of bad weather but regardless, its not "as shiny" as what I would have expected. 10/10
Yeah...so thats about it. I'll see how the wheels hang with the DP Glaze. Thanks for all the info guys and the great products at autogeek like those Cobra towels...
Remaining tasks:
1. Clean up that BLOODY lipstick from the visor
2. Discoloration on the bonnet. I think the bird crap did the damage, its a slight yellowish white and there is nothing that I can do as far as I know.
:cheers: