# 90 minute Auto Finesse product clean up - Ford Ka



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

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


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## Russ and his BM (Jan 1, 2008)

Top work for 90 mins mate!


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## IanG (Nov 21, 2007)

Nice job there Russ :thumb:


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Oh, I should mention too that the OS of the car has been resprayed, badly, hence the iffy reflections, and also that I didn't apply the NLTG to the plastics, so excuse how patchy it is! :lol:


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## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

Looks much better Russ!

Is Milly the equivalent of Baker21's Jules? ha 

S


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## Benji471 (Jan 31, 2010)

Nice write up buddy, really like the look of the Auto Finesse stuff but waiting to see if it stand the test of time.


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## gazingleby (Oct 14, 2010)

lovely job, massive improvement!


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## Sian (Sep 24, 2007)

Thanks for the good write up Russ! Car looks much better, I used tough coat on my little fiesta the other day and made it look nice and glossy, I left it on the whole car then buffed off and it comes off just as easy like that. I found my self watching the beading on my bonnet while I was driving instead of looking at the road lol

Glad you are happy with the service we like to keep customers happy


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Cheers Sian.

I'm really looking forward to getting Spirit on my Golf.

Would you say Tripple is good for wheels as an AIO and would work well on exhausts?

Also, has anyone tried Glisten on interior plastics?

Russ.


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Big improvement there Russ, you will like Spirit and Lather, agree on Rejuvinate cracking product.

Did you get one of the Ltd edition cards I saw on twitter?


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

I concur with everything you say about the range :thumb:

I'm doing a full detail at the weekend with the new haul of AF products.

Looks great for 90 mins mate


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

RussZS said:


> Cheers Sian.
> 
> I'm really looking forward to getting Spirit on my Golf.
> 
> ...


Russ my Monza's had a nice polish up with Tripple recently, topped with Mint Rims, nice little combo IMO


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## alfajim (May 4, 2011)

great improvement in a short space of time :thumb:


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Russ - you've changed since I last saw you mate.:lol:

Seriously though - that's a stunning transformation in 90 minutes mate. Looks a different car altogether.:thumb:


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

SimonBash said:


> Russ my Monza's had a nice polish up with Tripple recently, topped with Mint Rims, nice little combo IMO


You're not helping with my spending urges lol! I'll try Mint Rims too then


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

RussZS said:


> You're not helping with my spending urges lol! I'll try Mint Rims too then


:lol: sorry, Mint Rims is good value compared to my other fave Autobahn, smells nice to


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## Matt. (Aug 26, 2007)

Great write up Russ.

I got Mint Rims when it was on the HTST at a price not to be missed. Same with Tough Coat 

I really liked using the Clay too.

Also, I used tripple on my gfs door shuts, and the amount of crap that came off was :doublesho It brought the shine out too. 

I may aswell set a direct debit up with AF if they carry on :lol:

Which wheel brush do you mean Russ?


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Awesome job in such a short space of time Russ!


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## David Proctor (Mar 6, 2011)

90 min makeover looks great...!!!!!!


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## empsburna (Apr 5, 2006)

Wanna come and do mine Russ? :lol:


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Nice little turn round Russ. LOL at the _Action shot on the OS front wheel_ more so aiming down your good ladies babylons rather than the wheel being cleaned:thumb:


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

Great work Russ and Co for 90 mins! Always enjoy your work, whether it's a small spruce up or big correction job.

To the point, and effective!

The AF range seems to be shaping up really well, and reckon it would go really well as a "whole". Looking forward to using my Rejuvenate and Lather (plus a few others down the line)... shame, I've got sooo much stuff now and don't get through it quick enough to warrant buying any more just now.

5 minutes with some metal polish... the KA could have a shiny pea-shooter as well! Did that on the exhaust on my Mum's corsa... Beasty!! :lol:


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

this will get to 6+ pages easy! cleavage always does that 

i thought you was coming to meet me you 2 timing [email protected]  :lol:


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Cracking review Russ, lovely finish to the car matey


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Fantastic little write up Russ, AF continues to impress, really looking forward to their new trim product!


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## steve from wath (Dec 12, 2008)

good work in the time

sorry but never saw the products at all
because for the first ten minutes 
just a lovely ladies chest area 

so to be fair to af products ive studied the pics very well indeed

off for a lie down:wave:


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## Lewisredfern001 (Apr 21, 2011)

great turn around. suprised it took 3 pages for cleavage comments. looks really well im currently browsing AF range now and very tempted by tripple and lather


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Cracking job mate, looks much better.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thanks all 

She will be helping me do mine soon, and the forecast is very hot, so more 'action shots' coming soon


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## Matt. (Aug 26, 2007)

Russ, incase you missed it, which wheel brush did you mean?


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Looking Sharp...:thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

RussZS said:


> Would you say Tripple is good for wheels as an AIO and would work well on exhausts?
> 
> Also, has anyone tried Glisten on interior plastics?
> 
> Russ.


Sorry it took me a while to reply to this, Tripple is perfect to clean up wheels, im not so sure it would be as effective as a dedicated metal polish on the exhaust.

Iv not tried glisten on interior plastic, Your welcome to be the first :thumb: :lol: il try it out on a test mule and let you know what the score is with it :thumb:



SimonBash said:


> Big improvement there Russ, you will like Spirit and Lather, agree on Rejuvinate cracking product.
> 
> Did you get one of the Ltd edition cards I saw on twitter?


You like those collector cards huh  we have another 5-6 designs coming out soon too  they are just a little gift for customers :thumb:


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great job..


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Matt. said:


> Russ, incase you missed it, which wheel brush did you mean?


Just the Envy style ones mate, which James also sells


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## Matt. (Aug 26, 2007)

Ahh, i thought you meant a specific wheel brush.


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## Craig_B (Oct 18, 2010)

Swear I've seen this thread on 197.net

But good turn around for the time fella!!! 

:thumb:


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## Bidabida (Jun 4, 2011)

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

90 mins! Jesus! takes me that long to get my crap together nevermind finishing with in. Nice work.


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