Something for the detailer who has everything… including a patient partner!

His 'n' Hers Waffle Weave Drying Towels

Sadly not yet available to order, but we’re looking into it and will keep you posted!

After 3 weeks unwashed, my beloved’s MX-5 was in a bit of a state after taking on the winter M62 many times and having a run up and down the Lancashire coast… it’s also been bloody freezing for ages and the sun goes out of sight by 3 o’clock, so a quickie was demanded!

Fortunately I’d given her a nice coating of Collinite 915 a couple of months ago, the wheels had Poorboy’s Wheel Sealant doing its best, and the glass was Rain-Xed, so I was hoping for an easy ride before I froze something off…

Artillery:

• ValetPro Ph-Neutral Snow Foam
• Meguiar’s Hyper Wash
• ValetPro Bilberry Wheel Cleaner
• Autoglym Hi-Tech Wheel Brush
• Trusty Karcher with its own-brand foam gun
• Bucket & Grit Guard
• Meguiar’s Lambswool Mitt with a mesh back
• Poorboy’s Waffle Weave Drying Towel
• an old Water Magnet for the wheels

First mishap – the Snow Foam had been in the garage, and had turned into a white gloopy mass in the bottle! That soon went back to liquid after standing the bottle in warm water for a while… I made up a broth of 1 shot Hyper Wash, a slug of Snow foam (about 50ml or so in total) and topped up to 400ml with warm water.

The Bilberry Wheel Cleaner was applied first, diluted 1:1 with water into a spare spray bottle (I think it had bathroom cleaner in it originally…). That can stay on the nice gritty grey wheels while I foam up… Unfortunately I didn’t think to take pictures before I’d started foaming… and my phone camera didn’t know quite what to do with the fading light… oh well.

Snow Foamy and Bilberry-y

The bilberry & snow foam smell nice together Left that all dwelling for a while while I warmed my hands on a cup of tea supplied by the lovely Janet, and gave the wheels a good agitate with my trusty Hi-Tech Wheel Brush.

Snow Foam after a cup of tea

All the foam and the nasties it had absorbed was Karchered off, the wheels and arches were blasted clean (look no hands!), and I gave the body a quick caress with a bucket of hot Hyper Wash and a lambswool mitt. Lovely. All rinsed down and dried off with the brilliant waffle-weave towels.

Oh look, the car's red and the wheels are silver!

Stand back, light your pipe and admire your handywork from somewhere warmer… and look smug that you prepped the car in the good weather and stocked up on good shiny products

Autoglym Hi-Tech Wheel Brush after 6 months...

I just had to post this (sad) pic of my Autoglym Hi-Tech Wheel Brush – I’ve had it for 6 months now and I love it. It’s nice and solid and it gets in to all the nooks and crannies and round your nuts to get all the crud out… and it’s still like new after all this time! Apart from a few dirty bits. Not a bristle out of place, no ballooning or mushroom-head. A great bit of kit!

Posted in accessories, hardware, Uncategorized ]]> http://shinearama.wordpress.com/2009/01/04/autoglym-wheel-brush-no-mushrooms/feed/ 0 shinearama Autoglym Hi-Tech Wheel Brush after 6 months... http://shinearama.wordpress.com/2008/10/24/priceless-beemer/ http://shinearama.wordpress.com/2008/10/24/priceless-beemer/#comments Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:14:06 +0000 shinearama http://shinearama.wordpress.com/?p=117 ]]>

Classic BMW convertible off ebay: £1100
New cloth hood: £500
Leather interior off ebay: £350
Your mates at Shinearama waxing your car… priceless.

Phil thought it was about time he liberated one of those Dodo Juice test tubes from our stock…

After washing with Dodo Juice Born to be Mild and drying the car with a waffle weave drying cloth the Blue Velvet seemed the one for the job. It’s a hard wax so applying it by hand helps as it warms and softens the wax. Just a thin coat was used.  After a quick cup of tea it was time to buff the Dodo (all puns intended). Meguiar’s Supreme Shine Microfibre made short work of it.

Shine-tastic results! Wash, dry, wax, wheel dubbing in less than 45 mins.

Just a heads-up for you folks – we’ve got some great new products coming soon from Poorboy’s World!

If you haven’t heard of Poorboy’s, they’re all-American products, proudly made in the U.S.A., and have been a favourite at U.S. car shows for years. Poorboy’s might become one of your favourites too. No fancy packaging from these guys, just quality products that are easy-on-easy-off in sun or shade, and have the right amount of cleaners and protectants to leave an easy-to-maintain vehicle.

To quote Poorboy’s themselves:

Not Much Money, But What a Shine!

If you want to give a shiny gift, but aren’t quite sure what to get… make their day with a gift voucher to spend at Shinearama!

You can send from £5 to £500 (oh yes, that’s a lot of shiny goodness!). Just click on the voucher to find out more and send the gift of Shine!

Rain-X Foaming Glass Cleaner

I’m an absolute stickler for clean windows, and am always sceptical of glass cleaners… 99% of the ones I’ve used in the past have been rubbish, either not shifting grease and bugs, or leaving a smeary mess behind. I even resorted to vinegar & water!

For the past year I’ve been a fan of Meguiar’s NXT Glass Cleaner, because it does the job and is easy to wipe off – I’ve been using it on windows, lights, mirrors, my glasses…

But we had some new Rain-X Foaming Glass Cleaner in stock, so I thought what the heck, I’d give it a test, after a long summer drive involving sending a particularly vast number of insects to their doom with my windscreen. I wasn’t expecting much, especially as I hadn’t seen any reviews of the product.

Giving the can a good shake, the cleaner comes out clear and makes a thin layer of light foam after a second or two. The nozzle gives a nicely controlled circle too and doesn’t splatter, so not too much worry about getting it on the surrounding paintwork (it claims to be a degreaser, so it would probably take off some wax). Let it sit there for a few seconds, and rubbed it off with a microfibre towel, folding over to a dry side to buff off any residue.

Wow! The glass was truly spotless! I was well impressed. No smeariness either. I must admit I was converted. The freshly cleaned surface is ideal for applying Rain-X Rain Repellent too (one of my other favourite products, if you insist on having water beading everywhere!)

Tips:

• if you leave it on too long you’ll get a bit of residue. Wipe it off with a clean damp microfibre.
• work on a small area at a time (one window or half a windscreen) to avoid the above!
• it’s a bit messy to use the spray on interior glass, but you can spray it directly onto a cloth and get good results. Do this for small windows, mirrors, and glass edges, too.

Of course, you can find all the products mentioned at Shinearama.co.uk

Collinite’s Super Doublecoat Auto Wax (No. 476s) has proved to be a surprise shining star in our extensive automotive wax range!

Long renowned in marine circles for its durable wax products, Collinite has operated for over 70 years with one single purpose in mind: To provide the highest grade wax products possible regardless of costs.

They call this the PERMANENT AUTO WAX. No hard rubbing or buffing, and no special applicator is required. Collinite Super Doublecoat will last a full year, even under adverse conditions.

It’s so good that Collinite No. 476s featured in a wax product group test in the March edition of Auto Express magazine, and walked away with BEST BUY 2008 and 5 Stars.

You can’t argue with that – try it out for yourself!

By popular demand, you can now pay for your shiny orders via PayPal!

It’s already proven to be a great new checkout method – and you don’t even need a PayPal account!

You’ll find a shiny new button on the checkout page if you prefer to use PayPal. It doesn’t cost anything and is a quick and easy way to check out your order. Try it today!

We’re pretty sure that under pretty much any circumstances, we would never advise our readers to handle any car restoration like this.

Jeremy Clarskon applies not-particularly-tired-and-tested methods to bring a Rolls-Royce up to scratch for a ceremonial opening event.

LIke we said, don’t eat the wax. Full film after the jump.

Dodo Juice has arrived! Dodo Juice is a high end carnauba wax manufactured in the UK from the finest carnauba wax. Visit the Dodo Juice product page for more details.

This flightless bird will leave your car looking good enough to eat! (Handy Shinearama hint: please don’t eat it)

Meguiar’s popular G220 Dual Action Polishers are going as quickly as we can get our hands on them..! Hot cakes have nothing on these little puppies!

You can pre-order your very own manly device on the product page – grab one before they all fly off the shelves again!

We’ve got some special offers available when you buy popular combinations of products from Autoglym and RainX! Check them out!

For your peace of mind, you can read the product labels of everything we sell (wherever possible). Just click on the “Read the label” link on the product details page!

Welcome to the new, super-shiny Shinearama blog! Come, sit, get comfy, and settle in.

We’ll not only bring you updates on our products and special offers here, but we’ll sniff out news and views from around the interwebs to inform, amuse and inspire that awe of yours.

We like to keep in touch with you, so feel free to comment on stories and articles, or send us stories you think we should publish. We’ve also set up a Reader’s Cars gallery where you can submit pictures of your shiny pride and joy for all the world to see!

Whether you are a modder, a classic buff, or even just someone who has something they like to keep utterly shiny and sparkly, hopefully our little home here will keep you coming back, again and again.

Keep it shiny!

Phil, Mart & Foxx