Auto-Genie showroom

[Stuart]

Fair play mate. In fairness to you, quite a few people have said the same and I think that's largely due to a lack of pride in my recent cars and the gradual erosion of my farm track! (which renders any attempt at car cleaning redundant)

I love cleaning cars and I have been really lucky to have worked on so many nice ones in recent weeks. I have a few belters on the way too

[Stuart]

What a day
Left mine at 7.40am and made my way to deepest rural Norfolkcestershire for a cracking pair of cars, namely a beautiful S15 and a rather posh Lexus IS250

Scott/Drifter and I spoke at APT a while back and after I'd chastised him about protecting his car he'd booked me in for a winter prep. Originally it looked like being the S15 and the daily Audi, but that fell through so Jenny's Lexus was substituted and that was that; two great cars and a full top to tail for both of them Gulp!!

November weather sucks, and especially when it is so unpredictable. We had five different spells of showers today. That made things interesting........I haven't used planning skills like that in a while

So, S15 first

I know, lush isn't it!! The car wasn't filthy in real terms but it definitely lacked protection for the paint and that was the owner's main concern so it was booked for the following
Pre-wash, rinse, shampoo, rinse, dry, polish, wax, clean interior and polish glass.
Sounds easy
I made my way around the car noting anything that may be considered an issue or point of interest for later
Some random stickers

The car had obviously picked up a fair amount of tar and other contaminants and I wanted to deal with these as gently as possible.




So time to rinse the car down, and treat the grotty bits with either an all purpose cleaner or tar remover subject to the nature of grot

This kind of work always extends to the door shuts, fuel flap and boot, as they always seem to harbour plenty of greenery


to be continued after tea

[Stuart]

Gentle rinsing and a microfibre cloth soon took care of 99% of the grot, and it is always something that I notice when I clean a car so I assume that my customers will do too






So all rinsed, all grotty traps sorted and time to get cracking as the weather was changing all of the time.

Time to attend to the beautiful Volks

I cleaned the alloys using a non-caustic cleaner rather than my usual one, as Scott had fitted some stickers and my preferred cleaner would have despatched them in no time at all! Cleaned, agitated with a soft brush and rinsed. Dried off with a microfibre and then the tyres were treated something to protect the rubber.

Then it was on to the polish, to improve on the base surface, and provide a good reflective finish for the polymer sealant that was going on next



Another shower followed but at least it gave me a chance to evaluate the beading


With the trims cleaned, the exhaust polished and glass sorted it was time to get stuck into the Lexus. For ease of posting though, I will finish the post on the S15 and then start a post on the Lexus in a minute


Due to the showers, I dried the doorshuts again, and ensured that the bodywork got dried again prior to the sealant was applied.


The sealant is basically a synthetic material that seals the paint against wear and tear, weather conditions and general nastiness for period of up to three months. At this time of year, it makes good sense and Scott's S15 is so good in deserves looking after.

I love the line from the rear lights, down through the rear wing and into the door............

Sexual chocolate I didn't get any photos of cleaning the carpet, mats, dash or door cards but I am sure that you get the gist. Big bucket seats, nice dished wheel and gauges everywhere. Awesome.

Big thanks to Scott for the opportunity to work on the car. I look forward to having a crack at that engine bay after the Winter mate

(tbc Lexus overhaul)

[Stuart]

From the sublime............
The Lexus was a slightly different challenge. A typical daily driver at this time of year........and Norfolk B roads aren't kind to them as many of us know. The brief was 'a thorough clean inside and out' and man, did it need one!


The paint on the alloys was starting to lift so once again I needed to use a girlier cleaning agent

Arches needed a real blitz, as did the sills, door shuts, boot, carpet etc etc


Comedy exhausts




So pre-washed with a non-caustic cleaner at a low dilution, and left to soak for five minutes whilst I got set up. I made a point of working with the wheels as carefully as possible, and eventually they came up quite well. The exhausts were de-tarred and cleaned, the door shuts, same for the boot and fuel flap. With that lot done it was time for a thorough rinse, shampoo and further rinse





I used a few towels to dry the car, shuts, glass and plastics. Then on to the interior. Mats out, then hoovered, the carpets were shampooed and hoovered, vinyls were cleaned as were the rubber components and trim, leather was cleaned and treated and then everything was put back


Excuse the crappy photos, they are kind of a trademark by now The boot was emptied, cleaned and hoovered and then re-assembled

A full coat of polish was applied and then allowed to sit for a few minutes whilst a grabbed a sarnie. With lunch despatched, it was time to remove the polish. Within five minutes of this, we'd had another shower, so that gives me the excuse for another beading photo



Glass was cleaned again and polished both inside and out and then the owner was asked to come and check that they were happy, as I do with every job I carry out. Jenny was pleased and couldn't believe that the car had a stainless exhaust!

So, there we are. Two gorgeous cars and I feel fortunate to work on them, even if the weather conspired against me!

Next up, an STi, Merc Vito and Freelander! (Which is supposed to be absolutely minging!)

[Ben]

Nice work Stu - Scott the S15 looks superb

[drifter]

Awesome job mate, can't wait to see the car in the daylight Just been watching you working hard

I jumped in the S15 to move it back down the side of the bungalow out of sight and it's absolutely mint inside I know Matt was impressed with the Lexus when he came home

Only downside, and I stress this is not anything to do with you, but I think the S15 may be broken It got a thrashing on Sunday which is probably the cause, it was a complete twat to start today and the idle is shite Plugs out at the weekend

Thanks again Stu, top job. The Audi will need doing at some point, just need a dry day so that I can use the S15 to go to work Sounds like there could be some more work in store for the Lexus as well

[Stuart]

Chuffed that you liked it mate With those seats and dished steering wheel, that bodywork, the brakes...........wibble! I was quite affected by your S15

I deliberately switched the interior light 'off' to try to help the battery too. More than up for 'doing' the Audi

[RX7]

The S15 is good but the Lexus looks amazing mate !!

[mattr34]

you done a cracking job on the lexus. did not know the exaust was chrome. i will have to get you back at some point to try and get them deep scratches out. never seen the car looking that good

[Stuart]

Thanks Matt I looked at the exhaust and thought that there was no way that they could be stainless/chrome........

But a bit of elbow grease later on......


More than happy to sort out the deep scratches for you on another occasion Matt. I'll even hoover up the chips again if you want