What cleaning kit to buy?

[greg81]

Had my new car 3 days now and it's covered in thousands of tiny little clear specks that are welded onto the paint and glass.

Firstly, any idea what this is? I assume it's something in the air during hit, dry periods.

Secondly I'd like to treat myself to a quality washing/cleaning kit. Any suggestions of what to go for? Something good for washing outside and in.

Lastly, is the gtechniq ceramic paint protection worth the outlay? Dealership wanted £650 to do my car

Thanks.

[greg81]

I did try to get a photo of the clear specks but they don't show up in photos unfortunately

[IRD]

Could it be tree sap?

[greg81]

Could it be tree sap?

That thought did cross my mind but the fact it's even distributed across the entire car makes me think its something that's been in the air. I've also not been parked near any trees for more than a few mins

[idej_z4]

Had my new car 3 days now and it's covered in thousands of tiny little clear specks that are welded onto the paint and glass.

Firstly, any idea what this is? I assume it's something in the air during hit, dry periods.

Secondly I'd like to treat myself to a quality washing/cleaning kit. Any suggestions of what to go for? Something good for washing outside and in.

Lastly, is the gtechniq ceramic paint protection worth the outlay? Dealership wanted £650 to do my car

Thanks.

Have a look on cleanyourcar.co.uk for ideas on products - they're also a really friendly set of lads so if you give them a call, tell them what you want to do they can give you loads of good advice. Also White Details on YouTube for loads of hints and tips. There is a video on there of him doing a full decontamination wash of his Z4MC.

Ceramic coating is brilliant in my opinion. I have it on the paint, wheels and glass (I use the Carbon Collective stuff) . Along with it giving your car a great shine it also hardens the paint and makes cleaning the car after application a doddle.

The Platinum Wheels stuff from Carbon Collective is probably my favourite. No matter what is on the wheels or how heavy they are soiled I can practically get them spotless just with the jet wash.

All I would say is if you're considering applying yourself, the car has to be prepped properly.

£650 is a lot of money, but will last at least 2-3 years depending on which specific product they use (some ceramic coatings can last up to 8 years and are self healing).

For what it's worth, here is my full write up when I did a full detail on mine just before lockdown. Hope this helps.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=120711

[BeeEmm]

Could it be tree sap?

Certainly sounds like tree sap/resin (thousands of tiny little clear specks). It is the correct time of year. Mine is completely covered at the moment, but I have to park fairly close to a tree for about 3 hours a day.

[ph001]

Get your bucket and mitt out and fill with really hot water (about as hot as you can bare with your hand), add your favourite car shampoo and it should get the sap off.

All the diy applied ceramic coatings I have tried have been a waste of money imho, including gtechnique. Not even taking into account the many hours of prep required to do them properly. The professionally applied products seem to fair better.

[idej_z4]

Get your bucket and mitt out and fill with really hot water (about as hot as you can bare with your hand), add your favourite car shampoo and it should get the sap off.

All the diy applied ceramic coatings I have tried have been a waste of money imho, including gtechnique. Not even taking into account the many hours of prep required to do them properly. The professionally applied products seem to fair better.

Interesting to hear you say that about the ceramic coatings. What's been your experience that has brought you to that conclusion?

[greg81]

Thanks very much to everyone for their suggestions.

Pleased to report that with some hot water, some demon foam and a lot the specks have cleared away nicely.

[ph001]

Get your bucket and mitt out and fill with really hot water (about as hot as you can bare with your hand), add your favourite car shampoo and it should get the sap off.

All the diy applied ceramic coatings I have tried have been a waste of money imho, including gtechnique. Not even taking into account the many hours of prep required to do them properly. The professionally applied products seem to fair better.

Interesting to hear you say that about the ceramic coatings. What's been your experience that has brought you to that conclusion?

Spent almost 3 days fully preparing the car before applying Gtechnique Crystal Serum. Didn’t really make a noticeable difference to anything, and certainly didn’t make it any less prone to swirl marks when washing (which was the intention). A few months later I got suckered into buying some Japanese Super hard 9H stuff that everyone was raving about.... lasted about a month.

Thanks very much to everyone for their suggestions.

Pleased to report that with some hot water, some demon foam and a lot the specks have cleared away nicely.

....beautiful gleaming red Greg. Spent half a day on my Monaco Blue E85 yesterday..

AFE6DE6A-1C62-4BE1-AFDD-0B851B64DE7D.jpeg (480.53 KiB) Viewed 1296 times

8F3E3812-C4A6-4AF8-8A94-184F98F29028.jpeg (452.78 KiB) Viewed 1296 times

[markplant]

If your near beedub in Birmingham he has very good rep for detailing

[greg81]

Get your bucket and mitt out and fill with really hot water (about as hot as you can bare with your hand), add your favourite car shampoo and it should get the sap off.

All the diy applied ceramic coatings I have tried have been a waste of money imho, including gtechnique. Not even taking into account the many hours of prep required to do them properly. The professionally applied products seem to fair better.

Interesting to hear you say that about the ceramic coatings. What's been your experience that has brought you to that conclusion?

Spent almost 3 days fully preparing the car before applying Gtechnique Crystal Serum. Didn’t really make a noticeable difference to anything, and certainly didn’t make it any less prone to swirl marks when washing (which was the intention). A few months later I got suckered into buying some Japanese Super hard 9H stuff that everyone was raving about.... lasted about a month.

Thanks very much to everyone for their suggestions.

Pleased to report that with some hot water, some demon foam and a lot the specks have cleared away nicely.

....beautiful gleaming red Greg. Spent half a day on my Monaco Blue E85 yesterday..
AFE6DE6A-1C62-4BE1-AFDD-0B851B64DE7D.jpeg8F3E3812-C4A6-4AF8-8A94-184F98F29028.jpeg

Monaco looks stunning under the sunlight when it's fresh and clean!!

Annoying every photo I take of my car it looks red, but in person it's very much bright orange!

[Truth]

Get your bucket and mitt out and fill with really hot water (about as hot as you can bare with your hand), add your favourite car shampoo and it should get the sap off.

All the diy applied ceramic coatings I have tried have been a waste of money imho, including gtechnique. Not even taking into account the many hours of prep required to do them properly. The professionally applied products seem to fair better.

Interesting to hear you say that about the ceramic coatings. What's been your experience that has brought you to that conclusion?

Spent almost 3 days fully preparing the car before applying Gtechnique Crystal Serum. Didn’t really make a noticeable difference to anything, and certainly didn’t make it any less prone to swirl marks when washing (which was the intention). A few months later I got suckered into buying some Japanese Super hard 9H stuff that everyone was raving about.... lasted about a month.

Thanks very much to everyone for their suggestions.

Pleased to report that with some hot water, some demon foam and a lot the specks have cleared away nicely.

....beautiful gleaming red Greg. Spent half a day on my Monaco Blue E85 yesterday..
AFE6DE6A-1C62-4BE1-AFDD-0B851B64DE7D.jpeg8F3E3812-C4A6-4AF8-8A94-184F98F29028.jpeg

My favourite combination there mate such a lovely car. Think I’ve said this before but if u ever have to part ways with this beauty gimme a buzz first!!