159 in metallic black: swirl city

[wynne71]

My lovely 159 LE looks fantastic from a distance. But up close the swirls and scratches of its previous 3 years of ownership can be seen clearly.
I think a car wash was used (sharp intake of collective breath) for the majority of its life so far.

I have washed and dried the car once, but was in a rush and the weather was pants so didn' go any further.

My plan is to de-tar (with Autoglym Tar Remover).
Wash with Bilt and Hamber Shampoo.
Rinse and dry.
Full body and glass clay with Bilt and Hamber Clay Kit.
Then 2 coats of Bilt and Hamber Resin.

Do you think this will be enough to rid the scratches and swirls caused by bad washing? And will the fact that it is metallic make any difference? The last 159 was in Stromboli, the metallic on that came up an absolute treat when using the same sequence.

Any thoughts on the process and issue?

Cheers all.

[lowejackson]

When you say Bilt Hamber Resin, do you mean the Autobalm. If yes, this will hide the swirls but not remove them. On a side note, I am a fan of the Bilt Hamber range and have yet to be disappointed by anything they sell.

[wynne71]

The B and H Resin is also called Autobalm. Its great isn't it?!

Worked an absolute charm on a solid black Saab I had a few years ago. I looked as though the paint was wet.
Reading the details with it, says it will cover swirls and light scratches. Does this mean that I need another "treatment" to remove the mess? I really don't want to fork out for a full detailing just now......

[Squadrone Rosso]

Get some poor boys black hole for c£10. Top it off with a decent wax.

Ideally you need a decent machine polish but the above will help

[wynne71]

Will look up Poor Boys Black Hole. I assume it is especially for black cars!

What does this do that other products don't?

[bigjim]

fills in the swirls and gives you a nice solid colour, to wax over. that way you're sealing in your hard work.

[lowejackson]

Originally Posted by wynne71

The B and H Resin is also called Autobalm. Its great isn't it?!

Worked an absolute charm on a solid black Saab I had a few years ago. I looked as though the paint was wet.
Reading the details with it, says it will cover swirls and light scratches. Does this mean that I need another "treatment" to remove the mess? I really don't want to fork out for a full detailing just now......

The Autobalm will hide the swirls but if you want to remove them you will need to mechanically polish them. Nothing wrong with hiding swirls, the Poorboys Blackhole does the same kind of thing as Autobalm. You can also top the Autobalm with some Bilt Hamber Finis (or other) wax

[johns159]

When my Mrs had her 4 month old metallic black Insignia we had it professionally detailed, cost us £300ish but it was amazing and now 2 yrs on and some careful washing its still like glass.

Have a look at this guys website, some of the before and after shots are unbelivable, we didnt use him but someone local but just to show it may be worth the investment.... the volvo is a good example.

White Details | Car Detailing | Paint Correction | Car Care for Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire & East Midlands

[wynne71]

WOW!

I want my 159 to finish up like the Volvo. Stunning. But, £300 is still £300. Can't stretch to that right now. So its a few products and some elbow grease I think!

[lowejackson]

Volvo looks good

You could get a finish similar to the volvo if you wish by machine polishing. £100 -150'ish for a polisher/pads and some polish and your ready to start

[wynne71]

As the lovely sun was out, I thought I would spend some time attacking the awful paint on the 159 today.

The Bilt and Hamber clay was well past its sell by date, more like brick than clay. So had to go to Halfords and buy a new kit. The Megs kits seemed decent value, came with 2x50g bars, cloth, detailing (lube) spray and a small bottle of wax.

It took 4 hours in total. But I'm pretty chuffed with the results:

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/motor...ml#post4647236

I couldn't find the Bilt and Hamber Autobalm, someone (Wife) has moved it and put it in a "safe" place. So I didn't get chance to use this as a remedy for the swirls and scratches. But, the clay and wax seems to have done a pretty decent job.

Hope you agree.......

[lowejackson]

Looks great

[progression]

whilst halfords arnt the cheapest - if you are ever stuck and need a clay bar they sell the megs bars on their own also

[Squadrone Rosso]

If you want to try some Black Hole or the new radiant wax, give me a shout

[wynne71]

I certainly will SR!

Having done 600 miles since the clean last weekend, the clean car is now a motorway filth spattered car. Am desperate to get back out and clean the 159.

Where abouts are you?

[Squadrone Rosso]

Near Cov but I work in Solihull

[wynne71]

Ahh, my work is in Tysleley, so 15 mins from Solihull.....hmmmmm....I feel an Alfa mini meet coming on!

[Mito01]

Hi all, my red mito has the same sort of swirl scratches, ive heard that this poorboys seems to be good. Is there one for red cars? If so how much is it and how do you use and apply it?

Thanks

[Egon]

Black hole is a reference to the spacey type "i'm going to squash everything" entity in spacey thing, rather than the colour of the car, i believe.
Detailing world have a lot of stuff on how to use it, i tend to get my stuff from cleanyourcar.co.uk and have never had any issues with them at all.
My poorboys is turning up today...