ES Collection at Last

SH20 · August 23, 2019

Jeff, you need to distinguish between micro fibre drying towels and micro fibre cloths. Two cloths for different roles. Micro fibre drying towels tend to be large and thick to mop up water and do exactly that. Too big to use as a buffing cloth really so micro fibre cloths step in and are thinner and smaller for ease of handling. Cloths are great for polishing off polishes and waxes. So, type in Clean Your Car Huddersfield into Google and you will come across the very best company for everything for detailing and cleaning cars and I mean everything. An online company who operate a very speedy mail order delivery service by tracked courier. I buy 99% of my stuff from these people. You will find so much stuff your head will spin as to what to choose. One last thing buy edgeless micro fibre cloths for polishing and buffing. No stitched edge avoids what detailers call marring when the hard stitched edge of a normal cloth can leave a mark on the surface, not a scratch or damage but like a smudge mark. Folding in the stitched edge avoids it but edgeless avoids any marring at all. I have a Makro account and buy one product only from them, a pack of 36 good quality micro fibre cloths for £20 or so. These work well and can be machine washed. I consider myself to be a good amateur car detailer but go on to YouTube and type in Car detailing and be blown away by some of the professional detailers who earn a living at it and everything I have described above can be seen being done.

JeffL · August 24, 2019

Thank you Peter and Steve.

JeffL · September 4, 2019

On 8/23/2019 at 6:23 PM, SH20 said:

Jeff, my background was car Insurance accident damage so body shops were very familiar territory for me.

All new cars with few exceptions have a lacquer top coat and it's this that will have swirls in it, not the underlying colour.    Dirty and careless use of cleaning materials will cause marks in the lacquer coat. My car is Velvet Black, a solid paint colour which needs more looking after than any other.

But to answer the question, whether it's 1 or 15 body panels the process is the same. My process is:

Powerwash the bodywork.

Use a neutral PH snow foam which loosens dirt. Power wash that off. Then wash the car with a wash mitt. I use a GTECH micro fibre type one. Have a bucket of clean fresh water next to your soapy wash bucket so you rinse out the mitt after you wash each panel. You need to reduce the risk of leaving dirt in the mitt so rinsing it constantly helps.

Dry thoroughly with good quality micro fibre towels. Never use a chamois leather. Micro fibre is best.

Clay bar each panel. Literally a clay bar lubricated by a clay bar solution which lifts microscopic contaminants you can't see but can feel with your hand.

Wipe the clay bar solution off the panel, do only one panel at a time.

The lacquer coat may require one or more of the following, cutting back the top coat with cutting compound, using a dual action polishing machine gives great results. They have a variable speed switch depending how fast you want to cut or polish, 2nd, a polishing process and then 3rd, a finishing process. . I use foam pads myself by choice and the harder the foam pad the more cutting power it has, the softer pads will be for ultra fine polishing and spreading the final stage polish. I use 3M cutting compounds and polishing products mainly but believe me there are hundreds if not thousands of aids to remove paint damage. After all polishing is done all the polish oils that have been left on the panel after you buff to a shine need to be removed. This is done by specific panel cleaners like Eco Pro Eraser. The panel is now bare with no protection. Then and only then do you apply a really high quality wax which seals and protects the paint. I use Collinite 845 a truly great liquid wax.    Always always use the highest quality micro fibre towels for buffing off polish and waxes.

Well Jeff you did ask. My car had numerous fine swirl damage in about 40% of the panels so I just did the whole car. Many people would not notice swirls except in bright sunlight when it catches the panel in a certain way. No good asking a dealer to sort swirl marks, they are not equipped or skilled or have the time to devote to the very damage they cause.    Imagine what it's like in a dealer's cleaning dept just prior to September 1st and the rush to get ready numerous new cars.

Steve. Am I right in thinking that the above procedure is only done once or do you repeat all or part of it periodically? Obviously you'll wash the car fairly frequently but I'm just wondering how long the polish and wax last for before you reapply? Thanks.

SH20 · September 4, 2019

Hi Jeff, there should be no need to worry about repeating the whole process for at least a year or two provided when you wash your car you are very careful in the washing process. Always rinse your wash mitt in clean water after each panel has been washed, use both sides of your mitt if it's the same material on each side, then rinse out. This is called the two bucket system, your wash bucket with car shampoo and another clean bucket with just water for rinsing the mitt. The top coat of lacquer of course can only take so much cutting whereby you actually remove a micron or two of the top coat each time you cut it back mainly to remove the swirls you can see in strong sunlight for example. Detailers use a LED lamp to shine on panels to see how bad swirls are but any LED inspection lamp will show swirl marks. Machine polishing with polishing pads with no cutting power will do exactly that and just polish the top coat. All polishes applied and then buffed off will leave an invisible layer of that polish so you remove it with a degreaser like Eco Pro Eraser and like I said previously the panel is then completely bare with no protection at all. The good quality wax, either liquid or solid, is applied and that is what protects all the hard work you put in. Wash your car regularly and you can re apply wax as often as you like. Bear in mind after all this work has been done the car is under constant attack from airborne contaminants, grit off the road, snow, rain all capable of harbouring stuff that will settle on this wax coated bodywork. After only one month after a full paintwork correction it will be possible to run the palm of your hand over a bonnet, roof or boot lid and feel tiny nibs of dirt that you can't see but you can feel. You would then clay bar the affected panels using a clay bar and lubricant which will lift all dirt nibs off the panel. clay bars are like magnets for dirt. The clay bar won't damage the wax on the panels but re waxing again on an ultra smooth surface is an option. It's no wonder this detailing stuff is a multi million pound industry. Like I say go onto YouTube and pick any aspect of the paint correction process from washing a car, clay bar the paint, machine polishing etc etc and you will soon pick up a lot of guidance.

ThomasD94 · September 10, 2019

On 8/6/2019 at 8:38 PM, SH20 said:

Dealer sent me a mini video just after it came off transporter. Notice no centre wheel caps and the plastic film over wheels.

Looks great man!!

I can only wish to own a sexy car like that!! Lexus Scotland allowed myself to make a video on their ES300h takumi if you want to see it? (it is very different from my IS300h)

SH20 · September 10, 2019

Hi Thomas, I saw your video a while back while waiting for my ES. Great video. Wouldn't have known at the time that you are a forum member. Keep them coming.

Steve

STE041 · September 12, 2019

Having ordered my ES300h F Sport Takumi in April 19, I have finally been told the car is in stock and ready for delivery by the end of this week beginning of next week. 5 months wait - soon find out if it was worth the wait - upgrading from my IS300h Advance. Pics to follow once I have collected the car....

Eldavo · September 17, 2019

That’s great news - I ordered my F Sport ES in April and am still being told mid-November for dealer delivery!

YYB129 · September 17, 2019

Ordered mine in February, collection this Thursday; going to be a busier thread with images soon!

Merlin DD · September 17, 2019

Quote

hopeful to see a few more arriving soon, I ordered my F-Sport at beginning of April but still being told 2nd week in January !!!!

Eldavo · September 17, 2019

Ordered an ES in basic spec in April and was told December delivery, then went back to change my order to an F-Sport with Tech pack in late May and was told that my original order has been progressed to October but the new one would now be March 2020!!! This then went back to April 2020, then forward to December 2019 and I’ve now been told mid-November so fingers crossed.

STE041 · September 18, 2019

On 9/12/2019 at 10:34 PM, STE041 said:

Having ordered my ES300h F Sport Takumi in April 19, I have finally been told the car is in stock and ready for delivery by the end of this week beginning of next week. 5 months wait - soon find out if it was worth the wait - upgrading from my IS300h Advance. Pics to follow once I have collected the car....

So new car day happened today, now to learn how to use the sat nav whilst driving....

Vlady · September 19, 2019

@STE041 Congratulations! The car looks amazing, I think ES is a beautiful car and your example just proves that!
How does it feel? Much different to your old car?

STE041 · September 19, 2019

141 miles in, too early to say, but gets an awful lot of looks in traffic. Drives better than the IS300h did, spent 90 miles this morning figuring out the ML system, works a treat using Tidal on Hifi setting

STE041 · October 2, 2019

On 9/19/2019 at 7:44 PM, STE041 said:

141 miles in, too early to say, but gets an awful lot of looks in traffic. Drives better than the IS300h did, spent 90 miles this morning figuring out the ML system, works a treat using Tidal on Hifi setting

So, 800 miles in, 3 tanks of fuel at less than £50 each (first tank free as the car came with a full tank) 45.6 mpg mixed motorway and A Road driving, without a reset between tanks. Can’t complain. I have a few long distance trips throughout October, so will try out Eco mode and AGC and see if that makes any difference. Longest trip in one hit with no stops 204 miles. Seats are awesome.

YYB129 · October 2, 2019

1100 miles in, and 1/2 of my 2nd tank remaining; mixed A roads and motorways, 2 weeks into ownership. Computer declares 57.7mpg since delivery with 10 miles on the clock.

Certainly more efficient than my C350e, even when starting with a fully charged Battery, and I agree, seats are awesome!