Special Car Polish

[xelasnave]

I have made a few references to needing a special car polish which I kept meaning to follow up with an explanation.. I have a laugh to myself every time I think of it ...So no I dont buy special car polish but the idea came from chatting with some bike riders at Mac Donalds recently... I was admiring their bikes and one chap said ," jt takes a lot of work let me show you" he then openned the his saddle bag and it seemed full of cleaning stuff and he took me thru all of it, there was special polish for the paint work, there was special polish for the crome and special polish for the seats and saddle bags each had its own cloth and he said jt takes him the best part of Saturday to polish it the way he likes...for some reason there after I thought heck I should be using special car polish but I dont its the coin operated car wash for me...so in spite of me throwing the term around I do not use a special polish like the bike rider I met.
I find it amusing is all.
Alex

[leon]

Yep, some of those bikes sure do shine Alex, I do however polish my Chromed Bull Bar, and use a product called Aqua Sol, and/or Purple.

Leon

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

If you want to change car wash to car detailer, you can expect between $450-$600 for a full detail here in Canberra. Go north if its a large vehicle or in poor condition...

But a good detailer can return a lot of value to a car.

[sil (Steve)]

Originally Posted by mura_gadi

But a good detailer can return a lot of value to a car.

Remember that if you are looking to sell, even do it yourself to scrub the mats, polish the chrome, add leather/vinyl cleaner to seats and dash etc just to washaway years of grimy god-knows-what from everthing really helps the presentation and adds to the selling points . Mostly its easy to do yourself but there are things detailers can do with their elbos grease just to bring out the shine in headlight covers, wsindows and paint work.

But the efforts people put into pushbikes to polish I agree is amusing. If you use or depend on your pushy a good maintence is essential regularly to keep it running reliably just like you should with your car. Before my stroke left me barely able to stand let alone walk, I got around with my pushy, nothing expensive and flash, just functional and good for on /off road excursions and servicing I found a pleasurable way to spend a sunday arvo, just tightening anything coming loose, cleaning crud off the chain and tyres a simple allround wash etc. it really just makes a visual difference a hose can do to bring up the shine, so sadly I can see someone thinking the seat could be a little shinier, maybe the paint, certainly the chrome could sparkle more and before you know it you’ve spent $500 on specific cleaning products but every part you look at just looks as clean as it can be. Its must be that weird part of the ego that makes many people do the same with their bodies.. irrigating this, waxing that, bleaching the other and of course having twenty different types of trimmers and shavers. Very laughable behaviour but people think it works for some reason when really a shower even under the garden hose will scrub up most things, people included just fine. A speck of dirt or a hair out of place doesnt matter to the function. But it does make a difference com “sale time” interactions while the rest of us have a good giggle at these peacocks strtting at their reflections in shop windows.

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Originally Posted by sil

Remember that if you are looking to sell, even do it yourself to scrub the mats, polish the chrome, add leather/vinyl cleaner to seats and dash etc just to washaway years of grimy god-knows-what from everthing really helps the presentation and adds to the selling points . Mostly its easy to do yourself but there are things detailers can do with their elbos grease just to bring out the shine in headlight covers, wsindows and paint work.

But the efforts people put into pushbikes to polish I agree is amusing. If you use or depend on your pushy a good maintence is essential regularly to keep it running reliably just like you should with your car. Before my stroke left me barely able to stand let alone walk, I got around with my pushy, nothing expensive and flash, just functional and good for on /off road excursions and servicing I found a pleasurable way to spend a sunday arvo, just tightening anything coming loose, cleaning crud off the chain and tyres a simple allround wash etc. it really just makes a visual difference a hose can do to bring up the shine, so sadly I can see someone thinking the seat could be a little shinier, maybe the paint, certainly the chrome could sparkle more and before you know it you’ve spent $500 on specific cleaning products but every part you look at just looks as clean as it can be. Its must be that weird part of the ego that makes many people do the same with their bodies.. irrigating this, waxing that, bleaching the other and of course having twenty different types of trimmers and shavers. Very laughable behaviour but people think it works for some reason when really a shower even under the garden hose will scrub up most things, people included just fine. A speck of dirt or a hair out of place doesnt matter to the function. But it does make a difference com “sale time” interactions while the rest of us have a good giggle at these peacocks strtting at their reflections in shop windows.

I might be wrong but, I suspect the 'bike' riders Alex was referring to were most likely motorcycle riders...

Takes me a good 5 - 6 hours to bring my Indian up to the standard I like, white wall tyres to scrub, acres of chrome that needs attention, gorgeous deep Indian red paintwork that needs love & a leather seat that requires looking after...

Oh my though, when it's done, she comes up very nicely for an 8yr old well ridden scoot...

Cheers

[xelasnave]

The price if detailing surprised me..recently before the red car I had tidied up my white car, which I love and still have, but I thought given I have had to give over many things to outside help, to throw a hundred at having it detailed...mmm they had fees way past that and up to ten fold...so I passed..

The red car was as new...I am sure they fitted new door latches for example .... It is sad it sits out in the weather but I did not think the purchase thru..Glen sent me an add and I bought it...it was such a good deal and honestly although not a car person it has given me so much joy I find it hard to comprehend...its like when I first got my licience any excuse to get in the car.

Good news just now on Facebook ..the highway is open so I can get into Casino, and see my doctor...

I need more plastic plates..having got used to such luxury I cant go back to eating straight from the frying pan.

Alex

Originally Posted by Outcast

I might be wrong but, I suspect the 'bike' riders Alex was referring to were most likely motorcycle riders...

Takes me a good 5 - 6 hours to bring my Indian up to the standard I like, white wall tyres to scrub, acres of chrome that needs attention, gorgeous deep Indian red paintwork that needs love & a leather seat that requires looking after...

Oh my though, when it's done, she comes up very nicely for an 8yr old well ridden scoot...

Cheers

Yes motor cycles.

A mate told me of a guy who used armoril ?? everywhere on his bike including the tires ... Matey took it for a ride not knowing that at the time and could not understand why it stepped out so badly in the first corner...

Visability here is now limited to only as far as you can see.

Alex

Carlton you reminded me of my race bikes...after each race day cleaned and most everything hing pulled apart ...and kept like new for all the season but at the end of 12 months you needed the latest model of course.
I would spend an hour or more lubrication the cables...hang them up each with a little funnel and heat up castor oil to have it drain thru them...as it was hand on helmet bike in neutral starts a smooth clutch train was half the race...
Alex

[sil (Steve)]

Motorbikes riders, well i bet they wax too, anyone want to ask to verify?

[Nikolas (Nik)]

Originally Posted by sil

But the efforts people put into pushbikes to polish I agree is amusing.

Alex is referring to motorbikes

[xelasnave]

I am sorry as it seems I have been responsible for some confusion.
I will repair the damage.
The "bike rider" at MacDonalds was riding a motorcycle some model from Harley Davidson...I don't know what model. The reference that I made to " my race" bikes was to 250cc Moto Cross motorcycles ( moto cross is a motorcycle race around a short circuit of generally two klms approx in those days natural terain that is unsealed and very ruff ground such that top speed never exceeded 120 klms per hour Back then it was recognised as the most physically demanding sport in the world a d ahead of down hill ski.racing as heart beat rates ran from 180 bpm to 200 bpm during the race. To digress I was in two races each of 25 minutes ..in each race there were 35 starters...I was lapped twice by the four riders ahead of me and I finished last as in both races 30 riders did not finish mainly due to physical exhaustion not bike failure. There was limited wheel travel one third if todays bikes. Prise money $100 for Australian titles whereas today top mx ers are millionaires..in USA they have races with prize money of a million for the win on the night...
You ride from one near crash to another either full on the gas or full on the brakes and it is mentally stressful and physically demanding a great recreational pursuit.
Alex