Sills & cleaning

Paintxpert

Paintxpert

New member
How do you guys clean those precious hidden parts that you only ever see when you open the doors :nixweiss ;)



I normally rub them dry with a cloth after a good wash, but it occured to me that perhaps it needs a little more :o



Also - do they need claying/polishing/waxing/etc???



One point is that some areas of the door jams are difficult to get to :(



Opinions please







:wavey :xyxthumbs
 
Now that kind of work is *real* detailing. None of this "run-a-buffer-over-the-paint-and-call-it-a-day" stuff.



You might want to do a search for posts by Brad B. I think he posted some tips on cleaning door jambs some time ago. At any rate, his door jambs will look better than most new cars.



Besides removing grease or oils, I don't see why detailing jambs is any different than detailing anything else. I probably wouldn't clay as there wouldn't be too many surface contaminents but all the other steps would be pretty much the same. Use the same tools as well. Maybe get a couple long-handled soft brushes to clean hard to reach areas. Relubricate door latches and hinges when done. That's about it. Pretty easy but a bit time consuming.
 
I think that the sills are just as important than the rest of the car. I wax/protect mine the best I can! Look at some older cars, the rust in those areas is unreal!
 
Tooth brush and autoglym bumper care! this stuff removes tar, grease, underseal! I used it to clean all the muck out of mine rinsed and then polishe/ wax. Mine wher really clean appart from loads of spray on grease all over the hinges and stuff autoglym took it right off
 
bretfraz said:
Now that kind of work is *real* detailing. None of this "run-a-buffer-over-the-paint-and-call-it-a-day" stuff.
Click to expand...



How true. That's one of the things that set a detailed car apart from a "clean" car.



I clean everything with a wash mitt and a soapy solution. If there's grease, use disposable rags. Get everything down to nice paint. Then I dry everything off with a few clean towels.



I protect the rubber boots, seals, connectors and vents with 303. I layer my polymer sealant everywhere I can as well.



After you give it a top-notch cleanup, then a simple wipe down with a dry MF after every wash is good enough. Whenever you reapply wax or sealant, hit those hidden spots as well. Don't forget around your trunk lid or rear hatch!
 
Cheers guys, I thought as much. Knew I wasnt quite doing the perfect detail :nono



On a similar note - what does everyone do about the underneath areas of the bumpers and skirts?



:xyxthumbs
 
Well, my car has a body kit, so there's more to clean there than others maybe. I reach in under everything with my older wheel/doorjamb washmitt. I also dry those places (roughly) with older MF's.



If I'm applying sealant to the car I'll finish the job off by running my applicator on the underside of the skirts and body kit, wherever there's paint. Then I'll buff off at the end with one of the rougher MF's again.



It's pretty rough down there though.. the front splitter scrapes once in a while, and the wheels spray copious amounts of gravel and dirt under there... so the surface is pitted and all... I don't worry too much about that.



I do worry about the fender liners though, you didn't ask about those. ;):p
 
I could not call a car clean if the door sills are dirty, I clean them out every time I wash the car.

When I have taken a car to a Professional detailer for a complete detail I allways checked their finished cars for clean sills and vents dusted, otherwise... ADIOS!:bounce
 
NickATRvtec said:
Cheers guys, I thought as much. Knew I wasnt quite doing the perfect detail :nono



On a similar note - what does everyone do about the underneath areas of the bumpers and skirts?



:xyxthumbs
Click to expand...



same again if its painted polish and wax, black trim, autoglym bumper care.
 
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