SHOWING POSTS IN Advice

This month we were originally planning to post John’s thoughts about the polishing process but, given the time of year, we thought it more appropriate to address the issue of winter preparation, and in particular why and how you should protect your car if you decide to run it all year round. Indeed, with the nights already drawing in and the brutality of last winter still fresh in our minds, now is the time to get busy before the temperature drops and the gritting lorries make an appearance (assuming your local council hasn’t completely run out of money)…

Why is winter so brutal on our cars?

In a nutshell, road salt. Ever since the 1930s, road salt has been used extensively during the winter months in the UK to lower the freezing point of moisture on road surfaces, thus helping to prevent lethal ice from forming and causing existing snow and ice to melt. Indeed, given the instant mobility demands of modern day drivers and the fact that relatively few people would ever consider fitting winter tyres, road salt remains a cost effective option for managing road safety. However, road salt is far less welcome from the point of view of motoring enthusiasts and the wider environment in terms of the long-term damage it causes to cars and man-made structures; salt deposits tend to harbour moisture and vastly accelerate metal corrosion processes.

Moving on from my previous post about safe washing, the next natural step in the detailing process is decontamination, which is a somewhat narrower topic but one that is often misunderstood. Prior to discussing decontamination with Rich I had an understanding of what decontamination does and how to do it, but didn’t know how it actually works…

To be honest, I was a little worried about being blinded by science when Rich started talking about organic and inorganic particles, electrolysis, charges and so on; he’s got a PHD in hydrochemistry whereas I scraped my way to a Standard Grade in Chemistry! However, I needn’t have worried as the basic principles are just that – basic.

After washing your car, there is every chance that the paint will still be contaminated with particles which can’t be removed by shampoo alone and these fall into two categories: organic (carbon-based and generally more ‘natural’ like honeydew and pollen) and inorganic (sometimes still carbon-based but in a highly processed form, or everything else that doesn’t fall into the organic category).

A very warm welcome from all of us to John Sorrie, who recently joined the PB team in a sales and marketing role. John is currently being intensively trained in all aspects of car care and detailing, and as part of this process we thought it would be nice for him to share his thoughts and contribute some diary entries to the blog. Without further ado we’ll hand over to John…

“As the newest addition to the Polished Bliss team, it’s fair to say I’m on the bottom edge of a rather steep learning curve and one which seems to have a particularly high summit. Over the coming weeks, as I ascend this mountain, I’ll update the blog with my progress, thoughts and discoveries. I should point out at this stage that I’m not a detailer, more an ‘enthusiastic amateur’, so I’m fully aware that I have a lot to learn. The first stage of my training has focused on the wash process; pre-wash rinsing, pre-wash foaming, hand washing, post-wash rinsing, wheel cleaning and drying.

Rich and I agreed that pre-wash rinsing is often not done properly. The basic principle of the pre-wash rinse is to remove the maximum amount of dirt and grime possible before starting the wash process proper. Like all parts of detailing, the wash process should be systematic, working top-down and ‘chasing’ as much dirt, and therefore dirty water, off the car as possible – it’s not just about wetting the paint and Rich and I both felt that anything less than ten minutes of rinsing, assuming the use of a power washer, was insufficient. You only have to look at the image at the top of this post to see why thorough pre-wash rinsing is so important! Pre-wash foaming, whilst it has its critics or ‘non-believers’, is a useful process and one which can remove yet more dirt before contact is made with the paint.