Overview:
Having not been cleaned for some time this 23 year old little Nissan Figaro was given a good scrub to remove months, if not years worth of ingrained grime. With the paintwork already being heavily swirled and polishing currently not on the agenda the aim was simply to breath a little life back into the exterior with a thorough wash & dry.
Before:
Algae build up around badges & trim.
Tired & dull looking paintwork with various loose contaminants.
Ingrained dirt in and around the unique white vinyl convertible top.
Stubborn brake dust trails cover the distinctive wheel trims.
Process:
The first step was to clean the vinyl top using Autosmart G101 (a trade based all purpose cleaner) diluted 10:1 and a soft bristled brush, spraying the cleaner liberally over the top and agitating it with the brush before thoroughly rinsing it off.
The entire car was then pre-foamed with Autobrite Magifoam applied via a Heavy Duty Foam Lance and left to dwell, during which time badges & trim details were lightly scrubbed with a Valet Pro soft bristled detailing brush to lift out any ingrained dirt, before being fully rinsed off at pressure.
Prior to washing, the wheels & tyres were cleaned using Autosmart Smart Wheels applied neat via a foaming trigger spray. Trims were agitated with a Valet Pro soft bristled detailing brush and tyres with a Vikan Slimline stiff bristled brush before being rinsed off. They were then washed with Autosmart Duet shampoo and a soft wheel sponge to help neutralise any remaining wheel cleaner residue and add a little gloss before receiving a final rinse.
The Figaro’s entire body was then washed from top to bottom using Autosmart Duet carnauba-based shampoo along with a soft synthetic wash mitt before receiving a final thorough rinse to remove all suds and any remaining contaminants. No two-bucket wash technique was employed here as the Nissan’s paintwork was already heavily swirled.
The car was then dried in the same manner using an Ultimate Ultra Plush micro fibre towel, with the intent being to take advantage of the gloss enhancing properties of the shampoo via intentional ‘contact drying’ as opposed to light ‘pat drying’ used in maintenance washing and swirl prevention.
To finish, tyres were dressed using Autosmart Highstyle (a durable trade-based exterior dressing product) with a microfibre applicator pad reserved exclusively for use on tyres, while the white and chrome wheel trims were given a final wipe over with a damp microfibre towel to remove any product overspray and remaining rinse water.
After:
Full video here.