Getting a Fabia ready for its new owner
Another of my very valued customers from the ‘Electrical’ side of my work needed my help. Their Skoda Fabia Estate was in much need of a clean, but additionally, the owner is handing the keys down to their Daughter! So I was more than happy to help.
The plan isnt to get this Skoda back to showroom condition, but more to just improve its current condition. Suffering from the usual road grime we see from day to day use including some dog hair inside and a generally dusty interior.
The plan in fact was tgo just hit the exterior of the car, but seeing as this is being handed to their daughter, I wanted to give the interior a once-over including extraction to the carpets and mats along with a clean and protection to the dash and interior doors.
Bit of a breakdown:
The vehicle, although clearly black, was looking more grey or even dark blue in some areas and needed decent decontamination
The wheels were suffering from a lifetime of brake dust and other contamination and I’m not sure the barrels of the wheels had ever seen a brush!
The paintwork had a number of long-term stains including bird poo and even a couple of finger prints that would clearly not come out during this clean, the vehicle ideally needs a full polish to help remove these blemishes
The interior was in OK condition, with the usual signs of dust, dried leaves and mud in places. The car mats are in good condition, just a little dirty.
The boot runner mat has some unusual white stains that could not be removed without perhaps further work and additional products..
The roof bars were showing signs of age and were starting to grey.
This Fabia Estate really just needed a good clean.
Its probably our favourite type of clean, sure its basic but its the biggest transformation.
Although further stages, including polishing and paint protection are excellent and definitely recommended, there isn’t anything better than taking a car from looking like this, to making it shine.
But for prolonged protection, the extra steps are 100% worth it.
Hitting the wheels first with iron fallout remover and our wheel cleaning foam really helped to remove alot of the dirt. Like I’ve mentioned, I dont think the insides of the wheels have ever seen a brush so giving them a detailed clean really made a difference.
The combination of iron fallout remover, followed up by a wheel and tyre foam really help to eat away at the contamination.
Make it stand out
The bodywork was then coated in a Traffic Film Remover to eat away at the initial grime including grease, tar, brake dust and other contaminants. Its allowed to dwell for a few minutes before being rinsed off.
Once its fully rinsed, we apply a ph neutral snow foam to further break down the dirt on the vehicle.
Once applied, we used a small detailing brush to hit some of the intricate areas and aggitate dirt and moss that had developed on the window seals, around the roof rails and inside the front grille.
The door and boot sills were cleaned and dried with additional attention given to the boot due to signs of moss and thick grime which was degreased and agitated with a detailing brush.
After the snow foam has been fully rinsed, the contact wash gets done. Thoroughly washing the car with Car Shampoo to remove any remaining dirt. Its also a good time to ensure the door and boot sills are clean and additionally dried if required.
The vehicle was fully rinsed again. This is a great time to assess the paintwork of the vehicle along with looking for any signs of additional paint protection. We always make a mental note of the bodywork condition at this stage to help us come up with a decent cleaning plan for the customers car long-term.
The vehicle has no signs of paint protection and for sure it could do with it. But considering the remaining bird poo staining and odd finger prints that wouldn’t remove themselves, we decided to dry the car and use a quick detailer spray to give the vehicle a short term layer of hydrophobic protection and asked the owner to consider paint protection following a clay bar and polish to better protect the paintwork long-term.
The ‘Quick Detailer’ spray is simply sprayed onto a wet, or dry car in this circumstance, spread evenly and wiped off with a separate microfibre cloth. It allows for nice water beading including a deeper shine and gloss to the paintwork.
The interior was treated to our basic Stage A clean which includes extraction to carpets and car mats, and a clean and protect treatment to the dash. Its not a full interior detail but its a decent once over for not a lot of money and has bene pretty popular with our customers considering what it offers. It also leaves the dash with a level of gloss and protection and smells good too!
The boot liner rubber mat was cleaned and treated. There were some un-movable white staining marks which we couldnt remove but certainly reduced. To remove these marks and staining, additional time and treatment would be required but had not been allowed for during our visit.
The tyres were dressed with a silicon based protectant which gives the wheels a nice ‘new look’ without being wet looking and lasts for 4-6 weeks. A really decent product that looks great and lasts well.
The glass was cleaned inside and out, including a spray protectant to the windscreen to assist with water beading.
Overall, we not have a clean car with a fairly decent interior, ready for its new owner.
We’d 100% recommend further bodywork treatment to this particular vehicle, considering its black paintwork it would truly benefit from a full polish and paint protection for that extra gloss and clean look.
If you’re interested in allowing us too look after the cleanliness of your vehicle, get in touch!
