Maxolen Violet Wax Polish Review

This review has been a long time coming and instead of running through excuses for the delay, I’ll get straight on with the review.  I was lucky enough to be invited to a Maxolen product testing day along with other members of the Celica club. Maxoeln have a large warehouse / workshop in Leeds and on arrival I was pleasantly greeted with a warm welcome and it was great to see a line of Celicas stretch around the car park. As you’d expect there was a long line of people waiting to wash there cars and get there hands on the wax, snow foam and other detailing products.

Due to the sheer number of cars that had arrived it meant that time was short and Chris, who runs the workshop couldn’t spend the time he’d of liked with individuals. As someone who frequently uses car detailing products, I was happy to roll my sleeves up and help some other friends in the club who hadn’t ever waxed there cars.

Unfortunately by the time we got to the front of the queue the snow foam had run out and instead, replaced with Maxolen wash and wax (another review to come soon). After a thorough clean and wash, we rolled the car inside and dried the car using a type of synthetic chamois. I was then handed a bottle of Violet Wax Polish and a small applicator sponge.

Now, I will firstly admit that due to the time restraints and the queue of cars, I felt rushed and as such, the car wasn’t 100% dry, although I felt, dry enough.  I took the applicator sponge and poured around a 50 pence size blob of wax on to it. It quickly becomes clear why it’s known as violet wax, as it comes out in a light purplish colour. Working the sponge over the whole car, adding wax when needed took around 15 minutes and then I allowed the wax to haze, for around 5 minutes.

Using a large microfiber (I think it was a Maxolen one?) I began to remove the wax. Now I found the wax a little more difficult to remove than say Autoglym’s super Resin polish, but it did come off fine, leaving behind a good shine and deep glossy look (Please see the image).

As I’ve only had brief experience with the product, I will move straight onto the summary. All in all I’m a little torn, yes I thought it was a good product, but ideally I’d like to spend a little more time with it. My reservation is mainly based on the ease of removal, however that could be down to a damp car and new microfiber. So with all that said, it’s very reasonable priced, does what it says n the bottle and certainly seems well worth trying out.

Apex Lowering Springs Review

When I started this Blog last year the main focus was always going to be car detailing. It’s my passion and the idea of keeping something looking better than brand new continues to be a hobby that I love to keep up. However, as the Blog has progressed so has the work on my car and it seems a shame to keep this Blog purely focused on car detailing. I did after all mention I’d review other car related items (that’s my story and I’ll stick to it).

Having been a car enthusiast since my teenage years I’ve always loved modified cars. Whilst at work the other day I enjoyed reminiscing about the cars that where dream cars when I was 17, the likes of Vauxhall Nova SR’s and Renault 5 GT’s. I remember flicking through the pages of Max Power and Redline looking at the lowered ride heights and polished engines, dreaming of what could be achieved. Well, the day came to buy my first car. After several conversations with insurance companies I soon realised that having anything with more power than a sit-on lawnmower was going to be difficult. It came to be then that my first car was a Mk 1 Seat Ibiza, with an engine that weighed in at under 1ltr and that sounded like an asthmatic weasel when trying to climb all but the flattest of hills. Oh dear. However all was not lost. It was my car, my ticket to the open road and my small income fuelled by stocking shelves enabled me to kit it out with a sub and good cassette player (showing my age here). It also let me sit in the drive way, mug of tea at my side and dream of what could be.

After several months of ownership, several near collisions, a complete break line failure and the thought of wheezing up another hill, I decided to move the car on. I then luckily managed to convince my mum to allow me to drive her green, stock Fiat Punto (which in comparison felt like a super car!).

Fast forward 10 years and I have become the proud owner of a Gen 7 Toyota Celica which I love and still own. With owning a good new car (in my opinion, I know haters are gonna hate) and finally having a steady income, suddenly the opportunity to do more than just add fluffy dice and hub caps presented it’s self.

Lowering the car was always a priority and after literally years of research on the Celica forum and other Google searches landed me at the door of purchasing a set of Apex lowering springs. The Apex springs promised to lower the car by 35mm and only cost around £100. This compared to the offerings from Eibach, which lower the car around 30mm and cost nearer £200 seemed a sensible choice. Others I considered where the TTE springs which where fitted as standard to the Celica GT model, but again meant spending more money.

Apex lowering Springs

I ordered my springs from Camskill, which I was reliably informed where the most price competitive.  After getting a call from a house mate that they had arrived, I had the fun of waiting till the end of the working day to get home and eagerly open the tear open the box (by which I mean carefully open the box, but that sounded less dramatic).

As you can see from the image, the Apex springs arrived well packaged in a branded box. There was an initial panic, as I could only see three springs inside. However, I then found the fourth rear spring neatly wrapped in foam and inside a front spring.
Yellow in colour they certainly looked the part and although some are put off by them not being black I was assured that once fitted you’d only see them if you buried your head under the arch. The yellow covering also looked reassuringly durable, being a coating of what I assume is a flexible plastic substance.

While many people are happy to fit there own lowering springs, I’m ashamed to admit that I’m incompetent with a spanner. After a few calls around the local garages, I found PR Motors where the best on price. I had also spoken to a friend who owns a Celica and they have carried out regular servicing etc…to what he believed was a high standard. I left my car there before work on the morning and received a call at 15:00 to say they where finished and ready. On arrival I found my car waiting for me outside and after settling the bill they gave me the box contacting my old springs,  which look very long in the tooth (again see picture).

Original Toyota Celica Springs

I have to admit that when I looked into lowering my car I was concerned that the springs would adversely effect the handling, by making the ride overly harsh. Speaking with friends on the Celica forum did put my mind at rest and at the end of the day I though I could always put the old springs back on.

So then, looking at the car my first impressions where fantastic. The car sat so much flatter across its wheels and looked more aggressive and sporty. After getting in the car and driving out of the business park my smile began to widen even further. This is what I’d read about for all those years, the cornering was brilliant. Even on rough and bouncy roads the Apex springs gave me confidence to drive in a lively manner. No excessive body roll and no detached feeling from the wheels.

Fitted Rear Apex Suspension Spring

I’ve had the spring fitted now for around 6 months now and don’t regret the change what so ever. In fact I’d do it again in heart beat. The only other thing worth mentioning though is that I had to change insurance companies as I was previously with More Than and they don’t insure modified cars. Again on the advice of other Celica Club members, I switched Sky insurance. Not only was there customer service fantastic (I think the customer service chap was called Sam?) coupled with a competitive price made the deal all the sweeter. A further plus point was the club discount I received further lowered the price.

It has taken me around 12 years to buy a car and begin considered modifications, but the wait has been well worth it. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these springs to Celica drivers and if there as good as they are in my Toyota your certainly in for a treat.

DoDo Juice Basics Of Bling Drying Towel Review

My friend over at NinjaShine had recently popped round to collect a set of Alloy Wheels from me and by way of thanks put together a selection of DoDo Juice Car Detailing Products for me to try out (lots of reviews coming soon). One of the products that I’ve had chance to use over the weekend is the DoDo Juice Basics Of Bling Drying Towel.

Now I’ve never used a drying towel before as I’ve always used a chamois leather or a chamois combined with a water blade (Kent Water Blade review coming soon.) The basics of Bling towel measures 60cm x 60cm and comes well packed in a clear bag. The bag has instructions for suggested use and also care instructions regarding washing etc..

After washing my car I used the Kent water blade as normal, then carefully unwrapped the drying towel. It certainly felt very soft to the touch and with all the DoDo Juice products I was confident it wouldn’t result in any ill effects to the paint work. One thing I should say though is that as with any microfiber product once its been dropped on the floor I’d think twice about using it again. A thorough washing should remove any harmful stone pieces etc.. But you can never be to sure.

Folding the microfiber drying towel into a neat pad I proceeded to dry the car, regularly folding the fabric to find a drier side. Now normally using a chamois that requires frequent ringing takes me around 10 to 15 minutes. With the basics of Bling towel I’d dried my whole car in around 5, which is fantastic.

Once I’d finished using the towel (which still looked clean) I put it in the airing cupboard to remove the moisture, before folding it back up to store in my DoDo Juice Tooled Up kit bag.

All in all I’m very impressed with this item and had if not been fortunate to be given one I’d certainly buy one. I’m not sure how long they last but I’ll update this post if necessary. Car Detailing Junkies recommend - DoDo Juice Basics Of Bling Drying Towel

BEST of 2011 Video

Well this video sums up much of last years Drift activity. Some excellent footage as always created by Togethia Media Services. I can't wait to see what 2012 holds and more stunning drifting! Enjoy...


Togethia - Drift. HD - Best of 2011 from Togethia on Vimeo.

How to remove bird droppings on your car

It’s happened to nearly all of us, walking to your car to find that it’s been given a lucky blessing by a passing bird, or judging by some dropping I’ve seen, a flying elephant. Some times these droppings can be quickly removed with a damp cloth and you can get on with your day, however there are some bird’s droppings that seem to have spot welded themselves to the cars paintwork. Here is my 5 step guide to the safe removal of bird droppings from your cars paint surface.

1. Fast removal is the key here, and ideally try to remove any bird droppings within 24 hours of first noticing them on the car. Depending on the type of bird and I assume diet this can be a very quick task, made much easier if your car is wet from rainfall.

2. If the offending dropping refuses to budge with the wipe of a damp cloth more serious measures may need to be taken. It’s at this point through I’ve had some people come to me with paint covered in what looks like an area rubbed with sand paper. However it’s not sandpaper, it is in fact where they have scrubbed the bird dropping from the paint work with a Brilo pad or pan scrubber! Let’s just say that they did remove the dropping, but also ruined an area of paint work that will need to be re-sprayed or brought back to life with T-Cut (If they’re lucky). Instead of scuffing away at the dropping, purchase a product such as Car Plans Tar and Bug remover which costs around £3.00. Run a bucket of hot soapy water and soak a microfiber wash mitt. Then take the suds covered wash mitt and lay it over the bird dropping for around 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Once the dropping has been soaked, take the bug and tar remover, liberally spraying the covered area, then re-soak the wash mitt and replace for a further 2 minutes. You can then use a power hose or regular garden hose to blast at the edges of the dropping, again trying to break it up.

4. While continuing this process start to gently rub the dropping in a back and forth motion and you’d should see it start to break up (this is a glamorous post!). This isn’t a quick process and the key is not to rush. If the dropping is being stubborn and being blasted with power hose isn’t working, try to pick at the edges, but do so using your hand inside the mitt so it’s the microfiber that comes into contact with the paint and not finger nails that could scratch and mark the surface.

5. Finally once the bird dropping has given up its rain of terror, simply take a quick detailer, such as Demon Shine or Meguiars Quick Detailer and spray over the area, then buff up with a microfiber cloth to restore the paints glossy finish , alternatively take the opportunity to completely wash your car.

A quick search on Google certainly brings up many methods, but I’ve found this one works well for me, however if you have other suggestions please let me know. Patience is the key to removing bird dirt and it’s important not to use abrasive materials to remove droppings, and they could do more harm than good!

Car Detailing Junies 2011 round up!

Well where do I start...here seems as good a place as any. 2011 has been an exciting year for me, it's been the year where I have taken my car detailing hobby seriously, well seriously enough to create a Blog and to review some products. It's also been a year where I have immersed myself in the automotive scene, trying to learn as much about JDM cars and detailing as possible and meeting some great people along the way (you know who you are). What's becoming apparent is that through various forums and social media channels the car scene is very much alive. Seeing established magazines such as Max Power fall by the way side might seem like the modifiers are loosing, but that’s far from the truth. As with many areas, car modding and the automotive scene has simply developed and through online we're learning more than ever. It also means that new trends are emerging much quicker and motor sport categories such as Drifting are becoming globally popular, finally having a platform other than mainstream television.

Online has also made a wealth of car detailing tips and reviews available. My Blog wouldn’t be possible without the endless resources that YouTube and forums offer, not to mention the help I’ve had from experienced professionals.

I hope to continue posting reviews next year and adding videos and other products and videos that seem relevant, after all cleaning your car requires motivation, and few are as inspiring as seeing JDM metal at its very best.

So with that round up out of the way, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy 2012.

Here's a video that I think sums up this year nicely.

Very Cherry Acid Free Wheel Cleaner Update

Well I’ve been meaning to update this post for sometime, so apologies for the delay. I tried the Very Cherry Acid Free wheel cleaner in my last review without reading the instructions (I only had a sample bottle in my defence ;-) ) and after speaking with Mark over at Ninja Shine I realised that my review wasn’t really very valid. In the meantime, Ninja Shine have written there own review, which is very good and can be found here ->click<-.

The reason for the update is that I used the Very Cherry Acid Free wheel cleaner in conjunction with a Kent wash mitt and soapy water, using the wheel cleaner to lift the initial dirt as opposed to using it as the sole product. I was also unaware that you don’t need to agitate the product and you can simply spray it on, leave it for a minute then spray it off to reveal nice clean wheels.

Firstly I washed the whole car, as I always leave the wheels till last, I’ve heard others start with the wheels so as I learn more perhaps I’ll change my method. I washed the wheels over with a normal non power hose then liberally sprayed the Very Cherry Wheel Cleaner over the wheels, left it for a minute or two then sprayed water over them again. 90% of the dirt lifted straight away and I was surprised at the effectiveness of the product, however I did reapply a couple of times to lift the rest of the grime.

One of the main selling points of this wheel cleaner for me is that you can use it safe knowledge that it won’t corrode the nice finish from your wheels, unlike some strong acid based cleaners used over a period of time.

In conclusion I will certainly use this product again, but in using it I’ve become hungry to try some other products to compare It against as wheels are an area I’ve never focused on in great detail. The next product I’ll be purchasing is P21s Power Gel Acid-Free Car Alloy Wheel Cleaner. It looks like a difficult product to get hold of but if this video below is anything to go by then it’s worth sourcing.