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.

SIX | DAYS by Stephen Brooks

SIX | DAYS from Stephen Brooks on Vimeo.
Superb Coverage of the 2011 season of the Maxxis British Drift Championship. The Video was created by Stephen Brooks who is making a great name for himself. Car Detailing Junkies recommend watching this vid :)

Achilles ATR Sport Profile Video

I was searching across YouTube still trying to find a good video of the Achilles ATR Sport in use (Yes I know I should make one, all in good time :D ) and found this. Although it doesn't show the tyre being used, it does give you a good look at the tread and an idea of the wheels dimensions etc... More to follow.