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    Detailing Mod Lowiepete's Avatar
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    CarPro Fixer Polish - An Unplanned Review

    Hello Folks,

    Introduction

    Instead of following the usual review format, this is a report of the first day of
    a detail, by hand, of an almost 14 year old Toyota Rav4. I took on this detail
    with the car sight unseen, so my planned approach had been to jet-wash, then
    ONR bucketless wash followed by a clay cloth clean. Having got that far, it was
    clear that the quite fixed water-spotting was going to spoil it.

    So, instead of going to CP Essence it was a case of breaking into my bottle of
    Fixer. However, once the spotting became evident my first reaction was to warn
    Adey, the car's owner, that I doubted that we could do much to rectify it as
    it usually requires a machine. Here's what was revealed after the paint had
    been clay cloth cleaned... :doublesho



    That is definitely the most severe case I've ever experienced and it did put a
    dampener on my expectations of the day

    Prelude

    I really enjoy the prospect of bringing up a car of this age, so despite the
    state of the car on my arrival, I'd been looking forward to today. The next
    7 pictures show the car ahead of its jet-wash...















    Preparation

    The plan for today had been...
    • Jet wash
    • Bucketless ONR Wash
    • Clay cloth with ONR
    • Apply CP Essence
    • Apply CP Essence Plus


    It became apparent not long into the clay cloth clean that there were a few
    problems to resolve with this car, not least this...



    Despite my initial reservations expressed to Adey, and ever the optimist, I
    was glad I'd brought my bottle of CP Fixer with me. Talk about an "in at the
    deep end" test! I rarely let things get in the way by sparing, however if it
    hadn't worked, I wouldn't have been too down-hearted by the product.
    After all, it was a huge ask of a new to me product.

    I had ordered a polish from Craig at CarPro, notifying him that I wanted to
    work by hand and asking that if Fixer better fitted the bill, to substitute it.

    The Main Event

    So, a firm white waffle pad was dunked into some fairly hot water to help
    soften it, then given a good squeezing-out to get the pad lightly dampened.
    Being that this was a tuition detail, I'd already surprised Adey with several
    little knacks of doing things, but the biggest surprise was to see his face when
    I applied just 3 split-pea size blobs into the waffle surface.


    Trying to get 50/50 photos of the difference proved elusive, so I apologise
    for the poor quality of these two photos...





    So, the success of this meant an extra step and a good couple of hours of
    extra work. With the basic shine, water-spotting notwithstanding, proving to
    be looking very promising, so be it.

    An Unexpected Surprise

    On my arrival I remarked over the condition of the headlights. As Adey is in
    the business, I was informed that they would only be an MOT failure if the
    UV clouding interfered with the beam pattern hitting the road. Having spent
    £400 on a new headlamp unit and new gas bulbs just recently, this wasn't
    necessarily good news. The UV damage was atop the unit.

    However, again, ever the optimist, I set to with the CP Fixer on these and I
    could not believe my luck! I'll let the pictures tell their own story...







    The stainless steel bumper piece also came up well with Fixer. By this time
    its pretty clear that Adey is tickled pink.



    So, To The Afternoon

    Having left both my wheel cleaner and tyre treatment at home, tackling the
    wheels was one of the first jobs of the afternoon. I have to admit that no CP
    products were used for this task. Once washed, the wheels were given a coat
    of wheel wax. What I learned was that there was very little iron sintering
    from Pagid brake pads.









    One aspect of this detail was the amount of spotting on the roof. Given the
    fact that we were getting rid of most of it, Adey was spurred on to tackle
    this hard to reach area. I'm remiss in not taking any photos, but it would
    have stood out like a sore thumb if he hadn't had a go.

    While CP Fixer did a fantastic job by hand, I would not claim that the spotting
    had been entirely removed. That would indeed still require a machine, but I
    don't think I've encountered a polish that is so easy to use with what I think
    is an astonishing finish.



    Next came tackling the spotting on the windscreen. You can see what we
    were up against in the right hand corner of this 50/50 shot...



    Once completed, the clean outside of the screen shouted the grubbiness of
    its interior, so that was tackled quite pronto. These last five images show the
    results of day 1...







    At this point, only the windscreen and front door windows have been cleaned.





    Conclusions

    I can only sum up today as one of surprise and sheer delight at the outcome!
    Although CP Fixer was in my armoury, I had not set out with any intentions
    of using it. If I'm truthful, I fully expected having to contend with accepting
    the water-spotting and having to make the kind of sighing noises to express
    my disappointment.

    None of it! I was certainly not prepared for what happened. While the
    potion did spread well initially, I found it really beneficial that the pads
    had been softened and lightly dampened. A small bucket of fairly hot
    water to hand for rinsing out is a must. The pads need a good squeeze
    to render them just lightly dampened.

    One thing of note was to not apply too much pressure. There was simply no
    need to work it as if you were dealing with a rubbing compound.

    There is no question the CP Fixer will be part of my basic armoury for the
    foreseeable future.

    Where Do Buy It?

    CarPro Fixer is available direct from Craig Hall, the UK distributor and other
    approved UK distributors. It's available in 3 bottle sizes, from £10.99. Prices
    exclude P+P.

    The bottle I received had the funnel dispenser top which makes dispensing the tiny dots of polish
    very much easier to control. If you apply too much to the pad, you _will_ work against yourself.
    Less is more and little & often are your maxims to follow.


    Acknowledgements

    My thanks to Craig Hall for his usual ebullient helpfulness, considering I had
    initially ordered the wrong product. He's always a positive resource even
    when I ask either awkward or dumb questions.


    Regards,
    Steve
    Likes Trevhib liked this post
    Last edited by Lowiepete; 18-01-2017 at 02:34.

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