Paul172sport
ClioSport Club Member
Sunflower Ph1
Firstly a big thank you to Auto Finesse for giving us at CS this fantastic opportunity to review a selection of their products and secondly for choosing me as one of the lucky ones given this opportunity.
My experience is at an amateur level, I like having a clean and well protected car, I enjoy cleaning my car and on the whole consider the time spent a bit of 'me time' away from work and the kids. So therefore when the time allows il take a whole day out and run through the full process from decontaminating, claying, polish and wax. Unfortunately time hasn’t allowed me this luxury, the car was treated to a full autumn clean a month or so ago, so for this test I have kept to the main panels that will face the brunt of winter. The front bumper, wings and bonnet in addition to the roof.
Forgive the lack of process pics, the weather has been cruel and I needed to make use of a slim window of opportunity, also combined with an electrical gremlin mid way (poor earth fixed by the RAC in minutes) meant i was keen to get the products on rather than snap away.
so my AF goodies were Revitalise 2 and spirit wax, all panels were treated to an application of Revitalise 2 and then 3 coats (applied over a period of days) of Spirit on the driver’s side and my regular wax of choice Dodo Banana Amour on the passenger side.
For point of reference, Menz SF4000/106a is my regular polish combined with AF Triple depending upon the task in hand.
Referring to AF site, Revitalise 2 is the middle of a 3 polish range and listed as the mid range cutting polish capable of tackling medium to light paint defects. I applied this as instructed by DA applying at speeds 2-4-2. I also broke the rules and tried this by hand on the bumper.
So impressions, Revitalise 2 has a thicker appearance to the Menz and almost more like the traditional G3 ‘mopping’ compound of old (yes guilty as charged but 15+years ago). On the first pass with the DA this spread across the panel nice and evenly and a little goes a long way. As the speed increased this broke down easily and as the speed then lowered back to level 2 the polish continued to clear. A final wipe down of the remaining residue and the results were pleasing. A nice crisp finish was left with a decent finish and most of the lighter swirls and scratches removed. Given another pass or with more familiarity I am confident of even better results.
For a keen amateur the results were fantastic, the paint felt wonderfully smooth, the colour richer and defects removed. What more could be asked.
I am one of the ‘old school’ I much favor waxing a car to treating with a sealant. The actual waxing process is soothing, relaxing and rewarding especially after already spending a few hours with the DA, this stage restores the enjoyment of the cleaning process for me.
As mentioned, my regular wax is Dodo Banana Amour and I find a few layers of this lasts a good season. The Spirit wax is about double the price of the dodo so I was interested to see the difference.
Initial impression was this was a much much softer wax. My first dap in the tub came out with a lot more wax than intended. Application was so easy, this has a really oily / buttery feel and spreads very easily and I was soon laying down a nice thin application. By comparison the DJ was a much ‘drier’ wax to apply.
The negative to the Spirit was this required alot more effort to buff off than the DJ, in fact the amount of extra effort came a little surprising. As the layers added up the DJ came easier to buff off, the Spirit remained consistent in the effort required.
Results, both waxes have left a wonderfully smooth finish with an equal appearance, ie the ‘colour charge’ of the DJ having little apparent effect against the clear Spirit.
Unfortunately no beading shots yet, have to wait for the morning or the next rain shower.
Initial thoughts, the Revitalise is definitely a product il be looking into purchasing. I’m tempted to try this added with my CG Ezi-creme glaze, so il add some more pics when able to. Revitalise 2 and maybe 3 could soon be added to my collection rather than another bottle of Triple. Spirit, well the verdicts still out, with 2/3 of a tub of DJ left its not making me rush out to buy a tub and relegate the DJ quite yet, however the coming months may well convince me otherwise.
I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the different waxes behave over the coming months with the winter grime and less frequent washing.
Once again thank you AF and il keep the updates and views coming.
ps, Santa, please can I have a decent camera rather than my phone.
My experience is at an amateur level, I like having a clean and well protected car, I enjoy cleaning my car and on the whole consider the time spent a bit of 'me time' away from work and the kids. So therefore when the time allows il take a whole day out and run through the full process from decontaminating, claying, polish and wax. Unfortunately time hasn’t allowed me this luxury, the car was treated to a full autumn clean a month or so ago, so for this test I have kept to the main panels that will face the brunt of winter. The front bumper, wings and bonnet in addition to the roof.
Forgive the lack of process pics, the weather has been cruel and I needed to make use of a slim window of opportunity, also combined with an electrical gremlin mid way (poor earth fixed by the RAC in minutes) meant i was keen to get the products on rather than snap away.
so my AF goodies were Revitalise 2 and spirit wax, all panels were treated to an application of Revitalise 2 and then 3 coats (applied over a period of days) of Spirit on the driver’s side and my regular wax of choice Dodo Banana Amour on the passenger side.
For point of reference, Menz SF4000/106a is my regular polish combined with AF Triple depending upon the task in hand.
Referring to AF site, Revitalise 2 is the middle of a 3 polish range and listed as the mid range cutting polish capable of tackling medium to light paint defects. I applied this as instructed by DA applying at speeds 2-4-2. I also broke the rules and tried this by hand on the bumper.
So impressions, Revitalise 2 has a thicker appearance to the Menz and almost more like the traditional G3 ‘mopping’ compound of old (yes guilty as charged but 15+years ago). On the first pass with the DA this spread across the panel nice and evenly and a little goes a long way. As the speed increased this broke down easily and as the speed then lowered back to level 2 the polish continued to clear. A final wipe down of the remaining residue and the results were pleasing. A nice crisp finish was left with a decent finish and most of the lighter swirls and scratches removed. Given another pass or with more familiarity I am confident of even better results.
For a keen amateur the results were fantastic, the paint felt wonderfully smooth, the colour richer and defects removed. What more could be asked.
I am one of the ‘old school’ I much favor waxing a car to treating with a sealant. The actual waxing process is soothing, relaxing and rewarding especially after already spending a few hours with the DA, this stage restores the enjoyment of the cleaning process for me.
As mentioned, my regular wax is Dodo Banana Amour and I find a few layers of this lasts a good season. The Spirit wax is about double the price of the dodo so I was interested to see the difference.
Initial impression was this was a much much softer wax. My first dap in the tub came out with a lot more wax than intended. Application was so easy, this has a really oily / buttery feel and spreads very easily and I was soon laying down a nice thin application. By comparison the DJ was a much ‘drier’ wax to apply.
The negative to the Spirit was this required alot more effort to buff off than the DJ, in fact the amount of extra effort came a little surprising. As the layers added up the DJ came easier to buff off, the Spirit remained consistent in the effort required.
Results, both waxes have left a wonderfully smooth finish with an equal appearance, ie the ‘colour charge’ of the DJ having little apparent effect against the clear Spirit.
Unfortunately no beading shots yet, have to wait for the morning or the next rain shower.
Initial thoughts, the Revitalise is definitely a product il be looking into purchasing. I’m tempted to try this added with my CG Ezi-creme glaze, so il add some more pics when able to. Revitalise 2 and maybe 3 could soon be added to my collection rather than another bottle of Triple. Spirit, well the verdicts still out, with 2/3 of a tub of DJ left its not making me rush out to buy a tub and relegate the DJ quite yet, however the coming months may well convince me otherwise.
I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the different waxes behave over the coming months with the winter grime and less frequent washing.
Once again thank you AF and il keep the updates and views coming.
ps, Santa, please can I have a decent camera rather than my phone.
