Yesterday's hard work..

[Alex_225]

Having fitted my new wheels and springs, I decided to give my Clio 172 some love and get it partly prepped for the colder months.

A friend of mine runs his own detailing company, Serious Detailing and has a range of products that I've been testing out. In terms of looks and pricing they are very 'no frills' but work extremely well, in fact I'm well aware they are made in the same labs as some far more expensive brands. So the list of cleaning was as follows :

Pre-rinse
Foamed with Valet Pro PH Neutral Snow Foam
Washed with a Meguiars microfibre wash mitt, Dodo Juice Born to be Mild shampoo, two buckets
Rinsed
Dried using microfibre drying towels, Meguiars water magnet for the glass
Polished using Serious Detailling Deep Clean Polish, this appears thinner than Autoglym Super Resin but gives a very similar finish and is as easy to use
Protected with Serious Detailing Super Spray Sealant which is designed to give around 6 months protection, very easy to apply but needs buffing fairly quick as it dries similarly to a wax but can be hard to buff off if left to cure too long
Wheels have a coat of Chemical Guys Wheel Guard which was applied before they were fitted to the car

The car will receive another layer of this sealant next time it's washed and for the colder months just a top of quick detailer type wax will suffice until next year.

 

[Rob]

It looks good, but I must say I think those wheels look terrible in that colour.

 

[Clart]

Please change the wheels. now.

 

[Alex_225]

Erm how about no!! lol

​I actually rather like them so there!

 

[Rob]

I had them on my mk2ph1 172, but in black and lower it'll look a lot better.

 

[Alex_225]

I've done the black centre with silver lip about four years ago and it's one of those looks that works by default but not very original.

The car is actually lowered 40mm already and any lower wouldn't really be practical as a daily car. Actually looks lower in the flesh than the pictures do it credit for.

 

[JD]

Have to say, Alex, the wheels look small and awful in that colour - sorry chap!

 

[Alex_225]

That's fair enough, not everyone is going to be a fan. Like I say, pictures don't really do it justice in terms of size and stance as the wheels aren't actually small but obviously any wheel with a dish and only being 15" they're not going to look massive. The colour of course is totally subjective but hey, it's a bit different and could of played it safe, I'm actually really pleased with how it's looking.

 

[Dan...]

I hate the wheels - Colour and Style of them. As long as you like them though, the rest of the car looks nice

 

[Rob]

For reference, black is better on silver ;P

 

[Alex_225]

For reference that's your opinion! lol

Looks like the same style as hundreds of modified cars since about 2006! Don't get me wrong it's a nice looking combination but it's a very safe bet. Hence why my Lupo looked like this back in 2009 because it going to look decent by default.

With these wheels I didn't want to play it safe, I wanted something different. I know some will love it, some won't but I didn't buy them to please people on a forum I bought them because I like them and there's many cars on here that look nice but also look the same.

Don't get me wrong, I respect people's opinions so I'm not throwing my toys out the pram because someone doesn't like my tastes. Just appreciate that other people have different opinions on what they like and don't like.

 

[Rob]

I'm not saying you're getting upset or anything of the sort. If you look at my original comment

It looks good, but I must say I think those wheels look terrible in that colour.

It says "I think they'd look better" etc etc etc.

I meant for reference, as in my picture was a reference that on a silver car, black and silver works well.

Anyway as long as you're happy.

 

[Alex_225]

I know mate, don't worry I'm not feeling overly sensitive or anything and as you say black/silver does work nicely on a silver or even black car. I fancied a gamble and actually for me, I feel it works but I understand it won't for all.

 

[Leeshez]

Nice and shinny .
​

 

[Alex_225]

She is very shiny and still looking as much so today, thank you for noticing.

Weekend after next I'll be giving it another wash and layer of sealant for the winter.