I waxed my AFT . . .

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alimey
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I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by alimey » Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:18 pm

I was inspired by Richn's fantastic pictures after he had detailed his Bongo - so I decided to make a start - at the top. I've got a 2002 Aero AFT Bongo. The one with a bit of black glass at the front. It's silver and the AFT is sort of pale grey - and was dull, almost matt.

Following his example I bought:

Boyd's Ultra Violet auto shampoo (smelt so nice I might use it myself later!)
Meguiar's clay & Quick Detailer
Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Wax

First I gave the AFT a good clean with hot soapy water & a sponge - including using a toothbrush along the black rubber seal (I think my neighbours must think I'm mad)

Then I went over the roof using the clay and the detailer as lube (as instructed). Very interesting - I hadn't used clay before, you could almost feel the roof getting smoother (and the clay got filthy which was quite satisfying).

Next I cleaned the sunroof & the front piece of glass with Rain-X (in retrospect I should have started with a limescale remover).

Next I waxed the roof using the Maguire's Ultimate Quick Wax and frankly I wan't very impressed. It's a spray and felt pretty thin. So I raided my very old car cleaning kit and came up with a bottle of Armorall Car Wax with carnuba wax. I smeared it on in sections and then buffed it off. Oh what a difference - it went on like handcream and I could almost feel my AFT drinking it in.

Guess what - it's come up all shiny - I am well impressed.

Here is a picture where you can see the dull finish on the left - and the shiny bit (after the Armorall) on the right:

Image


Next job is to put the AFT up, clean around all the rubber seals, wipe the tent down with baby wipes & silicone all the zips.
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by Tidmo » Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:42 pm

Good job! Looks great. I need to get my finger out and get buffing.
Inspiration indeed. =D>
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alimey
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . . (and then couldn't stop!)

Post by alimey » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:18 pm

So I got the bit between my teeth and decided to put the AFT up & clean it and generally get to know it a bit better.

So I used the clay and the wax to do the roof under the AFT - it doesn't look like it's been used much - although there is a small tear in the netting (fixing stuff on it's way).

I had some grease marks on the outside of the tent and so spent a lot of time getting it off using baby wipes. They were about perfect for the job & really got a lot of dirt off.

Then I got inside the tent & cleaned all the glass from the inside. I will need to work out some sort of cover probably attached with velcro to cover up the front glass bit as it will really disturb me from my hangover.

I also put silicone on all of the zips & played around to see how it all works. Under the boards in the roof I found some slips of paper with Japanese on them - either they are from the family that had the van, or from QC when it was made. Either way I think it shows that the upstairs hasn't been much used.

Next project is to start cleaning and waxing the body work. It's a really good way to get to know your van and reminds me very much of grooming my horse . . .
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by amauvis » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:36 pm

I've been mucking about with waxes and polishes for years, and a couple of years back I bought a Meguiars G220 DA Polisher. After all those years of elbow grease, I cannot believe I didn't get something like this before. We're currently a 3 car family (2 of which are 14 years old and mint), and expecting a new arrival (a Bongo, not an ankle-biter :wink: ) and I can't wait to get the potions and lotions onto it :)

Want to get a rotary polisher now for hard-core paint correction. I think my Paypal account might get plundered in the coming weeks.
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levon
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by levon » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:33 am

Looks great - inspiration indeed.

However, what I'm even more impressed with is the fact you had a dry enough day during a weekend to get this done? The weather is playing havoc with my attempts at painting/waxing etc.

Oh for a dry spell to enable a decent rub down / respray session.
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loneranger
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by loneranger » Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:42 am

Hi I think you will find that there is a slider to cover the sunroof so no need for a velcro cover Cheers Michael
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by Velocette » Mon Jul 09, 2012 11:55 am

loneranger wrote:Hi I think you will find that there is a slider to cover the sunroof so no need for a velcro cover Cheers Michael
I don't think he means the sunroof... "Next I cleaned the sunroof & the front piece of glass "

But I am intrigued. What is "the front piece of glass"?
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by Simon Jones » Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:01 pm

Velocette wrote:
loneranger wrote:Hi I think you will find that there is a slider to cover the sunroof so no need for a velcro cover Cheers Michael
I don't think he means the sunroof... "Next I cleaned the sunroof & the front piece of glass "

But I am intrigued. What is "the front piece of glass"?
The later version of the AFT has a different roof which has an extra window fitted at the front as can be seen on the photo here:

Image

The actual window is much smaller than glass, but does provide some extra light into the roof area. There is no sliding blind, hence why an additional cover may required to block out the early morning sunlight.
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by alimey » Mon Jul 09, 2012 3:25 pm

Yup - that's it exactly. It is designed to wake you up nice & early . . .

By the way - I am a she-geek.

Having a bit of withdrawal today as I wanted to start washing & waxing the bodywork, but it's raining.

By the way - my brother just bought me a portashower by Hozelock. It basically looks exactly like those insecticide sprayers that you pressurise by pumping - but it has a shower attachment. It's been really brilliant at removing the soapy water from the Bongo, fox poo from the dog and I might use it for a shower sometime (it takes hot water). Great value - I think you can get it for under £20.

Am planning to check that the drainage holes around the sunroof and hangover window are open by poking them w/ a small zip tie. Any idea where the holes are (I know where they come out . . .)
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by Simon Jones » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:32 pm

I don't believe there are any drain holes around either one. The only drain that always blocks up is under the bonnet on the gutter at the base of the windscreen.

Where do you think they come out.
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by alimey » Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:57 pm

Yes - you are absolutely right - there are no drain holes at all. Oh well - the upside is that they aren't blocked!!

Today I did the right side of the van (wash, rinse, dry, clay, 2 coats Carnuba wax). It's really coming up nicely - I can't believe how great the clay is. I had never heard of this before this forum and I am completely sold.

Image

Image


Am about to order some wheel trims and will black up the tyres before they go on.

Today I also fitted a flash tax disc holder and a diesel alarm which should make for some comedy moments at the petrol station. Also a sweetie tin was added . . .

Tomorrow I am allowed to clean the front of the Bongo - very exciting. Am only allowed to do one section a day because 1) my shoulder hurts quite a lot already and 2) we work from home and I am supposed to be working . . .

Every cloud has a silver lining - the great thing about it pouring all the time is how I can see the water beading on my windows and bodywork . . .
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by Driver+Passengers » Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:23 am

alimey wrote:Tomorrow I am allowed to clean the front of the Bongo - very exciting. Am only allowed to do one section a day because 1) my shoulder hurts quite a lot already and 2) we work from home and I am supposed to be working . . .
*chuckle* :lol:
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alimey
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by alimey » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:06 pm

Good news: Finished tarting up the front today. Very satisfying to use that clay to get all the nasties off the bonnet.

Bad news: completely flattened the batteries. I wondered why the stereo kept cutting out!! So I listened to the stereo for probably 4 hours & raised/lowered the windows about 10 times. Now both batteries (it's not yet converted, so no split charger) are 100% flat.

We hope to use it tomorrow, so will have to jump it as it's too wet to charge in situ and we don't have time to remove the batteries and charge them both equally.

Oh well - it's good to learn your lesson on your own front drive . . .
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by Simon Jones » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:26 pm

It will take twice as long to charge both batteries, so disconnect the one on the passenger side and just charge and start using the other one. Once running, you can (carefully) reconnect the other one.
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Re: I waxed my AFT . . .

Post by alimey » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:43 pm

Many thanks Simon. We are going to drive around 1.5 hours tomorrow morning - but no time to charge. So we will try jumping (fortunately my husband knows a lot more about cars than I do!!) if not - we'll take our other car & charge the Bongo's batteries when we have more time.

Plus, I have learned my lesson!! (looking forward to having it converted and having a split charger) - I had no idea that the windows drew so much power.
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