Big Cat Diaries

Ok, not quite a diary, but felt like a long time!!

I was contacted by a gentleman who had recently acquired a Jaguar XJ8, but was disappointed with the finish. On viewing the vehicle, it was immediately clear what the problem was. There was so many swirls and scratches that it had dulled the paint finish.

After a discussion it was decided that a multi stage machine polish was the best course to enhance the vehicle's appearance.

The first job was to get the vehicle clean and prepared for polishing. The next step was to find a polish and pad combination to achieve the aim.

The second picture shows a panel after three stages.

Now rain stopped play during the first round of polishing, but in the next two pictures, you should he able to see the difference in the finish on the front wings.

So once the machine polishing stages were complete, the colour was really starting to show through.

Then the paintwork was prepared with a pre-wax cleaner, before a layer of a premium carnauba wax was applied, then buffed off.

Some completed pictures

2011 Ford Galaxy - Burnham-On-Sea: Full Valet and Odour Removal

Shine My Ride were called by a charity with premises near Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset to work on one of their lease vehicles.

It was decided that the vehicle required a full valet inside and out, shampooing of the seats and flooring, and anti-bacterial odour fogging to remove the stale urine smell.

This was the vehicle on arrival:

2011 Ford Galaxy before valeting near Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset

2011 Ford Galaxy before valeting near Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset

2011 Ford Galaxy before valeting near Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset

2011 Ford Galaxy before valeting near Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset

So after a thorough clean outside, including the wheels and arches etc, the exterior was polished with a pre-wax cleaner from Concours Car Care, before being protected with Concours' LiquidShield spray sealant.  The tyres and trim were dressed to enhance their appearance, and give them some protection as well.

The exterior after:

2011 Ford Galaxy after valeting near Burnham-On-Sea

2011 Ford Galaxy after valeting near Burnham-On-Sea

You can see from the pictures the gloss now evident.  Certainly a turnaround from how it was when I arrived!


Once the exterior valeting was complete, the interior was fully valeted, with carpets and upholstery shampooed.  Due to a smell of stale urine, the interior was fogged with an antibacterial fogging solution.

It was a pleasure to see this vehicle now looking as it should for it's age

2011 Ford Galaxy after valeting near Burnham-On-Sea

2011 Ford Galaxy after valeting near Burnham-On-Sea

2007 VW Golf GT TDi 170 - Exterior Pre-sale Valet

Shine My Ride were contacted by a young gentleman near Ilminster.  He was reluctantly selling his VW Golf, which was a rare 170bhp version of the GT TDi.

Due to being parked under trees, there were some stubborn stains, which he had tried to remove using T-Cut.  Many people do not realise that T-Cut is a very harsh product, and in this case it had created hazy areas all over the car, particularly by the door handles and the bonnet.

The owner had a propsective buyer travelling all the way from Norfolk, so wanted the vehicle to make the right impression.

So once the vehicle was clean, it was time to try and improve the appearance of the paintwork.  A light machine polish with a pre-wax cleaner was enough to remove the cloudiness and bring depth and gloss to the paintwork.  The paintwork was then waxed with a liquid wax product, to further enhance the gloss, and give some protection to the paintwork. Tyres and trim were dressed to enhance their appearance, ready to create a good impression.

So once the exterior work was complete, this was the result.

2007 VW Golf GT TDi 170 after an exterior valet near Ilminster, Somerset

2007 VW Golf GT TDi 170 after an exterior valet near Ilminster, Somerset

2007 VW Golf GT TDi 170 after an exterior valet near Ilminster, Somerset

2007 VW Golf GT TDi 170 after an exterior valet near Ilminster, Somerset

Land Rover Freelander Commercial - Full Valet and Odour Removal

Shine My Ride was asked by a Bridgwater company to valet one of their sales team vehicles, a 59-plate Land Rover Freelander 2 Commercial. 

Due to change in staff, they wanted a full valet carried out.  In addition, the previous employee had carried their dog with them in the vehicle, so there was a very strong smell inside the vehicle.

So firstly the exterior was thoroughly cleaned, including the wheel arches etc.  The paintwork was polished with Concours Car Care Perficio pre-wax cleaner, to provide a clean smooth base for Concours Car Care LiquidShield, a spray sealant product.  The trim and tyres were dressed to improve their appearance.

The interior was also fully valeted, including shampoo the seats and carpets and load area mat etc.

Once the interior valet was complete, the odour fogging could be carried out.  The vehicle interior was fogged using an anti-bacterial fogging fluid in a fogging machine.

Land Rover Freelander 2 after full valet in Bridgwater

Land Rover Freelander 2 after full valet in Bridgwater

Land Rover Freelander 2 after full valet in Bridgwater

Land Rover Freelander 2 after full valet in Bridgwater

Land Rover Freelander 2 after full valet in Bridgwater