By David Clarke

highspeedhijinks

At 1:32pm on Saturday March 20th it became official–Spring has begun! Here in the Northeast, that means that the DOT has stopped ruining our cars with salt and the snow banks are revealing the prizes buried by plow trucks (mostly shopping carts and the occasional smart car). For me it means a chance to start cleaning my car the right way and have it last more than an afternoon before getting dirty again. That said, it’s a good time to review some of the basics of a clean ride. Read my tips after the jump!

Continue reading "Spring Cleaning" »

By David Wallens

Grassroots Motorsports

Remember Mom telling you to not pick at it? Well, if it’s crusty wax residue, then it’s okay to pick. Make sure you use the right tool, though. The simple bamboo skewer is tough enough yet won’t scratch the paint. You can find them at any supermarket. And thanks, Tim McNair, for teaching me this simple trick. A little more about the clean-up can be found at Grassroots Motorsports

By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

Last week I stopped by NorthWest Auto Salon to see what’s new.  I’d love to tell you it was completely random, but with a hot car show the following weekend I had a feeling that the NWAS crew might have some interesting cars, and I was right.  You might recognize the Carrera GT from our visit last year but wait till you see what else was in the shop! Also, if you’re here in the NW make sure to vote for the NWAS crew again this year in the King5TV Best of the Western Washington.

Aside from the great cars that were in the shop Blake told me that the shop has been staying super busy with their mobile detail work, and we’re not just talking in Seattle.  Scuderia details down in California, paint restoration down in Portland, and some supercar details in our own backyard.  Talk about a rough job.  Let’s see who can name every car pictured in this blog! More after the jump.

Continue reading "What's New at NorthWest Auto Salon" »

By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

I don’t know about you guys but I’m obsessive when it comes to keeping my cars clean. So when it comes to detailing and auto care I’m always trying new product and equipment.  Needless to say, when I saw that Blake from NorthWest Auto Salon had a new toy I decided to get out of the office and check it out.

I first saw Blake showing it off in the AudiWorld Forums on a Touareg detail. The way I understand it is that the snow foam can be applied as the pre-soak after a thorough rinsing.  The key here is that the snow foam is designed to separate the dirt from the paint and to allow gravity to pull the resulting foam of the car. Looking around I don’t see a whole lot of companies using this tool, but I am reading some pretty great reviews about it and Blake tells me that he is working with some product designers on the best mixture for the cleaning agent. So check this thing out. More pics after the jump!

Continue reading "NorthWest Auto Salon Shows Off Their New Snow Foam Gun" »

Yesterday John and I went over to hang out with Blake and the rest of the guys at NorthWest Auto Salon. As you can see below, they have some nice cars over there. That Ford GT was in Gumball this year—you may have seen the video of it doing donuts. With a Whipple supercharger and 715 rwhp, donuts come naturally. John and I both got ride in the car, and I can safely say it’s the fastest car I’ve even been in—stay tuned for more on that. Actually, stay tuned for more on all of these cars. That Carrera GT is no slouch, either.

So here’s the cool thing: in the coming weeks and months the NorthWest Auto Salon guys are gonna help us write up some detailed detailing tutorials. And these guys do it all, from basic hand washes all the way up to concourse level detailing. They also do paint correction, and have recently added full vinyl vehicle wraps, like the matte black wrap you see on the GT. We’re thinking a time lapse video of a vinyl wrap might be kind of cool.

NorthWest Auto Salon was recently nominated by the local NBC affiliate to be included in the "Best of Western Washington" in the Automotive Detailers category. They’re hoping to be get the top spot in that category, so help ‘em out and vote ‘em up! A ton more pics after the jump.

Continue reading "NorthWest Auto Salon" »

I give my Satellite a sponge bath once per year whether it needs it or not. But I know a lot of CarDomain members are hardcore detailers and would appreciate this thread on DetailingWorld, where some Brits drag a dirty but super low mileage E36 M3 out of a shed and detail it within an inch of its life. I dropped a bunch of photos below the jump, but be sure to click through to the original forum thread for all the pics and info. You know people are serious when they bust out the paint thickness meter.

Continue reading "E36 M3 Detailed Within an Inch of Its Life" »

This weekend I tried to remove some of the built-up grime the previous owner left in our "new" 2002 Subaru Outback. The car has a light colored interior, so it really shows finger smudges and scuffs on the dash and door panels. I’ve been happy with Meguiar’s stuff in the past, so I picked up some of their Quik Interior Detailer at Schucks over the weekend. I also bought it cause it promised not to make everything all greasy and shiny, and cause it wasn’t going to make my interior smell like a urinal cake. But it didn’t really work, either. The car looks a bit better now, but definitely nowhere close to new. I’m hesitant to use something really strong on the interior plastic, but I’d still like to get the crud off. So post you best interior detailing tips below, along with a link to your ride page, and if I like them I’ll send you a CarDomain swag pack (t-shirt, stickers, etc.).