Cleaning the Gummy and sticky buttons of a Jaguar XF in Lansdowne, Cape Town

We often get cars in with sticky buttons and controls. This was a Jaguar XF.

Typically car manufacturers coat vehicle controls with a rubber coating for a “soft touch feel”.

Things like; steering controls, indicator and wiper stalks, buttons, and dials, like your window, aircon, and other features may have it on.

It doesn’t matter the brand of car, I’ve had to remove this kind of sticky mess from Ferrari of all things!

These coatings degrade over time for a number of reasons typically:

  • The dirt on our hands that transfers to these controls and damages them…
    • Sweat, food (yep some of that KFC chicken wings!), makeup, grease …
  • With the COVID pandemic, sanitizer residue on your hands if not the direct use of inappropriate disinfectants inside a car
  • Humidity and heat also play a big role.
  • The use of silicone-based products car care products not to mention the wrong or incorrectly used general cleaner …
    • You should only use quality water-based dressings and dedicated car cleaners.

It looks terrible when these buttons and controls degrade and are off-putting.

The goo can come off on your hands, they tend to hold dirt and most likely germs as well!

Point in case, this vehicle shown here was for sale, the buyer’s condition was to have this first removed!

The problem however is the risk. In an ideal world, these things should be stripped out, but would be massively expensive and time-consuming for the client. These are all electronics by nature and the way to clean them is with a cleaner, (which is wet) and of course rubbing them clean.

Most of the time, we clean them in place. Removing knobs etc where possible as well as taping off as much as we can before very carefully cleaning them. The danger is moisture finding its way into a switch or busting a control system!

Additionally, most of these controls have symbols on them. These can come off through cleaning as the previous “rubber-like” coating protected them. These are typically laser etched, so having them redone in South Africa is next to impossible.

We have had great success in cleaning them up as the photographs that follow demonstrates.

This was a 2012 Jaguar XF Diesel. The total time for cleaning the various buttons, dials, knobs, and controls was approximately 2 hours. Our detail cleaning rate, currently ( May 2021) is R350 per hour which included the materials for this specific job.

If you need your car done please don’t hesitate to call Qiyaam (Keyyaam) on 071 686 8055 or complete our contact form on our contacts page


Steering Wheel

Before

After


Steering Wheel Controls – Buttons & Dials

Before

After


Jaguar Gear Dial Shift / Gear Selector

Before

After


Climate Control / Air conditioning buttons and knobs

Before

After


Window Buttons

Before

After

What is a Hybrid Ceramic Wax and Sealant?

Hybrid Ceramic Waxes and Ceramic Sealants are a new fashion trend in car care.

But it is not the same as proper Ceramic Coating.

So what is it then?

As paintwork developed from the earliest cars so has maintenance and protectant products evolved.

The first protectant was car wax. At first, they were naturally based using carnauba and blends of other naturally derived waxes.

As technology developed, particularly polymers, think ‘plastic’, so did paint protection and the birth of Paint Sealants occurred. Paint Sealants were superior to Wax in that it lasted longer. Sealants are able to resist heat, UV rays, environmental contaminants, and detergents much better than wax. The main reason is that wax sits on the paint’s surface, it does not create a chemical bond to paint like sealants. In fact, wax could evaporate on a very hot day and in some cases sweat which then holds dirt to the surface!

From the early 2000’s Ceramic Coatings started to be developed. There is a variety of Ceramic technologies, for example; SIO2 or Silicon Dioxide, TIO2 or Titanium Dioxide, SiC or Silicon Carbide, and in some instances even a mix of them. The most common one is SIO2. The defining characteristic of coatings is that their molecular bond to paint is far superior to normal sealants giving their longevity. In fact, it is popularly marketed as ‘semi-permanent’ and cannot be washed off by a detergent-like wax or sealant. It’s also thicker, improves scratch resistance, and in all factors superior

The biggest problem to date has been that Ceramic coating is rigorous to be applied.

That brings us to Hybrid Ceramic Wax or Sealants. Simply, these are both a hybrid formula of either a low dilution of SIO2 in a water base formula or blended with polymer sealants or even natural carnauba wax.

By including ceramics in their formulas, it makes these products easier to apply, repel water better than normal waxes and sealants and of course cheaper and faster to apply than full-blown Ceramic Coating.

So while a Hybrid Ceramic Sealant or wax is not the same as a Ceramic Coating it will protect your paint.

Read more about Ceramic Coatings here.

How to Keep Your Car Safe From the Corona virus COVID-19

How to keep your car clean and safe from Corona Virus COVID-19 – Picture credit: United Nations

The Corona Virus COVID-19 pandemic has reached humanity all over world. In our homes, workplaces and our cars!

As we have kitchen or bathroom hygiene, so we should have Car Hygiene!

Here are some tips to help keep your car clean and control the Corona Virus COVID-19 spreading in you car.

Read more

Car washing options in a water shortage

Hi All. I hope this message finds you well! In light of the water shortage crisis we are experiencing, I thought to remind clients that we offer “normal car wash” (that is using high pressure rinsing before and after washing) as well as “waterless” options. If you are concerned about scratches and swirls, we now offer …

Read more

Suzuki Hayabusa Detail

To even out posts of detailed motorcycles that we have done (see previous post of Honda Goldwing) here is a legend of a sportsbike, the well acclaimed Suzuki HAYABUSA! Suzuki Hayabusa Detail Image 1 of 7 Intricate details   the fastest standard production bike of the 20th century (Ref: Wikipedia)

Paint Correction and CARPRO Ceramic Coating on JCW Mini Paceman in Lansdowne, Cape Town – June 2016

JCW Mini Cooper polished, detailed and ceramic coated

JCW Mini Paceman paint correction, detailing and ceramic coating done in 2016

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