There’s nothing better than getting a new car and giving it a thorough clean, it’s the best way to get to know your new acquisition – for better or worse. No matter how thorough your pre-purchase inspection, cleaning is the best way to really get up close and personal to the paint finish.

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Ryan Stewart picked up this rather special Alpina B10 a while ago but only recently got around to that first deep clean. Now, you may be thinking ‘what the hell is an Alpina B10’, and you’re probably not alone. Alpina is a family owned German small volume car manufacturer, not a tuning company as it might first appear. Their models stand alone from BMW in their own right despite being based on BMW production models. This Alpina B10 uses a 280bhp straight six engine, bored to 3.3 litres mated to a unique switchtronic gearbox. But enough of the spec list – let’s get down to the cleaning.

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First off Ryan used Meguiar’s All Purpose Cleaner to get years of grime out of the hard to reach areas, after being sat for some time the rain gutters and petrol filler area were caked in dirt. Likewise the underneath of the bonnet and latch area looked like it had never been cleaned. After an application of All Purpose Cleaner and a brush it fell away with running water.

 

Then it was on to the wheels. For this Ryan used the latest Meguiar’s Mirror Bright Wheel Cleaner. As the cleaner gets to work it changes colour as it removes deposits safely from the alloy wheel surface. It works on all types of alloy wheel including polished alloy. Alpina wheels are peculiar in that the valves are hidden behind the centre caps, to keep things clean behind the scenes he removed the centre caps and cleaned there too. The final detail for the exterior came in the form of the exhaust tip polish with Meguiar’s NXT Metal Polysh.

 

For the exterior Ryan used Meguiar’s Mirror Bright Automobile Shampoo to clean and protect the paintwork. The high carnauba content gives a real pop to paintwork while lifting road grime with ease. For a finishing touch and to aid with drying the super versatile Meguiar’s Mirror Bright Detailing Spray gives an additional wax boost but can also be used to clean interior trim and plastics too.

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Inside, to remove the smell of a previous life on the road Meguiar’s Air Re-fresher was circulated through the A/C system and the leather surfaces treated to Meguiar’s Mirror Bright Leather Lotion. This leather cleaner and conditioner removes dirt and grime from the surface while leaving a moisturised, matt finish that is soft to the touch.

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