What do you clean your car with?

[mike6688]

7 hours ago, AlexBartlam said:

if you like ADS we get discount on ADS car care at rolling oval found on facebook, based in and around west mids like me mate, not sure on how much but worth it.

Awesome I’ll take a look. Definitely would be worth it. 

[zain611]

Oooo this is a topic I'm interested in. To start ive started cleaning my car by myself now rather than taking it to get cleaned. I've done my research into good products for the car. I use a karcher pressure washer also. 

 

snow foam - bilt hamber auto foam is what I use. For £16-17 you get a 5 litre tub which is a bargain. Haven't really compared it but it says it's safe for waxes and heard it effective compared to other snow foams. 

Shampoo - bilt hamber again (I've forgot the name) but with this you only need a tea spoon of this stuff in a bucket of water for it to make a nice foam and suds. The suds is what you want as it provides lubrication when cleaning the car. 

Wash mitt - gtechniq wm2 - this is a microfiber pad which is designed to help hold in liquid and is soft so no need to worry when cleaning the car with. I was initially thinking of getting a lambs wool but they are too much trouble to keep clean. 

Drying towel - kkd silverback - really good drying towel that it was sold out everywhere when I was looking and luckily found a supply. It's a nice size and it takes in a lot of water. 

Finishing spray - Koch chemie fse - the main thing I like about this is that it removes water spots. When water dries up you see these mineral deposits. This spray has limescale remover so it removes these mineral deposits plus gives the paint a nice wet look. 

Glass cleaner - at the moment I use the finish spray to remove the water spots on the glass then use autoglym glass polish. I've been looking at gtechniq and their glass sealant which is kind of like rain x. 

Wheel cleaner - don't have any products yet to clean the wheels but I may get bilt hamber auto wheels. It's an iron fallout remover which reacts with the dirt turning people. 

I'd say that's it, I have some sealant, clay bars and some other stuff which you'd use when detailing a car. Next thing really I want to is practice using a machine polisher so I can do it on my car. 

[Micro]

Actually joining in on the thread, I use:

Shampoo - used to be Auto XS wash/wax but now Autoglym shampoo

Wax - Meguires quik wax

Wheels - poundland foaming wheel cleaner (yes!) - by 151 products

Tyres - Simoniz tyre black

Glass - neat screenwash in a spray bottle, autoglym glass polish (i get it everywhere), or if stubborn, Normfest Topas aerosol (£3.06 a can, will do 5-6 windscreens/windows worth, but works great).

Yet to try poundland interior detailer spray, upholstery spray, or their spray wax (think theyre all 151 Products).

[zain611]

20 hours ago, Micro said:

Actually joining in on the thread, I use:

Shampoo - used to be Auto XS wash/wax but now Autoglym shampoo

Wax - Meguires quik wax

Wheels - poundland foaming wheel cleaner (yes!) - by 151 products

Tyres - Simoniz tyre black

Glass - neat screenwash in a spray bottle, autoglym glass polish (i get it everywhere), or if stubborn, Normfest Topas aerosol (£3.06 a can, will do 5-6 windscreens/windows worth, but works great).

Yet to try poundland interior detailer spray, upholstery spray, or their spray wax (think theyre all 151 Products).

I forgot about tire dressing. I use Meguiars tire shine gel. You only need a little bit of it. I've had it for I think half a year or a year and I've only used a fifth of it. 

Sealants I have is fusso soft 99. It claims to last a year and has really good beading capabilities. I personally haven't used it yet as I want to do a proper detail before I apply it but YouTube videos do show. 

[zain611]

Here's most of the products I have 

 

[zain611]

And this is how the car comes out with these cleaning products. 

[Phil21185]

Revival!! 

I get on well with VP Valeting Products, mostly Cherry snow foam , Aliens Blood iron remover and Super Slick tyre dressing. Need to put in another order actually...

[pragmatix]

I just use whatever car shampoo I can get, never use wash and wax type products, for waxing I use MER, glass cleaning vinegar, I allways dry the car with a chamois leather

[zain611]

I found this video good for us car cleaners / detailers

 

[Philf1]

On 4/2/2018 at 7:27 AM, pragmatix said:

I just use whatever car shampoo I can get, never use wash and wax type products, for waxing I use MER, glass cleaning vinegar, I allways dry the car with a chamois leather

Noooooo not a chamois please

[pragmatix]

2 hours ago, Philf1 said:

Noooooo not a chamois please

Why not?

[zain611]

3 hours ago, pragmatix said:

Why not?

A chamois doesn't have any fluff / material which can pick up the dirt and prevent it from scraping against the paint. Best to have a microfiber drying towel to soak up the water. I place the drying towel on the panel and blop it to let it take up the water. When you remove it there is little water left but it quickly clears up. 

Here's some pictures of yesterday's clean 😁

[Turvey]

You're supposed to wash your car?  

[TomsFocus]

Chamois cause swirls, even when wet they're not that soft, and easily trap grit as Zain said.  Better off with a clean drying towel.

Due to a severe lack of funds I'll be washing the car with £1.50 Tesco wash and wax next week, then finishing with a spray of £2.50 Simoniz show shine.  Fortunately it's silver so it won't look any different anyway.  

[iantt]

1 hour ago, Turvey said:

You're supposed to wash your car?  

i thought that is what rain does when im parked up. and 2 bucket method?  lucky if i can find one bucket , that ive previous used to mix some cement/ mortar in. 

quite often drop sponge in driveway, quick wash off in bucket and im ready again. 

[zain611]

Lol @iantt if you drop your sponge and use it again it's like you throwing grit on the car and washing over it. You shouldn't use that sponge after dropping it until you clean it (machine wash). Yeah I use the 2 bucket method using the normal B&Q bucket as the wash bucket and for rinse I use chemical guys and also their grit guard. Rain I find makes the car get dirty especially when it's spitting down as for some reason you see dirt marks come up. 

2 hours ago, Turvey said:

You're supposed to wash your car?  

I used to take my previous car to a hand car wash but after 2 years of owning it I noticed the paint had a lot of swirl marks on it. From then I just clean it myself. It messes your back up but looks better. 

 

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Chamois cause swirls, even when wet they're not that soft, and easily trap grit as Zain said.  Better off with a clean drying towel.

Due to a severe lack of funds I'll be washing the car with £1.50 Tesco wash and wax next week, then finishing with a spray of £2.50 Simoniz show shine.  Fortunately it's silver so it won't look any different anyway.  

Silver actually really hides scratches. My dad bought a silver VW eos which he's friend was selling to him for a cheap price. I'm thinking of practicing my machine polishing skills on it but am a little scared. I want to practice before I do my own car. The roof is black so might try there as it's easier to see scratches and swirls on black paint. 

[zain611]

So took some pictures of my cleaning stuff. 

My cleaning buckets and karcher pressure washer. Use the white bucket for rinsing and the orange for washing. Also have the grit guard which actually does its job. 

 

Wash mitts, drying towels, snow foam and wheel brush. The bottom grey drying towel I recommend plus it's out of stock just about everywhere I looked. The waffle weave I use when I apply my finish spray which I'll get onto showing. The bilt hamber snow foam is great and is just £16 for 5 litres which is a bargain. Only use just 10ml each use. 

 

Shampoo I use along with a measuring syringe. You only need just 10ml of this stuff to create thick suds. 

Some autoglym products. I haven't used the sealant and super resin polish so might see of selling them. The glass polish is good however you need to have a clean cloth and make sure there is no haze left. 

 

This is something I can't wait to try. It's a sealant which says lasts 12 months and has really good hydrophobic action. Also says prevents damage from UV rays, bird poo and a few other stuff. 

 

Finally the snow foam Lance and finish spray. The snow foam lance I got from clean your car.com and from my research I heard the ones made in Italy are the best and last longer compared to the cheaper Chinese ones. The Koch chemie fse I highly recommend when using on a hot day. It removes water spots and gives the paint a nice wet glossy look. 

[TomsFocus]

3 hours ago, zain611 said:

Silver actually really hides scratches. My dad bought a silver VW eos which he's friend was selling to him for a cheap price. I'm thinking of practicing my machine polishing skills on it but am a little scared. I want to practice before I do my own car. The roof is black so might try there as it's easier to see scratches and swirls on black paint. 

Silver does hide scratches, dirt and water marks well.  Mine hasn't been washed since January and doesn't look that bad, even after all the snow, salt and muddy back roads.  The black Focus hasn't left the car park since it's last wash and looks awful lol.  But on the flip side, silver never looks good clean either, I spent hours polishing the silver Golf and couldn't see any difference afterwards!  Not like the nice deep pearl blues and reds I'd had before it.

[iantt]

after cleaning my car, it used to stay fairly clean for a couple of weeks, but since changing job i now drive basically back roads to work and its filthy by the time i get home again . either muddy roads or when dry,  dusty roads and when parked up at work dusty from vehicle movements. 

gone from cleaning my car every weekend in and out , looking good all week to not bothering for months. 

[zain611]

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Silver does hide scratches, dirt and water marks well.  Mine hasn't been washed since January and doesn't look that bad, even after all the snow, salt and muddy back roads.  The black Focus hasn't left the car park since it's last wash and looks awful lol.  But on the flip side, silver never looks good clean either, I spent hours polishing the silver Golf and couldn't see any difference afterwards!  Not like the nice deep pearl blues and reds I'd had before it.

Here's the car I might practice machine polishing on. The roof I don't think is metal so might not put too much time on it machine polishing. 

[lukew1985]

I only use products from Autobrite Direct. Local company with some great products. 

Magifoam then purple Velvet for washing. 

Carbanuba and project 64 for seal and gloss. 

Clear View glass polish Crystal Glass cleaner and Repel for the windows. 

 

Always looks good 👍

[Philf1]

Autobrite products are good quality and reasonable prices they often have offers around bank holiday weekends as well 

[lukew1985]

1 hour ago, Philf1 said:

Autobrite products are good quality and reasonable prices they often have offers around bank holiday weekends as well 

Yeah the easter sale was just on, the next big sale will be Christmas 👍

[zain611]

I found bilt hamber to be good. Effective and cheap products. I've got products from this guy's recommendation and can't disagree with. 

 

[TomsFocus]

Results of the Tesco £1.50 wash and wax...not bad lol.  Car was apparently supaguarded a couple of years ago.  Not really a fan of those things but looks like it has worked on this one tbf.