Car cleaning

[oldcars]

Ok, i know it might not be everyone thing but i do like a clean car, and thought i would post up a list of my favourate products i use.

Most is from Halfords as i get shopping vouchers at work and the rest is Autosmart, as its such great value.

 

I always wash the car with the two bucket wash method, one with shampoo mix and another with plain water, which you can use to rinse the washmit before going back to the shampoo mix.

 

Car shampoo i like to use is Autosmart Deut, very good value for 5L and even with three cars last me about 2 years. Autosmart G101 is used at various strengths as a wheel cleaner, interior cleaner, it has many uses. 

 

Before polishing i use the Autosmart clay cloth with a shampoo mixture to remove all tree sap etc. Tar is removed before with Autoglym tar remover.

 

For polish i like Autoglym Super resin polish, it has a very very mild cut but fills small marks and suits me well. Wax i like Collinite 467s for winter and Autosmart topaz for summer. Topaz is great stuff, it can go on plastics too if required.

 

Plastics are dressed with Autoglym bumper care, and tyre and wheel arches dressed with Autoglym rubber and vinyl care.

 

This may seem a lot of work but the car is polished once a year and wax topped up when needed, normally every 6 months or so.

 

So there you go, i'm sad and like to clean my car 

[danthecapriman]

I like a clean car but I'm no fan of doing the cleaning!

I recently did my Mercury and it was like trying to wash and polish an aircraft carrier! Hard work and all done by hand aswell, my arms were killing me for days afterwards!

 

I used One Grand shampoo to wash off, then went over the whole car with T cut original to buff up and clean off all the staining and ingrained dirt. Once that was buffed up to a shine I used the One Grand Blitz Wax, carnauba wax. I really went to town with this and forced it into all the panel seams, joints, everywhere to really protect the paint. It's like rubbing lard onto the car and took ages to buff off and shine up but it really looks good.

Chrome, again done with One Grand chrome polish. The vinyl roof I will do with Renovo vinyl soft top cleaner and then conditioner.

I might try the same stuff on my Transit next, I'm not looking forward to it though!

[Tetleysmooth]

I've just bought a bottle of T-Cut polish.

It's a mix of T-Cut and Simoniz polish.

Used it once so far, and the result was excellent, silky smooth finish and not much dust.

Got it for £3.85 from Tesco.

[beko1987]

Ill get on the laptop in a bit and post my method. Sounds a bit hypocritical as all ive ever done to the zx is a really good 2 bucket wash. The merivas clinging onto wax though, needs a good clay and polish up soon though

[oldcars]

I've just bought a bottle of T-Cut polish.

It's a mix of T-Cut and Simoniz polish.

Used it once so far, and the result was excellent, silky smooth finish and not much dust.

Got it for £3.85 from Tesco.

I saw there was a lot of Simoniz stuff on offer in tesco.

[Vince70]

For my cars I just use a whatever car shampoo is on special offer then give the car a coat of Autoglym Super resin polish and the car always comes up looking new..

 

I also like using Poorboys natties blue it's fantastic on dark vehicles but seeing that I've got to polish a couple of red ones from time to time I'm sticking with the Autoglym now as it works good on both dark and light cars..

 

I wonder though if the Autoglym resin polish gives the car paintwork a good enough coat of protection or should I put a more heavy duty Carnuba Wax on the car as living by the seaside the cars are constantly dive bombed by seagulls but the rain seems to run off the cars ok and it beads up nice so I guess it works ok plus the cars do get a top up of polish every couple of months.

 

Also I buy my sponges from the local pound shop in packs of 3 as that way once I've finished my car cleaning duties I don't mind just throwing them away to protect the cars from getting scratched by using a dirty sponge too often.

[oldcars]

For my cars I just use a whatever car shampoo is on special offer then give the car a coat of Autoglym Super resin polish and the car always comes up looking new..

 

I also like using Poorboys natties blue it's fantastic on dark vehicles but seeing that I've got to polish a couple of red ones from time to time I'm sticking with the Autoglym now as it works good on both dark and light cars..

 

I wonder though if the Autoglym resin polish gives the car paintwork a good enough coat of protection or should I put a more heavy duty Carnuba Wax on the car as living by the seaside the cars are constantly dive bombed by seagulls but the rain seems to run off the cars ok and it beads up nice so I guess it works ok plus the cars do get a top up of polish every couple of months.

 

Also I buy my sponges from the local pound shop in packs of 3 as that way once I've finished my car cleaning duties I don't mind just throwing them away to protect the cars from getting scratched by using a dirty sponge too often.

The Autoglym will leave a little protection behind, i would use your natties wax once you have polished will save you polishing every few months.

[DVee8]

Washing up liquard the sponge from the sink a bucket and the hose pipe.

[oldcars]

Washing up liquard the sponge from the sink a bucket and the hose pipe.

the horror   

[DVee8]

Only  joking

I use chemical guys extreme body wash and wax or citrus wash and gloss hyper concentrated.

Valet pro billburry wheel cleaner,then rimwax(snigger)

then dodo juice need for speed or lime prime.

 

All from here http://www.juicydetailing.co.ukwhich is close to were i live.

[oldcars]

Only  joking

I use chemical guys extreme body wash and wax or citrus washand gloss hyper concentrated.

Valet pro billburry wheel cleaner,then rimwax(snigger)

then dodo juice need for speed or lime prime.

 

All from here http://www.juicydetailing.co.ukwhich is close to were i live.

That's handy having a place near to get bits. Looks like you have some good kit for the car.

[I_am_Diesel]

For washing I use Bilt Hamber Autowash. Expensive but impressive. I use a wash mitt and dry with a squeegee and microfibre cloths.

 

For polishing it's AutoKit PTFE based polish. It gives a lovely deep shine.

 

For black plastic trim and bumpers it's back to black stuff from the pound shop.

 

Dashboard is done with Armourall gloss dashboard wipes. The glass is cleaned with Armourall glass wipes.

 

I wash and polish my cars a lot whether they need it or not.

[TRW]

Astonish car range is ok for the cheap price, plus its got the MEGA bonus of not being tested on animals (a major plus in my book).

 

I wash the cars about once a month, including a good clean and vacuum of all surfaces inside. A coat of wax once in a while with the odd polish once a year and the job is done.

[fordperv]

At the minute I'm using simoniz carnauba wash and wax, giving it a polish with Farecla wax top, that stuff makes black cars glow, it's also fantastic on other colours as well

[pompei]

I use the local people traffiking Eastern European car wash.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Just realised that my daily work car,which is black, has not been polished since I bought it in October.

In my defence ,the local Romanian place wash it by hand every other day and do a lovely job of drying it to a streak free finish.

Although in direct sunlight it looks hazy and a bit smeary, plus it's covered in tiny marks that a couple of thousand miles a week will inflict, maybe I should borrow my brothers machine polisher and attempt not to take too much paint off.

[tommotech]

I also like a nice clean car and plastic trim that doesn't look trashed. Trims on the 205 were awful and I had tried all sorts of products over the years to bring plastics up but without success.

I was told by a giffer to use peanut butter, as the plastic pulls in the natural oils and restores its look. I didn't know if he was taking the piss but I decided to try it anyway. The results are outstanding, I treated the side trims, bumpers and tailgate trim on the 205 and I was amazed.

The photo shows one treated trim and one knackered trim, 

 

Just don't blame me when local dogs start licking your car!

[Justin Case]

A mixture of Autoglym and Meguiars products, but two useful tips are supermarket el cheapo baby wipes for dashboard tops, etc and Gold Label hide feed (from Walsall Leather Museum and no doubt any horsey place) for the upholstery

[DVee8]

My old man was of the persuasion that when it rains it washes the car.

[Justin Case]

A mixture of Autoglym and Meguiars products, but two useful tips are supermarket el cheapo baby wipes for dashboard tops, etc and Gold Label hide feed (from Walsall Leather Museum and no doubt any horsey place) for the upholstery

[FakeConcern]

I find a Brillo pad removes most imperfections.

[gordonbennet]

I use a pressure washer with TFR (with wax) applicator nozzle, apply mild solution, agitate with very soft bristled brush, rinse off, job done...about 15 minutes does all three cars now i've replaced the previous cheapo toy pressure washer with something decent.

 

Probably once a year the Merc gets waxed.

[barefoot]

I've said it before and I'll say it again,

I didn't join a forum called shite and buy a car from it to have to wash the fucker.

[UmBongo]

I agree with the two bucket method - sponges and wash mitt only.

 

I only ever jetwash the arches and never the car itself.

 

I was told by a bodyshop guy that before claying and spraying a car it should be de-ironed. This was something I'd not heard before.

 

Anyway, after de-ironing and claying it, I apply Simoniz polish and the same of wax.

 

The de-ironing produces an interesting purple liquid when it reacts with the contanimants on the body. This is wiped off and sluiced with cold water.

 

I also use a foaming agent from B&M on the tyre walls which does a really good job of removing road dirt.

 

Meguiars do a good liquid for the interior trim which smells like Hai Karate!

 

Re. the peanut butter on exterior trim, does the trim revert back to mottled grey eventually?

[D Spares & Tyres]

I have never washed my Shogun in the year of so since I`ve had it.

 

I do however keep my classics clean using just Autoglym products as they are cheap and easy to use

 

I use Neatsfoot ( horsey product ) on badly cracked leather. I had a pair of seats in the spare room that I was treating regularly,  they can need several coats of it. Went back in the room to find my cat licking it off a seat! Its an animal based product and this was months ago so I`m sure he`s fine

[Jezzerh]

I like Meguiars NXT shampoo, applied with a Meguiars lambswool mitt. I use Valet Pro foam first while I do the wheels with Auto Glym Clean Wheels and the Megs shampoo.

 

I chuck Demon Shine on after rinsing and leather off the remaining water with a synthetic Auto Glym chamois.

 

I use black Colour Magic polish and Megs Gold Class Wax afterwards, or sometimes Auto Glym Rapid Detailer to finish off. Auto Glym Instant Tyre Dressing goes on the black bits.

 

Inside I use Megs Kwik Detailer and Sheraton Wipes on the seats.

 

I daren't add up how much I've spent on cleaning gear.

[purplebargeken]

I use the local Kosovan Kar Wash for getting the shite off. They are ok.

 

For proper stuff I use Demosh Shine Snow Foam which does a good job.

 

I use clay either Bilt Hamber or Mequires, both good but the BH can be used with water.

 

Polish I use Autoglym Super Resin

 

However, I have recently converted to Dodo Juice stuff which is IMHO pretty bloody good and lasts ages. The hard wax gives great results.

[Bren]

Stardrops + mr sheene = win.

[Lord Sterling]

It's been a long while since I took the time and products to clean my cars. "Living" in the area I do it is no longer a pleasure to wash/clean my car out on the street like I used to. These days I take my cars to the local £3 car wash place, it'll get a hoover out if I have 5 minutes and a £1 spare and slap on some tyre shine. Shame really.

 

What I used to do was get the car washed at the IMO car wash place, then polish them with Mer car polish. If a T-cut was needed, Turtle Wax original T-cut was the product of choice. To finish off I'd slap on some tyre shine, but sometimes in order to re-black the tyres, I'd use some black boot polish and polishing brush which makes the tyre sidewalls look clean but without looking too "dealership shiney".

 

I've never had much luck with leather cleaners, they just seem to be harsh smelling products that don't do very much. Luckily, the leathers in the Merc are still fairly nice so some leather feed was all that was needed. The Micra's cloth interior once got some W5 all-purpose cleaner which was some sort of blue coloured waxy gel-like stuff that came in a circular tub, it was great at shifting years worth of ingrained muck out of the cloth faces and bringing back the original colour, also used on interior plastics doing a great job of removing ingrained dirt. Sadly it seems W5 have long stopped producing the all-purpose gel cleaner and the Micra desperately needs it's seats cleaning again. Working in a factory doesn't help.

 

When I used to work at the IMO car wash I often used many weird and wonderful products that were fairly long lasting aswell, such as the gel window polisher which is has same consistancy T-cut type stuff but for windows, the black trim feeders, dashboard spray etc...

[burraston2006]

I use the can't be bothered method. It goes like this:

 

Look out of the window and see the shite on the car

Think that it needs a really good clean

Think bollocks to that and sit down with a tinny!

 

 

When I used to care about the car I would use Autglym super resin or their deep gloss shine. They worked pretty well. I also thought Mer was quite good. Never got on with demon shine though.