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Kei

Kei

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I'm in the market for some new cleaning products.

I use BH foam and have recently run out of Korrosol (sp?) and my clay bar is old and manky :)

I have some Autoglym Super Resin Polish, Interior Glass Cleaner and Leather Cleaner.

Anyone think of anything else/alternatives?

I'm thinking I'd like to give machine polishing a try so would be keen to get some recommendations. Looking at packages they range from a couple of hundred to several hundred. Slims has a Rupes deluxe kit at near £500 but wasn't sure if that might be a little OTT to begin with?

We have a 03 yellow Mini, 17 black BM and 2x 05 white JDM cars. If that makes any difference to recs.
If Korrosol worked well for you before, you may as well stick with it as there's nothing else really superior just similar. Clay wise, you could try a mitt or cloth as these are reusable. Farecla G3 do a good value mitt. For normal clay bars, BH auto clay is still the best value.

As to machine polishers, the Das6 is the most common choice for first timers. I went in the deep end with a forced rotation makita cordless as I already had a few batteries. Dewalt make some good polishers too, both DA and rotary. Flex and rupes is the common choice at the upper end of the market. Polish is a hard one to choose. I've heard good things about scholl concepts like Mekrel suggested. I have also heard very good things regarding Koch Chemi.(H9, F6, M3) Personally, I went with Rupes polishes and pads as they do trial/starter kits which include 1L of polish, 2 pads, a good buffing cloth and a pad cleaning brush and only cost a smidge more than 1L of the polish. The DA-Fine is generally a good one step system. Either way, you are more likely to spend more on the polish and pads than the tool itself. (Here's a very good value place for rupes stuff)

This is the improvement made using rupes DA-fine on 27 year old saab paint with just one set.






Can anyone tell me what type of connector I have to buy a stubby gun? It’s a Stanley SXPW22p.

Some pics here https://imgur.com/a/zCufrYZ
Looks very similar to the karcher quick release, but without the flats. It's probably likely to be proprietary. These guys sell a replacement hose, so you may be able to ask about an adapter for the outlet to convert it to something more common.
 

mjt

mjt

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The Caterham is covered in bugs and general grime. I don’t have a foam lance, pressure washer or any of that.

Is there a product I could spray on from a bottle or something which I could leave to soak before washing it all off using my mitt?
I’ve been using a sponge on the glass to remove the flies and bugs but that’s obviously not going to happen on the bodywork…

Thanks!
 
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The Bilt Hamber is the best wheel cleaner I've used, let down by the spray bottle. IMO the spray isn't fine enough so it doesn't last long. I'm on the lookout for a better bottle to see if I can make it go further, either that or dilute it down a bit.

You could dilute the Bilt Hamber if you wish. I use it mixed 1:1 with water and it still seems pretty effective, so you may be able to dilute it even further. And yes, as above, get a decent spray bottle for it, helps give more even coverage than the crappy sprayer it comes in :)

I did find this product unbelievably good although seeing how purple my wheels turn using this wasn’t sure if it was overkill for weekly/fortnightly washes as none of the brake dust tends to be imbedded.

I might buy this in 5L form and depending on how heavily soiled the wheels are will try diluting it to make it go a little further, with the spray bottle included I went through it quite quickly I must admit.
 
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You could dilute the Bilt Hamber if you wish. I use it mixed 1:1 with water and it still seems pretty effective, so you may be able to dilute it even further. And yes, as above, get a decent spray bottle for it, helps give more even coverage than the crappy sprayer it comes in :)
Thanks, I'll give it a go. I try to clean my car once a week, every other week in winter, so I'm hoping it'll be fine. :)
 
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First "wash" and tried out Gyeon Can Coat, pretty damn easy to apply ceramic coating. Came out pretty well I think. :) (Used most of the products listed a few posts above, next job is wheels off to use the Gyeon Rim coating)


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Alternatives to RainX? I had a supply from years back which worked well but now that has run out I've tried bottles from 3 different vendors, thinking one might have been fake or faulty, and while it works well in heavy rain in light or misty rain it smears up and leaves a milky white film on the windscreen for a few seconds which is actually dangerous - even after making sure to thoroughly clean the surface of contaminants and put new wiper blades on.
 
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Alternatives to RainX? I had a supply from years back which worked well but now that has run out I've tried bottles from 3 different vendors, thinking one might have been fake or faulty, and while it works well in heavy rain in light or misty rain it smears up and leaves a milky white film on the windscreen for a few seconds which is actually dangerous - even after making sure to thoroughly clean the surface of contaminants and put new wiper blades on.

Gtechniq G1/G5, generally considered a better version of RainX.
 
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Alternatives to RainX? I had a supply from years back which worked well but now that has run out I've tried bottles from 3 different vendors, thinking one might have been fake or faulty, and while it works well in heavy rain in light or misty rain it smears up and leaves a milky white film on the windscreen for a few seconds which is actually dangerous - even after making sure to thoroughly clean the surface of contaminants and put new wiper blades on.

Soft 99 - Ultra Glaco

Worth a look into.
 
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Autobrite appear to have a sale on so what better excuse to pick up a bunch more products…

I need a new drying towel, shampoo and wheel cleaner.

5L Purple Velvet - High Gloss Shampoo (Usually go for a Shampoo with no gloss enhancers etc but going to give this a go)

5L Brite Gel
(Watched a couple of videos seems to work well when agitated and due to the consistency and cling)

The Hustler Twisted Loop Drying Towel
(My Auto Finesse Aqua Deluxe has seen better days as it’s lost some of it’s plushness and isn’t as absorbent as it used to be)

Minus the above is there any product of Autobrite which is a must have? Any hidden gems, only ever used Magifoam from Autobrite.
 
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I've got the D3 Clay Mit in my Amazon basket. Am I right in thinking this is a replacement to a clay bar?

I need to do my winter clean and I'm not sure we'll get much more decent weather.

What would folks recommend as an ultra-durable winter polish/wax? The Ultra Deep Shine I've been using is great for summer but not sure it'll last too well in winter.

I think I'm out of shampoo as well if there is a recomm?
 
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Shampoo it doesn't really matter that much, Autoglym, Meguiar's Gold, they all work well for me. How thorough you are with your washing means more to get the best results.

The Clay Mit does work, but it will likely introduce swirl marks because you can't guarantee washing every little particles out, unlike a clay bar where you can fold it away. Make sure you rinse/wash it thoroughly after every sweep and get the car as clean as you can before using it.

As for wax, save time and try some silicon based stuff like the Meguiar's (blue bottle), you can apply it with a cloth but do throw the cloth away afterwards.
 
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