*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[EdGey]

Just picked up a new car in white-silver. It wen't from showroom-clean to what looks like a months worth of dirt in one long motorway trip yesterday. I've had white cars before but never seen it this bad... its like a magnet. The door handles have literally gathered layer upon layer. Fun times! Roll on the summer.

 

[Dis86]

Just picked up a new car in white-silver. It wen't from showroom-clean to what looks like a months worth of dirt in one long motorway trip yesterday. I've had white cars before but never seen it this bad... its like a magnet. The door handles have literally gathered layer upon layer. Fun times! Roll on the summer.

Why? So it can be covered in dust and pollen instead?

 

[ShiWarrior]

I don't have a pressure washer yet, but I have an IK Foam Sprayer that I'll go over the car with first (BH Autofoam) and then hose off after a bit of a dwell before doing a contact wash. The foam probably doesn't do much (if anything) without a pressure wash afterwards, but it makes me feel better, especially in winter. I also clean the car every week and I think just that in itself makes my neighbours look at me weirdly.

The guy next door has a four year old Vauxhall Corsa that I've seen clean a grand total of once since he moved in and I guess that is because he took it to Vauxhall to be serviced and it had a complimentary clean by them, so that is his stance on car cleaning. It is sat there now two thirds caked in dirt, it is meant to be black, but from the bottom of the windows down it is solid brown. Parked not too far away is my 16 year old BMW approaching 200k miles which looks spotless (and new) in comparison. People have other priorities which is fine, but cleaning the car once a year and spending probably 8-10 months of that (especially in winter) getting your hands and clothes dirty every time you get in and out of the car is another level to me.

Just wait until I'm off work next week and I give mine a clay/decon, polish and wax. That'll probably blow their minds

ah, ive just been thinking about a foam sprayer (non-pressure washer)

I see you use one, does anyone else here use one ?

will it do the whole car with autofoam ? (one bottle) if so, how do you work out your PIR using one of these / what ratio do you use ?


thanks

 

[Muska]

I used Tac Systems Shinee Wax on the Wife's white A class today.

Rubbish name but it's given a great gloss boost, very pleased and it spreads well. We used it as a drying aid after using a DI vessel to remove as much water as possible.

 

[Ewaf]

Used to be quite into my car cleaning several years ago but have since been lazy and just done basic stuff. Looking to get back into using some decent stuff, what's a good but not massively time consuming routine? I don't currently have a pressure washer.

I used to use bilt hamber when I needed to clay, autoglym shampoo and polish, sonax brilliant shine, collinite 476s (not all of these at once but the products were highly recommended 7 years or so ago).

Thanks!

 

[bm_999]

people what snow foam lance and snow foam are you using? and is it worth to decontaminate first with some spray or just jet wash **** off, snow foam, wash then bucket and soap etc..

 

[grudas]

people what snow foam lance and snow foam are you using? and is it worth to decontaminate first with some spray or just jet wash **** off, snow foam, wash then bucket and soap etc..

Sam's detailing snow foam Lance is quality! Recently got it and it's perfect. Much better than the old standard type one I had.

 

[Cookeh]

I used to use bilt hamber when I needed to clay, autoglym shampoo and polish, sonax brilliant shine, collinite 476s (not all of these at once but the products were highly recommended 7 years or so ago).

Sonax BSD is still an excellent product, an Autoglyms SRP remains a great filler polish to date.

No pressure washer is fine, but means you'll need a good prewash stage. I'd be investing in a pump sprayer and Bilt Hamber AutoFoam. To save postage you can also buy their AutoWash shampoo, which is very economical and has great cleaning ability. Bilt Hamber AutoWheel is also arguably the best reactive wheel cleaner (i.e. also contains a fallout remover) on the market too.

You can stick with BSD as a quick detailer because you're already familiar with it. Collinite is still a great wax, but most of the game has moved to spray on ceramic coatings, like TurtleWax Sealant Hydrophobic Wax; which is also only around £5 a bottle on sale from EuroCarParts. Grab a bottle next time you go there for Sonax BSD.

Other than that, if you don't have them anymore you'll need 3 buckets, some boars hair brushes for wheels/crevices on body, a washmitt (good old fashioned microfiber chenille ones are the safest, and cheapest!), a drying towel, and some general purpose microfiber clothes for applying that BSD or for cleaning door shuts etc.

 

[Muska]

I'd never heard of using dry ice before but the results in this video are really impressive!
It looks to be similar to media blasting but quite safe and very effective.

 

[Havana_UK]

@Muska mesmerising!

 

[shadow_boxer]

Regarding the wheels, mine sound similar to your in that in a couple of places the clear coat is broken and they're no longer looking their best/will start to get worse.

Personally, I'll have the face diamond cut again to retain the OEM look. There was a thread recently on Pistonheads of another C63 owner who had bought a car with the wheels powder coated and they just didn't look right to my eye. I think if you're going to go that route, it's important to accept that in a couple of years of regular year round use that they'll need some form of refurbishment again, although you can mitigate it slightly with a ceramic coating, regular cleaning of the barrels and not using very strong acid/alkali wheel cleaners. I wont just be using a local place though, I used a highly rated place in Birmingham for the R32 and Lepsons have recently opened a branch in Wolverhampton so I'll likely use them next time.

Love the wagon! Great (the best) colour too!

Thanks for that. Totally agree there about the wheels. Mine were spotless when I bought it a couple of years ago, which then had a Gyeon ceramic coating put on about 18 months. In that time the corrosion has set in and just accelerated especially the last 6 months. I understand that if I do get them diamond cut again they'll need doing again in a couple years at most especially being a daily. I tempted just to get them powder coated to be honest. Although the two tone OEM would be nice I just can't be bothered to get them done that regularly and may look to move it on in a year or so. Thanks for the tip about Lepsons/Wolverhampton, will check them out. Not a milion miles from me in Stoke. My local place is Top Marques in Stoke, never used them but recommended them by a few people.

 

[Ewaf]

Sonax BSD is still an excellent product, an Autoglyms SRP remains a great filler polish to date.

No pressure washer is fine, but means you'll need a good prewash stage. I'd be investing in a pump sprayer and Bilt Hamber AutoFoam. To save postage you can also buy their AutoWash shampoo, which is very economical and has great cleaning ability. Bilt Hamber AutoWheel is also arguably the best reactive wheel cleaner (i.e. also contains a fallout remover) on the market too.

You can stick with BSD as a quick detailer because you're already familiar with it. Collinite is still a great wax, but most of the game has moved to spray on ceramic coatings, like TurtleWax Sealant Hydrophobic Wax; which is also only around £5 a bottle on sale from EuroCarParts. Grab a bottle next time you go there for Sonax BSD.

Other than that, if you don't have them anymore you'll need 3 buckets, some boars hair brushes for wheels/crevices on body, a washmitt (good old fashioned microfiber chenille ones are the safest, and cheapest!), a drying towel, and some general purpose microfiber clothes for applying that BSD or for cleaning door shuts etc.

Just what I was after, thank you! So would you say the routine would look like BH AutoFoam > Autowash shampoo/autowheel > Turtlewax Sealant Hydrophobic Wax and finally Sonax BSD? Or is the Turtlewax in place of Sonax? Cheers!

 

[ShiWarrior]

looking for a compact hand foam sprayer to do the whole car

what do you think to a marolex axel 3000 Foamer ?


https://www.amazon.co.uk/marolex-ax...92963&pd_rd_wg=ZcP2v&pd_rd_i=B07RKWQ3R1&psc=1

3L


they've also got this version :
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAROLEX-30...ild=1&keywords=MAROLEX&qid=1615226323&sr=8-33

 

[Cookeh]

Just what I was after, thank you! So would you say the routine would look like BH AutoFoam > Autowash shampoo/autowheel > Turtlewax Sealant Hydrophobic Wax and finally Sonax BSD? Or is the Turtlewax in place of Sonax? Cheers!

I personally always clean wheels first, but there's nothing fundamentally wrong with your approach.
I'd apply Turtlewax by itself, then you can use BSD to extend the life of the Turtlewax (i.e. once you see performance drop off or after a few washes). You can skip BSD entirely if you like, or drop Turtlewax and just use BSD with every wash if you find you aren't personally getting along with Turtlewax.

 

[bainbridge]

Hi all, bucket/sponge/hosepipe car washer here. I'm about to buy a Nilfisk c130 and just wondered if the enclosed detergent dispenser can be used for this new fangled snow foaming or do I need to buy another attachment? Thanks.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/941...OjNcdGrKfiAB553lJGoaAokQEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[[TW]Fox]

I'm still unsure I see the value of using a pressure washer and snow-foam over the more traditional method. What is it that is making you want to change from the conventional hose rinse then washmit method?

 

[Havana_UK]

Hi all, bucket/sponge/hosepipe car washer here. I'm about to buy a Nilfisk c130 and just wondered if the enclosed detergent dispenser can be used for this new fangled snow foaming or do I need to buy another attachment? Thanks.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9419829?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=iatwaxpwi&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157|acid:804-872-0397|cid:9606242554|agid:98186039439|tid:aud-641224040577la-1157340129002|crid:424799278293|nw:g|rnd:12284440526215808526|dvc:m|adp:|mt:|loc:1006567&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9606242554&utm_term=9419829&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=98186039439&utm_custom2=804-872-0397&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-aGCBhCwARIsAHDl5x_nJPCxL_9kUXlUkzvLiCU_jnswTIUxhC7NOjNcdGrKfiAB553lJGoaAokQEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

The short answer is no, it is not a substitute for a "proper" snowfoam lance.

As for Fox's comment the advantage of a snow foam pre-wash is that it substantially softens and removes surface dirt and debris in a "safe" and touchless manner which you could otherwise drag across the paintwork during a contact wash, thus potentially inflicting damage on your paint/clearcoat. My personal view is that if you have the means to apply it you may as well since it eases the washing process and helps protect your expensive asset.

 

[dazz25]

Hi all, bucket/sponge/hosepipe car washer here. I'm about to buy a Nilfisk c130 and just wondered if the enclosed detergent dispenser can be used for this new fangled snow foaming or do I need to buy another attachment? Thanks.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9419829?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=iatwaxpwi&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157|acid:804-872-0397|cid:9606242554|agid:98186039439|tid:aud-641224040577la-1157340129002|crid:424799278293|nw:g|rnd:12284440526215808526|dvc:m|adp:|mt:|loc:1006567&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9606242554&utm_term=9419829&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=98186039439&utm_custom2=804-872-0397&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-aGCBhCwARIsAHDl5x_nJPCxL_9kUXlUkzvLiCU_jnswTIUxhC7NOjNcdGrKfiAB553lJGoaAokQEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

No they're rubbish. Get a proper lance if you want decent foam.

 

[Scottland]

I think snow foaming does do something, but I also think that a pre wash spray from a large plant sprayer (~£5) will do mostly the same thing. At the end of the day the aim is to remove as much dirt before you touch the car. Snow foaming or a pre-wash spray will both help soften dirt or grease to allow the pressure washer to blast it off.

Snow foam just looks cooler...

 

[Kenai]

I'm still unsure I see the value of using a pressure washer and snow-foam over the more traditional method. What is it that is making you want to change from the conventional hose rinse then washmit method?

With a decent enough seal and a decent foam like that from Bilt Hamber, you can do 'maintenance' style washes without even needing to get the wash mitt out.