*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[Hilly]

got my car detailed and ceramic coated

 

[Simon]

He only cleaned the wheel rim, how come he didn't do the whole wheel ?

 

[dlockers]

He only cleaned the wheel rim, how come he didn't do the whole wheel ?

Ban

 

[GinG]

Can it even be considered clean if you haven't spent hundreds on gear?

Looks cracking though.

I know for £7 how can it be so clean?! Haha

 

[ShiWarrior]

nice result Hilly, how long did it take you and what products did you use ?


QUESTION for the people who wash/clean/detail their own cars who live in a block of flats or apartments or what ever

how do you clean your vehicle?

ive seen 2 different methods, one with no water completely the other with a bucket of water only (using a battery powered pressure washer (which I have))

 

[Irish_Tom]

QUESTION for the people who wash/clean/detail their own cars who live in a block of flats or apartments or what ever

how do you clean your vehicle?

ive seen 2 different methods, one with no water completely the other with a bucket of water only (using a battery powered pressure washer (which I have))

When I lived in a flat my process was:

Drive to the local garage and use the Jet Wash (to replace the pre-wash/snowfoam stage I now do at home with a pressure washer).

Drive back home and then proceed with the two-bucket method, carrying both buckets up/down the stairs. Luckily I didn’t live too high up!

I tried a few techniques to replicate the pre-wash without a pressure washer at home and was never fully satisfied with the results.

I know garage Jet Washes can be a bit hit and miss because you never know what chemicals they’re using or the concentrations. I would also never touch the car with a garage brush but this seemed like the least-worst option.

 

[Mr_Cool]

Good product for cleaning seats?
Notice some presumably food/drink marks on my passenger seat.

Or is just worth me paying someone to fully valet and shampoo the interior for me.

Seeing as the weather looks to remain decent

 

[ShiWarrior]

Good product for cleaning seats?
Notice some presumably food/drink marks on my passenger seat.

Or is just worth me paying someone to fully valet and shampoo the interior for me.

Seeing as the weather looks to remain decent

 

[dlockers]

Good product for cleaning seats?
Notice some presumably food/drink marks on my passenger seat.

Or is just worth me paying someone to fully valet and shampoo the interior for me.

Seeing as the weather looks to remain decent

I bought a soft seat brush from Amazon and used some foaming cleaner. Worked great. The brush is the key bit I'd say.

Edit: this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00J7XSOLS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Decided to do the inside today, outside tomorrow.

Hoovered.
AG interior shampoo followed by some leather care I had laying around and AG vinyl and rubber care on the rest. I can see why people speak so highly of the vinyl and rubber care, it leaves a like new finish. AG fast glass on the glass.

Outside tomorrow. Should be easy with the ceramic coating, although I still have the bonnet and front bumper to do properly. Will be a case of polar bast, wash and seal once the sun is off it.

Also picking up some AG bumper and trim gel since the rear diffuser has gone grey, nothing else works on it and my wife’s mini also has loads of black bumper that would be good to protect too.

 

[dlockers]

Really impressed by the bumper and trim gel, have been for a long time. Fast glass always seems like an expensive glass cleaner to me - is it any different really to Mr sheen or whatever the green home glass cleaner is?

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Really impressed by the bumper and trim gel, have been for a long time. Fast glass always seems like an expensive glass cleaner to me - is it any different really to Mr sheen or whatever the green home glass cleaner is?

Have never tried bumper and trim gel, but I hear great things and my rear diffuser desperately needs it. I feel the same about fast glass, it just seems exactly the same as a good glass cleaner - it completes my set though

 

[Housey]

Gave it a full 3 hour clean last night. So much ppf on the car I am concerned I can’t polish it or treat it so considering that. Not impressed with the Swissvax wash, hardly any foam, smells nice but not convinced.

Spent time doing the wheels and tyres and front of the car, sitting down on my cushion with my washmit which was strangely relaxing.


Got a bit foamy in the engine bay mind

 

[dlockers]

In before "why didn't you wash all the wheel?"

Looks good. I didn't realise it was matt. Can't "polish" up well regardless?

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Wouldn’t know what to do with a matt finish.

 

[Housey]

More about treating with wax than getting a shine. I’ve never ppf’d any of my cars as I just got them painted but this came with a ppf covering the front and most of the high risk areas.

 

[Cookeh]

I'll never understand peoples obsession with foam. Less bubbles means more surfactant surface area means more dirt broken down at the interface if the system and your water, hence more encapsulated to be removed. For some reason I've yet to fathom, possibly marketing, people feel the need to see suds to believe its actually getting cleaned. This applies to everything surfactant based, shampoo, soap, dishwashing liquid, snowfoam, whatever. In reality the suds are most likely made by the addition of tensio-active chemicals that don't aid the cleaning process at all.

 

[Housey]

Foamy satisfaction, the money shot of car washing init

 

[CaptainRAVE]

It looks cool

To be fair if you use polar wash more foam is actually better.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

For all the products I try, I still go back to a clay, SRP, HD wax combo. Super easy to do too.