Recommend some car wash stuff.

[TW]Fox · 5 May 2006 at 18:03

I've run out of 'car wash stuff'.

I have £20 to spend on new 'car wash stuff'

I require... some shampoo. And a sponge thingy. I can't be bothered with a chamois becuase it takes ages and I'm rubbish at using it.

I went to get some Meguiars but there were 54,343 seperate types of car shampoo.

Help. I'm gonna get a new sponge as well \o/

Thanks

Scuzi · 5 May 2006 at 18:08

I use the Meguiars NXT car shampoo and it seems to to a good job especially when coupled with the NXT wax. Those two should fall into your £20 budget.

The car still manages to have a deep shine even when it's filthy wich is quite impressive.

The car hasn't been washed since February and it still has a deep shine. The NXT stuff is a good job.

MuvverRussia · 5 May 2006 at 18:19

apparently vauxhall dealers sell sonus shampoo cheap.

Use a lambswool mitt instead of a sponge too. And why not chammy it down? makes a big difference for me (no water marks, yay).

cymatty · 5 May 2006 at 18:23

I use turtlewax platinum, seems good stuff.

PMKeates · 5 May 2006 at 18:28

[TW]Fox said:
I can't be bothered with a chamois becuase it takes ages and I'm rubbish at using it.

Get a Meguiar's Water Magnet Drying Towel. Should be about £10-£15 and is an excellent, much easier to use, machine washable alternative to a chamois!

NickXX · 5 May 2006 at 18:51

Get some Autoglym car shampoo - think there is only one type

As for sponges, I'm looking for recommendations too.

spaz · 5 May 2006 at 18:57

I bought some autoglym car shampoo and turtlewax bug/tar/etc remover spray and both are pretty good, especially the bug remover, just spray on to the area leave for about 30s and then more or less wipe the bugs off. Very useful in this type of weather and for a white car!

Slime101 · 5 May 2006 at 19:01

Having used quite a lot of Autoglym and Meguires on various cars, of many different colours i would reccomend autoglym over megiured every time.

Meguires is very greasy, and leaves nasy marks and a "funny" finish - whilst the autoglym polish might turn to powder when buffed off which can be a pain with dust deposits the results are a dam site better than meguires.

As for the actual shampoo, any old car shampoo works, all you do is wash off the road grime, the real work comes in polishing and waxing.

spaz · 5 May 2006 at 19:09

Slime101 said:
As for the actual shampoo, any old car shampoo works, all you do is wash off the road grime, the real work comes in polishing and waxing.

That's true, during the winter I used lynx shower gel and worked fine

agw_01 · 5 May 2006 at 19:54

I have some CarPlan TripleWax stuff.

Had it a while but always brings the car up well.

Lithium · 5 May 2006 at 20:01

I've spent a lot of money on different products so follow my advice and save yourself some money!

This is all the stuff i use, my car finish is asbsolutly stunning. In bright sunshine there are no swirl marks its just a deep shine.

1. Meguiars NXT car shampoo. This stuff works wonders for those of us in a hard-water area. It easy on your car and provides plenty of glide! This is the BEST stuff around. The water dripps off a lot better too, so drying is easier.

2. Meguiars WATER MAGNET. Forget chamoise leather and water blades(scratch your car). Coupled with the NXT you get a lot of glide when drying the car so its a breeze. You can dry maybe two cars before having to squeeze this thing out.

2. Meguiars 3 Step Process System - Paint Cleaner, Pure Polish and Carnuba wax. If you follow this process your car finish will be great. You will notice as well your car looking cleaner for longer!

I picked all this stuff up for around £34 online, well worth it.

Lithium · 5 May 2006 at 20:03

Slime101 said:
]As for the actual shampoo, any old car shampoo works, all you do is wash off the road grime, the real work comes in polishing and waxing.

That couldnt be further from the truth..... After using MANY different shampoos i find the Meguiars NXT to be a lot better than the rest by a LONG mile.

After washing with NXT and rinsing my car off, it practically drys itself. It provides lovely glide when drying polishing and waxing later on.

The true test of a cars finish is in bright sunshine. Look at the reflection, i guarantee even when you THINK your car looks really clean its gonna be full of swirl marks. Using a proper Meguiars wash sequence you can remove ALL of these!

agw_01 · 5 May 2006 at 20:06

Lithium said:
...

Do you get the horrible water marks after the water has dried when using Megs NXT?

I'm definitely going to treat my car to a full Megs workout this year.

Lithium · 5 May 2006 at 20:11

No not at all! The best thing about the NXT is how it rinses off. The water just glides off the car!

Get a water magnet too, its the best thing for drying your car ever!

My total car wash stuff cost me around £80. Thats not a lot of money i dont think considering its going to last me at least a year of washing.

A CLAY BAR is also pretty damn amazing. The difference after using a clay bar is simple *GASP*. It makes your paintwork smooth as glass.

Garrett · 5 May 2006 at 20:12

Turtlewax Zipwax Shampoo works fine for me.

thedazman67 · 5 May 2006 at 20:26

I used what Lithium said and i think the results speak for themselves takes a while though worth it.

thedazman

Foghorn Leghorn · 5 May 2006 at 20:49

Lithium said:
A CLAY BAR is also pretty damn amazing. The difference after using a clay bar is simple *GASP*. It makes your paintwork smooth as glass.

I'll vouch for that, used the Meg clay bar for the first time this weekend and the difference was incredible.

Fog

[TW]Fox · 5 May 2006 at 21:03

I used a meg clay bar and it instantly turned into a meg clay ball, did nothing, and has lived in the box for the last year.

Given that I'm blatantly a claybar noob, what went wrong?

PMKeates · 5 May 2006 at 21:03

Did you use it in between washing and waxing?

Foghorn Leghorn · 5 May 2006 at 21:15

[TW]Fox said:
I used a meg clay bar and it instantly turned into a meg clay ball, did nothing, and has lived in the box for the last year.

Given that I'm blatantly a claybar noob, what went wrong?

Not sure.

I just washed and chamied the car, sprayed the spray stuff (cant remember name) on a panel and then rubbed the clay bar over the panel (had warmed it up in my hand first, like you do with plasticine). Was very impressed with how much gunk/tar etc it brought off the panels, especially the front wings and bonnet.

Took me about 2 hours to do the whole car, but made polishing and waxing much easier.

Fog