*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***
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Cheers gave it a go. Did seem to haze but was not very consistent in thickness so I might use it as an opportunity to try a new sealant.
4hrs spent this morning polishing, glazing, sealing and waxing wife's car and it is now chucking it down
4hrs spent this morning polishing, glazing, sealing and waxing wife's car and it is now chucking it down
It's not supposed to be very thick, but it does need a damn good shake before using it though.
I wanted to wash and seal today but it was hammering it down. It's not clear blue sky and supposed to be nice tomorrow! Guess you've got the horrible rain we had earlier!
I wanted to wash and seal today but it was hammering it down. It's not clear blue sky and supposed to be nice tomorrow! Guess you've got the horrible rain we had earlier!
Soldato
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I probably wouldn't use their interior cleaning products as they tend to leave a shine, my car is shine free inside and matte
The exterior stuff though like anti mist glass cleaner, quick detailing spray etc works very nicely. At £1 a bottle it's dirt cheap too. I use the detailing spray when drying after a wash as it stops watermarks and leaves an additional means of thin protection above the wax.
The tyre/trim shine is pants. The wheel cleaner and tar remover are actually ok (tar remover doesn't remove much in the way of tar but works good as a general APC on the exterior).
Spray 'n' Shine is actually pretty good, it leaves my Octavia with a nice shine but as mrk says, you need something underneath (wax ideally) for it to make the best out of the bodywork. Spraying it on thinking it will be a substitute for wax won't work
The shampoo they do is actually quite good too, nice a bubbly and gives a really nice, thick lather.
Thanks for the replies to my question guys, your feedback is appreciated. I've got quite a few coats of Autoglym already on my car and a couple of Turtlewax as well. I picked up the Astonish simply down to the price but wasn't too sure if this was one of those "it's cheap = it's carp" type of things!
Hey, I dont have time to scan through this huge thread sorry 
I am on the lookout for some new cleaning bits
I am going for
Lambswool cleaning mitt
Microfibre Drying Cloth
Car Shampoo I have
However I am not 100% sure on the these, purely because I have never used them,
Clay whats the cheapest but will do a good job? is it reccomended to get a clay bar and just rub it on the bodywork, or do you NEED an applying tool? whats this clay lubricant like?
Wax/Polish - I have always used polish, however is wax a better choice? is it tedious to apply?
I am on the lookout for some new cleaning bits
I am going for
Lambswool cleaning mitt
Microfibre Drying Cloth
Car Shampoo I have
However I am not 100% sure on the these, purely because I have never used them,
Clay whats the cheapest but will do a good job? is it reccomended to get a clay bar and just rub it on the bodywork, or do you NEED an applying tool? whats this clay lubricant like?
Wax/Polish - I have always used polish, however is wax a better choice? is it tedious to apply?
Gave my Mondeo its first clean of 2012, and made it a proper one. Used Dodo Juice wax (this stuff is fantastic and smells divine) and Poorboy's Natural Look Dressing (As above, works superbly on interior trim and smells divine). Used some tyre shine spray too, seems to last a fair while.
Very nice
That dodo juice wax looks amazing, watched a vid of the results with a guy spraying a hose on the car, water just runs off it, is there any point in using normal wax or is this an alternative with same if not better results?
So could I
Rinse > Wash > Dry > Clay > Dodo juice wax my car?
That dodo juice wax looks amazing, watched a vid of the results with a guy spraying a hose on the car, water just runs off it, is there any point in using normal wax or is this an alternative with same if not better results?
So could I
Rinse > Wash > Dry > Clay > Dodo juice wax my car?
You could, yes. I haven't seen any beading on mine yet (don't really wanna hose it down now it's all shiny! ) but it's meant to be very good, and I much prefer the application process of paste waxes.
As for your other questions, you polish *then* wax. And any old clay bar will do, as long as it's clean. I just use detailing spray as a lubricant once the proper clay lubricant that you get in kits etc runs out.
) but it's meant to be very good, and I much prefer the application process of paste waxes.As for your other questions, you polish *then* wax. And any old clay bar will do, as long as it's clean. I just use detailing spray as a lubricant once the proper clay lubricant that you get in kits etc runs out.
I've had my new car for about 5 months, it gets driven every day, and now the leather steering wheel has started to look a little paler where hands have been holding it, like it has dried out a bit. I see several leather cleaning products from numerous manufactorers (Zaino Z-9 Leather Soft Spray Cleaner & Zaino Z-10 Leather In A Bottle, and Autoglym Leather Care Balm & Autoglym Leather Cleaner for example), so can anyone please recommend some leather treatment/cleaner which will get the steering wheel looking nice and new again?
Beading is overrated, it's sheeting that you should be looking for!
As for the leather steering wheel, I've chosen not to apply any creams or chemicals to it, the RoyalSteeringWheels guy who stitched my wheel said only to clean it with a damp cloth regularly, you don't want to use creams because they'll give it a glossy look after a short while as the oils from your hand get trapped in so a quick wipe with a damp MF cloth removes that and keeps it "fresh" for longer.
As for the leather steering wheel, I've chosen not to apply any creams or chemicals to it, the RoyalSteeringWheels guy who stitched my wheel said only to clean it with a damp cloth regularly, you don't want to use creams because they'll give it a glossy look after a short while as the oils from your hand get trapped in so a quick wipe with a damp MF cloth removes that and keeps it "fresh" for longer.
Cheers guys think I’m going to order the Zaino as liking the idea of that great smell
I think I’m going to order a few different products to spruce the inside of the car up, Mrk what other products do you use in your 3 series ?
I used the Meguiars clay kit over the weekend, I went for Meguiars over the Autoglym kit in the end as it came with 2 clay bars.
Very impressed with it to be honest, paintwork is like glass now, very smooth and very shiny, I was also impressed with the wax sample you get in the kit.
The best thing I bought for the car though was Autoglyms wheel cleaner, absolutely fantastic stuff, I did my gf's car before mine (to test it like
) and the results were great, her front alloys were a mess and covered in brake dust, one minute contact time with this stuff and a quick rub round with a wheel brush and they are as good as new!
Very impressed with it to be honest, paintwork is like glass now, very smooth and very shiny, I was also impressed with the wax sample you get in the kit.
The best thing I bought for the car though was Autoglyms wheel cleaner, absolutely fantastic stuff, I did my gf's car before mine (to test it like
) and the results were great, her front alloys were a mess and covered in brake dust, one minute contact time with this stuff and a quick rub round with a wheel brush and they are as good as new!Cheers guys think I’m going to order the Zaino as liking the idea of that great smell
I think I’m going to order a few different products to spruce the inside of the car up, Mrk what other products do you use in your 3 series ?
I only use 3 products on the inside, Zaino Z10 for the leather (seats, armrests and doors) and Poorboys Natural Look Dressing for the top of the dash and centre console sides, basically all the textured trim panels inc the lower door card trims.
The cente console itself and handbrake area trim is smoother textured than the dash top and I found the gels give a slippery finish to that area so on there I use Simoniz Matte spray as it gives those smoother areas a matte non slip finish.
Any ideas on how to solve this?
Folks, bit of advice and opinion please. Brother has just bought a Land Rover Discovery TDV6 at a very good price. The reason it was a good price has a fair bit to do with the previous owner using it to cart about her two dogs in the back which has resulted in the cars interior being rather musty and unpleasant smelling. He's given it a good going over with interior cleaning products, mostly Autoglym stuff and given the carpets and mats a shampoo and whilst it is better than it was, the smell is still there.
Any recommendations?. He says there are aerosol "bombs" you can get which fill the inside of the car up with an odour neutralizer but I've never heard of them. Having done a quick search on the net I found some for sale in various places but also came across a few posts on other forums from folk who say to be wary of using these as they coat the interior in a sort of oily film?.
Any ideas on what to do to try and tackle the doggy smell or anyone used these "bomb" things before?. Ta in advance.
Folks, bit of advice and opinion please. Brother has just bought a Land Rover Discovery TDV6 at a very good price. The reason it was a good price has a fair bit to do with the previous owner using it to cart about her two dogs in the back which has resulted in the cars interior being rather musty and unpleasant smelling. He's given it a good going over with interior cleaning products, mostly Autoglym stuff and given the carpets and mats a shampoo and whilst it is better than it was, the smell is still there.
Any recommendations?. He says there are aerosol "bombs" you can get which fill the inside of the car up with an odour neutralizer but I've never heard of them. Having done a quick search on the net I found some for sale in various places but also came across a few posts on other forums from folk who say to be wary of using these as they coat the interior in a sort of oily film?.
Any ideas on what to do to try and tackle the doggy smell or anyone used these "bomb" things before?. Ta in advance.
As far as we know, the dogs were kept in the boot and that would seem to ring true as the smell is strongest there. The rest of the interior is in top condition, no marks or anything that would suggest the dogs had been on the back seat itself. So these bomb things, no good or worth a shot?.
One little tip - cut an onion in half and leave it in the car overnight. It should absorb the odour. Don't worry it won't make it smell like onions. Maybe try febreeze too (don't forget the headlining!)
It's that or take it to a professional valet who can steam clean the seats and carpets or something.
It's that or take it to a professional valet who can steam clean the seats and carpets or something.
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