*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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I feel like I should clarify on the AG stuff and its timeline a bit.

In that photo, it has the following AG stuff

Engine cleaner
Rapid detailer
Shampoo
Super Resin Polish
Aqua wax (bottle out of the box)
Extra Gloss protection
Custom wheels cleaner
Clean wheels
Alloy sealant
Tyre dressing
Fast glass

11 AG products. Of those that were purchased 12 months ago. They are...

Rapid detailer
Shampoo
Super Resin Polish
Aqua wax (bottle out of the box)
Extra Gloss protection
Clean wheels
Tyre dressing
Fast glass

That's 8 out of 11 were purchased last year. This year when i came to clay the car I only bought (3 for 2 in Halford... the other 3 for 2 product I got is the Scratch X, 3G paste wax and Meg interior detailer....see where I am slowly going away from the AG stuff?)

Engine cleaner
Custom wheels (as I found out the other one contains acid)
Alloys sealant.

Then I signed up to DW since then I have not purchased a single AG product (note the FK1000, PERL, Amigo?) I have read up a lot and if I were to start again the things that i need are.

Clay bar the BH one that uses water as a lubricant
Shampoo - Probably AF Citrus stuff
Polish - AG SRP
Wax - FK1000

For the wheels - Iron X & FK1000 as above as a sealant
For interior, tyres, exterior - PERL

Anyway, it is a learning process. As a noob, I didn't know AG stuff are less regarded as others. I do now and I do know there are better products out there as I haven't bought anymore AG stuff. I knew there are loads of product and tbh, i still think a lot of it is down to preference rather than solid science. which is the point of trying them out but even then, I do try to limit on the duplication as I don't have like 4 bottles of shampoo and 6 bottles of polish. At most is I have 3 different type of wax (one of which I bought as a alloy sealant), and if you go to DW, that's nothing.
 
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Thing is Raymond, your buying technique is fox's issue.

He cannot buy anything without at least several weeks of research. And you went out and bought a load of Autoglymn stuff, without any.

If fox was forced do this his head would explode :D
 
It's his first car so he's going to what to keep it as nice as he can, I think it was more of a throwaway bit of banter more than an attack though :)

You'll soon lose the inclination to clean the paint off it though Raymondo :D
 
To be fair, this happens to a lot of us when we find the detailing world website, its blokes version of shopping for shoes :p

You do eventually settle on a range of products that stay with you for many years, my collinite tub lasted for night on 4/5 years.

It costs a lot at the beginning, but in the long run, it saves you money as you settle on pro stuff that can be watered down and what not.Im still not fully taken in byt some of the fads on DW, stuff like the paint thickness guages and portable suns and what not.

My kit is as below

Wash

CG Citrus wash
Bilt Hamber clay
Bilt Hamber alloy cleaner
Aldi APC
2 Buckets one with guard
2 megs washmitts
AG Tar remover
ironx

Polishes

Menz set of polishes
3M Set of polishes
AG SRP

Wax

FK1000P
Collinite 915
Megs LT

Interior

PB natural, this works for exterior trim too

Tyres

Megs endurance.

Then I have a silverline rotary, and 3m pads to go with that. Its a lot of gear but I also do my dads cars, I swear it adds 100's to the value of any car ive touched.
 
G|mp said:
It's his first car so he's going to what to keep it as nice as he can, I think it was more of a throwaway bit of banter more than an attack though :)

You'll soon lose the inclination to clean the paint off it though Raymondo :D
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TBH, I waxed it at the start of last winter and didn't clean it during it and took it to a hand car wash twice!

Then I polished and waxed it after the winter around February time.

I also see this process as a way of finding out what is good, bad and ugly. All these products work (to an extent), the difference is some work better than others, and some of it is down to preference and very little is down to actual science. I did the start of it by trial and error, it got my car clay/polished/wax for the last 12 months with AG stuff. Car is fine, didn't explode and still shiny. No harm done :)
 
AndrewNR said:
Ignorance is bliss, eh? ;)
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Far from it, having a father who has taught me a lot after decades of experience finishing cars has shown me what is gimmicky and what isn't.

It's more to do with the preparation than the products. We have a range of 3M products which is great for mopping and sorting the paint. Shampoo is shampoo and you need a good durable wax, often people get misguided with the thought that the wax makes all the difference when it doesn't...£7k on a wax is laughable and the DW fads that follow is what I find unnecessary. Although I do understand marketing and that people make a living from making things extra special.
 
pepsilol said:
Unless it's made by zymol, then it's ok! :rolleyes:
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Any sponge that's silicon free is just as good.

So natural sea sponges etc..

The problem is that most of the sponges on sale at Supermarkets , Halfords etc.. all contain silicon.

So people get into the mentality of thinking that DW hate on every sponge apart from the Zymol one, and only because its Zymol is a bit unfair.
 
MrLOL said:
Any sponge that's silicon free is just as good.

So natural sea sponges etc..

The problem is that most of the sponges on sale at Supermarkets , Halfords etc.. all contain silicon.

So people get into the mentality of thinking that DW hate on every sponge apart from the Zymol one, and only because its Zymol is a bit unfair.
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The reason i've always seen people give for not using a sponge is that a sponge holds the dirt/grit on the outside where microfibre mitts etc. 'draw it in' to a deeper level where it can't scratch the paint.

I don't see how a non silicon sponge vs a silicon makes a blind bit of difference to that theory.

It's almost as if loads of people have jumped on a bandwagon and spouted a load of nonsense about why because they don't understand it.

I do think the car cleaning industry is starting to get dragged down the snake oil path quite a bit these days, with plenty of people willing to attest to how it all actually works (usually after lumping a load of their own money on stuff), just as plenty of audiophiles will swear blind they can hear the difference a £1000 kettle lead makes.
 
All I can tell you is that my first e46 was sponge washed for a year and this one has never seen a sponge and the look of the paintwork reflects that.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Do you find medium too hard? Just reading up on it and people seem to love it (no detailer needed!!! big plus!) but they find it hard to fold so they normally opt for the soft one.
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Yes it was a little hard, but not having anything for comparison i put it down to the temperature as i was using several months back when the temperature was lower
 
Leigh said:
Yes it was a little hard, but not having anything for comparison i put it down to the temperature as i was using several months back when the temperature was lower
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They say soak it it warm/got water for a bit will soften it up :)

mrk said:
All I can tell you is that my first e46 was sponge washed for a year and this one has never seen a sponge and the look of the paintwork reflects that.
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Well, seeing micro fibre mitt isn't exactly expensive, I see no reason to resort to a sponge, at all.
 
mrk said:
Autoglym leather cleaning spray, not the cream or anything else. It's in a yellowy labelled bottle.

Then Zaino Z10. My leather is black and non glossy so I like to keep it that way. Zaino smells brilliant and keeps the leather supple and matte.

Did I mention how good it smells and continues to smell for a week before subsiding to an ambient leathery fragrance?
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Thanks, I'll give those a try :)
 
Is anyone able to tell me how long poorboys black hole lasts? Provided it's covered with a wax of course.

Or is there a better glaze that I should consider?
 
ganesh said:
Is anyone able to tell me how long poorboys black hole lasts? Provided it's covered with a wax of course.

Or is there a better glaze that I should consider?
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Prima Amigo.

They both are equally as good and both have their fans. BH has more "filler" I believe than Amigo.

I asked the same question in DW last week and opted for Amigo from recommendations there. No idea how long it lasts but I would put it on after polishing, since the polishing will remove it anyway.

Although this is an interesting glaze

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=251477
 
Kenai said:
The reason i've always seen people give for not using a sponge is that a sponge holds the dirt/grit on the outside where microfibre mitts etc. 'draw it in' to a deeper level where it can't scratch the paint.
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I'm not 100 % convinced on the silicon thing either.

I use the microfiber wash mitt because I actually find it nice to use, rather than any actual paranoia about sponges
 
Using a sponge or a mitt makes absolutely no difference and those that do probably think the same about denon link cables vs rj45 cables.

I use a mitt because I can put it on like a glove and nice to use.
 
So where do the ground in debris/**** off the surface go when you use a normal sponge? They stay on the surface of the sponge as you shampoo away.

Like I posted earlier, I used a sponge on the same type of paintwork on my last car for a year, this car has never seen a sponge, the difference is obvious in sunlight.

Maybe you're not bothered enough about webbing or light scratching but others are.

This is based on average UK weather conditions of course.
 
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