*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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shifty_uk said:
This has probably been answered a few times in here but rather than looking through 102 pages, I thought I'd ask... :p

Could someone recommend a good polish/wax for getting the most out of silver?

I doubt my car has ever been 'detailed' - it gets a quick snow foam every month or so and that's it so, now that the weather is getting a bit better I thought I'd get it up to scratch and spend a bit of time on it at the weekend.

Plan is:
Wash - Snow foam
Shampoo - Gold class
Clay - Meguiars
Polish - ??????? I have some Autoglym Resin but any better recommendations?
Wax/Sealant - ?????????

Not sure wether to use a sealant or wax....or both???? Given that my car hasn't had a proper going over, at least for the past couple of years I've owned it.

Cheers for any advice!
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Do both :D Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid. Love the stuff and quite affordable. I'd also go with the Dodo Juice Born to be Mild shampoo, pH neutral and seems to do a cracking job - it comes in small bottles but a tiny bit goes a long way.
 
Nice one, cheers for the suggestion - i'm thinking 65 quid is a bit steep :p or is that a typical price? Re: the waxing/sealing, I thought by doing one, it would cancel out the other? I'm after a wet look, show room finish.
 
Seems the weather is getting better...and people are buying cars

I've also just got a new car (metallic silver, less than 3 years old) and wanted to make sure I take good care of it. I've read a few pages back and wanted to summarise what I thought was best, hopefully people can chime in with their opinions. I'm a noob when it come to car cleaning.

1) Tires - Maguires Endurance or Chemical Guys Natural Shine Dressing (recommended by shauncr91)
2) Dashboard and instrumentation - Autoglym Interior Shampoo (can I use this on the clear plastic instrumentation?) or Poorboys Natural Look Dressing?
3) Washing - AG Bodywork Shampoo, Zymol Natural Car Wash? Maguires Gold Class? Chemical guys wash (recommended by Tinders). Snow foam only for those with a jetwash
4) Polishing and sealing/wax - Autoglym Super Resin Polish seems to get some good reviews? Is it best to do another sealing coat as some do? Collinite 845 gets mentioned? AF Tripple, FK 1000p and Sonax BSD (recommended by Tinders)
5) Cleaning stuff - mentioned earlier in the thread, microfibre wash mitt (Ken's, as above), a big soft microfibre drying towel (again Ken's above) and lots of sundry microfibres the wash mitt and drying towel for the initial wash and dry and then the microfibre cloth for applying the polish and sealant? Where is the best place to get these from?
6) Black outside trim - AF Revive? AG bumper snot (recommended by Tinders)

I've been reading about clay bars, is this something I should consider using?
 
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I feel like the only one who isn't completely sold on Meg's Endurance Gel, yes it lasts absolutely ages but it's a PITA to apply because it's so thick and it always ends up too glossy and oily looking.
 
lhw455 said:
1) Tires - Maguires Endurance
2) Dashboard and instrumentation - Autoglym Interior Shampoo (can I use this on the clear plastic instrumentation?) or Poorboys Natural Look Dressing?
3) Washing - AG Bodywork Shampoo, Zymol Natural Car Wash? Snow foam also mentioned? Maguires Gold Class?
4) Polishing and sealing/wax - Autoglym Super Resin Polish seems to get some good reviews? Is it best to do another sealing coat as some do? Collinite 845 gets mentioned? What about AF Tripple?
5) Cleaning stuff - mentioned earlier in the thread, microfibre wash mitt (Ken's, as above), a big soft microfibre drying towel (again Ken's above) and lots of sundry microfibres the wash mitt and drying towel for the initial wash and dry and then the microfibre cloth for applying the polish and sealant? Where is the best place to get these from?
6) Black outside trim - AF Revive ?

I've been reading about clay bars, is this something I should consider using?
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1. Yep thats fine.
2. I use the Poorboys NLD to good effect.
3. Snow foam is perfect if you have a Jetwash, but it is a bit of a faff. I use Chemical guys wash.
4. Af Tripple is getting rave reviews, and its cheap, put FK 1000p over the top of it and you have 6 months of protection. I would also invest in the Sonax BSD detailing spray, it really helps keep that protection going everytime you dry the car.
5. Kens is good stuff, Amazon, or even Asda were doing decent offers.
6. The AG bumper snot is pretty good.
 
Tinders said:
1. Yep thats fine.
2. I use the Poorboys NLD to good effect.
3. Snow foam is perfect if you have a Jetwash, but it is a bit of a faff. I use Chemical guys wash.
4. Af Tripple is getting rave reviews, and its cheap, put FK 1000p over the top of it and you have 6 months of protection. I would also invest in the Sonax BSD detailing spray, it really helps keep that protection going everytime you dry the car.
5. Kens is good stuff, Amazon, or even Asda were doing decent offers.
6. The AG bumper snot is pretty good.
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Thanks, is the order of application (after washing and drying), Tripple, FK 1000p and Sonax BSD?
 
shifty_uk said:
Nice one, cheers for the suggestion - i'm thinking 65 quid is a bit steep :p or is that a typical price? Re: the waxing/sealing, I thought by doing one, it would cancel out the other? I'm after a wet look, show room finish.
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The Supernatural Hybrid is a blend of wax and sealant and does look rather good. It's also very well priced, 100ml is £25-30 so should keep you going for ages, and so far it's been quite durable. I find it doesn't give a super wet look, but on my paint, it seems to make the metallic flakes pop a bit more which other waxes (Dodo Juice Purple Haze, and Poor Boys Natty Blue) tend to dull. For maximum wetness and showroom finish, but less durability, I've heard really good things about Vics Concourse wax, which I think Gurdas' lovely Bentley is wearing in his pics.

Also, for claying, have a look at the new clay cloths, they're getting good reviews on DW, and apparently you can do the car in absolutely no time in comparison to the bar, they last longer, and can be washed if they touch the ground.
 
BennyC said:
Did tidy the tips up a bit though.

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What's the best way of cleaning exhausts? my TT is only a few weeks old but already is getting a build up of black crap on the exhausts
 
XeNoN89 said:
What's the best way of cleaning exhausts? my TT is only a few weeks old but already is getting a build up of black crap on the exhausts
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As mentioned Wire wool 00 and then Autosol.

The top left image had been tackled with both, they looked better than they did before but still not great at all.

I used wet and dry 800 up to 2500 on those. And then Autosol.

I've also put a few layers of Poorboys wheel sealant around the edges/lip to stop things bonding.
 
Too many fancy pants products out there with prices to match.

2 brands that I'll religiously use from now on are Sonax and Angelwax. Both have some of the best products I've used and they generally cost very little, especially Angelwax!

They created Bilberry wheel cleaner and sell 1L at less than a tenner, their fallout remover 'Revelation' is also great value and as good as these get, 'Elixir' is a stunning rubber and trim finisher at just over £5 for a spray 500ml and their Desirable wax was a limited edition that Auto Finesse ripped off and put a huge price tag on.
 
It's good when you find one brand you like to stick to. Yeah auto finesse is good but just too expensive IMO. The megs pro series polishes are fantastic (105/205 especially) and I'm a fan of Carchem too as of late. Their snowfoam and luxury shampoo with a dilution ratio of 1900:1 is fantastic value :)
 
Auto Finesse is just another product but rebranded isnt it?

I remember reading about some controversy about their AF Desire wax being Angelwax iirc but in a rebranded container. I've seen a couple of people ask on DW and their posts get deleted pretty quickly.
 
Ah, so there it is. I think someone on here alerted it to me when it was blowing up on DW.

Shame really, I've bought a couple of AF products, probably could have spent half as much for the same products :)

Their Citrus Power stuff is good, but stupidly pricey for the little you get. Doing one car left me with just under half a bottle.
 
Ive just found some awesomly cheap stuff to sort out my chrome tips! After a year and a half of not really bothering to clean them, they were truly caked in crud. I tried AG tar remover and surprisingly it did nowt, then tried some Autosol, and that wasnt really shifting. The missus of all people suggested I tried some of the paste she uses to clean the shiney pans we have, and blimey it was just the job.

Its called Astonish, and its a pound from the pound shop/wilko's, it comes as quite a thick paste, but it works fast and polishes up brilliantly.
 
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