*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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E61 Grouphead said:
The first is primarily used to clean/dress interiors. The trim one is for exterior plastics (brings them 'back to black').



Another vote for Bilt Hamber Autofoam. Brilliant stuff. Clingy foam does not equate to cleaning power. This stuff is what many pros use because despite being a little less impressive visually, it does a far superior job. It's cheap too.
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Thank you mate! I went to Opie Oils and got some today! Looking forward to having a go with it when I have a couple of days off next week!
 
Some awesome examples in this thread, that Clio has come up awesome for a 10+ year old car!.

I try to clean my car every other week when the weather allows, being black it gets dirty very quick.

My fortnightly routine generally:
1. Pressure wash.
2. Turtle wax shampoo with sponge.
3. Dry with drying towel
4. Sonax brilliant shine detailer - i swear by this stuff.
The above generally keeps it looking alright for 2 weeks, roughly 600 miles and takes me about 30 mins.

I plan to do a more thorough clean this weekend.
Wash, shampoo, dry, maguires clay bar, super resin polish, 476s collin wax, sonax detail spray etc.

Still a little unsure on when best to polish, before wax or after?
Instructions on the wax/polish often conflict.
 
NeoVo said:
Some awesome examples in this thread, that Clio has come up awesome for a 10+ year old car!.

I try to clean my car every other week when the weather allows, being black it gets dirty very quick.

My fortnightly routine generally:
1. Pressure wash.
2. Turtle wax shampoo with sponge.
3. Dry with drying towel
4. Sonax brilliant shine detailer - i swear by this stuff.
The above generally keeps it looking alright for 2 weeks, roughly 600 miles and takes me about 30 mins.

I plan to do a more thorough clean this weekend.
Wash, shampoo, dry, maguires clay bar, super resin polish, 476s collin wax, sonax detail spray etc.

Still a little unsure on when best to polish, before wax or after?
Instructions on the wax/polish often conflict.
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I'm not sure what products you're looking at but if it's actual Polish and wax then you Polish 1st, wax after. Polish contains abrasive qualities that polishes away scratches. Wax on the other hand fills over scratches making it more uniform and also protects the paint after it has been polished. Polish would simply remove the wax.

Think of polishing as stripping the paint work back and then the wax as protecting the paint after (if it's stripped back you don't want to leave it exposed to the elements).

That said, confusingly some products provide both qualities, polishing and waxing. So it's always best to follow the instructions.

Detailing world is a good forum to enquire about this.
 
Any idea how I clean off the enormous dent I just put in my car because I am a massive prat? Some polish ought to do it right? :p

I wasn't even in the car. :p

On a more serious note, when I have my new bonnet, and potentially a new bumper, I will be wanting to see what difference a good buff up would do to my car. I expect it will be the first time anyone has bothered to do any more than shampoo it in its 12 years.

What should be on my shopping list? I won't be buying anything particularly expensive as it isn't worth it, just whatever is good stuff on a budget. I suppose I will need some shampoo, a sponge, and some polish of some kind, as well as a cloth to apply is with at least. I don't know anything about claying or using specialist detailing products, but if there are any which you think would be worth using and won't cost the earth, I will consider them.

Something to restore the exterior plastics would be good too. And is there some kind of "aggressive" polish I could use on the one or two deeper scrapes?

Thanks. :)
 
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pepsilol said:
M5 cleaned at last, been meaning to do it for a while!
Washed and one coat of AS WAX, that's all!

http://s8.postimg.org/67gf3tqud/2015_04_08_19_20_40.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

*drools*

I would genuinely have a very hard time deciding whether to take the M5, DB9, or XJ every morning.
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Acme said:
Any idea how I clean off the enormous dent I just put in my car because I am a massive prat? Some polish ought to do it right? :p

I wasn't even in the car. :p

On a more serious note, when I have my new bonnet, and potentially a new bumper, I will be wanting to see what difference a good buff up would do to my car. I expect it will be the first time anyone has bothered to do any more than shampoo it in its 12 years.

What should be on my shopping list? I won't be buying anything particularly expensive as it isn't worth it, just whatever is good stuff on a budget. I suppose I will need some shampoo, a sponge, and some polish of some kind, as well as a cloth to apply is with at least. I don't know anything about claying or using specialist detailing products, but if there are any which you think would be worth using and won't cost the earth, I will consider them.

Something to restore the exterior plastics would be good too. And is there some kind of "aggressive" polish I could use on the one or two deeper scrapes?

Thanks. :)
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I can't keep up with your Polo ownership acme. Surely you've spent more than the car is worth now just getting it into reasonable shape. :p
 
E61 Grouphead said:
Another vote for Bilt Hamber Autofoam. Brilliant stuff. Clingy foam does not equate to cleaning power. This stuff is what many pros use because despite being a little less impressive visually, it does a far superior job. It's cheap too.
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I used to use it and found its cleaning power rubbish. I went to Actimousse. Half an inch in summer and stronger in winter for touchless.
 
pepsilol said:
I used to use it and found its cleaning power rubbish. I went to Actimousse. Half an inch in summer and stronger in winter for touchless.
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Can you try it on your black jag and show a before and after (touchless)?

I have doubts that it can really leave a black car clean after salt/dirt etc has been on the paint. I know if I just pressure washed my black car then it would look ****.
 
Yes but it shows much better in winter, I'll leave the Jag for a few weeks and see if we can get it mudded up enough to show the difference.

Also £30 dilutes to 100L. That's like 5-6p per wash!
 
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Blackhawk47 said:
I've also heard snowfoam can leave stains or streaks on the windows.
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You have been mislead.

On a snow foam related note....I have been using the CleanYourCar snow foam lance for a while (couple of years I think), yet lately it seems to have packed up. Still mixes the foam, but it kind of just dribbles out of the end, no matter how much I adjust the nozzle. It's as though there's a loss of pressure through it, yet the pressure washer is working fine.

Took the lance apart as much as I could the other day, but could find no obvious signs of blockage, and there's not that much to break (it's pretty simple internally). Anyone else ever had problems with these lances?
 
Has anyone used Ammo NYC stuff for cleaning the car? I've been watching some of Larry's videos and they are pretty informative.
 
[RXP]Andy;27890346 said:
Has anyone used Ammo NYC stuff for cleaning the car? I've been watching some of Larry's videos and they are pretty informative.
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No but I really want to order one of everything one day and try them out.

A guy on detailing world who lives in the UK manages to get Ammo NYC stuff so I can't imagine there being any issues with shipping.
 
Conscript said:
You have been mislead.

On a snow foam related note....I have been using the CleanYourCar snow foam lance for a while (couple of years I think), yet lately it seems to have packed up. Still mixes the foam, but it kind of just dribbles out of the end, no matter how much I adjust the nozzle. It's as though there's a loss of pressure through it, yet the pressure washer is working fine.

Took the lance apart as much as I could the other day, but could find no obvious signs of blockage, and there's not that much to break (it's pretty simple internally). Anyone else ever had problems with these lances?
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Its your gauze. Soak in vinegar overnight.
 
I found a bottle of limescale removing solution under the kitchen sink. Designed to be poured into a kettle then boiled, but didn't have time this morning, so I've just left the gauze sitting in a cap full of the stuff, neat. Will rinse it out tonight and see if it makes a difference.
 
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