*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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Cookeh said:
Any comments/improvements on this 'basket' for a beginner/starter kit? Ideally keeping the price the same/similar - as this is the top end of my budget, really.

Meguiars APC cleaner
Meguiars Gold Class car wash
Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit
Valet Pro - Inch Round Wheel Brush (2 of these, one for wheels and one for interior)

Either: Turtle Wax Wet & Dry Spray Wax or Collinite 845
Sponge Applicator pads (should I be paying MUCH more for microfibre ones? £1.10 for 12 sponge ones or £3.99 for 3).

I have already have a couple of microfibre wash mitts and ofc buckets. Also, does anywhere know where I can get some grit guards without paying stupid money? Tempted to grab some 50p collanders from Wilkos or similar and use those instead of paying £9.00 for a 'proper' one.
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What will you be doing with the clay? If its just for body panels I would go with a clay mitt (£12 for the G3 one in halfords) and add in a Iron fallout remover like Iron X instead. You can also get clay much cheaper than that kit. Bilt hamber clay is good as you can use it with just water as clay lube.

For lsp I would go for some Fk1000p as you can do your wheels with it too. Plus it's great, cheap as chips and the tin is massive.

Conscript said:
Anyone have any experience with diluting Dragons Breath?
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I've diluted Iron X 1:1 and it certainly still worked, but it was noticeably worse than using neat.
 
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Yeah, the clay would just be for body panels :) Thanks for the tip - I'll have a look at the Bilt Hambre clay and the Finish Kare 1000p too. I presume it's lasts for quite some time? 424g doesnt sound like amazing value for money, but I guess that depends on how much is used at a time?
 
Cookeh said:
Yeah, the clay would just be for body panels :) Thanks for the tip - I'll have a look at the Bilt Hambre clay and the Finish Kare 1000p too. I presume it's lasts for quite some time? 424g doesnt sound like amazing value for money, but I guess that depends on how much is used at a time?
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Yeap lasts ages! It's supposed to be applied in very thin layers, 2 layers 20 minutes apart should do the trick nicely. You'll barely touch it.
 
Can anyone recommend a good polish that can be applied by hand?

My paint has a fair few swirls from the previous owner and although only visible in bright light tend to bug me.

I've used SRP in the past but it didnt do much for filling the swirls, did give a lovely shine though.

Im also looking to expand my cleaning a little bit as well. Currently I use the 2 bucket method of CarChem shampoo, clay mitt and wax over with Blit Hamber Double speed wax.
I hear Valet Pro Citrus pre wash is good and I intend to use it from a 10L garden sprayer as unfortunately a power washer isnt possible at the moment. Is Citrus pre wash still a good choice or is there something better out there?

Also is there any pre-wax treatments worth it? (such as Dodo Juice Lime Prime)
 
Reppyboyo said:
Can anyone recommend a good polish that can be applied by hand?

My paint has a fair few swirls from the previous owner and although only visible in bright light tend to bug me.

I've used SRP in the past but it didnt do much for filling the swirls, did give a lovely shine though.

Im also looking to expand my cleaning a little bit as well. Currently I use the 2 bucket method of CarChem shampoo, clay mitt and wax over with Blit Hamber Double speed wax.
I hear Valet Pro Citrus pre wash is good and I intend to use it from a 10L garden sprayer as unfortunately a power washer isnt possible at the moment. Is Citrus pre wash still a good choice or is there something better out there?

Also is there any pre-wax treatments worth it? (such as Dodo Juice Lime Prime)
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Bilt hamber autofoam is great stuff and cheap to use as a prewash.

Glaze will do a better job at hiding scratches. Poor boys black hole does a great job on dark cars.

I'm not 100% on the value of a prewax if you would be using fillers rather than correcting swirls.
 
Correcting swirls would probably require a polishing machine and unless I get a pro to do it , buying my own would be a bit wasted.

Ill take a look at Glaze's, anything to recommend for a "Colorado Red" colour? (aka, quite bright red)

EDIT: Did a quick read of Poor boys black hole and its apparently good for red cars also, will give this a go thanks!
 
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I realise I risk being called an idiot, but what are people's thoughts on cordless car polishers? I'm wondering about trying a Sealey CP2518 for example?

The alternative would be to get a generator for the garage and buy a regular corded polisher.
 
Auto Finesse Satin Tyre Dressing - just wanted to give a shout out to this product as I don't see it mentioned very often. I've always used meguiars for tyre dressing but this stuff is growing on me. It can be applied in layers so you can have as much or little shine as you want. Personally I prefer the deep black satin look rather than super shiny tyres. :)

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AndyCr15 said:
I realise I risk being called an idiot, but what are people's thoughts on cordless car polishers? I'm wondering about trying a Sealey CP2518 for example?

The alternative would be to get a generator for the garage and buy a regular corded polisher.
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Just seen you never had a reply to this

Don't waste your money, at best it would be useful for applying/removing wax - it won't be anything like powerful enough for any correction
 
Very stupid question, but I'm having trouble 'moulding' clay - it just seems to shear and break whenever I try and stretch it out into a pad.
 
Cookeh said:
Very stupid question, but I'm having trouble 'moulding' clay - it just seems to shear and break whenever I try and stretch it out into a pad.
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Sounds like it is too cold. Warm it in your hands for a few minutes, it should be soft and malleable.

Maybe watch some YouTube claying videos while you wait for it to warm up :)
 
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