*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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scaza said:
Anyone have any experience with autobrites abyss spray wax?
They've got it reduced to £20 and I'm tempted to nip down now.
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I've enjoyed each and every one of AutoBrites products. Quality stuff.


I've had to stop buying products lately, I had a sort out and I've got enough for a couple of years :o Probably enough samples from Andy Smith @ CYR etc to last me a year in itself, and then full bottles of stuff - Doh!
 
Bought some autobrite abyss spray, endurance and more cherry glaze in their sales.

Considering their top gloss shine to use in the Lance after its been cleaned as a sort of easy quick detailed look from the snowfoam lance since its on offer. Anyone got any experience?
 
Woke up this morning and as it wasn't supposed to rain I decided to get the car cleaned and prepped for Winter.

Started off by spraying the wheels with wheel cleaner and leaving that to sit for a minute or two, then gave the car a wetting using the pressure washer, before pre-washing using Pro-Kleen Cherry Snow Foam.

After leaving that to sit for 5 minutes or so I moved onto the bucket wash using Simoniz Triple Action Wash and Wax (had some left over, but probably wouldn't get again) with a Meguiars Lambs Wool Mitt for the bodywork and a Microfibre Bobbly Mitt for the wheels.

Next up was a light claying using a Clay Mitt and another bucket of shampoo water.

Then I gave it a final shampoo using the snowfoam lance, before washing it all off using the pressure washer.

To dry the car I used two 720gsm Microfibre cloths (which I cannot recommend enough), the first to do a get rid of as much water as possible and the second to do a proper dry.

The next step was to give the car a polish using Auto Glym Super Resin Polish. I applied using a pad and then buffed out using a third 720gsm microfibre cloth.

The final step was to give the car a nice layer of wax. I tried Dodo Juice Blue Velvet last time and it was okay, but this time I thought I would give PoorBoys Nattys Carnauba Paste Wax Blue a go and I am glad I did. It is a bit cheaper, easier to apply and I think does a great job. Again I applied with a pad and then buffed out using another of the 720gsm microfibre cloths.

Some pics of the finished job

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... and very smart it looks too!

You don't sound too keen on the Simoniz Triple Action Wash and Wax, so what would you use next time instead, or recommend as an alternative?

P.S. What did you do after lunch? :D
 
Montala said:
... and very smart it looks too!

You don't sound too keen on the Simoniz Triple Action Wash and Wax, so what would you use next time instead, or recommend as an alternative?

P.S. What did you do after lunch? :D
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Not sure what I am going to use next time. Will have a look closer to the time of need.

After lunch, I watched a movie :)

dacads said:
nice work pep, that must have taken a fair few hours ;)

Looks very glossy :)
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Start to finish it took me about 3 hours with 2 or 3 5 minute breaks along the way.
 
Armageus said:
I like autoglyms bodywork shampoo, but others have recommended meguiars gold class shampoo.
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I'll further recommend it. Shifts dirt like nobody's business, doesn't require a huge amount and leaves the car looking great before you move on to starting to shine it up!
 
DoDo Juices range is my go to for shampoos lately, or Nanolex.

I'm currently testing CarChem Tyre Coat on the work truck and damn does it bead and look shiny, not sure I like the finish though.
 
Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo 1.9L is currently £12.74 if bought from Eurocarparts on Ebay. It's closer to £17 on their main site!
 
Uther said:
Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo 1.9L is currently £12.74 if bought from Eurocarparts on Ebay. It's closer to £17 on their main site!
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It's the sale price, if you use the discount code on their own website, it's the same price. They change the eBay prices to match the sale prices they do. Code is Sale25.

In terms of shampoo, I highly rate Car Chem 1900:1. Very slick, cleans well, and you only have to use a drop in a bucket.
 
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dacads said:
That's not bad going, I take around the same time but without prewash and polish! Probably because I start off enthusiastic then end up slowing down :p
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It did seem like longer, but having to polish and wax I knew I would have to be strong at the end to get through it :)
 
When I bought my 530d they threw in the paint protection for free, having never had this before what can I do and not do with that on?

I want to give it a proper clean but I'm guessing I can't clay or polish it with this on? Also, would the paint protection help protect against swirl marks?
 
Steedie said:
When I bought my 530d they threw in the paint protection for free, having never had this before what can I do and not do with that on?

I want to give it a proper clean but I'm guessing I can't clay or polish it with this on? Also, would the paint protection help protect against swirl marks?
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Depends on the age, who applied and what protection. It's likely it's worth nothing due to bad application.
 
The car is only 4 months old, BMW applied it and I can't remember the name, Diamond something. I didn't pay much attention as it was free as I was playing hard ball on signing the deal so he threw it at me as part of the deal.

Is it anything more than a glorified wax? Does it even last like they claim or will it be gone in a few months?
 
Steedie said:
Is it anything more than a glorified wax? Does it even last like they claim or will it be gone in a few months?
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It's complete make believe, I think they make money off their own brand products you're supposed to "top it up" with.

Paint protect isn't going to guard against stone chips or incorrect washing which 99% of people do, so what exactly is it protecting?
 
It's diamondbrite, a mediocre product if applied right with the correct prep, which most dealers don't bother and would usually end up washing the car first improperly so all they'd be doing is locking in the swirls :p

It likely wont stack up to their claims although it may, I know someone who had it applied to their vehicle correctly and it did work however for the price it's just not worth it but obviously this isn't applicable to you.
 
Steedie said:
When I bought my 530d they threw in the paint protection for free, having never had this before what can I do and not do with that on?

I want to give it a proper clean but I'm guessing I can't clay or polish it with this on? Also, would the paint protection help protect against swirl marks?
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I would get rid of the paint protection and do it myself and better tbh.
 
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