*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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What products do you guys use on alcantara? I'll be getting my steering wheel retrimmed soon and I'm trying to prepare myself for the eventual ballache.
 
A reasonably stiff brush is all you can use really. Maybe a very mild APC as well to help get the oils out, but alcantara is generally a poor choice for a steering wheel in a road car because all of the oils, grease, dirt and general grime off you hands will get into it. It's great for race cars because it's easy to grip and you're wearing gloves.
 
Picked up a DI vessel at the weekend.

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Absolutely brilliant, no more water marks and no more drying. Saves me so much time :)
 
Looking for some advice. Planning to clean my leather seats this weekend. I have got some rather expensive leather cleaners/conditioners/balms from Saphir that I use for cleaning and caring for my leather shoes, I'm assuming they'll work a treat for leather seats as well?

Obviously I'll check in a conspicuous spot to see there's nothing odd going on, but if anyone's done this before I'd appreciate any input.
 
M1k3H said:
Looking for some advice. Planning to clean my leather seats this weekend. I have got some rather expensive leather cleaners/conditioners/balms from Saphir that I use for cleaning and caring for my leather shoes, I'm assuming they'll work a treat for leather seats as well?

Obviously I'll check in a conspicuous spot to see there's nothing odd going on, but if anyone's done this before I'd appreciate any input.
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Should be fine!
 
No, they won't. Do not waste those utterly fantastic but eye-wateringly expensive Saphir products on your seats. Automotive leather is completely different, for a start most actually has a sealant on the top (almost like a clear coat). Conditioners and balms will be wasted here as they will not penetrate the sealant to reach the leather itself. All you need to do with leather is gently clean it; leather cleaners will work, as will mild APCs, as will a damp hot microfibre. All you're trying to do is remove the dirt from the sealant layer, not the leather, and conditioning wise either do nothing or use a product designed to reseal it - like GTechniq L1 or similar, which are designed to keep the sealant layer intact and add UV/dye protection.

That is, unless, you either have a 30+ year old car with actual leather, or some uber luxobarge in which case the Saphir products will work, but as will the much cheaper methods mentioned above.
 
Cookeh said:
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Thank you for the response, this is extremely helpful and you've potentially saved me a whole day of carefully conditioning my seats!

It's a Z4 E89, so suspect you are right.

My main worry is the leather cracking, which is why I thought of conditioning.

It sounds like there's no way to condition it due to the sealant though. Would re-sealing/conditioning the sealant layer help with that then?

I also guess that using Renomat to remove a couple of stains wouldn't work either, as they would be on top of the sealant layers.
 
M1k3H said:
My main worry is the leather cracking, which is why I thought of conditioning.
It sounds like there's no way to condition it due to the sealant though. Would re-sealing/conditioning the sealant layer help with that then?
I also guess that using Renomat to remove a couple of stains wouldn't work either, as they would be on top of the sealant layers.
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Spot on regarding Renomat, stains should be removable with just normal cleaning products as assuming the sealant is intact it will just be on the surface. I would be surprised if it did have any significant sealant damage given its age, and yes you are right in that maintaining the sealant layer will help with cracking or abrasing.
 
LiE said:
Yea I wouldn't bother with a conditioner.

I use this after a clean - https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/gyeon-q2-leather-coat

It adds a sealant to the leather to help protect it.
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Cookeh said:
Spot on regarding Renomat, stains should be removable with just normal cleaning products as assuming the sealant is intact it will just be on the surface. I would be surprised if it did have any significant sealant damage given its age, and yes you are right in that maintaining the sealant layer will help with cracking or abrasing.
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Thank you both, I shall try the gyeon g2.
 
Right, so last night I ordered the following:

GYEON - Q² LEATHER COAT
PURESTAR - TWIST DRYING TOWEL
EUROW - ULTRA PLUSH MICRO-NOODLE WASH MITT
VALET PRO - ADVANCED CAR WASH
CALIFORNIA CAR SCENTS - VARIOUS FRAGRANCES Monterey Vanilla
VALET PRO - CLASSIC ALL PURPOSE CLEANER
SONAX GUMMI PFLEGER RUBBER CARE

I am extremely new to this, so tried to strike a good balance on what was popular, had good reviews and didn't cost a fortune:p.

They are arriving tomorrow, so hopefully clean the car for the first time this weekend! :D:D
 
Washed my silver Golf last sunday using Meguiars Ultimate Wash and Wax, which is the norm for me.

Then used my first application of Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax, dried off the car then applied the ceramic wax using a damp microfiber cloth, then buffed it off by hand.

Really impressed with the beading etc so far after all the rain we had last night, the next application hopefully will be easier by just spraying the wax onto the car after I have used the above wash and wax which will be rinsed off, spray on the hybrid ceramic onto the wet car,rinse the ceramic hybrid off then towel dry it.

Seems quite economical for £16 a bottle if its easier & quicker to clean the car I am all for it!

Cheers all
 
roman59 said:
Washed my silver Golf last sunday using Meguiars Ultimate Wash and Wax, which is the norm for me.

Then used my first application of Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax, dried off the car then applied the ceramic wax using a damp microfiber cloth, then buffed it off by hand.

Really impressed with the beading etc so far after all the rain we had last night, the next application hopefully will be easier by just spraying the wax onto the car after I have used the above wash and wax which will be rinsed off, spray on the hybrid ceramic onto the wet car,rinse the ceramic hybrid off then towel dry it.

Seems quite economical for £16 a bottle if its easier & quicker to clean the car I am all for it!

Cheers all
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Spray on and then buff off?

I thought you just spray on then pressure washer off?
 
Got my car booked in on Tuesday for a top up of the G-Technic CSL as he has to do the bonnet anyway (doing a one stage correction on it since it was resprayed) and then a new coat of EXO.

Anyone used EXO before? Looks fantastic in terms of the reviews and write ups I've seen
 
Cleaned the Mrs car yesterday evening, as far as a full decontamination and dry. The paint felt terrible till it was clayed, quite rough and very flat looking. It was getting a bit late so for now I opted to just put some Meguiars Hybrid ceramic wax on and save the polishing for another day. Using the initial application method I was pretty impressed with the gloss it added to the paint.

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Any thoughts on clay mitts and cloths?

Used clay bars for years, usually Sonax, BH or CYCs own.

Are these new things faster? Do they cause more marring and scratching due to using the same surface over all of the paint?

Which ones are recommended?

Thanks
 
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