*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

[LiE]

Looking for some advice. I've just got a touch up kit from BMW for my Z4. Now, two weeks ago I used Simoniz Diamond Wax and Polish, which I suspect I'll have to remove before applying any paint & lacquer to the chips.

Is Gyeon's Q2M Prep suitable for this? Any other products that might be better or cheaper that you can recommend?

I'm also tempted to order Gyeon's WetCoat, as it seems to be offering some good protection for very little work, to apply after I touch up the paint.

I'm guessing whatever I get I should first pre-wash, wash, dry, apply Gyeon's Prep, remove it, apply touch up kit, pre-wash, wash, apply WetCoat.

Can anybody advise how Gyeon's Prep is used? i.e. do I need to rub it off, water it off, or anything else?

Products like Gyeon Prep and CarPro Eraser are really designed to remove any oils left after polishing, leaving a clear surface to apply your LSP. I think they may reduce the wax if you use it, but to be honest a strong dilution of an APC should be enough to remove most protection.

 

[M1k3H]

Products like Gyeon Prep and CarPro Eraser are really designed to remove any oils left after polishing, leaving a clear surface to apply your LSP. I think they may reduce the wax if you use it, but to be honest a strong dilution of an APC should be enough to remove most protection.

I've got Valet Pro APC, in a spray bottle. I could use that I suppose. Any way of knowing that the wax has been removed? Is it just a case of it won't be shiny any more?

Sorry about the questions, very new in the (proper) car cleaning world, so unsure how to do things that might be very basic for others.

 

[LiE]

I've got Valet Pro APC, in a spray bottle. I could use that I suppose. Any way of knowing that the wax has been removed? Is it just a case of it won't be shiny any more?

Sorry about the questions, very new in the (proper) car cleaning world, so unsure how to do things that might be very basic for others.

A good way to know is whether it beads or not. So if after removing it, you spray it with water and it doesn't bead, then you should be good.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Haven’t touched the exhaust tips for a while. Have ordered wire wool and gloves. Will then use a wheel cleaner and the wire wool to remove the carbon. Then metal polish to shine and finally a wheel seal.

 

[M1k3H]

A good way to know is whether it beads or not. So if after removing it, you spray it with water and it doesn't bead, then you should be good.

Thank you for the advice. Weather allowing, I’ll give it a go this weekend.

 

[rhysduck]

@M1k3H If you're doing all that why not clay the car too? That'll definitely remove any wax and also contaminants.

Love some early morning beading!

 

[M1k3H]

@M1k3H If you're doing all that why not clay the car too? That'll definitely remove any wax and also contaminants.

Thank you for the suggestion. I know nothing about clay, so I will go away and read up on what it is, what it does and how much it costs! Although I really wanted to get everything done this weekend (weather permitting!) as I'm afraid I won't have another couple of warm/dry days to do the touch up.

And btw, that looks awesome!

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Thank you for the suggestion. I know nothing about clay, so I will go away and read up on what it is, what it does and how much it costs! Although I really wanted to get everything done this weekend (weather permitting!) as I'm afraid I won't have another couple of warm/dry days to do the touch up.

And btw, that looks awesome!

Clay mitt, that’s what you want to look into. Much quicker and easier, almost as effective at removing grime. Just keep it well rinsed often.

 

[rhysduck]

Thank you for the suggestion. I know nothing about clay, so I will go away and read up on what it is, what it does and how much it costs! Although I really wanted to get everything done this weekend (weather permitting!) as I'm afraid I won't have another couple of warm/dry days to do the touch up.

And btw, that looks awesome!

Halfords sell various clays and clay kits and mitts. There's 30% off until Monday too I've just seen you're in Newport, whereabouts?

Thanks. The result of a quick session on Sunday.

Clay mitt, that’s what you want to look into. Much quicker and easier, almost as effective at removing grime. Just keep it well rinsed often.

Meh, I'm still not convinced about mitts. With a clay bar you repeatedly fold the clay over during use (as you're probably aware)... how do you overcome this with a mitt? I don't see how rinsing can get rid of all the surface crap and embedded crud on the mitt

Anyone used anything from Carbon Collective? www.carboncollective.com

 

[M1k3H]

Halfords sell various clays and clay kits and mitts. There's 30% off until Monday too I've just seen you're in Newport, whereabouts?

Thanks. The result of a quick session on Sunday.


Meh, I'm still not convinced about mitts. With a clay bar you repeatedly fold the clay over during use (as you're probably aware)... how do you overcome this with a mitt? I don't see how rinsing can get rid of all the surface crap and embedded crud on the mitt

Anyone used anything from Carbon Collective? www.carboncollective.com

Thanks for the tip! Might go for https://www.halfords.com/motoring/c...iling-products/meguiars-quik-clay-starter-kit in terms of clay and thinking of getting either Meguiars Ultimate Quik Wax or Meguiars Gold Class Premium Quik Wax, although need to figure out what their difference is!

Lliswery ward so not too far away from a Halfords.

 

[M1k3H]

Just went out for lunch, only to remember there's a Halfords not too far from work, so went in and got the clay starter kit and Ultimate Quik Wax from Meguiars with the 30% from Halfords, and another 8% off due to workplace discounts, both for £24, so not too bad!

 

[rhysduck]

Lovely! Happy cleaning

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Exhaust tips, now that was a grim job.

Autoglym wheel cleaner, gloves, wire wool and a good bit of elbow grease. Had one small patch of carbon that I couldn’t shift, but the rest came off quickly. Then polished with metal polish and sealed with autoglym clean wheels. They are shining inside and out.

Decided to tackle all the tar deposits on the underskirts. Don’t have tar remover to hand, but super resin polish seemed to work well.

 

[DarrenM343]

What are the decent easy to use products to use these days? Not really done much care of cars for years, just occasionally washing with BMW car wash or wash& wax stuff and harsh wheel cleaners on wheels. Picking up a new car in the next month or so. Not really into spending hours and hours on waxing which I'd see as a waste of time without a garage, even if it will give better protection, so particularly interested in good easy to use products, wash and wax kind of stuff or even spray on waxes etc.

The dealer gave me a Diamond Brite leaflet which I'm sure they'll try and sell me when I collect the car but I suspect that is overpriced tat? .
The wheels of my X1 are looking particularly ropey & corroded so I should probably spend a bit more time caring for wheels in future rather than just spraying on harsh chemicals once they're **** high with brake dust. Wheels on new car will be forged and probably not cheap. REcommendations on care?

 

[LiE]

Something like CarPro Hydro2 Lite (https://carpro.uk.com/products/hydro2-lite-ready-to-use-advanced-coating-1000ml) or Gyeon Wetcoat (https://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/gyeon-q2m-wetcoat) would be least effort. Simply spray on a wet car after you’ve cleaned it and spray off. Should give a couple months protection. Can also use it on the wheels if you didn’t want to invest in a dedicated wheel sealant.

Once your wheels are protected then regular car soap and some wheel brushes should be more than enough if you don’t leave cleaning for months.

For spray on wipe off protection CarPro reload is good.

You can get a better service/coating than diamondbrite from a local detailer, it’ll probably be cheaper too.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

What are the decent easy to use products to use these days? Not really done much care of cars for years, just occasionally washing with BMW car wash or wash& wax stuff and harsh wheel cleaners on wheels. Picking up a new car in the next month or so. Not really into spending hours and hours on waxing which I'd see as a waste of time without a garage, even if it will give better protection, so particularly interested in good easy to use products, wash and wax kind of stuff or even spray on waxes etc.

The dealer gave me a Diamond Brite leaflet which I'm sure they'll try and sell me when I collect the car but I suspect that is overpriced tat? .
The wheels of my X1 are looking particularly ropey & corroded so I should probably spend a bit more time caring for wheels in future rather than just spraying on harsh chemicals once they're **** high with brake dust. Wheels on new car will be forged and probably not cheap. REcommendations on care?

Bilberry wheel cleaner or something equally non-acidic and gentle on the wheels.

If you want the easiest most effective strategy then pick up a pressure washer if you don’t already have one e.g. nilfisk. Then an effective snowfoam, bilt hamber is one of the best. Then I use autoglym polar wash (literally spray it on and wash the car with a mitt), then autoglym polar seal for an instant seal with ridiculous shine and protection.

 

[kinetic747]

then autoglym polar seal for an instant seal with ridiculous shine and protection.

I enjoy cleaning and applying protection to my car but Polar Seal is a game changer for me and it's the only thing I'll be using in winter.

 

[LiE]

Used Gyeon Leather cleaner a few times and it’s left a really bad finish. Spray on and foam up and agitate with the Gyeon leather brush. Removed with a clean MF.

Tried to remove it with more of the leather leaner, no luck, probably worse. Hitting it a couple times with megs APC seems to help a bit. Any ideas what the hell is happening and what I can do to fix it?

https://i.imgur.com/O6iXb8X.jpg

Never using this again, terrible.

 

[pepsilol]

What are the decent easy to use products to use these days? Not really done much care of cars for years, just occasionally washing with BMW car wash or wash& wax stuff and harsh wheel cleaners on wheels. Picking up a new car in the next month or so. Not really into spending hours and hours on waxing which I'd see as a waste of time without a garage, even if it will give better protection, so particularly interested in good easy to use products, wash and wax kind of stuff or even spray on waxes etc.

The dealer gave me a Diamond Brite leaflet which I'm sure they'll try and sell me when I collect the car but I suspect that is overpriced tat? .
The wheels of my X1 are looking particularly ropey & corroded so I should probably spend a bit more time caring for wheels in future rather than just spraying on harsh chemicals once they're **** high with brake dust. Wheels on new car will be forged and probably not cheap. REcommendations on care?

If you want easy take a look at www.samsdetailing.co.uk. Products and names are straightforward

 

[Cookeh]

They are straightforward, unfortunately the products themselves can't stand up to the competition - especially when they price themselves at the higher end of the market.

Bilt Hamber make some truly fantastic products that are good value and are also pretty self-explanatory name wise. Their AutoWheel product is probably the best wheel cleaner on the market at the minute and is good value. If you want something you can walk into Halfords and buy then Meguiars Ultimate Wheel Cleaner is basically 9/10ths of what AutoWheel is (but at 50% more cost).