*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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I mean it’s almost impossible not to get some overspray. It doesn’t seem to do any harm.

Yeah it’s not recommended for soft tops because it’s not the right product for the job, not because it will harm the soft top in anyway if you happen to get some on there. Which as you say is practically impossible not to.
 
Yeh bois!

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Other than Gtechniq QD, there is currently no wax/polish on the car.
 
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As if it isn't bad enough all the roads in my area are completely covered in damp salty water, some idiot going door to door with a pressure washing van doing 'demos' on people's drives splashes muddy crap over the front of my car - main jet was angled away but he got himself covered in muddy splashback and more importantly my wing and bumper too :rolleyes:



Looked alright after rinsing with a watering can but for a brief moment I was starting think about where I could hide a dead body.
 
Strange one this, looking for any assistance with it. Karcher K2 works perfectly fine on water only with the standard pressure lance that comes with the washer. But if I connect up my Karcher FJ6 snowfoam attachment I can run it for a few minutes and then it cuts out. I then have to go through the 'bleed' procedure by disconnecting the lance, switching the power off and then running the inlet hose open to have the water flow through and come out the outlet hose for a few minutes. Connect it all back up, switch on and try the snowfoam lance again and a few minutes later it cuts out.

Like I say, works no problem with just the water lance on, only have the issue with the snowfoam lance when it is attached. Any ideas?
 
Today I decided to give both cars a contract less wash, neither car has been washed sense I prepared them for winter in October. I don’t usual do a contactless wash, but it was cold and was the only time I had to do for next couple of weeks so it will have to do. My car what is a lighter Colour, I applied Fuso coat to it back then and it came up fairly well. Certainly not photo worthy but considering the miles I do looks much better.
On the other hand my wife’s black car, what I applied EZ ceramic coat to. Is cleaner but still looks flithy. Can’t wait for the warmer weather to get here, I have certainly become a fair weather weekend warrior.
 
My car got a nice wash yesterday by the main dealer after it was serviced. They’ve cleaned the bodywork and the soft top and also vacuumed inside, my floor mats look like new. Shame it won’t stay that way for long.
 
A comment on Reddit suggested STP Tuff Stuff was a great cleaner for steering wheels without leaving a shiny result and I tried it today after years of using magic erasers that are quite expensive and also abrasive if you're not careful so end up removing some leather coating layers.

Results are really good I reckon and it stays matte/removes any shine. I just sprayed some foam onto a MF and wiped around the wheel. Did the centre armrest as well as that was getting shiny.

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Functional, I have the column at its lowest height and often manage to rub my jeans on the steering wheel getting in and out which is annoying. No longer the case on flat bottom, plus it looks cooler. Hands are always 9 and 3 anyway so not like it's an area I grip when driving.
 
Functional, I have the column at its lowest height and often manage to rub my jeans on the steering wheel getting in and out which is annoying. No longer the case on flat bottom, plus it looks cooler. Hands are always 9 and 3 anyway so not like it's an area I grip when driving.

+1

I get on well with mine.



Just a quick external clean for mine tomorrow. Going to try autofoam at 50:50 dilution. Works out quite uneconomical this way, but I’ll be pleased if it works. If not I’ll go back to polar blast. The sheer amount of salt on the car makes me wince at the moment. I need to get the Lance under the car. I’ve seen videos of people using their patio cleaner attachment under the car and it works well, but my old Nilfisk patio cleaner doesn’t pívot in order to make it possible. I’ll be getting a Karcher K7 next time.
 
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Got down on my hands and knees with some WD40 and a finger nail to remove old wheel weight glue.

I have an enamel paint pain arriving soon, 3 of the 4 wheels have weights on the inside edges which aren't visible though one has them on the outside edge and they're silver on black wheels. I could take them to a local refurb to have them changed but watched this earlier which will most likely suffice.
 
A comment on Reddit suggested STP Tuff Stuff was a great cleaner for steering wheels without leaving a shiny result and I tried it today after years of using magic erasers that are quite expensive and also abrasive if you're not careful so end up removing some leather coating layers.

Results are really good I reckon and it stays matte/removes any shine. I just sprayed some foam onto a MF and wiped around the wheel. Did the centre armrest as well as that was getting shiny.

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Ordered! Was looking for something like that the other day.


+2, I love my flat bottom. :p
 
I can really vouch for the LRC leather cleaner for leather steering wheels. My car is relatively new and lifted some grim from the steering wheel, so used it on the other half's car where her leather wheel was shiny and it lifted an incredible amount of dirt and left a matte effect.

It also smells amazing! (Smells like leather)
 
I have Gliptone GT11 and GT15 which are the leather conditioner (feed) and cleaner spray respectively. The cleaner spray is very good but leaves a matte texture on the steering wheel which transfers to your hands.

The conditioner is for seats as it leaves a sating lustre that feeds into the leather over time keeping it supple, not what you want on a steering wheel. I like the magic erasers and now, STP foam, because they clean the wheel whilst not leaving any coatings etc. I regularly keep the leather on the wheel moist by use of a damp cloth etc so after cleaning it's just topped up every so often with a damp cloth so the leather doesn't dry up without the need for any other products. I had my steering wheel done around 2017 if I remember right and that was with the car at 80k miles or so (now on 131k), so my methodology certainly works!
 
Much more impressed with autofoam this time around with a 50:50 dilution. Left it for around 10 minutes, it didn’t look like it had done a thing, went to wash it off and the layer of grime just lifted away. It was particularly obvious on the lower sills that I hadn’t covered properly and you could see where it had cleaned as it dripped down over them. I can only imagine how good the touchless pre-wash is. On a cold day or in a rush you could easily just leave it at that without any further cleaning.

The price of autofoam on prime has gone up a fair bit recently (winter demand I guess) so it’s not hugely economical, but at least it gets the job done.
 
Much more impressed with autofoam this time around with a 50:50 dilution. Left it for around 10 minutes, it didn’t look like it had done a thing, went to wash it off and the layer of grime just lifted away. It was particularly obvious on the lower sills that I hadn’t covered properly and you could see where it had cleaned as it dripped down over them. I can only imagine how good the touchless pre-wash is. On a cold day or in a rush you could easily just leave it at that without any further cleaning.

The price of autofoam on prime has gone up a fair bit recently (winter demand I guess) so it’s not hugely economical, but at least it gets the job done.

It goes a long way and doesn't need to be laid heavily on the car, so try being quite economical with the amount you spray on the car. Depending on car size it's possible to do 3-4 cars out of one lance.
 
Try measuring the PIR required, you may find a more economical ratio is required. I think my setup is 300ml to 700ml for 4% PIR.
 
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