*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***

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Magic_x_uk said:
What other bits do I need.

ie: buckets, sponges, wax, wheel cleaner, dashboard cleaner etc,
car has fabric seats. Also where to buy from
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Get yourself two buckets. One will be with your warm water and car shampoo, and the other for rinsing to minimise how much grit is in your "good" water. You can get grit guards if you want to be extra careful but it depends how much you want to spend

Avoid sponges, they aren't great and you'll be more likely to scratch up your paint if you aren't careful. Get a wash mit, either lambs wool or just a microfibre one. Also, get yourself some microfibre towels, you can get a bulk lot off ebay for £10-15, they won't be the best, but they are more than good enough to start with and cheap enough that you can just throw away if needed.

In terms of shampoo, polish, wax etc, to start with, I'd just buy the Autoglym starter pack from Halfords. It's usually on offer for around £40 and contains everything you need to do a good job

If then you find you enjoy it and want to invest more money in to it, then you can start looking into more expensive waxes and so on.
 
Magic_x_uk said:
ie: buckets, sponges, wax, wheel cleaner, dashboard cleaner etc,
car has fabric seats. Also where to buy from.
Thank you and have a merry Christmas
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I'm far from an expert, and I only use some of the more 'budget' products compared to some on here - student and cheap car, so... :p

Here's a rough starting list:

2x buckets - One for washing solution, one for just water to rinse your mitt off after each use.
1x microfibre cleaning mitt - Generally preferred to sponges, not sure why for others but I simply prefer the convenience of the mitt.
pH neutral car shampoo - Avoid household stuff like Fairy. I like Auto Glym's stuff, which you can get in Halfords, but no doubt someone here will give you a better product).
Wheel cleaner - Gunna want something a bit stronger than car shampoo to really clean your wheels, I like Simoniz's products cos it's pretty cheap whilst being pretty effective. Remember to wash your wheels with a separate mitt to the rest of the car - I also like to wash them first.
Microfibre drying cloth - This isn't strictly necessary but its a damn site quicker than letting it air dry, and can give better results as such.
Wax/Polish - I can't really advise here, my car is only 7 weeks old and was detailed numerous times during its sale period so has more than enough on it to last till after winter - hence I've not looked into it.

That's about it for a "basic" wash. If you want to go the full hog you'll want some decent snowfoam and an appropriate lance for it (great for pre-washing the car and removing most of the heavy grim before you attack it with a mitt, can help to prevent scratches and swirls etc). Clay bar is also good for post-wash and pre-wax (really helps to get the last of the junk, tar and fallout off your paint before your wax it). Then you can get stuff like detailers for your tyre sidewalls, to re-black them and exhaust cleaning stuff to bring the shine out etc...

Interior wise, just grab some dashboard cleaning wipes from Halfords - again I like the Simoniz ones. Works great for me.
 
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snow foam and citrus pre wash do the same thing just goes about it differently.

personally i use the citrus.

kkd blizzard is the snow foam of choice for a lot of people.
 
I got a foam lance attachment for our Nilfisk pressure washer a while back but never had the chance to use it until yesterday. We managed to clean 3 cars relatively quickly with the snow foam followed by a two bucket wash to remove any residual dirt.

I used some Bilt Hamber solution but was a bit unsure how best to dilute it. We found that it didn't stay on the car for long but from reading around, that seems to be the case for others as well.

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Before:
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After:
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There was still some loose dirt that just needed wiping off but overall the result was pretty good.

I also took the opportunity to properly clean the alloys using some Bilberry and a new brush I bought from cleanyourcar.

Mondeo Alloys:
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MX-5 Alloys:
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The MX-5 alloys had been ceramic sealed a while back but it is still effective. I didn't need any Bilberry for that, just a quick wash and wipe down.
 
Hoping to clean my car next weekend as there might be a short interval of non-rain so I thought I'd make sure I've got everything I need and the right order to do it in. I've gone back through the thread a fair few pages and put a couple things together on cleanyourcar so alternatives are welcomed (pref from one website to save on shipping)

On a side note, when you get to your car and you see a bird has pooped on it how do you get rid without scratching the paint?

1. Nilfisk pressure washer with Chemical Guys - Honeydew Snow Foam. Spray on and leave to soak.
2. Use pressure washer to rinse off.
3. Use Premium 'thumbed' Lambskin Wash Mitt to put soap on with bucket (do I use the same soap as before or another soap?)
4. Dry with CleanYourCar Huge 'Fluffy' Drying Towel (2ft by 3ft! Almost as big as me!)
5. I feel like I should do something with wax/polish but I really do not have the patience or strength, is there anything that comes built into some soap I could use?
6. Valet Pro - Inch Round Wheel Brush (do I need this if I have a pressure washer?) & SONAX Xtreme Wheel Rim Sealant for alloys.
 
Bexx said:
Hoping to clean my car next weekend as there might be a short interval of non-rain so I thought I'd make sure I've got everything I need and the right order to do it in. I've gone back through the thread a fair few pages and put a couple things together on cleanyourcar so alternatives are welcomed (pref from one website to save on shipping)

On a side note, when you get to your car and you see a bird has pooped on it how do you get rid without scratching the paint?

1. Nilfisk pressure washer with Chemical Guys - Honeydew Snow Foam. Spray on and leave to soak.
2. Use pressure washer to rinse off.
3. Use Premium 'thumbed' Lambskin Wash Mitt to put soap on with bucket (do I use the same soap as before or another soap?)
4. Dry with CleanYourCar Huge 'Fluffy' Drying Towel (2ft by 3ft! Almost as big as me!)
5. I feel like I should do something with wax/polish but I really do not have the patience or strength, is there anything that comes built into some soap I could use?
6. Valet Pro - Inch Round Wheel Brush (do I need this if I have a pressure washer?) & SONAX Xtreme Wheel Rim Sealant for alloys.
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5. Take a look at Gyeon Wet coat
6. If you don't have one, get a old wash mitt will still work
 
nam said:
5. Take a look at Gyeon Wet coat
6. If you don't have one, get a old wash mitt will still work
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Just watched a youtube video, that's actually pretty cool! So after washing with soap and bucket and rinsing off I would spray that on then rinse again before drying as normal. Sounds fab!
 
I got a question for you, I just got a new Audi Q5 in Daytona Grey, What would be the best clean products to use to keep it clean and look good.
 
As it's new you'd hope there wouldn't be too many defects in the paint. Depends how hardcore you want to go, you could go straight for a clay, polish and then a wax or sealant and then just have maintenance washes. A good wash practice is necessary though.

Depends if you want to preserve the paintwork or just let the local EU hand wash at it :p
 
I would prefer to keep the paintwork as it is. Audi did put their paint protection GuardX on the car and no I would not let the local EU wash it..

I already have a snow foam lance and use the 2 bucket method.

I've run out of Snowfoam and Shampoo, which prior I was using Ultimate Snow foam and Dodo Juice Apple Shampoo.
 
Hyburnate said:
Ideally you'd also clay but yeah.

Will go into further detail if you wish :)
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That'd be great if you wouldn't mind please

I'm literally clueless, do I wet the car before I snowfoam it or does that just move dirt about and scratch it? When using the bucket is it the snowfoam soap I'm using or a different one? I'm such a novice
 
Bexx said:
That'd be great if you wouldn't mind please

I'm literally clueless, do I wet the car before I snowfoam it or does that just move dirt about and scratch it? When using the bucket is it the snowfoam soap I'm using or a different one? I'm such a novice
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watch this guys channel. he will teach you everything you need to know about cleaning your car. yes he plugs his own products but not right in your face like the other guys such as chemical guys videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom
 
baron02 said:
I would prefer to keep the paintwork as it is. Audi did put their paint protection GuardX on the car and no I would not let the local EU wash it..

I already have a snow foam lance and use the 2 bucket method.

I've run out of Snowfoam and Shampoo, which prior I was using Ultimate Snow foam and Dodo Juice Apple Shampoo.
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Pretty sure using anything other than GuardX's products you invalidate the warranty on it, worth bearing in mind.

Bexx said:
That'd be great if you wouldn't mind please

I'm literally clueless, do I wet the car before I snow foam it or does that just move dirt about and scratch it? When using the bucket is it the snow foam soap I'm using or a different one? I'm such a novice
Click to expand...

I'd go straight on with snow foam personally if you apply water to the car all you are doing is further diluting the snow foam. Ideally, you want to be using two buckets, I use plasterers buckets from Wickes as at £6 for 30L buckets they're dirt cheap. You'll want a good shampoo, the snow foam is purely for the snow foam, this is really down to personal preference I really like MadCow Candy Bath as it glides over the paintwork and is very sudsy :D However, I also like Sonax Gloss.

I personally would focus on getting a good wash routine before investing in any polish or further protection unless there is absolutely none (if your car holds all the water you know you have no protection although this is unlikely). After your next wash take a look at the paint, if you've got a light coloured car you'll probably see lots of little black and orange dots this means the car ideally wants claying which removes embedded contaminants and is then essentially bare. If you notice swirls you ideally want to fill them unless you invest in a machine polisher and remove them. Filling just hides them but when topped with a wax or sealant which will lock the polish in is still good.

^ not sure if any of the above made sense :D
 
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Hi there,
I received a new Nilfisk pressure washer for Christmas and now wish to purchase a snow foam lance + snow foam.
Please can I get recommendations and where is best to get it from?

Thanks
 
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