Hey everyone..

 

I have AutoGlyn applied to my car, seats and windows.  What are the best products to clean the car, the windows and the seats?  I really want to look after this car, keep it looking new as long as possible.

 

Thanks, Ste.

To clean the car, i'd use safe PH neutral shampoo's / snow foams. Products that do not strip sealents / wax.

Hi

 

AutoGlym is actually a good base to start with & saying that I even still use 4-5 of there products today with my routine.

 

Its not so much of which is the best product to use! as there is so many decent & top rated products out there in the market but more so what are you willing to spend & if you want products off the shelf from in store or if you don't mind the products being delivered etc.

 

There is over a 1000 products you can choose from & so many as good as each other, also what works well for you etc.

 

I use AutoGlym fast glass for the windows, I actually find it a very good product (beads & water runs off) cleans the windows very well & good on the price which you can buy from halfords so easy access or the other product I use is Auto Finesse "Crystal" glass cleaner, I intend to use AG on the outside of the glass & AF "Crystal" on the inside of the glass.

 

As for your seats, are they full leather, half leather or cloth material etc, I use Auto Finesse "Hide" for the half leather & for the cloth part of the seats, I use AF "Total" which I find does the job perfectly for me, I also have AG "interior shampoo" which again will be ok to use on the cloth parts of the seats & does a great job in cleaning them up too.

 

I also have Snap-on seat covers over my seats, so I only have to clean/protect them when I feel I need to or if I see some grubby marks, then I start a full seat interior clean & once done, I then put the seat covers back over the seats but not until I've actually given the Snap-on covers a good shake, hoover & wipe down as-well.

 

So I can recommend these products but as I said, there is other products in the market that other people can recommend to you too.

 

It is more of a trial & error type & what works for you in a brand, might not work for someone else, everyone can recommend any product(s) to you, just like I have...But the main thing is to try the product(s) & try them well.

 

Either way you are on the right track with AG products so if they work well for you, then just carry on using AG  

 

 

Hi Ste. 

 

Good quality products will undoubtedly help you keep your car looking it's best. For availability. The Meg's Gold Class Shampoo from Halfords is good, as is Autoglym Fast Glass for window cleaning duties. For seats, it depends if they're leather or Cloth?

 

What is far more important than the products is Technique. So to wash the car, ideally you want a pressure washer and apply a pre wash via either a pump sprayer (decent 7l one at Screwfix http://www.screwfix.com/p/green-pressure-sprayer-7ltr/51100 Don't need a pressure washer for this) or via snow foam lance (need a pressure washer for this) which you can get on ebay for around the £15 mark. For a prewash Bilt Hamber Autofoam is great! http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/bilt-hamber-auto-foam-cat2.html free delivery at polishedbliss.

 

Then you need to wash the car via the Two Bucket Method. Decent desription for washing a car can be found, again, on polished bliss' website. But it's basically a bucket with clear water and a bucket with a shampoo solution. Put a high quiality wash mitt/pad in the shampoo solution, wash a panel, then rinse the grit out in the clear water, wring the mitt/pad and reload with some shampoo solution before moving on around the car, using that technique after every panel. A good link here http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/safe-washing-and-drying.html

 

Hope this makes sense dude, any more questions, just fire away!

I think we replied at the same time BATVANVRS 

^^   

 

At the same time & with sound advise from both of us   

How do we determine which products are going to be ok to use with any existing wax or sealant?

 

For example, my car is going straight from the dealer to a detailer and getting a new car workout followed by a long luxurious bath in Gtechnic products, wheels, glass, the lot. It'll come back coated in Crystal Serum Light, EXOv3 and so forth. I'm quite sure that Chris, who's doing the initial work will give me full instructions on how not to bugger it up, but I've just spent 15 minutes on polishedbliss working out the stuff I'll require (lance, snowfoam, mitts, etc) and I'm somewhat taken aback at the sheer number of products out there which all purport to do the same thing... the range is a little daunting.

 

When I read information like:

 

Quote

your choice of shampoo is important as it needs to be tough enough to dissolve dirt and grime, but at the same time not so aggressive as to strip or otherwise degrade existing layers of sealant or wax protection. Many shampoos on sale in high street stores are actually quite strong, and thus best avoided

 

I guess this means that the bottle of "Halfords Eze-Shine car shampoo" I have sitting in the garage is best chucked down the drain and I should stick the named brands available at places like polishedbliss.

@Mindbomb you can definitely ask the detailer any questions that you feel your not sure about & they will be able to answer them for you etc. But without a doubt I would definitely use a PH shampoo that is safe for waxes/sealants & won't strip off any protection that is on the vehicle.

 

You can be ages looking at buying a few things on a detailing website, choices choices etc but I would start of with the following:

 

1) 2 buckets with CG grit guards. (you could buy 3 buckets) if you wish, 1 for the alloy wheels.

2) PH Shampoo.

3) 2-3 quality wash mitts (sheep, lambswool or noodle) for various parts of the vehicle & don't forget for the wheels too.

4) A alloy wheel cleaner with a wheel brush or 2.

5) A QD spray & a very good quality drying towel, oh yeah & glass cleaner.

 

Apart from that, I can suggest loads more items  but for now that should be the equipment needed for a good quality wash routine.

 

This will help you on your way to keeping your vehicle clean & scratch free & definitely keep away from those nasty local car washes 

Thank you everyone for your help, very detailed replies and there's a lot more to washing a car than I ever expected! A lot more..

 

I'll have a look at making sure I get the right products, always wondered about the foamer, might give a few a try but I like the idea of using AutoGlym with it already having a coating on it. 

 

BATVANVRS have to admit to going to my local car wash garage (twice ) .. 

 

Only disadvantage to being really good at cleaning my car is I'll probably have to do the wife's too ..

 

Oh I have a half leather half cloth interior, which I really like 

4 hours ago, BATVANVRS said:

5) A QD spray & a very good quality drying towel, oh yeah & glass cleaner.

 

 

Already on my kit purchasing @BATVANVRS. @Chris vrs give me some info, advice and links and sent me off on a purchasing spree. Many thanks for the shortlist though - I'm also going to treat myself to a foam attachement for the karcher so most of the street will be wondering what the white stuff floating down the street in in a few months.

 

What is QD?

 

 

QD - Quick Detailer

 

Ta.

@Mindbomb

 

this is the the cheapest I've found the foam attachment with your choice & 1L bottle. http://www.saverschoiceuk.com/automotive/washing-and-drying/snow-foam-lance-premium-quality-with-full-brass-internals-various-fittings.html

 

Take a good look on the website  plenty of great & good products to be had