Car Cleaning products

[Ash007ks]

Ive been out of the nice car game for a year or so while i owned a van.

 

I have since bought a Stealth Black VRS and just wanted to see what products people had found worked well and also wanted to share my experience with what i used to take out the swirls on my paint.

 

If you copy the format below and post what you use or have tried and tested that would be great, also it would be rude not to have a picture or a bead shop of you car so make sure you attach one, and even a before and after.

 

Pre wash - ( found some Demon Shine Snow foam kicking around) Snow foam with lance, Usually use Chemical guys or Dodo Juice snow foam and let soak for 15 minutes, the car was heavily soiled as i made the dealer promise not to wash my car and it had been delivered from Scotland.

 

2 Bucket Method - I was shown this a few years ago whilst at a show and swear by the method. The soap i used was called Iron X , gets rid of the fallout and iron particles to leave the paint smooth. For those that have never used this method, both buckets contain grit guards , one bucket contains your soap and the other contains just clean water make sure to use lambswool mit. Every panel you clean you then dip the mat in the clean water and squeeze. This gets rid of grit and grime to prevent scratches.

 

Clay bar- I usually add this in if I'm not happy with how the panels feel afterwards. Bilt hamber or Megiuars are two that ive used.

 

Polishing - I used an Orbital buffer with varying speeds and Mezerna 400 swirl remover with polish and an Orange Pad. This got rid of the bigger swirls and smaller scratches. 

 

Wax/Sealant- Best stuff ive used in a long time is called FUSSO ( mostly used by the jap show cars owners) The particular ones i used are by Soft 99 and called King of Gloss (Sealant). It has great hydrophobic properties that give nice beading when it rains and generally keeps the car's maintenance washes down within a 3 month period. Ive also found Sonus has really great waxes as well but haven't used it on this occasion.

 

Windows- The water is quite hard where i live so i generally get water marks if I'm not quick enough with the drying towel whilst the car is wet. I use general window cleaner by Astonish to get the grime off and then finish it with Autoglym Glass polish. 

 

Engine bay- I use a foaming spray by a company called Gunk. Foaming spray ive found to be the best for this type of stuff because even when you over shoot your still taking grease off something else. I leave it to soak for 5-10 minutes depending on the grime levels.

 

Tyres- Enduro gel by Megiuars, ive found nothing that lasts anywhere near as long as what this stuff does. Even works great added to outer plastic trims.

 

Alloys-  Auto finesse iron out is my go to for this. Ive tried a few others one being devils breath from Chemical guys ( AVOID ) dreadful product that leaves you putting in more elbow grease than what is required. I then seal these as above.

 

Interior- Carpets/seats I use 1000/1 soap detergent and brush it into the carpets and seats. I leat it sit slightly before further agitation. I then use a wet vac and extract the Nastiness. 

 

Dash- Ive just tested Turtle wax interior shine with air freshener. I have to say for £4.99 its a great product but i have nearly used 3/4 of the car on one go to bring the dash back to life. Tiny scratches on the plastic carbon trim i removed the majority with Autoglym Metal polish. This was a trick i was shown in the motorbike world to clean plastic lenses and screens. A small smidge added to a cloth and buff and then clean off with the cockpit shine.

 

Before and after pictures added.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 27 May, 2019 by Ash007ks

[Kenai]

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/8-styling-and-car-care/

 

You might enjoy this section of the forum!

 

I currently use AG Polar Blast for prewash, though since watching some great testing by Forensic Detailing on YouTube I'll be going to Bilt Hamber Auto Foam next. 

 

 

 

It doesn't give you the pretty foam but the cleaning and rust inhibition combined put it head and shoulders above the others for me. 

 

Following that I'm generally a fan of Meguiars and Bilt Hamber products, using either Megs Gold Class shampoo or Ultimate Wash and Wax if it's just quick wash. Bilt Hamber Auto Wheels is fantastic. Megs Endurance Tyre Gel.

 

For more decontamination I use AG Intensive Tar Remover and a Farecla G3 Clay Mitt. 

[Ash007ks]

Thanks for the suggestion Kenai , I'm more than happy for a mod to move the post to the detailing section.

[stubev156]

Going to use a Bilt Hamber clay bar for the first time later this week, then seal with Bilt Hamber wax polish.   Hoping it gives lasting results!  Your car above looks stunning by the way....

[Ash007ks]

2 minutes ago, stubev156 said:

Going to use a Bilt Hamber clay bar for the first time later this week, then seal with Bilt Hamber wax polish.   Hoping it gives lasting results!  Your car above looks stunning by the way....

 

Just a couple of tips I've found, is make sure you use a good fallout remover to get rid of the iron particles on the paint and then use plenty of quick detailed or clay lube with the clay and avoid putting it on it direct sun as it's a bleeder to get off.

 

I'll show you how it came from the dealers 😂👀 its had a life of 5 quid car washes and dealership cleaners before me.

[StealthRS245]

I also have a black Octavia, certainly wasn't in a condition as bad yours though! The after shot looks stunning though, good job. Here are my favourite products:

 

Pre-wash - Use a Bowdens snow foamer with Concourse Snow. Have tried Gyeon Foam, AG Polar Blast and Megs Gold Class but Concourse is the best. Leave to dwell for 5 minutes or so.

 

2 Bucket Method - I have used Bowdens Nanowash which is fantastic, now using Poorboys Slick and Suds with a Concourse Cloudburst MF mitt. Also a grit guard - it's easy to see why these are so important. I usually dry it with a Bowdens big green sucker and a drying aid such as Afterglow.

 

Clay bar- I only need to do this yearly. Used a Chemical Guys fine clay bar with Bowden's detail spray. I also used Autoglym Magma or Carpro IronX to remove iron fallout. I also just bought a clay mitt to try next time.

 

Polishing - I didn't have any huge defects, just swirls. The best combination was a DAS6 DA polisher with Lake County blue and orange cutting/polishing pads with Menzerna 2400 and 3500 polish respectively, although it really didn't need the second stage as the paint is hard and not fussy like some other solid paints. Tip: don't even think about getting Chemical Guys V-line of polishes, you might as well be polishing with water and sprinkling chalk everywhere afterwards. It's terrible. I also once gave it a going over with Autoglym SRP and a finishing pad, it came up really nice and masked the swirls for a month or two.

 

Wax/Sealant- Chemical guys Pete's 53 looks great and lasts a surprisingly long time if you're gentle with the maintenance washes. However, I've never got a better finish than CG butter wet wax. The car just looks like it's dripping and almost glows in the sunlight, it brings out the metallic flake very well. It's also very easy to apply. I also tried CG Black Light but was not impressed. I'd like to try some other waxes so I bought some Collinite to try at a later date. I also use Bowden's After Glow as a drying aid which gives a great shine and pretty good protection.

 

Windows- I just use Autoglym Fast Glass with a MF towel, folded, and flip to buff off. Works fine.

 

Engine bay- PoorBoys APC or Bowdens Agent Orange removes all the dust, followed up with Zaino's tyre and trim protector - I like it because of its a non-greasy formula and gives a matt/satin finish to the plastic trim.

 

Tyres- I've tried Autoglym tyre gel (lasts a long time but too hard to apply) and Autoglym spray on tyre finish but settled on Zaino's tyre and trim protector.

 

Alloys-  Concours Purge reactive wheel cleaner works fantastic, allow it to dwell for a couple of minutes and the hose off, followed by a scrub with some wheel woollies, a soft bristle brush and a separate bucket with Megs Gold Class soap. Then I seal with Bowdens slick finish.

 

Interior- Carpets/seats/trim- I use Autoglym interior cleaner for the carpet and trim, with a stiff brush for the carpet and a soft bristle brush for the trim and steering wheel. I use Meguiars leather cleaner/conditioner for the steering wheel and leather trim, seems to work OK. Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber protector goes onto the plastic trim and gives a nice matt finish after its buffed with an MF towel. I haven't touched the Alcantara though, not sure how to clean it and besides it has a protective coat on it anyway from the dealer.

 

By the way, I don't think Bowden's is available outside of Australia, but hopefully, they start exporting soon because their products are really good for the average enthusiast and reasonably priced. Their microfibres are the best in the business though.

 

[Ash007ks]

25 minutes ago, StealthRS245 said:

 

 

 

Those wheels really do suit the black car really well. Are they off a golf ?

 

The auto guy enduro gel, I've got an old hard sponge wax applicator that i got with the fuss wax that would have been way too course to use on my paint. Or depending on the tyre style i have a tyre brush that is made for cleaning tyres, both allow easy and quick application.

 

I would definitely recommend Fusso King of Gloss to you, not that you get much rain in Australia 

 

 

[penguin17]

Don't forget with Bilt Hamber clays you can just use water to lube.  Though I do add a little Chemical Guys P40 QD too.

 

 

[StealthRS245]

On 28/05/2019 at 17:32, Ash007ks said:

 

 

Those wheels really do suit the black car really well. Are they off a golf ?

 

I would definitely recommend Fusso King of Gloss to you, not that you get much rain in Australia 

 

 

Correct, the wheels are Pretorias, from a Golf R. Yes I would love to try Fusso but no-one sells it here. Might be able to get it from Amazon eventually 

[Ash007ks]

Another good product to bring to peoples attention is Auto finesse Iron out, can be used on the wheels and on the body as a fallout remover.

[samuir1974]

If you have time to watch some youtube content.... i thoroughly recommend you check out

Jon Delieu and the Forensic Detailing Channel...

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_4lRohBzY20wjsFGWS0Jzg

[Ash007ks]

I've today tried the NXT car shampoo. Have to say it works exactly as it says, however i don't believe i get as good a clean on the paintwork as i would from Iron X car shampoo, Snow foam. 

 

Just ordered a few new Chemical guys products today to try as well and will report back on my findings. I heard a lot of rage about the Blacklight glaze so thought id give it a bash, ordered some chemical guys fabric cleaner and a brush attachment for the drill to give the seats a good going over.