CAN YOU RECOMEND BEST CLEANING PRODUCT FOR MY CAR

[X5Sport]

[quote=""MJim""]What's the best solution for those who can't realistically wash their own car - live in a city flat, car parked on street, also short on time courtesy of work and two young boys?? I've historically used an Eastern European hand wash set up - fine for my current car but wondering what to do when the new X5 rocks up![/quote]

Croatian (or any other Generic Eastern European type) car wash when you go to Sainsbury's........ One of our friends does just that.

............or move house.

[snipez999]

Those drive-in hand wash places are something else. Remember seeing a Bentley Continental GT drive up to 'the next guy' in the line. He'd just been leaning against the long-handled brush, with the brush head on the floor, and proceeded to pick it up and rub it nice and hard across the car. A shine to be proud of?!

[Minda]

[quote=""snipez999""]Those drive-in hand wash places are something else. Remember seeing a Bentley Continental GT drive up to 'the next guy' in the line. He'd just been leaning against the long-handled brush, with the brush head on the floor, and proceeded to pick it up and rub it nice and hard across the car. A shine to be proud of?![/quote]
The guy just wanted go faster stripes

[Dan1502]

On the detailing section of pistonheads there's a list of detailers. Detailing is generally something you get done very occasionally. If I cant wash the car myself due to being busy then there's a place near me that washes using snow foam and a jet wash only and though this might not be as good as following the same procedure with a hand wash, it does mean no gritty sponges touch the car.

[MJim]

Anyone know of a quality car wash place in London - not looking for top notch detailing, just somewhere to get a regular wash without gaining the above sort of go slower stripes and swirls !?

[AW8]

Big place that.........

Sorry I can't recommend anyone in London, however, perhaps be more geographically specific. If unable to get a recommendation on here I would look around online or maybe by visiting places. Ideally try to find a dedicated business that also specialises in correction as they are unlikely to encourage staff to perform wash routines that undo their hard corection work, (though I can see the financial albeit unlikely benefits of causing customers to prematurely pay for re-correction). Maybe ask to see cars being washed or that have been washed.

A car wash option for those owners with own small businesses : Maybe if so motivated to get a trustorthy member of staff to wash the car albeit after first having found their own workable & sustainable wash routine which yields the desired results & importantly training the member of staff to correctly wash & dry the car with correct method & products so as to avoid less desireable results, (e.g to avoid clearcoat damage &/or a poor finish).

Similarly those with trustable & sensible children may wish to get same to earn pocket money if capable of doing a good job.

[MJim]

Many thanks for the suggestions - very helpful! I'm West London so if anyone has knowledge of anywhere good, would be much appreciated. In my case my children are boys aged 3 and 1 (not walking yet) so probably a bit young to be cleaning the car!! In fact they're more likely to be the reason it needs cleaning!

[AW8]

Intro :

My total product range represents a relatively low cost wash/detail outlay. I don't use mutliple or expensive products.....No prewash treatments, soak products, cleaners, foams, wheel products, special attachments. I try to clean the car(s) when dirty not just once a week. I respect choices of sensible others who invest more time &/or outlay. I work towards having a car that's mostly presentable most of the time by using a cost & time effective simple regime.

Washing :

1. Hose or Pressure wash to remove any muck/mud thus reducing dragging of mobile contaminants across the clearcoat.

2. Wash 1 or 2 panels at a time then dry & buff same before moving onto next section. I use 2 buckets, (unless light soil such as stood rain marks).

3. On finer & bright days I use some diluted detailing spray with a Microfibre (MF), cloth.

4. In consistent mild weather spells I may additionally use a hand held duster mop maybe with stage 3 above to reduce frequency of avoidable washing.


Nothing elaborate here & although I own Meguiars NXT shampoo I seldom use it. I feel shampoo's can compromise integrity of any prior applied wax/sealant. Additionally a shampoo wash requires an additional time consuming rinse phase before drying & means drying the whole car rather than my method which allows me to dry sections shortly after washed & before stubborn water marks appear. Basic kit used - Kent micronoodle mitt, (sourced for under £3), 2 cheap but durable buckets plus a couple of drying cloths, one Meguiars waffle & one Microfibre (MF) nothing costly. I should have grit guards but I often check the Mitt for contamination, (rinsing in the rinse bucket & taking clean water from the other). Because water is clear I can see what I am placing my Mitt in & its wash surface........this reduces risk of creating scatches & swirl marks from dragging abrasive material across the clearcoat.

Waxing/Sealing LSP ( Last Stage Product) :

The Collinite 915 I use came top in wax tests on "Detailing World" yet costs significantly less than waxes used by others. That's not to say more expensive waxes are inferior, however, I am very happy with my wax of choice. As prior stated having a correct wash technique is key to keeping a car presentable - waxing a scruffy clearcoat will not yield best results with any wax. My wax simply applied when required & removed using budget MF cloths.

Correction:

I use a Meguiars Random Orbital Polisher, (I wouldnt buy another of same make.model as there have allegeldly been durability issues with these). I also have various pads & Meguiars Polishes including a trial bottle of Meguiars 105, (which has much more cut than most Meguiars offerings) . Random Orbital machines really are safe to use, (even by complete novices), assuming gross recklessness is avoided. Online video tutorials can help. BMW clearcoat is very hard & thus the more dedicated products are likely to make easier work with a Random Orbital Polisher. I believe pvr has already given his recommendation for Menz products. I have also used more aggressive products & methods on cars in the past but it is not appropriate to mention these here as I do not want folk to make mistakes.

Other Products & Cleaning :

For limited odd marks & minor imperfections Autoglym Super Resin Polish, (AG SRP), is an old favourite of mine for very localised correction by hand, (such as residual marking from stubborn bird mess or a random light scratch). Hard BMW clearcoat means miracles should not be expected on our cars & significant physical effort may be required. Historically I have also used the product to hand polish & seal entire cars with acceptable results. If I could only have one polish/wax product this would be it.

I also have AG Extra Gloss Protection ( EGP), but as I no longer use SRP as my chosen sealant I do not use it to follow up same anymore. There are newer AG products but I havent used them yet.

Meguiars NXT is a popular choice for those wishing to fill/conceal imperfections in the clearcoat but frequent applications required to reduce visbility of, (non physically corrected), swirls & marks.

I'm not overly fussy with products for other surfaces.

Glass : In finer weather supermarket glass cleaner works fine.

Black Trim : Various black trim dressings out there. I have dedicated Meguiars stuff at the moment but a can of Back to Black or other similar spray stuff can be easier if applying quickly & frequently.

Interior Nooks & Crevices etc : My most used interior product is a paintbrush with masking tape around the bristle clamp. Interiors on many cars so often look far from new because folk just don't concentrate on the small details. Other than that its the Dyson. I used carpet shampoo on all carpets when I first bought the car & guess these would benefit from being done again- dark carpet helps for me. Folk with supaguarded carpets etc may do well to leave alone unless obvious marks.

Chrome etc : Autosol as good as most for the tailpipes and also the sills if residue removed from the rubber.

Rims : The Collinite doubles up on the rims asa can any othr wax. I am sure someone will advocate products with a higher temp threshold for durability. I also clean & seal other painted alloy surfaces on the rims, (accesible through & behind the spokes), pretty frequently

Sills : On my E53 trhese can mark & pit in bad weather especially when salt on roads. Autosol works for me meguiars Chrome paste also but IMO its overrated. I follow up with WD40 but I wipe of excess to avoid folk slipping on the finished surface.

Engine Bay : Once a month or so I wipe over with old cloths & when so motivated some form of black trim on the plastic bits. WD40 on a cloth to help remove any muck & end of life toothbrushes can help get into small spaces as can a paintbrush. Whenever bonnet opened in colder weather then leaves are removed from the gutters if found.

Under the car & brakes : Often overlooked but vulnerable to muck. When motivated I get under the car. Once a year at least I tackle same with old rags, WD40 & anything else I can find to hand. A karcher under arch lance can be helpful for those with a pressure washer of that make & so additionally accessorised. If rining dust from brakes its worth drying them off with a short run and brake applications, (be careful as performance copuld be compromised when wet).

Clay: I also have & use this but shouldnt need doing too frequently if paint kept free of contaminats ands debris. Used by me before machine polishing & maybe to remove bonded contaminants such as tar spots from lower sections of doors). I always follow with correction or at least Wax/LSP.

Products to avoid :

Sponges : Unless very soft I would avoid. Years ago I always used same but they can easily trap dirt which then gets dragged across the clearcoat. Fine for under arches, sills etc & for me - still handy for alloys, (ideally not same item as that used under thae arches !!).

Chamois : By half decent dedicated drying towels from reputable sources & never look back. No smelly leather, NO slime, No smeared bits. If I really desired going back to a chamois I would replace it regularly & make sure its cared for/not contaminated with debris.

Rotary Polishers (for novices) : Fine in good hands & used by professional detailers as well as by sone keen amatuer detailers. Nowadays nearly all amatuers on DW seem to start with a random polisher first. I wont go into great detail but the rotary by design generates far more heat & needs better technique. I wouldn't recommed one to a compelte newbie to detailing.....As I am now more confident with my random orbital a rotary may be a later progression for me at some point.

Cheap Lint Cloth by the roll & abrasive cloths : The lint stockinette on a roll really isn't good. Old Cotton T-shirts can be better although I tend to use these on rims and door shuts. As prior stated I use MF cloths generally & these can be sourced from reputable traders on DW forums & via ebay. If in doubt do a CD test...........Get a blank or unwanted CD & rub/wipe same with potential cloth of choice. If it stcrtaches the surface then expect it to do same to your car.

Much more on Detailing World & Autopia websites for folk so inclined & genuinely motivated to keep on top of things.



HTH

[Sundayjumper]

And please, please, please don't use that awful silicone spray on the interior. The stuff that makes the plastic all shiny & slippery. Every car I've bought in the last couple of years has been completely plastered with it and it takes ages to clean off

[StumpyPete]

[quote=""X5Sport""]I had the BMW offered paint sealer put on my X6 at new and hey told me that I should not use a car wash (I never do) for the reasons stated above. The bodyshop manager suggested using Autoglym car wash correctly mixed and avoid use of a polishing product as it might damage the coating. As the weather has been rubbish, I haven't cleaned the X6 yet, but that may be a job for tomorrow..

I normally use AutoGlym products as a 'System' on all our bimmers. If I have time I wash by hand, dry off, and then apply one coat of Resin Polish followed by two coats of Extra Gloss Wax. Seems to last a couple of months at least depending upon how dirty the cars get. I've also used their Deep Shine as well. For the iinterior leather I use their Leather Cream every 6 months, and has been suggested above, I use a microfibre cloth to wipe everything else down.

Meguiars is rated quite highly too, but I've not used it given I have a cupboard full of AG products.[/quote]


Me too - i find Autoglym to work really well and their wheel cleaner is pretty good too.