Cleaning products-help please!

[SoapySudz]

Evening all!
Joined especially for your expertise! Be gentle with me!
I want to buy husband a car cleaning/valeting set but have no idea what brand to go for.
Before lockdown both cars would go to the car wash every week but he’s been doing it himself lately and enjoys it (and I have too, I’ve found it quite relaxing!). I think he likes that he can be very particular with it whereas most times it goes to the car wash it comes back and the sills haven’t been wiped down or there’s soap that hasn’t been properly rinsed or somethings generally been missed.
Anyway, Please help with a kit!
Thank you

[anonymous-user]

https://dodojuice.net/collections/gifts-kits

I’ll be helpful before the vultures circle....

[psi310398]

Halfords frequently has an offer on for one kit or another, usually including the Autoglym starter pack in a red bag but I doubt if you'd go far wrong with any of them.

[SoapySudz]

Thank you for the replies
I’ve heard of autoglym, but wasn’t sure if it’s any good? I didn’t want to get anything too basic, I was thinking like a mid range product, is autoglym mid range? Sorry for sounding idiotic but I have no clue!
Can I ask, I’m thinking of buying a jet washer also, would a compact Karcher be suitable? I’ve looked at the k2.

[psi310398]

SoapySudz said:

Thank you for the replies
I’ve heard of autoglym, but wasn’t sure if it’s any good? I didn’t want to get anything too basic, I was thinking like a mid range product, is autoglym mid range? Sorry for sounding idiotic but I have no clue!
Can I ask, I’m thinking of buying a jet washer also, would a compact Karcher be suitable? I’ve looked at the k2.

Autoglym as a range is fine. You'll get evangelists for other brands, myself included (Koch Chemie in my case but costs add up quickly). However you asked about a starter kit and Autoglym will serve well at a reasonable cost.

Re Karcher. It should be ok as a starter but there is a shelf life with cheap washers. I have two sitting around needing repair. But it's probably worth establishing if this interest is going to last before spending serious cash on decent long-lasting kit like Kranzle.

[SoapySudz]

Thanks for your fast reply!
I keep seeing meguires whenever I do a search, is this any good?
Regarding the washer, would you recommend a different one then instead of a karcher? I only thought karcher as that’s the only brand I’ve heard of

[SoapySudz]

Apologies I’ve just noticed you’ve recommended a kranzle, I’ll have a nosey at those too thank you!

[jonobigblind]

SoapySudz said:

Thank you for the replies
I’ve heard of autoglym, but wasn’t sure if it’s any good? I didn’t want to get anything too basic, I was thinking like a mid range product, is autoglym mid range? Sorry for sounding idiotic but I have no clue!
Can I ask, I’m thinking of buying a jet washer also, would a compact Karcher be suitable? I’ve looked at the k2.

How big is the car? K2 is ok but the K4 offers a bit more clout and water flow.

If you want to help him show off a bit then a dedicated snow foam cannon (like this https://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/product/snow-foa... will give some Insta worthy shots but also genuinely help with the cleaning process. You don’t have to get it all to start off on the right path though

I think to kick things off you’ll just need:

• Three buckets (the £1 ones from B&Q are ace). One for washing, one for rinsing and one dedicated for the wheels as they’re usually the dirtiest
• micro fibre washmitts x 2
• stiff brush for doing the wheels and a wheel woolly for getting into the barrel of the alloys
• dedicated wheel cleaner to help lift off the brake dust and crud
• a spray gun (like you have for watering the plants around the home) will help with cleaning the sills and engine bay
• some decent shampoo - like Autoglym or equivalent
• a couple of drying towels

Anything else, including snow foam, all purpose cleaner, window cleaning and waxing can be build up as and when needed rather than splurging on it all in one go.

Happy shopping and it’s a good thing you’re doing for your chap. I find it really peaceful and helps my work / life balance when I’m messing about washing my cars.

[SoapySudz]

My goodness thank you so much for the list, that’s fab!!
He’s got a fabia vrs that he’s currently having a lot of work done to and just got a Skoda that I think he will also do something with.
He’s had a lot of performance cars in the past and takes a lot of pride in them, the Audi rs3 was the favourite!!
I hope he doesn’t see this thread!!

[psi310398]

SoapySudz said:

Thanks for your fast reply!
I keep seeing meguires whenever I do a search, is this any good?
Regarding the washer, would you recommend a different one then instead of a karcher? I only thought karcher as that’s the only brand I’ve heard of

Meguairs are fine, too.

You can spend a lot of money on products. Just get a mid-range starter kit and see how you go

I'd only be looking at a Kranzle if you also have a lot of patio to wash. If the cleaning bug disappears, it is an expensive bit of semi-specialist kit to be lumbered with although it will hold its second hand value.

[jonobigblind]

You’ll set him off on a dangerous path though, probably second only in time and expense to golf...

I got some new wax the other day and then got excited when it rained so I could take a shot like this...

My mrs panned me for it and I still haven’t managed to live it down with a few mates...

[_Hoppers]

If you really like your husband you could get him this (cheaper kits are available!!):

https://www.bilthamber.com/detailing-kits/deluxe-d...


Bilt Hamber do some really great products

[SoapySudz]

jonobigblind said:

You’ll set him off on a dangerous path though, probably second only in time and expense to golf...

I got some new wax the other day and then got excited when it rained so I could take a shot like this...

My mrs panned me for it and I still haven’t managed to live it down with a few mates...

To be fair that is very good looking wax!! I can understand your excitement for the rain!

[SoapySudz]

Oh Hoppers, what are you doing??!!! That looks a good kit! I can see myself getting sucked down a rabbit hole here, spending many hours reading reviews and ‘researching’!! (I know I’ll end up helping out cleaning too so it’s as much of a gift for me too! )

[_Hoppers]

SoapySudz said:

Oh Hoppers, what are you doing??!!! That looks a good kit! I can see myself getting sucked down a rabbit hole here, spending many hours reading reviews and ‘researching’!! (I know I’ll end up helping out cleaning too so it’s as much of a gift for me too! )

[Belle427]

Everyone has their favourites but that bilt hamber kit linked to is hard to beat.

[jonobigblind]

Agree. BH products are great and you can dilute them down to very low levels meaning they last a long time on your shelf too.

You might as well budget for a new shelving system in the garage as well. This is my lot after focusing on it for the last few months.

[blueg33]

In terms of pressure washer, I would avoid Karcher and go for Nilfisk, Amazon often have good deals. You read a alot about Karcher's going wrong, and PH tends to recommend Nilfisk (Kranzle great but expensive). My Nilfisk is 12 years old and works as well as it did on day 1. I use it to wash 4 cars every week or so.

My preferred products for actually washing the car are:

Blizzard Snow Foam (looks expensive but you use a time amount . you would need a pressure washer and a snow foam lance)

Shampoo - Bilt Hamber

Wax - On the 2 cars that aren't sealed I use Dodo Juice soft wax

Sealant Top Up - I use the ones recommended by my detailer which are IGL and Gyeon

Plastic trim - I use Meguirs Ultimate Black

Glass - Autoglym glass polish

Leather - Autofinesse leather conditioner

Rubber Seals - Gummipfledger

Wheels - the same Bilt Hamber shampoo (my wheels are sealed so don't need a treatment apart from the detailer)

Interior plastic and vinyl trim - Autoglym plastic and vinyl cleaner and conditioner

Meguiers lambswool washmits

Meguiers water magnet drying cloth

Gteqniq microfibre cloths for sealant application
2 x B&Q buckets with grit guards

Struth - didnt realise the list was so long! - Which is why I also have a large plastic tub. You can build up to the long list, don't buy all of the stuff at once as it is silly expensive. Today I bought Meguiers ultimate black, 400ml of Gyeon topper, Gyeon shampoo (to try) and a washmit £68!

My cars look like this

Bilt Hamber shampoo and Dodo juice wax




IGL Kenzo sealant and IGL sealant topper




You can get a great finish with the wax as shown, sealant is longer lasting and easier for lazy folk like me

[SoapySudz]

Can I just say I massive thank you for all of your help and advice, it really is appreciated
I’m thinking bilt hamber products with accessories from jonobigblinds post. I love the sound of the foam canon/snow foam so I’m going to look at that too, sounds fun!
Blueg33 can I ask which Nilfisk you’d recommend please? I’ve had a quick look on amazon and there’s many different ones to choose from ranging from £80 right up to hundreds. Also looking at using products from your list too as your cars look beautiful!

[blueg33]

SoapySudz said:

Can I just say I massive thank you for all of your help and advice, it really is appreciated
I’m thinking bilt hamber products with accessories from jonobigblinds post. I love the sound of the foam canon/snow foam so I’m going to look at that too, sounds fun!
Blueg33 can I ask which Nilfisk you’d recommend please? I’ve had a quick look on amazon and there’s many different ones to choose from ranging from £80 right up to hundreds. Also looking at using products from your list too as your cars look beautiful!

Not sure on the Nilfisk model, its probably discontinued now.

The current equivalent seems to be C 120.7 X-TRA