what to use for a good general clean....
Discussion
i'm starting to want to spend a little more money on better products to help clean and protect my cars paint, at the moment all i do is use autoglym body wash/shampoo stuff (using a turtle wax wash mitt and 2 bucket method), occasionally followed by their super resin polish, and always wax, usually with the meguiars carnauba stuff (after drying with microfibre cloth, i apply it using polishing cloths). the wax seems pretty decent and lasts 6weeks or more, but i want something a little better, and want to give it a properly good clean soon. should i be using something else to apply the wax?
i don't want to spend crazy money on products but am open to suggestion. all the products i now have at the moment include the autoglym shampoo, their srp, some simoniz wax, autoglym tyre dressing, autoglym clay bar kit and autoglym extra gloss protection.
a few questions for starters are....does the extra gloss protection act as a wax, so waxing is not necessary, or do you still wax afterwards?
so could you recommend me a decent shampoo, polish and a decent wax? what about a good clay bar and lubricant? i've heard the dodo juice hard candy is pretty good? i don't want to spend more than that on wax to be honest.
thanks guys! i know the post is a bit...all over the place!
Ross.
edit: just found cleanyourcar.co.uk and looks to be pretty good! and forgot to add any details on the car, it's light green, possibly has had a respray at some time, few scratches but mainly on the roof, and the car is 28 years old.
cheers
i don't want to spend crazy money on products but am open to suggestion. all the products i now have at the moment include the autoglym shampoo, their srp, some simoniz wax, autoglym tyre dressing, autoglym clay bar kit and autoglym extra gloss protection.
a few questions for starters are....does the extra gloss protection act as a wax, so waxing is not necessary, or do you still wax afterwards?
so could you recommend me a decent shampoo, polish and a decent wax? what about a good clay bar and lubricant? i've heard the dodo juice hard candy is pretty good? i don't want to spend more than that on wax to be honest.
thanks guys! i know the post is a bit...all over the place!
Ross.
edit: just found cleanyourcar.co.uk and looks to be pretty good! and forgot to add any details on the car, it's light green, possibly has had a respray at some time, few scratches but mainly on the roof, and the car is 28 years old.
cheers
Edited by E21_Ross on Friday 2nd April 21:53
Tools before products....two buckets, two grit guards, a couple of lambswool washmitts or natural wool sea sponges, a pre wash spary to remove road tar, dead insects etc.
Shampoo,
Drying towels
Polish plus applicator pads
Sealant
Wax or waxes
All Purpose cleaner for tyres
Decent wheel cleaner
Brush for the wheel arches
Brush to clean the tyre walls
A decent window cleaner / spray / cream
Rubber and or plastic dressing
Lots of microfibres
And some sunshine or warmer weather.
There are so many online retailers I suppose the most important questions are how much time do you want to spend on your car and how much cash do you want to spend over the next couple of weeks / months creating a useful selectin of products....£60, £90 or £120.
Shampoo,
Drying towels
Polish plus applicator pads
Sealant
Wax or waxes
All Purpose cleaner for tyres
Decent wheel cleaner
Brush for the wheel arches
Brush to clean the tyre walls
A decent window cleaner / spray / cream
Rubber and or plastic dressing
Lots of microfibres
And some sunshine or warmer weather.
There are so many online retailers I suppose the most important questions are how much time do you want to spend on your car and how much cash do you want to spend over the next couple of weeks / months creating a useful selectin of products....£60, £90 or £120.
thanks for the reply. i think what i'm going to do is buy some dodo juice super natural shampoo and some collimite 476 wax (being 28 years old, the main thing is i want to keep it waxed! and i've heard it lasts months and months!). i will buy the blue clay bar they have on there too, as well as some wax applicator pads. but i'm still not sure for what polish, i can't have anything too harsh because of the age of the car, so what would you recommend?
not sure if i can justify spending nearly £30 on a bucket with a grit guard just yet! is it bad to wash the vehicle without having it snow foamed before then? my old man has a power jet washer thing, but don't you need an adapter like this: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/f... as well as some snow foam shampoo yes?
thanks, i'm a complete novice at this as you might be able to tell
but wouldn't mind getting my car back close to it's former glory 
not sure if i can justify spending nearly £30 on a bucket with a grit guard just yet! is it bad to wash the vehicle without having it snow foamed before then? my old man has a power jet washer thing, but don't you need an adapter like this: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/f... as well as some snow foam shampoo yes?
thanks, i'm a complete novice at this as you might be able to tell
but wouldn't mind getting my car back close to it's former glory Right this may turn out to be a long un so make yourself comfy.
Apart from your buckets, wash mitts and Autoglym Super Resin Polish and Extra Gloss Protection I'll assume you have nothing else for the rest of this post.
Starting with the wash you seem to be doing the right thing already as far as washing with a 2 bucket method goes. I would definitely recommend getting at least 1 grit guard for your rinse bucket though, there is no need to go out and buy a dedicated grit guard bucket though, as long as the guard fits into the buckets you have then you're good to go. Expect to pay around £12 for the guard. It should be a part of everyones basic wash kit (for those wanting to keep their car to a certain standard that is) and shelling out £12 for something which makes the wash process `safer' isn't really to much money lay out imho. After all the wash process is the time where you're most likely to scratch the car.
I would possibly consider buying a new wash mitt too, I don't have any experience with the Turtle Wax wash mitts but if memory serves me correctly they're a noodle type mitt aren't they? I'm really not a fan of the noodle types at all and you can pick up a good quality lambswool wash mitt for £10.
Thats not to say the Turtle Wax one will be redundant now though, keep it for wheels, door shuts etc and you're good to go.
A good quality drying towel is a really good investment too. There's a myriad of drying towels out there but the big blue fluffy ones are immense, as are the dry-u-kwik ones. Again expect to pay £7 - £10 for one of them. Only thing I would say is avoid the Meguiars `Water Magnet' they're absolute garbage!!
Did you mention you fancied some Supernatural Shampoo? An excellent choice of shampoo, you wont go far wrong with that at all. If you didn't want to spend that kind of cash on a shampoo though Dodo's Born to be Mild or Sour Power are equally good shampoos. My personal favorite is Chemical Guys `Citrus Wash and Gloss' but seeing as though you seem keen on Dodo products I'll stick to them for you for now. Look to be paying between £8 - £12 for your shampoo.
Snow foam.
Yes you do need a dedicated adaptor/fixing for whatever pressure washer you have at home but when you purchase the lance you'll specify what adaptor you need and recieve it along with your lance (there's no extra charge for these) A dedicated snow foam solution is the best thing to use in conjunction with the lance, though some people use a regular car shampoo in them too. My personal favorite snow foam solution is Bilt Hamber `Auto-Foam' or ValetPRO PH Neutral Snow Foam ... Both of these if mixed at the right dilution wont strip your wax either.
Do you really NEED a snow foam lance?
Well the simple answer is no. They are really nice pieces of kit to have but are definitely a luxury. If you use one once though I'd pretty much guarantee you'd use it everytime after once you've seen the benefits they give you.
Moving on ...
Your super resin polish is fine to be going on with and is pretty much the standard polish people start out with and continue to use. There's other things out there obviously but if you're happy with it and you achieve the results you want with it then stick with using that, there is a lot to be said about finding 1 or 2 products that work for you and sticking with them and refining your technique with them.
SRP does need sealing afterwards which is where your Meguiars wax has come in up till now, as well as Extra Gloss Protection. The wax being a wax (obviously) and the EGP being a sealant. You can wax ontop of a sealant but it's not generally accepted the other way around.
Neither are particularly long last in terms of protection which is why you're probably considering Dodo's Hard Candy. A fantastic choice as your introduction to Boutique waxes and one you will not be dissappointed with I assure you. It runs out at around £29 a pot but will do an average sized car between 20 - 30 times. Will last approx 3 months before needing another coat (depending on the kind of driving you do and where the car is kept that is) so it only really works out to be about £1 per application. £1 x 4 applications per year = £4. Now that has to be a bargain in anyones book right?
You could wax more often if you liked but every 3 months is the bare minimum really.
Right I think thats enough to be going on with for now. There's a myriad of other products thats worth considering now but as a start off they would be the ones I'd be concentrating on for now (and probably a good wheel cleaner too) Get them products in, get used to using them then think about trying out other stuff as you get more confident and gain more knowledge.
Let us know how you get on and if you have any other questions just shout up.
Mark
Apart from your buckets, wash mitts and Autoglym Super Resin Polish and Extra Gloss Protection I'll assume you have nothing else for the rest of this post.
Starting with the wash you seem to be doing the right thing already as far as washing with a 2 bucket method goes. I would definitely recommend getting at least 1 grit guard for your rinse bucket though, there is no need to go out and buy a dedicated grit guard bucket though, as long as the guard fits into the buckets you have then you're good to go. Expect to pay around £12 for the guard. It should be a part of everyones basic wash kit (for those wanting to keep their car to a certain standard that is) and shelling out £12 for something which makes the wash process `safer' isn't really to much money lay out imho. After all the wash process is the time where you're most likely to scratch the car.
I would possibly consider buying a new wash mitt too, I don't have any experience with the Turtle Wax wash mitts but if memory serves me correctly they're a noodle type mitt aren't they? I'm really not a fan of the noodle types at all and you can pick up a good quality lambswool wash mitt for £10.
Thats not to say the Turtle Wax one will be redundant now though, keep it for wheels, door shuts etc and you're good to go.
A good quality drying towel is a really good investment too. There's a myriad of drying towels out there but the big blue fluffy ones are immense, as are the dry-u-kwik ones. Again expect to pay £7 - £10 for one of them. Only thing I would say is avoid the Meguiars `Water Magnet' they're absolute garbage!!
Did you mention you fancied some Supernatural Shampoo? An excellent choice of shampoo, you wont go far wrong with that at all. If you didn't want to spend that kind of cash on a shampoo though Dodo's Born to be Mild or Sour Power are equally good shampoos. My personal favorite is Chemical Guys `Citrus Wash and Gloss' but seeing as though you seem keen on Dodo products I'll stick to them for you for now. Look to be paying between £8 - £12 for your shampoo.
Snow foam.
Yes you do need a dedicated adaptor/fixing for whatever pressure washer you have at home but when you purchase the lance you'll specify what adaptor you need and recieve it along with your lance (there's no extra charge for these) A dedicated snow foam solution is the best thing to use in conjunction with the lance, though some people use a regular car shampoo in them too. My personal favorite snow foam solution is Bilt Hamber `Auto-Foam' or ValetPRO PH Neutral Snow Foam ... Both of these if mixed at the right dilution wont strip your wax either.
Do you really NEED a snow foam lance?
Well the simple answer is no. They are really nice pieces of kit to have but are definitely a luxury. If you use one once though I'd pretty much guarantee you'd use it everytime after once you've seen the benefits they give you.
Moving on ...
Your super resin polish is fine to be going on with and is pretty much the standard polish people start out with and continue to use. There's other things out there obviously but if you're happy with it and you achieve the results you want with it then stick with using that, there is a lot to be said about finding 1 or 2 products that work for you and sticking with them and refining your technique with them.
SRP does need sealing afterwards which is where your Meguiars wax has come in up till now, as well as Extra Gloss Protection. The wax being a wax (obviously) and the EGP being a sealant. You can wax ontop of a sealant but it's not generally accepted the other way around.
Neither are particularly long last in terms of protection which is why you're probably considering Dodo's Hard Candy. A fantastic choice as your introduction to Boutique waxes and one you will not be dissappointed with I assure you. It runs out at around £29 a pot but will do an average sized car between 20 - 30 times. Will last approx 3 months before needing another coat (depending on the kind of driving you do and where the car is kept that is) so it only really works out to be about £1 per application. £1 x 4 applications per year = £4. Now that has to be a bargain in anyones book right?
You could wax more often if you liked but every 3 months is the bare minimum really.
Right I think thats enough to be going on with for now. There's a myriad of other products thats worth considering now but as a start off they would be the ones I'd be concentrating on for now (and probably a good wheel cleaner too) Get them products in, get used to using them then think about trying out other stuff as you get more confident and gain more knowledge.
Let us know how you get on and if you have any other questions just shout up.
Mark
wow thanks for all that mark!!!
i'm back off to uni tomorrow where i don't get chance to clean it until i come back (another 7 weeks) so i've just given it a wash, i tried a clay bar but it was looking like it was going to rain so only did the bonnet and wings (but it really does work, the white clay was coming up brown....yuck! but my paint work there is so much smoother!)
i then gave it a polish with SRP and then applied the EGP autoglym stuff. waited 30mins and it started to rain!!!! so i rubbed it off as quick as i could and ran in doors. it acts as a wax and beads the water still so hopefully that will protect my paint work for the next 2 months or so. i'm not going to be doing many miles anyway, probably only about another 1000miles tops until i can clean it again anyway so it should be ok. then when i get back i'll order the following:
dodo juice super natural shampoo, dodo juice supernatural wash mitt, chemical guys drying towel, detailing clay and some dodo juice born slippy for it, foam wax applicator pad and i think i'll go for the collinite 476 wax because it lasts for a very long time and also probably carlack 68 long life sealant.
or do you think the hard candy will be better than the collinite?
can't thank you 2 guys enough for the response
i'm back off to uni tomorrow where i don't get chance to clean it until i come back (another 7 weeks) so i've just given it a wash, i tried a clay bar but it was looking like it was going to rain so only did the bonnet and wings (but it really does work, the white clay was coming up brown....yuck! but my paint work there is so much smoother!)
i then gave it a polish with SRP and then applied the EGP autoglym stuff. waited 30mins and it started to rain!!!! so i rubbed it off as quick as i could and ran in doors. it acts as a wax and beads the water still so hopefully that will protect my paint work for the next 2 months or so. i'm not going to be doing many miles anyway, probably only about another 1000miles tops until i can clean it again anyway so it should be ok. then when i get back i'll order the following:
dodo juice super natural shampoo, dodo juice supernatural wash mitt, chemical guys drying towel, detailing clay and some dodo juice born slippy for it, foam wax applicator pad and i think i'll go for the collinite 476 wax because it lasts for a very long time
and also probably carlack 68 long life sealant.or do you think the hard candy will be better than the collinite?
can't thank you 2 guys enough for the response
Edited by E21_Ross on Saturday 3rd April 14:11
E21_Ross said:
wow thanks for all that mark!!!
i'm back off to uni tomorrow where i don't get chance to clean it until i come back (another 7 weeks) so i've just given it a wash, i tried a clay bar but it was looking like it was going to rain so only did the bonnet and wings (but it really does work, the white clay was coming up brown....yuck! but my paint work there is so much smoother!)
i then gave it a polish with SRP and then applied the EGP autoglym stuff. waited 30mins and it started to rain!!!! so i rubbed it off as quick as i could and ran in doors. it acts as a wax and beads the water still so hopefully that will protect my paint work for the next 2 months or so. i'm not going to be doing many miles anyway, probably only about another 1000miles tops until i can clean it again anyway so it should be ok. then when i get back i'll order the following:
dodo juice super natural shampoo, dodo juice supernatural wash mitt, chemical guys drying towel, detailing clay and some dodo juice born slippy for it, foam wax applicator pad and i think i'll go for the collinite 476 wax because it lasts for a very long time and also probably carlack 68 long life sealant.
or do you think the hard candy will be better than the collinite?
can't thank you 2 guys enough for the response
No problems Ross.i'm back off to uni tomorrow where i don't get chance to clean it until i come back (another 7 weeks) so i've just given it a wash, i tried a clay bar but it was looking like it was going to rain so only did the bonnet and wings (but it really does work, the white clay was coming up brown....yuck! but my paint work there is so much smoother!)
i then gave it a polish with SRP and then applied the EGP autoglym stuff. waited 30mins and it started to rain!!!! so i rubbed it off as quick as i could and ran in doors. it acts as a wax and beads the water still so hopefully that will protect my paint work for the next 2 months or so. i'm not going to be doing many miles anyway, probably only about another 1000miles tops until i can clean it again anyway so it should be ok. then when i get back i'll order the following:
dodo juice super natural shampoo, dodo juice supernatural wash mitt, chemical guys drying towel, detailing clay and some dodo juice born slippy for it, foam wax applicator pad and i think i'll go for the collinite 476 wax because it lasts for a very long time
and also probably carlack 68 long life sealant.or do you think the hard candy will be better than the collinite?
can't thank you 2 guys enough for the response
Edited by E21_Ross on Saturday 3rd April 14:11
I don't have masses of experience with extra gloss protection but I don't believe it to be very durable so 2 months may be pushing it a little? Though there may be others on here who do use it regularly who may be able to clarify that for you?
That list of things you're looking to purchase looks like a spot on well thought out list of kit. If you want to save yourself a bit of cash though you could drop the Born Slippy clay lube and just mix up some of your regular shampoo with water in a spray bottle and use that instead? ... That's not to say Born Slippy isn't any good, far from it, it's a fantastic product.
Collinite is well known for being extremelly durable (as is Finish Kare FK1000P)but there is something really nice about owning and using a nice carnauba based `boutique' wax.
Hard Candy is very durable, but not quite as much as your Collinite will be, so if you want a `Wax and forget' product then go for the Collinite. If you want something a bit more special and can find the time to lavish a very small amount of time on then I'd say go for the Hard Candy ... but that's just me and my personal opinion.
Also if your budget can stretch to the £49 mark then I would give Dodo's Blue Velvet Pro some very carefull consideration. Simplisticly put it's like Hard Candy ... but turbo charged!!! ... They've added a higher percentage of carnauba wax to the mix as well as adding in some of the sealant propeties you find in their Red Mist. I've been running a couple of tests with their waxes and I'm HUGELY impressed by them.
Also if your car is a darker colour it may benefit from the supposed colour charging properties the waxes supposedly contain. But to be honest you can use it on any colour car as the colour charging you may or may not get from it is only a very very small percentage.
With the higher carnauba content and sealant additives it will be more durable than the entry level Hard Candy though, wether or not it can compete with Collinite in the hard as nails stakes though remains to be seen.
Edit:
If you're from the North East way give me a shout if you like and I might just be able to put you a package together.
Edited by airsafari87 on Saturday 3rd April 15:00
unfortunately i'm from the south, but thanks a lot for the offer! my car is a light green, this is it here:
i'm not sure if i can really justify spending £50 on wax, but i'm still torn between the collinite and the hard candy. though i usually clean the car every 5-6 weeks so hard candy could be applied every 6 weeks which would be fine i suppose.
any idea where i can get a grit guard? the buckets i have are just the 10 litre red ones from halfords. so anything that would fit in there would be fine. how do you use them....just run your wash mitt over them or what?
thanks again!
i'm not sure if i can really justify spending £50 on wax, but i'm still torn between the collinite and the hard candy. though i usually clean the car every 5-6 weeks so hard candy could be applied every 6 weeks which would be fine i suppose.
any idea where i can get a grit guard? the buckets i have are just the 10 litre red ones from halfords. so anything that would fit in there would be fine. how do you use them....just run your wash mitt over them or what?
thanks again!
Not sure where to buy them from down your way but there's a multitude of online places you could buy from.
What diameter is your bucket at the base?
Grit Guards are 265mm diameter so as long as you have a bucket slightly wider than that at the base it will fit in fine.
They go in the rinse bucket (The bucket WITHOUT your shampoo in) wash a panel then dip the mitt in the rinse bucket (the one with the grit guard in) rub the mitt accross the guard to relase the trapped dirt in the mitt, then back into your wash bucket again.
Be warned though if you do buy a wookies fist wash mitt it will practially soak up a whole bucket of water in one go!!! ... I much prefer a traditional lambswool wash mitt myself.
You gotta hand it to Dodo and their marketing though.
Edit:
It's also been known for people to use a regular household collander as a cheap grit guard too.
Check your local Wilkos or Poundland type shop for a cheap alternative if you cant get hold of a proper grit guard.
What diameter is your bucket at the base?
Grit Guards are 265mm diameter so as long as you have a bucket slightly wider than that at the base it will fit in fine.
They go in the rinse bucket (The bucket WITHOUT your shampoo in) wash a panel then dip the mitt in the rinse bucket (the one with the grit guard in) rub the mitt accross the guard to relase the trapped dirt in the mitt, then back into your wash bucket again.
Be warned though if you do buy a wookies fist wash mitt it will practially soak up a whole bucket of water in one go!!! ... I much prefer a traditional lambswool wash mitt myself.
You gotta hand it to Dodo and their marketing though.
Edit:
It's also been known for people to use a regular household collander as a cheap grit guard too.
Check your local Wilkos or Poundland type shop for a cheap alternative if you cant get hold of a proper grit guard.
Edited by airsafari87 on Saturday 3rd April 15:19
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