Cleaning product recommendations

[chrisk2010]

OK can't do it i'm not saying they are the best but i use:

AG Shampoo
Bilt hamber snow foam
Bilt hamber autowheel -for wheels
Farcela G3 clay mit
Bilt hamber clay bar Reg to Soft
Poor boys black hole glaze on occasion
Autosmart Tardis Tar remover
BH Korrosol fall out remover
Fusso Coat Dark cars for wax
Meg Tyre gel - for tyres, wheel arches and rubber bits
Gtechnique C4 for external plastic trims
For interim cleans i finish with either Polar seal or Meg ultimate QD

For machine polishing Nano tech SST is great recommended to me by another member i love it you feel like you work it for ages without have to spray the pads:

Super Gloss Polish 500ml For Dark Coloured Gel-Coat or Paint [295] - £16.99 : Nanotech SST Ltd

Coupled with a Green (cut) and Blue (finish) Hex pads giving the car a machine polish is easy.

This weekend SWMBO has granted me time to do a paint correction this weekend and i'm going to try out Wowo's crystal sealant and contact 121 wax to finish recommended by Lee.

I was planning to apply a ceramic coating but i haven't got the time and the workspace i was going to use is unavailable at the moment.

Here's how the above worked out for me:

Wheel arches and MOP ... | Detailing

 

[zipdip]

Well it is good stuff,the tyre shine is just how I like it a matt finish,the snow foam does the job, the dashboard cleaner is not to in your face,I have not used the leather cleaner yet I have a area on the cream leather that is a little grimy on the door card ,I also have the glass cleaner that is very good no smears, I have used this on the car no problems I suspect it has some coating on the paint finish,I have zero stone chips,and it does not seem to benefit from waxing tried it and it made no difference to the shine /finsih,the car looks its best in the evening light then it sort of glows.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Well my local independant pound shop is great for car stuff. with the Bucket £5

View attachment 98658

You get what you pay for.......but that is a different discussion.

 

[chrisk2010]

Well it is good stuff,the tyre shine is just how I like it a matt finish,the snow foam does the job, the dashboard cleaner is not to in your face,I have not used the leather cleaner yet I have a area on the cream leather that is a little grimy on the door card ,I also have the glass cleaner that is very good no smears, I have used this on the car no problems I suspect it has some coating on the paint finish,I have zero stone chips,and it does not seem to benefit from waxing tried it and it made no difference to the shine /finsih,the car looks its best in the evening light then it sort of glows.

The pound shop can have some little gems in there it's just a bit hit and miss, the spray wax which seems to have vanished from the shelves i used for years was great for topping up a coating or doing a quick job on a friends car.

I even find some California scents under seat air fresheners in there on occasion and shamefully i'm the one that empties the shelf when they have them

 

[LeeJV]

Resisting the urge to get involved

 

[Chrishazle]

At my age and health, car cleaning involves the Waves franchise at Tesco Tenterden (but I will not use the Waves franchise at Tesco Ashford!), who only use AG products and who I have carefully vetted/watched and am now confident to let them wash and clean both my cars. My days of clay, decontamination, DA paint correction and polishing, wax etc are history! I really should sell the collection of machine, pads and unguents I have in my garage and will never again use!

 

[Gowm]

anything with Bolt Hamber in its name, best product I have ever used is surfex HD

 

[JohnEclass]

I've been away from the forum for a couple of years... but have to say in my experience of various car forums, this is the most helpful by a long way and certainly the most entertaining by far! so glad to be back.

 

[Waitforme]

At my age and health, car cleaning involves the Waves franchise at Tesco Tenterden (but I will not use the Waves franchise at Tesco Ashford!), who only use AG products and who I have carefully vetted/watched and am now confident to let them wash and clean both my cars. My days of clay, decontamination, DA paint correction and polishing, wax etc are history! I really should sell the collection of machine, pads and unguents I have in my garage and will never again use!

Did you ever sell your DA machine and pads ?

 

[Chrishazle]

No, they're still in my garage!

 

[daveenty]

No, they're still in my garage!

My DA is still in my garage Chris, along with several pads and various polishes.

I do know that if I were to move it on though, I'd be guaranteed to need it for something immediately afterwards. It's not eating anything so it can stay for a while longer.

 

[Angus7274]

New to the forum as I have just purchased an E350 2009 in obsidian black.
Will be doing my first wash and polish soon so the information is great on here as it is a minefield out there with all the products and in which order to use them all

 

[Sweetooth]

New to the forum as I have just purchased an E350 2009 in obsidian black.
Will be doing my first wash and polish soon so the information is great on here as it is a minefield out there with all the products and in which order to use them all

Hello and welcome

 

[Dazsw]

New to the forum as I have just purchased an E350 2009 in obsidian black.
Will be doing my first wash and polish soon so the information is great on here as it is a minefield out there with all the products and in which order to use them all

Having detailed lots of cars with a business, I always found Menzerna polishes to work well on German cars.

Merc paint tends to be in the middle for hardness so not hard but not soft either, Menzerna SF2200 is nice, if there are any bad areas step up to FG400.

You can finish out with these polishes using the correct technique and pads.

 

[JHS]

Great thread with lots of information and recommendations.
BUT all the cars would seem to be dark colours, nobody talks about white cars.
Also I am confused (not unusual this) about the order of things. Is this correct for a normal cleaning regime?
Wash
Clay
Wash
Polish
Wax.
At what stage are sealers and glaze applied?
Why are products with a strange name so much more expensive than good old Turtle Wax?
So many questions and we have not touched on the meaning of life yet!

 

[Dazsw]

Great thread with lots of information and recommendations.
BUT all the cars would seem to be dark colours, nobody talks about white cars.
Also I am confused (not unusual this) about the order of things. Is this correct for a normal cleaning regime?
Wash
Clay
Wash
Polish
Wax.
At what stage are sealers and glaze applied?
Why are products with a strange name so much more expensive than good old Turtle Wax?
So many questions and we have not touched on the meaning of life yet!

Black/White/Silver/Blue/whatever colour, the process is the same.

Before the first wash would be the chemical decontamination stage.

After polish and before wax would be the IPA/Panel Wipe

Sealers/glaze there are many differents types and application varies depending on the specific product specs.

 

[JCBenz]

New to the forum as I’ve just bought a 2013 c180 coupe in the dreaded black! It’s in beautiful condition but was treated with GardX when I bought it, also came with the GardX kit in the bag. I haven’t heard anything about this product so maybe I’ll just stick to my trusted autoglym products.

 

[Dave Richardson]

So many responses & ideal options, it'll be difficult for you to decide & if I may give my opinion should you visit detailingworld which will give you a huge insight of excellent products that are available take care of your wallet & lock it away (or give it to your wife) as you'll find yourself in a world of 'must have products' that could cost you a fortune.
I was in that position & then added up the cost of the half empty bottles on the shelf of my garage.
Now I use all Megs products which do the job excellently at a reasonable cost.