cleaning stuff

I've read quite a bit over the last few weeks, on here and on detailing world about cleaning your car properly. I've also spoke to my mate swanny, he is a proper petrol head and gave me a list of stuff to buy.

So far i have ordered this

http://www.fiatforum.com/group-buys/...group-buy.html

Opt 3, and a lambs wool wash mit.

Also to buy:

Meguiars NXT car shampoo
Megs smooth clay kit
Another bucket for doing 2bm
Brush for doing wheels
Colonite #845 wax.

I have got some small microfibre towels for drying, will they be sufficient enough or am i going to have to buy one of those massive ones?

Have i missed anything or does that just about sum it up

yes i would in invest in a large microfibre cloth, and i believe it might be beneficial to invest in either some Autoglym SRP or if you are machine polishing then that i.e polish

I've just been reading that colonite 845 is best used between 60 - 85 degrees weather. If that's correct then it wouldn't be worth while using in this weather. Is there anything else i could use instead?

What does SRP do?

Do you use this instead of colonite?

SRP fills in swirls and often offers good results, protecting paint work whilst bringing it up to a great shine.

I use these payney £1.99 from lidl nice and soft pass the "cd test" (they dont scratch a cd when rubbed as you would doing a car )




#Awaits groans from some #

but i'd ditch the Megs clay kit and the collinite liquid and have a look at the Bilt hamber stuff

their clay is one of the best i have used its great as you use water with it so you cant run out of lube half way round the car.

their shampoo is good too as too is Auto balm showed a friend today how good it is (he ordered some on my recommendation) and i gave him a half hour How to lesson today On his metallic gray/silver/black ((one of those types of colours that look different in some lights)

and you should have seen the shine it fetched to the bonnet (he suffers with bad circulation and i think a spot of arthritis in his fingers) and he said it was nice and easy to use, (AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS) sorry to shout but many dont...

Their auto foam is also far better than the other brands........


rough costings

BH auto foam £14.30 for 5 liters (you need 200-300 ml to make a 1000ml of solution to put through the lance and i can do 2 cars with a litre

so for arguments sake 250ml for 2 cars work on 125ml per car 40 cars per 5l bottle 35p per wash.....

BH car shampoo 350ml for £8.95 at 5ml per wash (1 tea spoon) 70 washes 13p per wash......


its raved about on

http://www.civinfo.com/forum/cleanin...auto-balm.html

they are doing a kit at the moment

» FULL CAR CLEANING AND CARE KIT
Buy Auto-wash with Auto-clay and Auto-balm, and have all three for £27.99, saving you £5.89. + FREE applicator and buffing kit worth £4.99

Please enter any quantity you require and your shopping cart will calculate the most economical rate for your order.

Quantity Unit Price
1 or more £27.99 + 6ish postage

http://www.bilthamber.com/bilthamber-special-offers.php

SRP doesn't protect paint thats why AG do Extra gloss protection to top it off

Andy

Thanks for all the info mate i'll head of to see about buying one of those kits. Will save me a fair bit of money too.

Thanks again

Are there different types of microfiber clothes, as in the material, not just the size. I have seen a few websites saying get this one it's the bee's knee's.

Am i right in saying microfiber is microfiber? and they are all the same? Excuse my ignorance for those who are more experienced with this.

Just one think whilst i think on when you order (by phone) ask them to swap the auto clay (normal) for auto clay SOFT it'll cost £1 more but it's far more workable in the cold
(no need to keep heating it up in water unless its really cold))

auto wash - this washes the car and replaces the megs stuff i mentioned
Auto clay - replaces the megs clay i put down
Auto balm - this replaces the colonite wax

Have i got it right

Just order a kit from Bilt Hambler

http://www.bilthamber.com/bilthamber-special-offers.php

£27.99 but replaced the clay with the soft one.

Thanks Andy

there are a few different types (my collection is currently in the wash as i spilt something in the box where they live )

there are many different types and qualitys

http://www.microfiberchina.com/produ...FSSzEAodJDTvDA


the ones i use mostly are the lidl ones (short fiber) for drying and quick detailer (above) and some from Elite car care

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/microf...s.php?cPath=64

and got these from Boyes (local to yorkshire department sell it all type shop) which are good for removing wax's and balm as they have a bit of "bite"

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/giant-...l.php?cPath=64

and some others which are currently going round and round

I use cheap supermarket ones for Trim care stuff and bin them after use Or the scrim that comes with autobalm as its no good for nothing else ..

Interesting thanks again.

There is a lidl around the corner from ours so i'll pop in over the weekend and see if i can get me hands on some of those ones you mentioned.

Need to make room in the shed / cupboard now for all my new cleaning stuff about to arrive lol.

I started off with a curver box but thats no where near big enough when you factor in large 5 ltr bottles buckets pressure washer my pile of microfibers fill one box

Good advice Andy, I want to give the wifes car a proper clean and wax but these sub zero temps it just isn't going to happen this weekend.

SRP does add a little protection it's just that it doesn't last that long. Collonite #845 is good from what I hear and might even be a little easier to use than AB. I bought my father-in-law some for xmas along with some of their cleaner/polish to give his boat a good polish and wax. It's not a full liquid product a bit of a half way house being quite thick, although not quite as thick as AB.

AB is good and definately has a certain look about it but I've not found it the easiest to remove 100%; great winter protection though.

I tend to use MFs from poundshops and supermarkets and those LIDL ones look good, shame there isn't a LIDL that close to me. Found the short close knit stuff (3 for £1) are best for removing wax; there are various percentage mixes of polyester and polyamide with a 80:20 being fairly normal but the cheaper ones e.g. budget tesco stuff tend to be 100% polyester where better ones will have upto 25% polyamide mix.