Styling How do you clean your Panda?

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Styling How do you clean your Panda?

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I've been going between a few cleaning solutions / products / kinda of cloths over the past few years, but I'd say all are mediocre to be honest. I've never spent more than a few £ on microfibres, maybe that's why.. so I'm curious...

How do you clean your Panda?
- What products do you use?
- What cloths/sponges do you use?
- Any important instructions for a good result?


In particular I always make a balls of cleaning glass. I've used the Halfords basic stuff and sometimes Turtlewax wash and wax stuff which is slightly better. Which of the other brands are worth their weight in gold over these? (I'd imagine most, but before shelling out a lot of money, would be nice to know people on here have had success and recommend a brand first)
 
How do you clean your Panda?
With a coat on.

- What products do you use?
Rain. It's free and saves getting the hose out. Occasionally (i.e. once) I use Mer polish. It's great for your house windows too. Leaves white marks on anything matt black and it's wise not to apply in direct sunlight as it'll be harder to polish out.

- What cloths/sponges do you use?
Sponge that was formerly stuffing a sofa years ago.

- Any important instructions for a good result?
Why try? It'll only get dirty again. Meh.
 
Autoglym polar wash then Autoglym polar seal. You need to apply these with a pressure washer with a foam lance attachment. Wash go over the polar wash gently with a microfibre wash mit only and rinse then apply polar seal and dry it gently with a microfibre towel. Shines like new.
 
We are fortunate in that we have very high mains pressure - never measured it but must be at least 5 bar? I have a home made chassis "wand" (15mm copper pipe about a meter long with small holes drilled in one side) I connect this to my hose and wave it about under the car, Absolutely soaks me but does a great job of cleaning the bottom of the sills and wheel arches. Now soak the whole car with the hose. Leave for water to soften things up for maybe 5 to 10 mins, don't let it dry. In the winter I repeat this as the first pass serves to loosen the more stubborn deposits. Then give it a last good hose down in the hope it shifts most of the softened grit and dirt.

Then I get out my 2 bucket Autobrite cleaning gear (you can read all about 2 bucket cleaning on line - it really works) and any good quality car shampoo/wax and wash the whole car. When I've finished I hose it all off again (luckily we rarely have water problems in Scotland) and let it drip off for a few minutes finishing up by drying it with the large Autobrite microfibre drying cloths. Comes up a treat! When it's dripping off if the water stays as a sheet wetting the whole panel (typically I will look at the bonnet) I judge it needs polishing. If it beads i just dry it and that's it done. If I need to polish I just buy whatever is on offer as long as it's a "good name" I recognize. Haven't tried any of the fancy polymer stuff - wouldn't know what to do with it, elbow grease I understand.
 
How do you clean your Panda?
With a coat on.

- What products do you use?
Rain. It's free and saves getting the hose out. Occasionally (i.e. once) I use Mer polish. It's great for your house windows too. Leaves white marks on anything matt black and it's wise not to apply in direct sunlight as it'll be harder to polish out.

- What cloths/sponges do you use?
Sponge that was formerly stuffing a sofa years ago.

- Any important instructions for a good result?
Why try? It'll only get dirty again. Meh.

Pluguerism... ;)
 
How do you clean your Panda?
- What products do you use?
- What cloths/sponges do you use?
- Any important instructions for a good result?

Me..? Very poorly.

With my older cars.. wait for the rain to ease.. then ho out with a bucket of warm water and shampoo.

AND a watering can of ' water' ( should be available locally)

Re.damp the panel .. remove a decent car wash brush from the bucket.. gently brush the panel from top to bottom.. keeping it wet.

Rinse off panel regularly.

Always keep it damp.

Its amazing how a nights rain really does half the job for you.


DETAILING is an art..and big business.

As a start search on here for

Sweex.. and his motors thread DAISY
 
When not too warm, so rules out recently. Karcher wth a cleaning mit that gets regularly cleaned and not dropped on the floor. Sits on in beads of water for 6 weeks when it rains.

Best three things I have are acid free wheel cleaner. And wet wipes that get off bird muck. And mini Dyson attachment that can hoover dashboard. Cleans up quite well, that's the important thing.
 
It's a Panda. Don't sweat it. Mine's been washed 3 times in 4+ years. If I'd washed it weekly, I doubt if it would be worth more than a few quid more. So why bother?
 
I like Meguiars stuff. I always use a mitt for washing. I start hosing down followed by snow foam and rinse. Then 2 bucket with grit guard starting at top working down. Wheels last. Then rinse off. Then my best buy ever - towel dry with Meguiars towel. Leaves no streaks. Finish off with smaller towel. For windows I use a purple glass cleaning cloth from Lakeland. Grabs the dirt and doesn't leave any fluff behind.
 
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It's a Panda. Don't sweat it. Mine's been washed 3 times in 4+ years. If I'd washed it weekly, I doubt if it would be worth more than a few quid more. So why bother?

If the only reason you can think to clean it is regarding financial value it’s no wonder you don’t!

To me it’s just about looking after something I own and having a little bit of pride in it. Also find it good listening to music or podcasts while washing it. Fills out the day, gets me away from a screen!
 
I like Meguiars stuff. I always use a mitt for washing. I start hosing down followed by snow foam and rinse. Then 2 bucket with grit guard starting at top working down. Wheels last. Then rinse off. Then my best buy ever - towel dry with Meguiars towel. Leaves no streaks. Finish off with smaller towel. For windows I use a purple glass cleaning cloth from Lakeland. Grabs the dirt and doesn't leave any fluff behind.

I’m going to invest in these two cloths you’ve mentioned as that’s exactly what I’m getting the biggest ‘time spent for no good result’ from! Lol
 
Rain is the best thing for stopping limescale spots. I envy the soft water areas. I think I have OCD car and agree that its really a futile thing, but if you let a car go, you can never recover them. Have 1 super bright and 1 Supagard treated and think these are worthwhile as they stay clean longer and wash easier.

I use a pressure washer to remove sand and grit and follow up with a rotary brush. Nilfisk wheel brush is the best thing ever used with the power washer. I do think I would kill anyone using water-less wash. Buckets are for the summer mainly to save water. I do also use car shampoo as this helps with reducing lime scale. New car is being treated with the Supagard after care products, these are very good but silly price to replace.
 
We are fortunate in that we have very high mains pressure - never measured it but must be at least 5 bar? I have a home made chassis "wand" (15mm copper pipe about a meter long with small holes drilled in one side) I connect this to my hose and wave it about under the car, Absolutely soaks me but does a great job of cleaning the bottom of the sills and wheel arches. Now soak the whole car with the hose. Leave for water to soften things up for maybe 5 to 10 mins, don't let it dry. In the winter I repeat this as the first pass serves to loosen the more stubborn deposits. Then give it a last good hose down in the hope it shifts most of the softened grit and dirt.

Then I get out my 2 bucket Autobrite cleaning gear (you can read all about 2 bucket cleaning on line - it really works) and any good quality car shampoo/wax and wash the whole car. When I've finished I hose it all off again (luckily we rarely have water problems in Scotland) and let it drip off for a few minutes finishing up by drying it with the large Autobrite microfibre drying cloths. Comes up a treat! When it's dripping off if the water stays as a sheet wetting the whole panel (typically I will look at the bonnet) I judge it needs polishing. If it beads i just dry it and that's it done. If I need to polish I just buy whatever is on offer as long as it's a "good name" I recognize. Haven't tried any of the fancy polymer stuff - wouldn't know what to do with it, elbow grease I understand.

I do almost the same but the washing with wax phase is done in two passes - the first down to the car's waistline and the second down to the bottom.
 
I do almost the same but the washing with wax phase is done in two passes - the first down to the car's waistline and the second down to the bottom.

Absolutely! I wash the top first down to just above where the "real" dirt starts (about a foot up from the bottom of the doors?) then use the rest of that fill to clean the wheels (I've got a couple of specialist wheel brushes - Don't like doing wheels). rinse out the, now filthy, residue in the bottom of the buckets and refill with fresh. (water/wax shampoo in the wash one and water in the rinse) and finish off the bottom panels washing only a small area each time between rinsing thoroughly for the next bit. If there's much left over I'll sometimes go over the wheels a second time, especially in winter.
 
Best to start at the bottom, and use a towel, not sponge or brush.
It sounds "wrong" at first, but is what the experts do. And I:cool:
Try it.
 
Fiat Panda handbook says:


1. Wash the bodywork using a low
pressure jet of water;


2. Wipe a sponge with a slightly soapy
solution over the bodywork, frequently rinsing the sponge;

3. Rinse well with water and dry with a
jet of air or a chamois

That'll do. Sorted (y)
 
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