Car washing kits..

[CrypticG]

I use 1 of these http://www.cleanstore.co.uk/products/Pr ... wgodrzsA-g

thats cheaper! lol

thanks!

[Mayhem]

Don't forget if you go for the cheaper one to budget in a proper snow foam lance (prob £40) and price of snow foam ontop of that.

[Mayhem]

Probably best stuff for tyres by far imo

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel ... tion-473ml

And halfords is 3 for 2

[CrypticG]

Don't forget if you go for the cheaper one to budget in a proper snow foam lance (prob £40) and price of snow foam ontop of that.

haha i realised that once i checked out the cost of those.. The HD snow foam lance and snow foam is around £65 from what I've seen

[Mayhem]

Yeah good stuff isn't cheap

[lancslad1985]

As someone that works for a car care company I'd never suggest using a pressure washer. It only takes one second too long on a spot and whoosh, there goes your lacquer. I did it myself on a Pug 207 5 years ago on the wheel and I've seen someone remove lacquer off the bonnet with it as they got far too close.

Having tested a myriad of products over the last three years, I've found the following to work well for the exterior and these are my unbiased opinion:
Simoniz Wax Free Shampoo
Autoglym paste wax/ resin polish
Any Meguiars tyre shine
Simoniz Alloy Clean Plus wheel cleaner

I've used the Bilt Hamber products and the wax is very good, but the wheel cleaner is over-rated. If you want a good polish but don't want to spend £44 on a tub of Autoglym wax (understandable!) then Simoniz paste wax in a tin or the Bilt Hamber stuff would be the next best thing. Working in the industry, I can also tell you a lot of the awards from Auto Express are awarded depending on how much money you've spent advertising with them - this is common knowledge at car care companies! Hence why you rarely see Turtlewax, Autoglym and Simoniz win their awards as they hardly advertise with them.

[Penarth Blues]

As someone that works for a car care company I'd never suggest using a pressure washer. It only takes one second too long on a spot and whoosh, there goes your lacquer. I did it myself on a Pug 207 5 years ago on the wheel and I've seen someone remove lacquer off the bonnet with it as they got far too close.

Having tested a myriad of products over the last three years, I've found the following to work well for the exterior and these are my unbiased opinion:
Simoniz Wax Free Shampoo
Autoglym paste wax/ resin polish
Any Meguiars tyre shine
Simoniz Alloy Clean Plus wheel cleaner

I've used the Bilt Hamber products and the wax is very good, but the wheel cleaner is over-rated. If you want a good polish but don't want to spend £44 on a tub of Autoglym wax (understandable!) then Simoniz paste wax in a tin or the Bilt Hamber stuff would be the next best thing. Working in the industry, I can also tell you a lot of the awards from Auto Express are awarded depending on how much money you've spent advertising with them - this is common knowledge at car care companies! Hence why you rarely see Turtlewax, Autoglym and Simoniz win their awards as they hardly advertise with them.

Thanks for the overview - it's always good to get the view of someone who does this for a living

[Mayhem]

Iv used pressure washers for years and never damaged any paint. If the lacquer on the finish is already damaged then common sense would suggest don't hit it with a pressured stream of water, but otherwise as long as you don't stand too close you shouldn't have any issues. I also work in retail and have sold God knows how many karchers for the last 10 years to people cleaning cars and not one has come back with any damage so can't be that bad. Autobrite also use a pressure washer in all of their valet services and back to basic courses with no issues. I would suggest giving them a call as they know their stuff inside out. And megs ultimate wax or autobrite cherry glaze is miles better than autoglym srp.

[molar]

If you go for the Nilfisk have a look out for the Auto Nozzle, item number 6411136. I think it's meant to create more of a fan effect compared to the 'turbo' nozzles that you get as standard.

I have the stuff in the combo kit mentioned earlier (bought separately) but not had chance to try it all out yet!

[lancslad1985]

Iv used pressure washers for years and never damaged any paint. If the lacquer on the finish is already damaged then common sense would suggest don't hit it with a pressured stream of water, but otherwise as long as you don't stand too close you shouldn't have any issues. I also work in retail and have sold God knows how many karchers for the last 10 years to people cleaning cars and not one has come back with any damage so can't be that bad. Autobrite also use a pressure washer in all of their valet services and back to basic courses with no issues. I would suggest giving them a call as they know their stuff inside out. And megs ultimate wax or autobrite cherry glaze is miles better than autoglym srp.

I'm in no way saying you can't use a pressure washer, I just wouldn't suggest it as modern automotive paint is getting softer these days. It's very easy to scratch and remove now, especially as people move towards water based acrylic paints. If in doubt, stand a decent distance away as you said. Each person will also have their own preference to waxes etc, I'm just merely providing information based on our own real world tests in which the Autoglym paste wax was by far and away the most durable wax and better than the SRP. It also hurts for me to say it as I work for one of Autoglyms competitors, but their wax in a tub is extremely good!

[Mayhem]

Autoglyms HD wax is amazing as you said for the money. And with it being in Halfords 3 for 2 deal makes it even better. If you have a dark car try poorboys BlackHole. That stuff is quite simply amazing. Cant fault BlackHole or Cherry Glaze from Autobrite. Also Autobrite Purple Velvet shampoo or Autoglym shampoo and Megs Gold Glass are best Iv used so far. Tbh with pressure washers unless you use snow foam a lot you don't need one. I usually use one to to knock the winter crap off the car. Bucket method works well for me

[lancslad1985]

I prefer the bucket method too. Feels more satisfying when cleaning my car, but that could just be me! The only issue with my job is it means when my car goes in for service I won't let them touch it with a sponge as I've become quite anal about how my car should be cleaned!

[daveb73]

Check this out

http://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/index. ... combo.html

I have a Nilfisk and it is seriously good, apparently a lot better made than the Karcher stuff as it's mainly an industrial jet wash company but has branched out to consumer. I've had mine for around 5 years now and it's still performs brilliantly.