What's the best cleaning products for your car and why?
Shampoo, polish, wheel cleaner, glass cleaner, leather cleaner. etc

I have always used the autoglym range which I find ok

 Range Rover Sport HSE TDV8 MY2010
Discovery 3 HSE 2007
Discovery 2 TD5 (gone)
Discovery 300 tdi
Range Rover Bobtail (gone)
90 hybrid (gone)

Bear100 wrote:

What's the best cleaning products for your car and why?
Shampoo, polish, wheel cleaner, glass cleaner, leather cleaner. etc

I have always used the autoglym range which I find ok

I am just going to bed so will answer this in more detail in the morning.

There is a short answer and a longer one.

Cheers

Johnny

As Johnny says, thereto different approaches and depends on what you are looking to achieve.
I'll post up my thoughts in a bit, but you could always take a browse on Www.detailingworld.co.uk just to see what infinite possibilities there are  ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass

As has been previously mentioned.... go have a good look at detailingworld.co.uk


For my money... you can not find a better product range than http://gtechniq.com/shop/3s-for-cars/
Blows Autoglym and most other products out the water (i.m.h.o ) !!

I've tried a lot of products.... and live in the winter in the Pyranees.... snow, ice, salt, sub zero temp.. etc

G1 & G3 glass vision..... is unreal.... still working brilliantly after 6 months

C1 crystal lacquer will outlast any sealant out there by a linear mile (c2 excellent as well)
2nd best Wolfs body wrap

C5 wheel armour... awsome... but pricey product... but really works
I've tried chemical guys wheel guard and Wolfs rim shield... neither come close...

P1 for polish .... but autoglym super resin is just as good so long as you dont mind the white dust...

Now onto other products...

For wax... the best most durable long lasting is collinite 476s or a little more expensive Coll Marque d'elegance



Shampoo..... i use the simple neutral ph dodo juice....

Leather Meguiars all in one cleaner and conditioner... looks great... saves time ... don't have to use 2 products and leaves no white residue... If you want to use cleaner and conditioner separately... go for Gliptone

For tyre care...I use Chemical guys new look trim gel... looks great.. not too shiny and a littl goes a long way...

Or for value and great shine on your tyres( will last years) I use this it's brilliant stuff... just read the reviews

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-LTR-LONG-LASTI...252wt_1066


finally the one single best bit of kit for ease... time saving and care of your paintwork is a very large microfibre drying towel....

I use cleanyourcar.co.uk good efficient company..... some useful reviews... but there are plenty companies out there..

Good luck

2012 HSE arctic /black/ cont stitch/ piano / diamond T
2010 Porsche Boxster S 3.4 (in garage for winter)

Last edited by andman on Thu Jan 19 2012 8:41am. Edited 1 time in total

Cheers andman that c1 and c3 looks awesome stuff!!!
Good range of products as well

 Range Rover Sport HSE TDV8 MY2010
Discovery 3 HSE 2007
Discovery 2 TD5 (gone)
Discovery 300 tdi
Range Rover Bobtail (gone)
90 hybrid (gone)

For me 1 must have product left out of that excellent product list is Iron x
Sorry I'll add 2 more Z8 for that quick spruce up and finally Scholl S3 Gold edition,I have tried this on all 3 cars red,white and black and it gives outstanding results with the machine polisher

There are a few different types of Car Cleaner IMHO.

There is the guy who wants to put one product/one coat on his car and give it a wash every few week/months. Then there is the guy who doesnt mind spending a few hours on the car and then there is they guy who will spend a day making his car look the best he can.

I have tried many products over the last 10 years and have settled with Zaino. The finishes I have been able to achieve have been unbelievable and the durability is mind blowing.

The other thing I have found is you can do as little or as much as you wish.

For example. Zaino Z-5 which is a sealant product (man made polymer product compared with Carnauba being from the leaves of a tree) can be applied in one single coat or 3 coats in a day. It has some very mild filling abilities and so if your car has some swirls it will fill them as the coats go on. My point is that if you just want to do one hour on the car, wash it and apply a coat of Z-5 this will give you a few months protection. If you want longer durabilty add another coat or two.. 3 coats applied correctly and maintained will give you up to one year protection!

Shampoo is Zaino Z-7 for me, bearing in mind that a RRS is a big car. I can wash my car and one side will have dried by the time I am done, no problem it just rinses straight off, I know of other brands of product that are not the same.

Top ups. I use Zaino Z-8 Grand Finale spray. This is a spray sealant so will make your car shiny as well as adding MORE protection. You would wash, dry and then use Z-8. I can get round my RRS in about 10 to 15 mins with this start to finish.

Wheels, I only use Car Shampoo as wheel cleaners do damage wheels. But generally I have applied sealant to wheels. My S2000 wheels have not seen a wheel cleaner in 6 months and still look as fresh and bead water with the application of Zaino Clear Seal I did in June last year!

Tyre Dressing, I have used many but prefer a water based tyre dressing compared to oil They are just nicer to use and dont leave your hands gunked up and you dont tend to get browing on the tyres and need to strip them back as much. Zaino Z-16 for tyres is what I use. Gives a nice "Factory" black finish that lasts a few weeks.

Interior Leather - Zaino Z-9 for cleaning, this is a mild leather cleaner... It will remove grime but not things like biro. Zaino Z-10 Leather in a bottle for protecting the leather - It smells so good I dont put air freshners in my car


The other thing for me is the pricing. You can get a complete kit which will last the average owner two years for under £100!

Heres a couple of pics from last week when I applied a coat of Z-5

Heres how it was before...

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Lovely finish. How would this product compare price wise with the C Products on earlier post?

cheers johnny m8 impressive results
pm sent  Range Rover Sport HSE TDV8 MY2010
Discovery 3 HSE 2007
Discovery 2 TD5 (gone)
Discovery 300 tdi
Range Rover Bobtail (gone)
90 hybrid (gone)

Another vote for Zaino .. Popped over to see my mate who works next to Johnny yesterday, popped my head in door to borrow the jet wash .. And hour or so later the car was back to looking all pristine again !

Will post up some pics when I'm not on iPhone  RRS S/C, Factory Fitted Full HST kit, 22" Overfinch SS, Carbon Vents & Grill .. - FOR SALE - PM me for details

997 GT3 - X6 35d