Cleaning

JeffL · May 22, 2016

OK, I get it, Dodo Juice for the leather. But what do you guys recommend for, 1. Washing and waxing the paintwork. 2. Polishing the glass. 3. Cleaning the beige carpets. 4. Cleaning the alloy wheels? (How often should waxing be done) Thank you.

robski · May 22, 2016

1 hour ago, JeffL said:

OK, I get it, Dodo Juice for the leather. But what do you guys recommend for, 1. Washing and waxing the paintwork. 2. Polishing the glass. 3. Cleaning the beige carpets. 4. Cleaning the alloy wheels? (How often should waxing be done) Thank you.

@rayaans was kind enough to leave this link in my thread. I'm just passing on the love! All credit goes to rayaans! It should be very helpful.

zippyone · May 22, 2016

Hi Jeff, I wash 'Mr. Jingles,' once a week and use 'Autoglym' products. I wax the car about once every two months, I also wax the front and rear screens, the alloy wheels are washed each week with the car and waxed about once a month. I have black carpets and wash them about every 3 months with a standard carpet cleaner, for the seats and other upholstery I use warm water and a drop of 'Fairy liquid.' I just use a damp cloth in the engine bay each week. I also clay the car at least once a year.

There are no hard and fast rules for specific cleaning products, it depends on individual taste. The frequency depends on the type of climate you live in, the time of year and of course how fanatical you are. In the UK I lived in site of the Isle of Wight, salt was my enemy, now I live in sight of the Alps, dust is generally my enemy. I also keep 'Mr jingles,' garaged at home.

I would highly recommend that you read and download 'Rayaan's guide to cleaning your car,' it's on the site, very informative and well written. I would only advise you to always hand wash your motor, never put it through a car wash.

Good luck.

Michael.

DanD · May 24, 2016

You guys have far too much time on your hands.

I leave the cleaning to the staff - sorry, kids - and the waxing to the wife!

zippyone · May 24, 2016

Hi Daniel, I am the staff, my clones flew the nest many years ago and now have 'staff ' of their own.

I really can't understand why you are so rotten to your wife, after all those years of happiness and pleasure she has bestowed upon you, waxing indeed, how could you be so cruel?

Mrs. Z. will be 71 next month, I think, - "is that right dear?" "Blimey! All right, keep your hair on, what's left of it." - yes, the loud shriek and flying dishcloth just confirmed that now. " no dear, I said that now, not that cow, turn your hearing aid on for once."

During car washing she has long been relegated to menial tasks, providing tea/coffee at regular intervals, getting out and putting away the cleaning gear, then, praising me on doing such a good job and telling me how tired I must be, the latter gets me a good back massage.

Post washing, if it's a day like today, 27°c, I then sit under the pergola and eat an ice cream - I am tired after all, she said so. - It is a pleasure watching her from my vantage point, happily walking up and down the garden, cutting the lawn, then, doing a little weeding, after which, she makes a cupper and we both enjoy, sipping away under the pergola. I don't like to feel she gets too bored in her pensionable years!

Oh! the wash, :- rinse, shampoo and rinse, 30min. Drying 30min. Drying around the door inners and door sills 30min, another 30mins drying around the boot inner and in the engine bay. Vacuuming around 30 min. I get backache just writing it, bring on the ice cream.

Best wishes.

Michael.

JeffL · May 24, 2016

Oh, what have I started! Well done robski, zippyone and DanD. Not forgetting of course the wonderful work of rayaan.

Chris Skelton · May 25, 2016

Strange analogy; name....Zippyone....age...over 65. Zippy? Only with a quip, I fear? (-:

Good tips on here, if ever I actually get to make the big decision and actually BUY another Lex....looking at lpg RX 350.....

do I 'Need' a big car? But...all that comfort....

ChrisKaye · May 25, 2016

Just to add I use Dodo Juice Ferrous Dueller or Bilt Hamber korrosol for the wheels to great effect.

Am also trying at present Dodo's 'basics of bling' quick detailer which seems good so far.

Have also used Meguiars Shampoo and Gold Class Quick Detailer products (good but expensive) and Autoglym Super Resin Polish (so-so).

I think I'll be happy once I find a shampoo that doesn't leave spots when you finish and have on the shopping list a Dodo product to try when I run out of Meguiars...

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

zippyone · May 25, 2016

Well Chris, 'Zippy' was a character in 'The magic roundabout,' I added the 'one' to separate me from another user of the name.

Age, well I'll be 70 in December. I am still a 'happy old bunny,' but since having my prostate removed earlier this year, I don't seem to be getting so much excitement whilst cleaning Mr. Jingles Snr, I'm still trying to work out why!!

'Mr Jingles,' well we all have names. Whilst buying a CT a couple of years ago, I watched the film, 'The Green Mile,' got the idea from there. Quite a good film, well worth a watch. It was originally going to be called 'Sam,' - from my favourite film, 'Casablanca.'

Chris. - the other one. Mr. Jingles is Sonic Titanium and the 'Autoglym car shampoo' doesn't leave any spots on him and I use it at double strength. What has been annoying though, is the occasional identified flying object, unloading on the paintwork whilst work is in progress. But life goes on.

Best wishes.

Michael.

DanD · May 25, 2016

On ‎24‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 4:00 PM, zippyone said:

I really can't understand why you are so rotten to your wife, after all those years of happiness and pleasure she has bestowed upon you, waxing indeed, how could you be so cruel?

I think we might be talking about different kinds of waxing. ;-)

carld · May 25, 2016

Gyeon bathe+ is a great shampoo i use.

carld · May 25, 2016

Just waxed mine with ODK glamour, easy to apply and has depth and gloss with great beeding.

rayaans · May 26, 2016

I wouldnt get too hung up on shampoos - the best one ive come across in terms of performance to price ratio is Carchem 1900:1 Luxury shampoo.

Again, with waxes, people can get carried away and spend a lot of money - most of the time the price is a red herring - plenty of cheap-ish waxes out there which can outperform a £100 wax - things like Harly Wax which I finally tried the other day is unreal for its price point in terms of look - throttling a lot of expensive show waxes. Then you have durability waxes like FK1000p and Fusso which are very well priced.

JeffL · May 26, 2016

Found the Carchem 1900:1 Luxury Shampoo on amazon at £11.99/500ml https://www.amazon.co.uk/CarChem-Car-Shampoo-1900-500ml/dp/B01B38NJYQ also on eBay and the seller says that they decant this from large drums, £18.99/1000ml http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Chem-Car-Shampoo-1900-1-High-Concentrated-Dilution-Wax-Safe-1000ml-/151516485485

rayaans · May 26, 2016

3 hours ago, JeffL said:

Found the Carchem 1900:1 Luxury Shampoo on amazon at £11.99/500ml https://www.amazon.co.uk/CarChem-Car-Shampoo-1900-500ml/dp/B01B38NJYQ also on eBay and the seller says that they decant this from large drums, £18.99/1000ml http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Chem-Car-Shampoo-1900-1-High-Concentrated-Dilution-Wax-Safe-1000ml-/151516485485

I bought my 5l tub for £28! Different scents too. The leather oak is so woody lol

http://car-chem.com/store/car-care-exterior/car-wash-shampoos/luxury-car-shampoo-concentrate-5ltr

robski · May 27, 2016

On 5/26/2016 at 3:52 PM, rayaans said:

I wouldnt get too hung up on shampoos - the best one ive come across in terms of performance to price ratio is Carchem 1900:1 Luxury shampoo.

Again, with waxes, people can get carried away and spend a lot of money - most of the time the price is a red herring - plenty of cheap-ish waxes out there which can outperform a £100 wax - things like Harly Wax which I finally tried the other day is unreal for its price point in terms of look - throttling a lot of expensive show waxes. Then you have durability waxes like FK1000p and Fusso which are very well priced.

More great advice!

I looked into a couple of the products you mentioned above and settled on the Soft99 Fusso Coat Dark. From what I've read and watched on YouTube it looks pretty bloomin' good! As I'm a lazy bugger I like the durability aspect but I suspect 12 month will be pushing it! Hahaha

The stuff should arrive midweek so hopefully I'll get some decent weather to give it a try!

I cleaned the original beige floor mats with the help of the ScrewFix / Titan wet vac and they came out like new. Very impressed indeed!