What am i missing in my collection?

[VTR_Craig]

Heres my collection and what i do on a full wash and clay -

Car rinsed with water from hose pipe

Engine and hinges (door/boot) - Autoglym engine and machine cleaner applied with brush, plastics in the engine bay covered in autoglym tyre dressing and wiped over with mf cloth

Arches and areas hard to get at (rear badges, front grille etc) - asda smartprice all purpose cleaner diluted, sprayed on and agitated with brush

whole car and wheels washed with simonez (sp) shampoo and wash mitt using two bucket method

dried with a few mf cloths

Clayed with megs clay and lube

rinsed and dried again as above

Any remaining tar removed with autogylm tar remover with mf cloth

paintwork and wheels polished - Autoglym super resin polish apllied with megs applicator and buffed off with mf cloth

paintwork and wheels Sealed - autoglym extra gloss protection, applied and buffed with mf cloths, usually left overnight to cure.

tyres - autoglym instant tyre dressing.

windows and lights - autoglym glass polish, applied and buffed with mf cloths

bumpers - autoglym bumpercare, applied with megs applicator pad, buffed with mf cloth

exhaust - autosol, toothbrush, wire wool and mf cloth.

Interior - hoovered and dusted, windows done with autoglym glass polish, air freshener added

need some recommendations -

need some decent seat/matt cleaner/odour eliminator

need something to brighten up the dash without making it really greasy and overly shiney.

will i need to wax the car after sealing it or is autoglym extra gloss protection enough.

any other thoughts about what i am doing wrong or what i need to do?

theres a lot of autoglym products as they are cheap and do the job well.

Cheers

Craig

[Wayne]

It only take half an hour for Autoglym extra gloss protection to cure you could put two coats on, but this stuff is better http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...t-protect.html this is all i use to protect mine, very effective at keeping the car clean, a pressure washer would be easier for arches etc, also a foam gun is very good at getting some of the dirt off to make it easier for two bucket method, if you don't want a pressure washer for a foam lance which is very effective at shifting dirt the next one you could get to plug onto the hose is a Glimour gun http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...-gun-wash.html with some megs hyper wash http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...wash-wash.html, dressing interior plastics http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...-interior.html for interior this is the stuff to get http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interi.../prod_342.html great for carpets seats. do you have a drying towel?

[bullit]

in my opinion forget the gilmour and the lance and just get a power washer. there not that expensive and are your best bit of equipment. gets most of shit off before you start washing. lances are overhyped imo

your sealant will be ok, upto you if you want to add a wax on top. jsut get a few layers down and when its used up could try something diffferent

also you dont need to dry you car before you clay. adds to lubricant and saves lube

meguirs do some interior brushes worth looking at aswell

have you got a decent wheel brush?

[VTR_Craig]

cheers for the ideas guys

wayne - i'm going to try the poorboys natural dressing

remembered i have some AG interior shampoo so will use that on the seats etc.

i don't have a drying towel as such, i have about 12 large and 12 smaller microfibre cloths that i use for everything.

i shove them in the washing machine after each use so they are clean to use again.

bullit - i have a few brushes, i prefer to use the wash mitt for wheels, brush for the tyres

[bullit]

sorry i meant inside the wheels?

what do you polish with? eg pad or cloth

[VTR_Craig]

don't really polish the inside of the wheels

i give them a good clean, get them off once every few months.

unless you mean what do i polish the car with - megs applicator pads and buff off with mf cloths

[bullit]

well an ez detail or raceglaze brush is great for cleaning inside of wheels without taking them off.

you may want to try a german applicator over a megs pad aswell, especially for polishing


also with a toothbrush and apc go round all rubbers and windows to get the moss and shit out.

[titchster]

I personally throw a pre-rinse (snow foam y0) in before cleaning when its really dirty, and do the wheels while the pre-rinse is soaking, then rinse it off before cleaning it properly.
Could be an idea if you're looking into pressure washers to look for one like I did, with a built in foam tank. So I just fill that with snow foam, set the lance that comes with the pressure washer to mix, and it mixes it. Just means you have to check the dilution of the solution when you put it in.

[VTR_Craig]

cheers titchster

don't really want to go into pressure washing and foam lancing.

bullit - i use a normal brush for round windows etc, toothbrush will be better though, will try that next time.

Cheers for replies

[markl]

agreed on the foam. if heavily dirty i use a foam lance and rinse tha with pressure washer. as for odour eliminator the autoglym one is sweet imo love the smell

[Saxo_Steveo]

how much are the pressure washers with built in foam tank?? bday at the end of the month

[bullit]

think mine was about £60 craig get one

[titchster]

Originally Posted by Saxo_Steveo

how much are the pressure washers with built in foam tank?? bday at the end of the month

Think mine was just over £100 well worth it though.
Other alternative is a Gilmour, £60 and it just attatches to your standard hose pipe, you fill it with snow foam/prewash, and set the dial, and away you go.

[Mark_Jordan]

thats what ive got, works like a charm

[readie]

Originally Posted by Saxo_Steveo

how much are the pressure washers with built in foam tank?? bday at the end of the month

i got a karcher for like £70 then snowfoam for 40 so jus remove all the crao then foam it tht works everytime and i would always wax and use a sealent on the paint jus to get it looking perfect