Deep Cleaning

Have decided to get some cleaning products to give our cars a deep clean on a budget.
I plan the following stages:

EXTERIOR

Pre-rinse:
With plain water.

Wheels:
Using soft-bristle brush and Turtle Wax Redline wheel cleaner, £6.

Pre-wash:
Two products seem to garner consistently high reviews, one a "DIY" treatment, the other Pro. Car Plan Demon Machine and ValetPro Citrus Pre-wash. Car Plan £8.60, ValetPro £9.

ValetPro Citrus PW seems to be marketed as an APC (also suited for upholstery, carpets and interior surfaces, headlinings and glass) but having said that, ValetPro also sell a carpet cleaner and, oddly an APC!

As I am on a budget, buying a cleaner that could be used for different surfaces appeals, but not if it does a mediocre job.

Wash:
Two bucket system using microfibre noodle wash mitt and Halfords W&W, £2.

Iron decontamination:
Use the wheel cleaner to decontaminate the paintwork.

Tar remover?:
Halfords bug and tar remover, if necessary, £4.

Clay:
Bilt Hamber Autoclay Regular.
Used on paintwork and glass. This uses water as lube, saving an extra purchase, £12.99.

Wax:
Turtle Wax original Car Wax. I already have this.

Glass Cleaner:
Dodo Juice Clearly Menthol. I already have this.

Black restorer:
Turtle Wax "Black in a Flash", £4

INTERIOR

Using Dodo Juice glass cleaner, Halfords upholstery cleaner, £4 and Halfords dash and trim cleaner, £4 or Armorall Matt, £5. If the ValetPro is decent at cleaning interior surfaces, I would be tempted to use it instead of the 2 Halfords products listed above. Has anybody used it as an APC?


£37 using ValetPro as an APC, or £46 if buying dash and trim cleaner and upholstery cleaner.

Also, Car Plan do Demon Clean, a similar product to ValetPro Citrus PW with a similar fruity niff, albeit lemon instead of orange.

I have the necessary microfibre cloths, mitts and towels and can even go old school with a chamois!

Comments welcome please! Would you do this differently? Different choice of products, different sequence, steps added or removed?

Thanks, guys.

I guess everyone has their own preferences, but for what its worth heres mine.
External wash - Autoglym shampoo and conditioner.
Tar removal - white spirit or similar.
Metallic particle remover - Autoglym Magna, also works on the wheels but best not when they are on the car;
Final wax - Meguiars Ultimate wax.
Glass - Mr Muscle glass cleaner.
Interior shampoo - Autoglym.
Some large clean sponges and microfibre cloths, all you need!
John

I use rain, doesn't give a particularly deep clean, sometimes I use Polish, but sometimes a Latvian or Lithuanian.

I use lighter fuel to remove tar, then rain as I find the bird muck does'nt get any thicker after 6months.

I'll try and cover as many points as I can with as best knowledge as I have so here goes...

1) Don't worry about rinsing with plain water, you want your "pre-wash" to go onto the car as the desired dilution rate. If you are spraying it onto a car that is already wet, you are diluting it too much and it will be less effective. I appreciate you want to get rid of some of the muck before you start but that is what the pre-wash is going to do. Don't waste water, just put your pre-wash onto the dry car and let it do its stuff.

2) If you haven't done your wheels for a long time, it will be hard going. If you have the opportunity to take the wheels off, I'd really recommend it, I know it seems crazy but you can clean the barrels and in behind so much easier off the car. If you aren't going to do that, no worries, just do the best you can. I have not used Turtle Wax Redline but I assume it contains an iron contaminate as you are going to reuse it later so all good. Just don't let this dry on wheels (or on the body of the car later).

3) Either pre wash is fine and yes, use it as an APC for other jobs. If not then something like Flash from your kitchen is also a good APC. The only thing to remember is diluting it appropriately for the job you are using it for. Ie - more water for more delicate surfaces.

4) Definite yes to 2 buckets and microfibre noodle. I'd recommend spending a bit more on the shampoo, something like Farecla G3 Body Prep Shampoo is good, especially for a deep clean. But I appreciate you are on a budget so your call, just please don't use fairy liquid, it contains lots of crap which is great for cleaning dishes but not so good for your plastic trims etc.

5) Iron decon - Good thinking, a classic budget way

6) You can use things like lighter fuel, petrol, WD40 to remove any tar spots but they are not ideal and can inflict some marring in using them so get your bug and tar remover if you can.

7) Good shout on the clay. Another alternative is a clay mitt, the Farecla G3 from Halfords is a good one. Clay mitts are generally easier to use and less likely to inflict marring. Again, it uses water with some shampoo as a lubricant so cost efficient on that side of things.

8) I would add in a polish if you can before waxing. After all that work before it would be a shame not to give it a polish before locking in with a wax. Something like Autoglym super resin polish is always a favourite if you want to stick from Halfords. I am sure you could probably find something cheaper though to maintain your budget angle.

9) Great, there are thousands of waxes out there. I have not used yours but as you have it, use it!

10) Again, use what you have. Even household glass cleaner would be fine. Chose the cloth you use carefully though, nothing that will leave lint behind.

11) A nice touch with the black trim. I have not used it but you seem a fan of the Turtle Wax range so go for it!

12) Interior - Use your APC if you want to save some money here. As long as you dilute it right down, you don't want anything leaving a residue on your dashboard etc.

13) Lastly I saw you mention the word chamois - my advice would be to throw that in the bin before you start. Plush microfibre technology has really made chamois' a thing of the past. They risk scratching your paintwork so much so please leave out of your routine!!

Good luck, head over to the Detailing World Forum if you want to take it even more serious than this. A good bunch of folk over there who are all a little obsessed with cleaning their cars. They do have a section on budget detailing though, so maybe some more ideas can be picked up there.

Well, I'm sure the above post is in English certainly looks like it. Things appear to have processed somewhat from a sponge, bucket of hot water, turtle wax and maybe a chamois

Yeah, when I said old school about the chamois, that's what I used to use about 20 years ago....

Marve, thanks very much for your advice. I want to do a thorough job, but I am on a really tight budget.

Wonder if the APC at higher concs will shift tar?

Thinking I might be able to use it instead of a dedicated tar remover?

I wouldn't use w-u-l. It's dreadful for cars, will strip all traces of protection from the paint. If you want to do that, I suppose it would be good, but it's not for me.

You don't wash cars! That dust and dirt is there to protect the paintwork.

securespark said:

Wonder if the APC at higher concs will shift tar?

Thinking I might be able to use it instead of a dedicated tar remover?

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Not a chance unfortunately. Depending on how bad the car is, you "may" get away without needing it. If it is the odd bit and budget is king then go down the route of using some petrol, lighter fluid or WD40. Or if you have any "sticky stuff" remover in the house, that should do it as well. You need those solvent chemicals to dissolve it down so you can wipe it away without too much effort (chance of marring the paint).

That's just it! I don't want to risk the paint! One of the fellas on YT says you should be OK as long as the paint is original, but I'm not keen on harsh remedies.

JBR said:

You don't wash cars! That dust and dirt is there to protect the paintwork.

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I knew someone who was getting rid of their 1983 Metro (this must have been about 1997) and I took ownership of it and cleaned it thoroughly from top to bottom. When the owner saw it he said he'd forgotten exactly what colour it was! He'd had it from new and never washed it!

Any petroleum based solvent should shift the tar splatter.....secret is to let it dissolve the tar before wiping off. The proprietory makes of remover have the same base.
As said, washing up liquid is a definite no no - it contains salt as a thickener and it removes any polish which is just what you dont need.
For bug removal its Autoglym motorcycle cleaner for me.....Autoglym resin polish does shift them whereas Meguiars Ultimate doesnt. This may indicate that the Autoglym is slightly abrasive and the Meguiars isnt.
John

securespark said:

I knew someone who was getting rid of their 1983 Metro (this must have been about 1997) and I took ownership of it and cleaned it thoroughly from top to bottom. When the owner saw it he said he'd forgotten exactly what colour it was! He'd had it from new and never washed it!

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Oh yes. That might have been me.

This chap was called Pat and lived in Chorlton-cum-Hardy.
That brings me to the dreadful realisation that there are a few of these non-car washing people around.

Baby oil shifts tar from paintwork.

Depending on the hardness of the local mains water, water from the water butt gives a better clean, rinse, and shine.