Car Detailing - What products are your go to?

[Fast Eddie]

Juice Polishes and Waxes. Had my Focus professionally detailed prior to Small Ford Sunday, Victoria with these products and subsequently won a Trophy.

[CyberWasp]

I noticed whilst in Repco that in their Home Brand, Eclipse, they have a product called Ceramic Polish.
Upon having a little read I discovered that the name is totally misleading as it is not Ceramic or a Polish but a Hose on / Hose Off SiO2 Product. (Similar to CarPro HydroLite i am assuming.)
The other thing is that it is made in Australia.
So I was wondering if anyone knows who makes their Range?
It might be interesting to find out, and if the stuff is any good, to support local products as the whole range seems to be made locally.
It is a lot easier to get hold of and they would be regularly on special I would assume.

[Mechan1k]

Happy to test it on my daily to see if it is any good.
Might be worth a look.
Especially if it is cheap and can be used as a top/sacrificial layer constantly.

[DFB FGXR6]

I LOVE detailing but HATE vacuuming stubborn carpets. Japanese cars seem to the worst for this.

I bought this drill brush last week for this very issue.

https://www.detailstore.com.au/colle...-duty-chemguys







This is the softest available from this supplier but it had no trouble lifting a variety of debris including sand, embedded pet hair and grass fragments.





In general, I firstly vacuumed the bulk of the debris before hitting the stubborn areas with the brush, then going back over with the vac.

I found this tool especially handy for carpet mats, it really made the jobs so much easier. I even used it to clean the pedals.

And this Lilly Brush is a must have for pet owners.

https://www.detailstore.com.au/colle...-hair-detailer



This "brush" is a rubber blade that grabs pet hair, allowing it to be gathered to point and sucked up with the vac.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I LOVE detailing but HATE vacuuming stubborn carpets. Japanese cars seem to the worst for this.

I bought this drill brush last week for this very issue.

Brilliant, just what I was after! I've already changed the carpet once and had resigned to doing it every 2 years lol.
Cheap enough on a falcon with 2nd hand carpet but this will save me 2 hours! .

[ford12]

Anyone tried Bowden's paint cleanse and restore ?

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Brilliant, just what I was after! I've already changed the carpet once and had resigned to doing it every 2 years lol.
Cheap enough on a falcon with 2nd hand carpet but this will save me 2 hours! .

Some decent videos out there where it has been used to agitate a shampoo to lift out more inground dirt/mud ... and then an extractor used to lift it all out ... making it look like brand new again (some of the carpets initially looked like you'd have to burn them).

[DFB FGXR6]

Ok ok, I know I have a problem. But, well, Waxit got more of my money tonight after the Rupes iBrid Nano returned to the store, having been out of stock for ages.



I had money saved and set aside for this, and I will probably claim it as "business expense".

Sigh! Why did I fall into such an expensive hobby.

[CyberWasp]

That is some fine cleaning right there.

Although I have never used one, a lot of people seem to recommend these for carpets as well. They run off an air compressor and blow the stuff up and out of the pile.

There are a lot of copies so some might be better than others.

[MercuryT]

Bowdens.

[Bossxr8]

What are you guys using to get carbon stains off the inside of exhaust tips? My x-force exhaust tips are black within a week, and doesn’t wash off easily.

I though about spraying some wheel cleaner in there.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

What are you guys using to get carbon stains off the inside of exhaust tips? My x-force exhaust tips are black within a week, and doesn’t wash off easily.

I though about spraying some wheel cleaner in there.

A wheel cleaner should work fine. What product do you have?

For me, I wash the exhaust tips at each wash, using car soap and my wheel cleaning brushes. This prevents carbon building and baking to the surface. I will use a wheel cleaner (Brake Buster) for cars that need more cleaning ability than soap alone.





Depending on the finish after washing, you may also decide to polish them too. I use P21S Polishing soap but a metal polish (ie Autosol) should be fine too.

https://www.waxit.com.au/collections...polishing-soap





This product is used while the tips are still wet. Simply wet the sponge, swipe over the polish then go to town. Rinse clean afterwards.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

A wheel cleaner should work fine. What product do you have?

For me, I wash the exhaust tips at each wash, using car soap and my wheel cleaning brushes. This prevents carbon building and baking to the surface. I will use a wheel cleaner (Brake Buster) for cars that need more cleaning ability than soap alone.

image

image

Depending on the finish after washing, you may also decide to polish them too. I use P21S Polishing soap but a metal polish (ie Autosol) should be fine too.

https://www.waxit.com.au/collections...polishing-soap

image

image

This product is used while the tips are still wet. Simply wet the sponge, swipe over the polish then go to town. Rinse clean afterwards.

Bowdens wheely clean. Probably should buy one of those stiff bristled brushes to scrub them. They seem to stain quite easily. And turn a bronzey colour.

Probably need to hit it with some autosol fairly often.

Cheers.

[T3rminator]

Depending on how your car is tuned, the carbon will just come back within a week or two. I don't think any amount of cleaning or product will help keep it clean long term. I always run degreaser on the outside of the tips after washing then just sponge and rinse it off. Stays shiny for 2 weeks max. The harder you drive the quicker it goes back to being carboned up.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Bowdens wheely clean. Probably should buy one of those stiff bristled brushes to scrub them. They seem to stain quite easily. And turn a bronzey colour.

Probably need to hit it with some autosol fairly often.

Cheers.

Wheely Clean would work fine.

As mentioned, some cars carbon their exhausts worse than others, Volkswagen Group cars in particular. Just have to keep on top of it before it bakes onto the metal.

[anobserver]

Have been using either Nova Jet or Bowdens Fully Slick after three-bucket washing. Have got the hang of them now, without leaving streaks (mostly).

And today, finally got to use the dlux on some of the external trim pieces. It dries gradually so the colour might deepen with time. Potent stuff though, couple of drops on a rag go a long way. Had the garage door open to ventilate, too. Phew.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Wheely Clean would work fine.

As mentioned, some cars carbon their exhausts worse than others, Volkswagen Group cars in particular. Just have to keep on top of it before it bakes onto the metal.

Being a turbo it would run a bit richer than an na car. But it was leaned off a bit when it was tuned, cause factory tune is too rich. So expected it to be a bit better.

[CyberWasp]

I was thinking of getting dlux as well.
Let us know how it goes.

[MercuryT]

It's about time you stop neglecting your car.

; )

[MercuryT]

I bought the Big Green Sucker for my Mum.

Could not be happier........loves it!!!

[MercuryT]

My Mum has an SS VXII.

Red. Manual. Full history.

Value going up by the day and mum's nearly 70!! haha

[MercuryT]

I reckon mum and you best detailers ever!!

[CyberWasp]

I know it doesn't seem much and it is a bit of a rip off in price but if you buy / use a Karcher Shop Vac, this accessory kit transforms the Vacuum for the car.

The extra reach for the hose and the extended crevice tools make a huge difference in the vacuuming experience of the car.
I have had for about a year now and you can set up between 2 cars and reach just about everywhere you need to go.

Sorry about picture size, I couldn't find a smaller one.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

I know it doesn't seem much and it is a bit of a rip off in price but if you buy / use a Karcher Shop Vac, this accessory kit transforms the Vacuum for the car.

The extra reach for the hose and the extended crevice tools make a huge difference in the vacuuming experience of the car.
I have had for about a year now and you can set up between 2 cars and reach just about everywhere you need to go.

Sorry about picture size, I couldn't find a smaller one.

image

Which Karcher vac do you have?

How have you found it?

[CyberWasp]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Which Karcher vac do you have?

How have you found it?

I have the WD3.5P Premium which used to be sold in Bunnings, it may be an obsolete model in Australia now as their site no longer shows it.

Power wise it is great for the car but would not be good if you were wanting to use as a main vacuum for the house if that makes sense.

The main problem was the standard hose was only just adequate and I would find that the vacuum was too close to the car at times, so you get worried about tipping it over into the doors ect.

So buying the car kit extends the vacuum hose another 1.5m which makes a huge difference in where you can sit the vacuum and where you can reach ect.

The long crevice tool is great for getting between and under seats ect also.
The 3.5 has onboard clips so you can store the most common nozzles so they are always close and quick to interchange when needed.

You probably lose a fraction of suction with the longer hose so I wouldn't go a model any lower, but a model or so higher, would be even better if in the budget.

My only real gripe would be the length of the power cord. I wish it was longer and hate having to use an extension cord, but that might not be the case with other people.

Below is the NZ model which is similar but a fraction different.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

I have the WD3.5P Premium which used to be sold in Bunnings, it may be an obsolete model in Australia now as their site no longer shows it.

Power wise it is great for the car but would not be good if you were wanting to use as a main vacuum for the house if that makes sense.

The main problem was the standard hose was only just adequate and I would find that the vacuum was too close to the car at times, so you get worried about tipping it over into the doors ect.

So buying the car kit extends the vacuum hose another 1.5m which makes a huge difference in where you can sit the vacuum and where you can reach ect.

The long crevice tool is great for getting between and under seats ect also.
The 3.5 has onboard clips so you can store the most common nozzles so they are always close and quick to interchange when needed.

You probably lose a fraction of suction with the longer hose so I wouldn't go a model any lower, but a model or so higher, would be even better if in the budget.

My only real gripe would be the length of the power cord. I wish it was longer and hate having to use an extension cord, but that might not be the case with other people.

Below is the NZ model which is similar but a fraction different.

image

Thanks for the info.

I'm at the point where the Vac I'm using is probably at it's effective limit. Not so much on my well maintained cars, more so the few I do for others.

There doesn't really seem to be a go-to detailing Vac, making it harder for me to arrive at a target.

[Mechan1k]

I use one of our older Dysons at home .... I have been meaning to get the car kit that has a long flat "flexible" reach tool ... which would be very handy indeed in a lot of instances (usually under seats).

The current tools I have are OK though in most instances.

What is really handy though is ... a Bissell SpotClean extractor ... the amount of inground dirt and other crud is lifts out is amazing ... and really does clean up vomit well (yes I have had to use it in these instances)

[CyberWasp]

I think if you looked at the WD 5 or 6 Series and added the Car Kit you could probably suck the interior out of the car and have an even greater set up. They look pretty heavy duty.

Shop Vac type vacuums are handy for other things around the garage / house as they can suck up water and stuff also.

There was no particular reason I went with that one in the first place. I was standing in Bunnings going Karcher, Ryobi, Ozito, Gernie. Changed my mind several times and ended up with what I got.
Karcher is over priced but always seem to have extra accessories for each product, which are also over priced. But what do you do.
In this case the accessory kit really makes a nice difference.

Talking about accessories I haven't even mentioned the Karcher Steam Cleaner yet and all the bits for that....another rabbit hole for another post.

I am not necessarily a pro Karcher Fanboi however, as I went Gernie over Karcher when I got a Pressure Washer a few years back. All things have pros and cons.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

I think if you looked at the WD 5 or 6 Series and added the Car Kit you could probably suck the interior out of the car and have an even greater set up. They look pretty heavy duty.

Shop Vac type vacuums are handy for other things around the garage / house as they can suck up water and stuff also.

There was no particular reason I went with that one in the first place. I was standing in Bunnings going Karcher, Ryobi, Ozito, Gernie. Changed my mind several times and ended up with what I got.
Karcher is over priced but always seem to have extra accessories for each product, which are also over priced. But what do you do.
In this case the accessory kit really makes a nice difference.

Talking about accessories I haven't even mentioned the Karcher Steam Cleaner yet and all the bits for that....another rabbit hole for another post.

I am not necessarily a pro Karcher Fanboi however, as I went Gernie over Karcher when I got a Pressure Washer a few years back. All things have pros and cons.

This probably a stupid question, are these Karcher's bag-less?

I'm taking my time researching this purchase, mainly because there are so many to choose from and it's not something I have really looked into before.

Currently leaning towards the Karcher WD6 with your recommendation to include the car cleaning kit.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/karcher-...g-kit_p0259177

For some reason, I can't seem to find the car kit on Karcher's website, they mention it plenty of times but does not exist on their website. Looks like I'm locked into getting it from Bunning's.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/karcher-...g-kit_p0259177

[anobserver]

The kind folks at Waxit miss me already, sending a 15% off offer. Maybe its timely since im almost out of nova jet.... Thinking about trying some carpro reload as a finishing hydrophobic coating. Been using bowdens fully slick too, its reasonable.

Open to other suggestions to stock up the new detailing cupboard. Still thinking about new floor mats, the originals are a bit tired.