cleaning car & wheels

ldusoswa

anyone got any tips on this...

I found this on www.howdidyoufixit.com but someone said washing-up liquid was bad for bodywork?

http://howdidyoufixit.com/cleaning-your-wheels-t106.html

BlackWizard

I used a bit of washing-up liquid and vinegar in warm/cold water, to clean my windows. I use news paper too.

Dunno what I use on the body. It's some general car cleaner from Halfords I think. Might even have the word wax in it. It has to be gone over with a shammy cloth (i think it's called shammy), other wise specs of dirt the size of rain drops appear all over the car.

I reckon if washing-up liquid was useful for washing the car, I would of heard about it by now. Either from boards.ie or from the parents when I was a kiddo, helping them clean the car

I'd stay away from using it unless you're 100% sure it's fine. I wouldn't want to see my car getting eroded or hinges getting stiff because of some Fairy washing-up liquid.

voxpop

washing up liquid as salt in it so bad for the paintwork. I think the chemicals are pretty harsh too. Just buy a bottle of Autoglym stuff from halfords

Seperate

Washing up liquid is bad for your paintwork.

Use a good shampoo, you can buy a bottle that'll last you six months for about €10-15.

JoeySully

For a real annual clean - here is what i do

you will need
tools
2 buckets ( b&q sell them for 1.60 or something)
2 sponges
a stiff brush
a old paint brush.
towels ( like this and this )
some old rags too or jcloths

chemicals n sh*t
car wash fluid
Tar remover - make sure you get one thats bad for the enviornment and is flamable or its crap holts is the best
clay or go to halfords - they have a similar product same price.
safe cut (halfords)
color magic
WAX - take your pick but i use spray wax from an aerosol - its fast and easy.


right now that you have all that together or some of them
take you bucket 1 and fill it with warm soapy water and bucket 2 with just water. wash the car down starting at the top and work you way around and down. rinsing your sponge in bucket 2 before you put it back in the soapy bucket 1.
Use a different sponge on the lower part of the car and finally the wheels.

now take a look at the car near the wheels - you will have lots of tar. remove this with the tar remover - there may also be some on the rear bumper. dont be afraid of it. spray in on leave it settle and the wipe it off- give the car anouther quick wash and rinse in the areas de-tarred.

next its claying time - itf you havnt used it before youtube it. best stuff iv ever used. give a reall smooth finish.

once you have done that its onto the safe cut - its like t cut but i believe its not as abrasive then again it could be identical. either way it gives a good preperation for the color wax. do as the instructions say. work small sections.


the color inhanser or " magic" is a colored wax that really brings up the color of the car and comes with a little wax crayon for filling in stone chipps.

ofter this you need tto give it a final wax to keep all your hard work protected .

the wheels well for alloys i use engine degreaser - aldi or lidl stuff is cheap and cheerful and does the job better than any specialised alloy wheel cleaner.
take the wheels off though it makes it a hell of a lo easier. some wax the wheels after to keep the brake dust off. use the stiff brush/old paint brush for this.

one place that always gets neglected is at the door hinges. i use an old paintbrush wnd soapy water to get into this area.

to keep this finish i generally wash every wekk or 2 and then apply some spray wax.

ldusoswa

Where are you guys getting salt from?

Just looking at my bottle of fairy liquid here the ingredients are:

15-30% Anionic surfacants, 5-15% Nonionic surfacants, Perfume, Lemonene, Linanol...

No mention of sodium or chloride though...


I have been washing cars with washing up liquid for 15 years now and they look shiny as hell... These are our current 2... I've been washing the astra with fairy liquid for nearly 5 years...

Seth Brundle

ldusoswa wrote: »

It obviously does do bad things - your car now looks like a Hyundai Coupé

tw0nk

kbannon wrote: »

It obviously does do bad things - your car now looks like a Hyundai Coupé

LOL!

TomMc

Standard washing up liquids contain salt. Some of the newer "Green" ones don't. They use alternative ingredients to get the job done. Bottom line is these products are designed to degrease dirty dishes and cutlery. They are not mild & gentle enough for use on automotive paints. While using a washing up liquid mix once a year, to thoroughly cleanse paint of old wax, sealant and grease residues is OK, I would refrain from doing so. And it is only OK if you plan on polishing and waxing straight away afterwards. To use it as a general car wash will strip off all protection and leave paintwork over exposed to UV damage. Dulling or fading the colour and attacking the clear coat all the quicker.

Photos can be very misleading (I have seen some mint looking cars on Carzone that were anything but in the flesh/metal), and maybe it is just the angles etc, but the bonnet on the Astra looks quite dull (gets the worst of the sun and engine heat) and the front bumper looks milky. The Hyundai clean but somewhat hazy. But may be I'm delusional.

ldusoswa

TomMc wrote: »

Photos can be very misleading (I have seen some mint looking cars on Carzone that were anything but in the flesh/metal), and maybe it is just the angles etc, but the bonnet on the Astra looks quite dull (gets the worst of the sun and engine heat) and the front bumper looks milky. The Hyundai clean but somewhat hazy. But may be I'm delusional.

LOL WHAT are you talking about... the astra photo is practically in the dark and it shows a clean consistent shine... the bumper looks "milky" because of the flash...

LOL... I do understand what you say about pics of cars, but trust me that they look immaculate... May have been slightly irrelevant posting those photos...

As for the hyundai coupe remark, it's my girlfriend's... You can't honestly tell me that model isn't amazing... Couple that to the 18s that it's on, and facelift front and rear lights powered by a 150bhp 2.0 litre twin cam with a shed-load of torque... It's a class car. No i'm not a hair dresser, and no i wouldn't buy one seeing as i'm a fella... but it is gorgeous...

Also i clean my car with washing up liquid at least once a month... no problems yet I do only use Fairy...

Seperate

TomMc wrote: »

Standard washing up liquids contain salt. Some of the newer "Green" ones don't. They use alternative ingredients to get the job done. Bottom line is these products are designed to degrease dirty dishes and cutlery. They are not mild & gentle enough for use on automotive paints. While using a washing up liquid mix once a year, to thoroughly cleanse paint of old wax, sealant and grease residues is OK, I would refrain from doing so. And it is only OK if you plan on polishing and waxing straight away afterwards. To use it as a general car wash will strip off all protection and leave paintwork over exposed to UV damage. Dulling or fading the colour and attacking the clear coat all the quicker.

Photos can be very misleading (I have seen some mint looking cars on Carzone that were anything but in the flesh/metal), and maybe it is just the angles etc, but the bonnet on the Astra looks quite dull (gets the worst of the sun and engine heat) and the front bumper looks milky. The Hyundai clean but somewhat hazy. But may be I'm delusional.

Tom got all science on us. He's right.

You are enducing oxidation on your paint.

Also, washing up liquid doesnt contain lubrication thats needed to properly wash a car. For example (taken from here);

This looks clean....



But its not...



Thats what happens when you don't wash your car properly, and with the right stuff.

TomMc

ldusoswa wrote: »

As for the hyundai coupe remark, it's my girlfriend's... You can't honestly tell me that model isn't amazing... Couple that to the 18s that it's on, and facelift front and rear lights powered by a 150bhp 2.0 litre twin cam with a shed-load of torque... It's a class car. No i'm not a hair dresser, and no i wouldn't buy one seeing as i'm a fella... but it is gorgeous...

Ah well if it floats her boat, good for her. Easy enough on the eye (the car!) although I think they look better in that vibrant blue than black. Although if with delaminating clear coat much of a muchness.

This is what I would kind of call (mainstream) amazing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Coup%C3%A9 and good (used) examples available for (relative) peanuts.

I'd say the ride is a little harsh on 18's over here (in a Hyundai). 137 ibs ft of torque or thereabouts at 4,500rpm is hardly earth shattering. Would just about crack 60 in under 10 secs. But I guess this would appear nippy next to a 1400cc Astra.

HungryJoey

ldusoswa wrote: »

I'd love to see that under a halogen or upclose. If you've been washing it with washing up liquid, I'd say the paint would be disaterous up close.

Seth Brundle

ldusoswa wrote: »

As for the hyundai coupe remark, it's my girlfriend's... You can't honestly tell me that model isn't amazing... Couple that to the 18s that it's on, and facelift front and rear lights powered by a 150bhp 2.0 litre twin cam with a shed-load of torque... It's a class car. No i'm not a hair dresser, and no i wouldn't buy one seeing as i'm a fella... but it is gorgeous...

Aah relax and take a joke!

ldusoswa

apologies for sounding too serious I didn't mean to.

Also, it makes about 190 lbs/ft according to the in-dash meter. It has a whole bunch of mods... Also, my astra is good for a 9 second 0-60 as can be seen on youtube (this video was taken by me):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-aqaxpRCoE

Nforce

This'll do wonders for your paintwork too ldusoswa ....http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=OLUlHJakEes

ldusoswa

I live right near the sea so i've never been too worried bout salt. Regular washes seem to do the trick. As for driving on the beach, you got me there, but a swift wash gets the salt and sand off

That beamer looks dull...

Also, what's with that random post just above this one...
CAN A MODERATOR PLEASE REMOVE IT...

Seth Brundle

ldusoswa wrote: »

I live right near the sea so i've never been too worried bout salt. Regular washes seem to do the trick. As for driving on the beach, you got me there, but a swift wash gets the salt and sand off

That beamer looks dull...

You manage to wash all the salt from the unerside? fair play!

ldusoswa wrote: »

Also, what's with that random post just above this one...
CAN A MODERATOR PLEASE REMOVE IT...

will do!

S.I.R

when im cleaning i just get some critric acid ( vitimin c ) dissolve it in hot water, lash it on then power wash it off, but please note- if your cars startingto rust this will make it show.....

ldusoswa

touche on the underside of the car... we need those car washes like on the continent that do the WHOLE car, undercarriage and all...

Seth Brundle

Speak for yourself!
My car has never seen a beach!

JoeySully

ldusoswa wrote: »

touche on the underside of the car... we need those car washes like on the continent that do the WHOLE car, undercarriage and all...

i think John A Wood have them on all their sites for the lorries