Car Valeting Dublin - My Recent Experience

OutlawPete

Hi,

Just wanted to post my recent good and bad experiences with car valeting services in Dublin.

The first one I used was the crowd in St Stephens Green shopping centre during the summer. Car seemed worse after than before. Seemed like the sprayed a few cans of Mr Sheen inside the car and that was about all.

Then I called out a mobile crowd in September who cursed the Stephens Green crowd and sounded like the new what they were doing but they didn't.

Under the seats were filthy, door rims untouched, glass streaky and loads of smearing still present. They shampoo'd the seats but there was stains all over the seats when they dried out the next day.

So I swore I wouldn't touch a valet crowd again but last night started reading the few threads that dealt with valeting in Dublin and the few recommendations that were made seemed to be from one hit wonder posters -- so took them with a pinch of salt.

The Beacon got quite a few positive reports but I couldn't afford them and so the only other Valet that I was curious about, that had a some positive comments, was Sam's in Blackrock.

Sam's Car Valeting

So this morning I phoned him and he quoted me €150 for full valet inside & out with shampoo'd seats etc and wax'd exterior etc.

Told him I simply can't do that and he said that a mini interior valet WITHOUT shampoo was €40 and an exterior clean WITHOUT wax was also €40 and that he'd do both for €75.

Very good and the best offer I found but I told him I really wanted shampoo and wax. Long story short he said he'd do the €150 full valet for €100

Couldn't find the place for love nor money. It's left at Clark's newsagents and then first right but I couldn't find Clark's at all. Ended up near Stillorgan and then down the back of Blackrock Business park. Did the guy's head in phoning him and asking for directions for the 10th time.

So finally I find the road the road and as I turn right there's a bunch of guy's screaming and waving and it was Sam and two other guy's who he asked to explain to me where they were - felt like a right twat

The place has about one or two thousand pics on the wall of every car that Sam has valeted in his time. I chatted with him and he's from Iraq and has been here nearly 30 years. Really decent and pleasant guy.

Sam told me I could pick the car up in three hours or the next morning if I minded the seats not been bone dry.I didn't mind so I came back at 6pm and he was still busy polishing away and cleaning nooks and cranny's I didn't even know the car had.

I'll post some pics tomorrow if anyone wants to see them but the car looks brand new inside and out. It's only a 2000 Audi A4 TDi so that's pretty impressive going. I didn't think it could look as good as it does.

There was some deep scoring on my bonnet too that I thought was caused by a car wash's brushes. It would never come off no matter what I tried and a panel beater quoted me for a respray as he said the paintwork was damaged.

Well Sam rubbed something on it and it's gone. I have zero clue what he did but it's not there anymore.

I'd post a link but I'm not sure if that's allowed. Think his number is easy to find. I told him about the boards as he was asking how I found out about him. Told him that guys and gals on the forum that take pride in their cars are always on the look and out for a decent valeting service that doesn't rip people off.

He joked about having a special recession price list and I joked about him giving anyone who mentioned the board's a decent discount but looking around at the pics of his clients I knew he didn't need to do that.

However, when I said that he replied in his thick iraqi accent 'no problem' and said that if anyone mentioned me recommending them or the boards that he would look after them and that a decent discount would be no problem at all.

Now, maybe I just caught Sam on a good day and if you phone him he'll say he never heard of me and no discounts available sorry - but that's what he told me and I can honestly say I have hardly ever met a more genuine and friendly guy that wasn't looking to rip anyone off and God knows that's becoming very very rare in Dublin these days.

Anyway, that's it - that was my experience today and also so far as car valeting in Dublin is concerned. Hope the post is helpful to someone that is in a similar position to myself and is tired of getting ripped off with car valeters and I hope Sam is true to his word and that Boards.ie members will be treated well if mentioned.

Nico

Berty

There is no greater joy in the world than cleaning your own car and knowing everything is done to your standards.

Save your money and put aside two hours to give your car a big going over.

Bandara

Berty wrote: »

There is no greater joy in the world than cleaning your own car and knowing everything is done to your standards.

Save your money and put aside two hours to give your car a big going over.

There's no greater joy than getting the missus to drop your car into be valeted on a saturday afternoon while you get slaughtered in the pub with your mates while watching the football.

Each to their own though.

245

Berty wrote: »

There is no greater joy in the world than cleaning your own car and knowing everything is done to your standards.

Save your money and put aside two hours to give your car a big going over.

Two hours? How many hands have you ? :eek:

A wash, dry, tar removal and the beginnings of a polish takes me more than that...

DublinWriter

I've used the crowd in Stephen's Green, they're pricey, but ok. Never had a problem.

Nowadays I just leave it to the guys in Tesco Clarehall who do a pretty decent inside and out job for €46, or I'll clean it myself.

There's a war recession on now, you know.

smash

got his number to pm over to me there?

mondeo

I cannot believe people spend up to 150e to have their cars cleaned.. They must have money to burn. I love cleaning my own car and I would do a much better job then 2 idiots with a bucket/sponge and a hoover down some back lane.

Gumbo

get some pics up OP

homer90

I have to admit ...... I take pride in doing the job myself ....

But good thread all the same .......... makes a change from some of the disgruntled posts ya get here .........

Bandara

mondeo wrote: »

I cannot believe people spend up to 150e to have their cars cleaned.. They must have money to burn. I love cleaning my own car and I would do a much better job then 2 idiots with a bucket/sponge and a hoover down some back lane.

I always thought the same until the missus got a car secondhand and paid 180 to have it valeted.

I went down to pay the guy after he'd finished all ready to pick out faults etc, when I say I was astounded by the job the guy did I'm understating it, the car was a filthy 8 year old VW and had grimy cloth seats etc etc.

It was literally liek a new car, he came to the house and spent over 4 hours cleaning it with a assortment of special equipment. He also buffed the entire paintwork and the car was a different colour to what she had thought.

If the previous owners had got it done they could have charged an extra 1000 euro for the car, it really was that good. I gave him a 20 euro tip and even then it was superb value. NOBODY would have got even half close to this clean with the industrial equipment.

mickdw

People here are confusing "cleaning" with a "professional valet". I dont care how long you take to do it, you will not get your car to a showroom level without the equipment they have. I would love to watch them do it cause its nothing short of amazing.

Cyrus

jesus you loads should take a look at detailer.ie if 'professional valets' amaze you :P

and mick most people into keeping their cars pristine use far far superior products than the valet guys

glad to hear the OP got a good service anyway and for 100 quid its not bad for 4 hours labour

Bandara

Cyrus wrote: »

jesus you loads should take a look at detailer.ie if 'professional valets' amaze you :P

and mick most people into keeping their cars pristine use far far superior products than the valet guys

glad to hear the OP got a good service anyway and for 100 quid its not bad for 4 hours labour

Cyrus the detailer.ie is a complete rip off. They pics he takes while doing the car are heightened greatly by the wax he applies which washes off soon enough

A lot of the guys on bmwdrivers were far from impressed with the job done, let alone the ridiculous price

Cyrus

sorry hammertime totally disagree, obviously wax washes off but the defects that are repaired stay repaired until someone puts their car thro a horrible car wash or something like that

this is an indication of what he does, no valeter will do this, in fact they are more likely to cause the swirls he fixes



the price, compared to uk providers of the same service is competitive and i have yet to come across some in ireland doing the same thing

i am one of the many people on the bmw driver site who had my m3 detailed with him and i saw no complaints at all got any links?

here is the link to his old sub forum on bmw drivers, find me a post slating his work?

http://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=40

L-M

Fours hours can do wonders and it cost me maybe the bones of €5 euro's worth of polish. I await Berty's comments that i didn't de tar it lol:D

L-M

Hammertime wrote: »

Cyrus the detailer.ie is a complete rip off. They pics he takes while doing the car are heightened greatly by the wax he applies which washes off soon enough

A lot of the guys on bmwdrivers were far from impressed with the job done, let alone the ridiculous price

I actually have not heard one thing about Detailer. AFAIK he does alot of top knotch quaility work.

OutlawPete

steve06 wrote: »

got his number to pm over to me there?

Hi,

I have edited my original post to include a link to Sam's site. Hope that's okay with the board rules.

There are some before and after shots on the site but nothing close to the thousands of polaroid pics that the guy has on his walls. I recognised a few of the cars and i'm sure Larry Mullins car was there. I used to see him drive around in a 60's Merc and that car was on the wall.

I would say to anyone who's curious about the guy's work to pop in and take a look at the pics - it's take you hours to go through them all though Or just pop around and say you just looking and maybe check out a car he just finished or something.

Also, someone mentioned cleaning your car yourself and I would but my health is not the best. Plus, I'd say at the very least you'd need one of those wet / dry vacums cleaners or a steam cleaner.

He showed me the water that came out of the cleaner and it was filthy black stuff. Now my car wasn't by no means filthy - it just needed a clean in my eyes and a spilled capachino didn't help matters last week

This has nothing to do with anything but he noticed my face had a slight rash and told me he was going to call a friend of his who helped him with facial exzema years ago and get the name of some cream that he thought I should take.

I told him that I have an illness and I am supposed to avoid some chemicals and lately I hadn't and so my rash flared up and he then told me of a woman with a dog who was allergic to chemicals and so she supplied some hypo-allergenic cleaners to clean her car with and Sam was more than happy to accommodate and clean her car with these supplied cleaners than his own.

I know I only met the guy once and shouldn't really be taking liberties but he just seems to be a genuine guy who, should you need to haggle for financial reasons or whatever, would be more than happy to meet you half way.

I honestly can't think of anywhere else like that in Dublin these days. They would more than likely grunt at you down the phone. Everywhere seems to be like that in this day and age. Your ripped off everyhwere you go and so it's been for the past ten years or so.

Companies have acted like they are doing you a favour by selling you something. Customer service is a joke in this country. I know the UK has it's faults but I'd much rather prefer to deal with UK customer service than an Irish one.

I have to get a front bumper for a family members car and phoned around a few places and the quotes were crazy. Even the breakers were crazy prices.

I ended up getting it posted from the UK and it worked at half what the breakers quoted me and a third of what a main dealer quoted me and that was just to collect it - the UK obviously included delivery - crazy.

And now that the sterling is coming down I think some of these Irish rip-off companies should be told were to go. Get online from the UK and just see how much you can save on parts and the like.

Nico

OutlawPete

DublinWriter wrote: »

I've used the crowd in Stephen's Green, they're pricey, but ok. Never had a problem.

Nowadays I just leave it to the guys in Tesco Clarehall who do a pretty decent inside and out job for €46

I'd say it depends who's doing the job on the day. I mean they certainly have the tools to do the job.

Did Clarehall shampoo the seats and wax for that €46? How long do they take usually?

Nico

OutlawPete

kceire wrote: »

get some pics up OP

Getting my Sony T300 back from the Sony Centre early next week and if the vandals around here haven't ruined my car by then I'll post those pics

Last week they ripped my Audi Logo (the four circles) from the back of the car the f%&kers. I see they are not that much on Ebay but was still so damn annoying.

Nico

OutlawPete

mickdw wrote: »

People here are confusing "cleaning" with a "professional valet". I dont care how long you take to do it, you will not get your car to a showroom level without the equipment they have. I would love to watch them do it cause its nothing short of amazing.

Yeah, so right .. I thought a 150euro wet/dry hoover from Argos would do the trick but it just doesn't penetrate like their massive industrial ones. I swear my seats look like brand new showroom condition seats as does the dash, doors, floor etc.

The guy even put a plastic seat cover on the drivers seat for me that they put one new cars and a Sam'sCarValeting.ie logo stamped plastic mat on the drivers floor so I wouldn't ruin the shag pile with my scruffy loafers )

Nico

Berty

Limerick-man wrote: »

Fours hours can do wonders and it cost me maybe the bones of €5 euro's worth of polish. I await Berty's comments that i didn't de tar it lol:D

Well you didnt did you?

I did it to your car with my own tar remover. Okay, given I only did 3/4 of your front drivers wing but YOU didnt do it!! :mad: I forget the tar removal sponge and my tea cloth was a waste of time, probably scratched your car more so.

Lazy sod.

How do I take two hours to clean my car?

Without having 8 arms, I have a routine and I also do not let my car slip into dishevelment over time. I keep it cleaned consistently. You can never be happy with a valet. I have only had a "Pro" do the valet twice on the car in two different places and the job was MEH. I was finding places he didnt clean, buff, hoover, wax, de-tar etc etc.

Its all about routine. I have a spray for each different job, a sponge for different jobs and my favourite piece of equipment the buffer.

The only time I would consider a professional is to have the interior professional shampoed which I am currently considering. €50. The previous owner left a lot of oily stains on the rear seats. :eek:

Gary ITR

Berty wrote: »

The previous owner left a lot of oily stains on the rear seats. :eek:

Sigh.... I bought a car a while back and there was a footprint on the inside of the windscreen on the passenger side.

Berty

I know a guy who has a Hyundai Accent and the hamster went missing in the car one day so they now put down bits of food in the car. They have seen it every so often so its still alive.

The car is manky and smells real bad. I hate cars that are unkempt or missing bits or damaged(like mine). I even went a got my neighbour a hubcap from a scrap yard because his car looked so **** outside the house. 3 hubcaps. AAAHHH

Seperate

Hammertime wrote: »

Cyrus the detailer.ie is a complete rip off. They pics he takes while doing the car are heightened greatly by the wax he applies which washes off soon enough

A lot of the guys on bmwdrivers were far from impressed with the job done, let alone the ridiculous price

The waxes generally don't make a difference to the appearance of the car actually. They add SLIGHT nuances - but it's all in the preperation. It's all in the 12 hours (ish) spent polishing the car. All the wax does is protect the finish on the car - some last more then others but i've generally been using high-end waxes for the last 8 or 9 months that easily lasts 8-10 weeks.

Don't take my word for it - read about the ability of waxes here.

With regard to the cost - the average detail takes about 15 hours for a saloon vehicle at €425. Take off the VAT and its €367.62 - which works out €24.50 per hour. That's without taking materials or overheads into account also. Where else would you get someone to work on your car for that money?

I've done about 300 cars in the last 18 months and the only person i've had on person come back to me and it was actually Cyrus. I missed a patch on his front bumper - as soon as he mentioned it, I arranged for him to pop over. I fixed up the patch and re-waxed his whole car.

In regard to the OP - i've heard conflicting stories about the Beacon but at the end of the day - if the customers know what they're getting and they're happy with the job done then it's all good.

Seperate

Berty wrote: »

The only time I would consider a professional is to have the interior professional shampoed which I am currently considering. €50. The previous owner left a lot of oily stains on the rear seats. :eek:

It's not that difficult to do yourself. The only bit of equipment you really need is a wet/dry hoover. You can pick up a George (Henry's brother) for about 200eur(ish) or you can grab a generic wet/dry from Lidl every now and again.

PM me if you want any advice with it. If you do the rest yourself, you might as well keep going and do it all

Cyrus

Seperate wrote: »

The waxes generally don't make a difference to the appearance of the car actually. They add SLIGHT nuances - but it's all in the preperation. It's all in the 12 hours (ish) spent polishing the car. All the wax does is protect the finish on the car - some last more then others but i've generally been using high-end waxes for the last 8 or 9 months that easily lasts 8-10 weeks.

Don't take my word for it - read about the ability of waxes here.

With regard to the cost - the average detail takes about 15 hours for a saloon vehicle at €425. Take off the VAT and its €367.62 - which works out €24.50 per hour. That's without taking materials or overheads into account also. Where else would you get someone to work on your car for that money?

I've done about 300 cars in the last 18 months and the only person i've had on person come back to me and it was actually Cyrus. I missed a patch on his front bumper - as soon as he mentioned it, I arranged for him to pop over. I fixed up the patch and re-waxed his whole car.

In regard to the OP - i've heard conflicting stories about the Beacon but at the end of the day - if the customers know what they're getting and they're happy with the job done then it's all good.

be interesting to see hammertimes considered response, seeing as he made some pretty outrageous allegations

Berty

Seperate wrote: »

It's not that difficult to do yourself. The only bit of equipment you really need is a wet/dry hoover. You can pick up a George (Henry's brother) for about 200eur(ish) or you can grab a generic wet/dry from Lidl every now and again.

PM me if you want any advice with it. If you do the rest yourself, you might as well keep going and do it all

Im hoping the shampoo is a once in a blue moon event as I do not have kids and the back seat generally only has the laptop under a jacket during the day.

I had looked into getting a shampoo kit but I could spend pennies and get crap or spend bucks and not get the use of it.

pburns

mondeo wrote: »

I cannot believe people spend up to 150e to have their cars cleaned.. They must have money to burn. I love cleaning my own car and I would do a much better job then 2 idiots with a bucket/sponge and a hoover down some back lane.

€150
OR...
2 hours washing, polishing, buffing...

:eek:

I think ye're ALL nuts!
I keep the interior clean myself without too much difficulty and let the Polish lad at the local service station give it a good wash-down every so often...

Honestly guys - life's too short...

Berty

pburns wrote: »

€150

I keep the interior clean myself without too much difficulty and let the Polish lad at the local service station give it a good wash-down every so often...

Honestly guys - life's too short...

You are referring to your car.....................................I hope

Strange service for a polish guy to be offering. :eek:

Stevie Dakota

Sam used to do my car, I can 100% vouch for the OP's experience. A really nice guy who obviously loves what he does and does it really well, your car is in very safe hands with him. Pity I don't work in Blackrock anymore.

Voodoomelon

I'd never let anyone else near my car to wash it; a few months ago one of the neighbours kids came out and asked if he could help me wash the car as I was doing so, I said I was finished and away he walked while I spent the next hour finishing it off!

I felt bad but hey, if he wanted to wash the house windows I wouldn't have stopped him! I do the exterior of my car twice a week so it never gets a layer of dirt on it. People are always mocking me for having it so clean, you think I care? Those are the very same people who's cars look like they've fallen into a slurry pit.

I look forward to the obsessive compulsive clean I do, every inch of chrome gets polished, every stitch in the leather gets vaccumed and conditioned, any loose threads in the matts are trimmed and all seats are aligned to the exact same position. I suppose if you hate cleaning your car, a valet might be worth €150, to me it's utter madness.

Gary ITR

Onkle wrote: »

Sigh.... I bought a car a while back and there was a footprint on the inside of the windscreen on the passenger side.

Oh and for the record it wasn't the one I bought from Junkyard :eek::pac:

Alicano

Those mobile wash guys around tesco car parks and gyms do a good job for 10-15 euro...cant beat that with a big stick!:)

OutlawPete

Alicano wrote: »

Those mobile wash guys around tesco car parks and gyms do a good job for 10-15 euro...cant beat that with a big stick!:)

I found they were making my paintwork worse. The bonnet was a mess after letting these guys was the car. They just seem to move the dirt around and after a day your car looks just as bad.

Today even after all the raid the car has a deep shine and looks as if I've got a respray. Neighbour said 'did you get a new car?'

Nico

rebel.ranter

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I look forward to the obsessive compulsive clean I do

You're a freak!........like me!

dubmick

anyone know of decent reliable Valet Service in North County Dublin?

Johnny Utah

Alicano wrote: »

Those mobile wash guys around tesco car parks and gyms do a good job for 10-15 euro...cant beat that with a big stick!:)

I wouldn't touch them with a 10-foot clown pole!

Voodoomelon wrote: »

a few months ago one of the neighbours kids came out and asked if he could help me wash the car as I was doing so, I said I was finished and away he walked while I spent the next hour finishing it off!

I felt bad but hey, if he wanted to wash the house windows I wouldn't have stopped him!

:D Although I would have done the same in fairness!

Johnny Utah

Cyrus wrote: »

be interesting to see hammertimes considered response, seeing as he made some pretty outrageous allegations

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Hammertime owns a petrol station(s) which has an automatic car wash- I think here mentioned it here before. Of course, the real irony is that the brushes on such a car wash will create plenty of swirl marks on a car's paintwork, and in turn, will create plenty of work for detailer to rectify this damage.

I cringe every time I see an expensive car queueing up for one of those automatic car washes.

Cyrus

Johnny Utah wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Hammertime owns a petrol station(s) which has an automatic car wash- I think here mentioned it here before. Of course, the real irony is that the brushes on such a car wash will create plenty of swirl marks on a car's paintwork, and in turn, will create plenty of work for detailer to rectify this damage.

I cringe every time I see an expensive car queueing up for one of those automatic car washes.

he tried to convince everyone previously that his washes wouldnt scratch cars :P

OutlawPete

Cyrus wrote: »

he tried to convince everyone previously that his washes wouldnt scratch cars :P

Well, I don't know about swirls but I in October last I woke up to my car covered in bird crap. Like a few flocks took a sudden dislike to me and it was all over the windows and door. I quite literately had to get the car washed for safety purposes there was that much of it on the drivers window.

So I popped into that one in the Garage just off Baggot St. Later that day while getting into car I notice the black rubber sil thing (that's the official technical name I believe ) was missing!

I drove back to the Maxol and found the now mangled rubber door trim. So I went in and explained to the Chinese guy what happened and asked him was he aware that the car wash was damaging cars. He just offered me another car wash which I obviously refused and not just for it's trim ripping abilities but also as the bird crap wasn't even removed fully.

I wouldn't put my car through those things again - no chance.

Nico

MercMad

dubmick wrote: »

anyone know of decent reliable Valet Service in North County Dublin?

........yeah Flawless Finish up at Airside. I think they have mobile guys too.

www.flawlessfinish.ie

I know the guys and can vouch for their work and their use of top quality products. Usually if you go there its a feast for your eyes, Porsches,Bentleys,Ferrari's etc.......

One of my cars, the wife's daily, is used for the school runs and I usually wash it at least twice a week. I have a methos for doing it and I de-tar it and clay it twice a year, I polish it probably every 2 months and wax afterwards.

I get comments about the car all the time, about how new it always looks.

The interior, and my kids are very good with it, is light grey leather, and that can be a struggle to keep clean. At the moment its disgraceful but I am seeting aside 2 hours on Saturday just for the interior.

I love cleaning it myself and keeping it spotless and only once, this time last year whilst I was recovering from surgery did I get it professionally cleaned, well my wife did, on Christmas eve as a surprise and also to prevent me from sneakling out to do it.

I used to do valeting professionally and there is nothing like an industrial wet vacuum cleaner for carpets and seats. The rest is just common sense and decent products.

Getting you car buffed really makes it stand out but you are wearing down the paint/laquer slightly each time and it should be left to the pro's as you can do a lot of damage very quickly if you dont know what you are at !

Voodoomelon

Any valets have any tips for cleaning the inside of the windows? Is normal window cleaner okay (which i've been using with newspaper) or is there something better out there that you'd suggest?

Cyrus

good qn

can never get glass flawless

Stevie Dakota

Cyrus wrote: »

good qn

can never get glass flawless

Forget sprays, I've never found that didn't streak. Autoglym glass polish gives great results, easy on, you can see where you have put it, and easy off leaving a perfect finish.

HashSlinging

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I'd never let anyone else near my car to wash it; a few months ago one of the neighbours kids came out and asked if he could help me wash the car as I was doing so, I said I was finished and away he walked while I spent the next hour finishing it off!

I felt bad but hey, if he wanted to wash the house windows I wouldn't have stopped him! I do the exterior of my car twice a week so it never gets a layer of dirt on it. People are always mocking me for having it so clean, you think I care? Those are the very same people who's cars look like they've fallen into a slurry pit.

I look forward to the obsessive compulsive clean I do, every inch of chrome gets polished, every stitch in the leather gets vaccumed and conditioned, any loose threads in the matts are trimmed and all seats are aligned to the exact same position. I suppose if you hate cleaning your car, a valet might be worth €150, to me it's utter madness.

Sorry but I just HAVE to ask are you the guy from the AD who dosent pay his TV licence.

green-blood

As a bit of an amatuer detailer I cant believe anyone would leave their car with one of these crowds in the shopping centres, or worse let one of the trolly dollys do it... one bucket one sponge and one carpark... you figure it out.


Most people cant differentiate between polish and wax/sealant and the ignorance leads to all sorts of silly arguements. No amout of wax can "hide" damaged paintwork and you wont get your cars paintwork polished in 2 hours.

Clean and polished are 2 entireluy different thigs. I can wash, dry, wheels, tyres,arches, doorshuts, intrior hoover, dust, scrub and get seats shampood in 2 hours...but matrials treated, protected, glass polished in and out, paint polished (swirls corrected), waxed, wheel sealed thats another 5-6 easily.

OutlawPete

For clean windows I use hot water in a sprayer with a table spoon of apple cider vinegar .. squeaky clean

Berty

Nico22 wrote: »

For clean windows I use hot water in a sprayer with a table spoon of apple cider vinegar .. squeaky clean

Yes or I use Turtle Wax Glass Cleaner and a newspaper. No streaks ever!

Armor All Son of a gun wipes for the interior, door sills and any exterior plastic works. Wet n Black for the tyres, allloy cleaner for the alloys(of course) and extreme turtle wax - wax for the bodywork and when its damp I use wax it wet. Brilliant stuff, no need to dry the car before wax. Mad stuff altogether. Turtle Wax shampoo first for all the of course.

Clearly I like Turtle wax. I used to sell the stuff so kind of stuck on it.

OutlawPete

Berty wrote: »

Clearly I like Turtle wax. I used to sell the stuff so kind of stuck on it.

I don't use to much of that stuff but I was over in PR Reilly's, just round the corner from Dennis Mahony's in Kilbarrick, and I bought some of their Platunim Range? stuff.

Yet to use it but that place is addictive. Went in to pick up a rear lamp as I had a slight crack in mine .. and so had to replace the whole shagging thing.

Anyway, left with my arms full of stuff. Prices are very good too ..

Nico

Seperate

There's a good glass polish from Autosmart called SilverScreen. It stops your windows fogging up on the inside, which is helpful this time of year. When used on the outside, it makes the water go into tiny beads and blow off the windscreen if you're going 20mph+

No need to be using windscreen wipers

Turtle Wax products are OK. You can buy better with your money - even in the likes of Halfords - but if they're used properly you should get resonable results.

oddone

Not trying to be facetious but it's near on impossible trying to keep a car clean in this country.

If you live in the countryside and have to traverse any minor roads regularly then you will be familiar with encountering roads full of top soil dragged out by tractors and other farm machinery which no matter how slow you go will
be taken up onto your tyres and sprayed onto your bodywork.
Tipper lorries coming out of construction sites, quarries, farms etc
with an endless amount of sh**e on their wheels which is transferred onto the roads and leads to stones flying up and striking other vehicles (I'm not blaming the drivers, but it would be ideal if wheels / bodywork could be washed down especially in constr.sites which I have seen in other countries)

If you drive in urban areas you will no doubt encounter some sort of roadworks or patches where the roads has been resurfaced due to potholes or the dreaded 'loose chippings' seen countrywide or recently gritted roads, unfortunately whenever you encounter these areas, even if you slow down enough to limit the possibility of stone chips damaging your paintwork, no doubt some idiot who doesn't give a flying f**k about his vehicle and who can't afford to lose a second en route to his/her very important meeting (I presume) will fly by in the opposite lane and you'll be in the wrong place at the wrong time and end up with damage to your car.

Park in any public carpark and you run the risk of someone opening their doors against your bodywork because they parked too close and /or don't give a damn whether they hit your car or not or bash your mirrors or scratch your paintwork with the buttons on their jeans as they squeeze by in order to get into their seats or try to manouevre the shopping trolley in between your car and theirs to get to their boot :mad:.
Then if you have to park on a street or in a public place you have drivers who don't know how to reverse or have no judgement and who can bash into your car or run their mirrors along your paintwork when trying to pass by whilst avoiding the vehicle coming in the opposite direction. (this has happened to my car). Browse the number of threads on here which mention some or all of what I've mentioned above.

That's my rant over, it's very hard to find a car on our roads which isn't marked in some way, I think that says it all.