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The Car cleaning section , Please join in

stevec67 said:
Is your house this clean?
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It is Steve, yes! Cleaner takes care of it fortnightly :) Yes I would be too lazy to do it myself but I don’t mind a car routine that is much easier in practise than it is to write down.

I keep diary reminders in Outlook and one or two printable lists in kitchen cupboards as I’d never remember the myriad of important stuff, it’s all just routine. Some of it bi-weekly, weekly, monthly, quarterly and so on. House gutters, water softener, radiators, espresso machine routines, periodic strip and clean of grinder, six monthly check of coffee roaster, bikes and oil chains. Loads of stuff but no I don’t spend my life thinking about it, lots of laughs. I just go through the week doing whatever comes up as a reminder then at the weekend glance at the cupboard lists and see what needs to be done.

Not having a SWMBO, kids or pets is the reason of course, if I was back in those years I’d have no,chance!
 
Blimey. A schedule? I clean the place when it starts to look grubby. Or possibly after it's looked grubby for a while. I do try to get round every room once a month but some rooms get dusty. I always use the shower by the bedroom, the main bathroom goes weeks without use and when Ms SC67 visits she occasionally complains the bath is dusty.
 
I was much lazier in younger years and that previous generation ethos of mend and make do, repair things, maintain them etc. didn’t totally pass me by but I just didn’t make enough effort on many things. Sometimes they would come back to bite, sometimes when looking back I realise I was falling into that landslide symptom we all realise we need to shake off. So I guess across the years I started to make an effort and it’s become habit to look after things, much easier in practise than it sounds explaining it. I suppose I’ve learned to find satisfaction in discipline on stuff, not to be confused with materialism and I had to make a big effort across time to see things as tools rather than possessions. That’s the mindset that sees me keep on top of it.
 
My weekly/fortnightly routine for maintenance washes is:

(1) Iron-X or wheel cleaner to dissolve brake dust off the wheels and Brembo callipers.
(2) Power wash with a Karcher to remove loose contaminants and Iron-X /wheel cleaner once it has done its job.
(3) Meguiar's Gold Class shampoo and wool mitts
(4) Hose wit clean water.
(5) Dry with microfibre towelling.
(6) Vacuum mats and wipe down dusting surfaces.

Claybar once every three or four months. Wheels off once a year to decontaminate brake dust properly.

Ceramic coating every three years, or when water stops beading on the paint surface.

That's enough to keep my seven-year old car looking like new.
 
Dave***t said:
If it doesn’t come off with other softer alternatives, then a clay bar. They are just the thing for what are generally called bonded contaminants.

Claying a car seems really weird to people who aren’t familiar with it. But amongst detailers etc it’s very standard stuff. Plenty of YouTube vids and so on to show how to go about it (most important is lubrication).
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If not it can make your knob sore !
 
lutyens10 said:
Ok. As some of you clearly know what you are doing? Any suggestions for removing pine wax drips from trees? Thanks
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Hot clean water and if that doesn't clear it; try something like AG Tar Remover and then follow up with a proper wash and a spray wax like Polar Seal or Aqua Wax

It might even need to be clayed; so AG Magma will work in this case if you don't want to go down the clay bar route
 
Dave***t said:
If it doesn’t come off with other softer alternatives, then a clay bar. They are just the thing for what are generally called bonded contaminants.

Claying a car seems really weird to people who aren’t familiar with it. But amongst detailers etc it’s very standard stuff. Plenty of YouTube vids and so on to show how to go about it (most important is lubrication).
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^^^

This

If I'm going to clay my car; I do it after I've washed it the first time around and I use another solution with more car shampoo in this time and less water; creates a great lubrication surface to clay and keeps the clay cool and stops it sticking
 
The car gets washed once a year, whether it needs it or not. I use a bottle of car shampoo that probably dates back to when we had a VW Polo.
 
stevec67 said:
If all you want is to wash the car just use a normal hose. Wet the car, sponge with warm soapt water, rinse off. It's done by the time you have plugged in the power washer.
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Doesn't do the job anywhere near good enough IMO

But if you're a 'lazy washer' and just use household stuff then fair enough; it'll probably suffice

I'm not saying you have to go to the detail of what I and other do, but if you're proud of your car and want to keep it clean; a simple wash with some quality car washing products alongside a good power washer makes life a lot more simple :)
 
Martian Sunrise said:
what power washers do people use? are the cheaper ones sufficient for car washing (all i would use it fir...)
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I’ve got a Karcher K2, cost about 90 pounds now. Good enough I suppose, I think you will find other uses for it apart from car. Only thing is that the cheaper ones like this come with a 5 metre hose which will eventually annoy you as it’s too short. I bought a 10 metre one which makes going round the car much easier. Trouble is you have to deal with unwinding it and then putting it away. Because of this I am thinking about buying a a Nilfisk for about £300 which has a proper windy reel for stowing the hose.
 
hifilover1979 said:
Doesn't do the job anywhere near good enough IMO

But if you're a 'lazy washer' and just use household stuff then fair enough; it'll probably suffice

I'm not saying you have to go to the detail of what I and other do, but if you're proud of your car and want to keep it clean; a simple wash with some quality car washing products alongside a good power washer makes life a lot more simple :)
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Prepair for some adverse comments :eek:
 
Ian M said:
I’ve got a Karcher K2, cost about 90 pounds now. Good enough I suppose, I think you will find other uses for it apart from car. Only thing is that the cheaper ones like this come with a 5 metre hose which will eventually annoy you as it’s too short. I bought a 10 metre one which makes going round the car much easier. Trouble is you have to deal with unwinding it and then putting it away. Because of this I am thinking about buying a a Nilfisk for about £300 which has a proper windy reel for stowing the hose.
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That's the type I have , Makes life SOOOOOO much easier , Just wind the hose back on and job done , It's also on wheels with a retractable handle
 
Ian M said:
I’ve got a Karcher K2, cost about 90 pounds now. Good enough I suppose, I think you will find other uses for it apart from car. Only thing is that the cheaper ones like this come with a 5 metre hose which will eventually annoy you as it’s too short. I bought a 10 metre one which makes going round the car much easier. Trouble is you have to deal with unwinding it and then putting it away. Because of this I am thinking about buying a a Nilfisk for about £300 which has a proper windy reel for stowing the hose.
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I'd advise against that as it can put stress on the hose unfortunately. It's a great idea but plenty of folk have come a-cropper doing that

I just wind mine loosely around the upright handle and it sits there fine; I've an 8m hose and zero issues with it that way
 
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