I have just bought my first house and i now have my own garage so it's time to stock up on the car stuff.. Is this kit any good? If it's not what can you recommend and why? Also if there anything else which you think I'll need? Wheel cleaner? Sealants? Towels? Anything really?

I'm no expert detailer but i do like to give the car a good clean with some good products as often as i can. I know roughly what i am doing lol but I'm no pro!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Autoglym-Valet-Case-Car-Care-Kit-Great-Car-Gift-Set_W0QQitemZ150271944579QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150271944579&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

Looks a good pakage that, I would recommend you get some aplicator pads and microfibre towels and some rim wax for you wheels and you should have most/all angles of it covered and then poss a megs clay bar kit for getting it silky smooth. Also a grit trap (the things you put in the bottom of the bucket to contain all the grit) are worth it for a coupel of quid as well

Rim wax? Is that similar to poor boys wheel sealant? If so i have that, but i don't have any microfiber towels and i have run out of applicator pads. Are microfiber towels same as a drying cloth but smaller?

 I wouldn't buy that Autoglym Kit. Not all of it is that great, but a few things are ok. Instead, I would advise you to write down your detailing process, and then list what products you need.

Here's a quick list of what I use:

Shampoo (any car shampoo is ok to be honest, and I use Tesco pink gel shampoo)

Clay bar (meguiars quik clay kit)

Last touch quik detailer (gallon size, but you dilute it 1:1)

Drying towel - I use this http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/miracle-dryer-ultra-plush-25-x-36-/prod_362.html

Wheel cleaner - I use meguiars all purpose cleaner. It comes in a gallon and I also use this on the interior plastics, seats, arches, door shuts etc.

Glass cleaner - clay the glass with the left over clay. then just wipe with damp microfibre

You'd need a few microfibre towels - 1 for each stage. 1 for wiping down after polishing, 1 for after glaze and 1 for after wax. For glass, dash, doorshuts I use Tesco ones - blue one from car care section, and 3 for 89p ones from household cleaning section for doorshuts - these cheapy cloths are literally throw aways.

You'd also want about 5 applicator pads. Meguiars ones are good (yellow foam)

Polish - autoglym super resin polish is best for use by hand

Glaze (optional) - clearkote mousse glaze or similar is fine

Wax - collinite 476s is good for silver

You may also need some spray bottles if you buy bulk products (like the meguiars all purpose cleaner or last touch). You may also want: brushes for cleaning small areas, like the engine bay etc, tyre gel (meguiars endurance is good for tyres and also rubber trim around windows etc)

I buy from cleanyourcar.co.uk, seriousperformance.co.uk and i4detailing.co.uk. There are others out there, and you can look over on detailingworld.co.uk for some more tips. Just make sure you don't go spending £100s a month on detailing products

davemarkey:

 I wouldn't buy that Autoglym Kit. Not all of it is that great, but a few things are ok. Instead, I would advise you to write down your detailing process, and then list what products you need.

Here's a quick list of what I use:

Shampoo (any car shampoo is ok to be honest, and I use Tesco pink gel shampoo)

Clay bar (meguiars quik clay kit)

Last touch quik detailer (gallon size, but you dilute it 1:1)

Drying towel - I use this http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/miracle-dryer-ultra-plush-25-x-36-/prod_362.html

Wheel cleaner - I use meguiars all purpose cleaner. It comes in a gallon and I also use this on the interior plastics, seats, arches, door shuts etc.

Glass cleaner - clay the glass with the left over clay. then just wipe with damp microfibre

You'd need a few microfibre towels - 1 for each stage. 1 for wiping down after polishing, 1 for after glaze and 1 for after wax. For glass, dash, doorshuts I use Tesco ones - blue one from car care section, and 3 for 89p ones from household cleaning section for doorshuts - these cheapy cloths are literally throw aways.

You'd also want about 5 applicator pads. Meguiars ones are good (yellow foam)

Polish - autoglym super resin polish is best for use by hand

Glaze (optional) - clearkote mousse glaze or similar is fine

Wax - collinite 476s is good for silver

You may also need some spray bottles if you buy bulk products (like the meguiars all purpose cleaner or last touch). You may also want: brushes for cleaning small areas, like the engine bay etc, tyre gel (meguiars endurance is good for tyres and also rubber trim around windows etc)

I buy from cleanyourcar.co.uk, seriousperformance.co.uk and i4detailing.co.uk. There are others out there, and you can look over on detailingworld.co.uk for some more tips. Just make sure you don't go spending £100s a month on detailing products

Your right actually i don't need all that!

I already have some cleaning products, i use Meguiars gold glass shampoo then stage 1, 2 & 3 restore, polish & wax then meguiars NXT glass cleaner.

I need meguiars tyre gel, meguiars quick wheel detailer, 6 foam applicator pads, one large drying towel, 6 micro fibre towels, can you think of any thing else? I have some poor boys wheel sealant. Clay has just popped into my head, never used this so can you tell me how to use it and what it does?

 I heard my name?

Is this towel any good?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/THE-COBRA-MIRACLE-TOWEL-THE-SOFTEST-DETAILING-TOWEL-YET_W0QQitemZ330254088484QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

Or is the one you use a lot better?

Rim Wax:

 I heard my name?

You did.. Is it any good?

 very good! lol

 Its been quite an expencive month for me will all the car cleaning stuff.I  spent around £80

WASH-

maguairs nxt car wash.

maguairs hot rims all wheel cleaner. 

maguairs Luxurious Lambs Wool Wash Mitt

sonus drying towels

POLISH-

maguairs deep crystal 3 stage detailing kit

maguairs maguairs gold class polish.

I would never use a car sponge or chamois leather again.

Naz

Rim Wax:

 very good! lol

Is it the same sort of stuff as poor boys wheel sealant?

I didn't realise you already have a fair bit of cleaning kit.

Heres the Microfibres I have, found them to be very good and resonable

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120233775892

I was put onto rimwax since posting about what to put on my new alloys and I cant recommend it enough its great stuff.

 That cobra towel is ok. But if you do buy from cleanyourcar.co.uk you may aswell get the one I linked to as its massive and I dried the whole car without needing to wring it out.

You should clay. You spray the quik detailer onto the paint, then with very light pressure you move the clay across the paint. It picks up bonded contaminants (tree sap, industrial fallout, bird droppings etc.) to leave the paint super smooth This does not remove scratches, but it can help to improve the shine as contaminanted paint doesn't reflect properly. It will leave the paint very smooth and makes it much easier to wax and wash in the future.

davemarkey:

 That cobra towel is ok. But if you do buy from cleanyourcar.co.uk you may aswell get the one I linked to as its massive and I dried the whole car without needing to wring it out.

You should clay. You spray the quik detailer onto the paint, then with very light pressure you move the clay across the paint. It picks up bonded contaminants (tree sap, industrial fallout, bird droppings etc.) to leave the paint super smooth This does not remove scratches, but it can help to improve the shine as contaminanted paint doesn't reflect properly. It will leave the paint very smooth and makes it much easier to wax and wash in the future.

 

I'll add that to the list then.

What's the major difference in drying towels? Some are more expensive than others and they are still microfibre towels.. It's confusing!

RENT-A-GOAT:

I didn't realise you already have a fair bit of cleaning kit.

Heres the Microfibres I have, found them to be very good and resonable

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120233775892

I was put onto rimwax since posting about what to put on my new alloys and I cant recommend it enough its great stuff.

Yeah i do have some but i was just going to start again, but i then realised that i will just be duplicating what i have already and being no better off, so I'm going to buy things that i don't actually have that will come in handy. Thanks for the link! 

 There is not that much difference in towels. Personally I buy large towels that are thick, and am not fussed about whether it is microfibre, waffle weave etc.

The wax in the meguiars 3 step system isn't that good. If you have no other wax, get collinite 476s. It is the best for beading and looks great on reflex silver

You may also want to buy meguiars plastX. Its a polish for plastic and I use it on the rear lights, instrument cluster. You could use it on the front lights, are the mk5 headlights plastic??

What do you use to clean interior plastics, door cards etc.? You may want something for that. You could try meguiars all purpose cleaner, or autoglym interior shampoo - leaves  a very matt factory finish.

You could use Daisy as an all purpose cleaner.  Can be purchased from tesco for like 70p!! So cheap, that its worth a go

Recommended highly on detailing world

 I wouldn't recommend using it on dash plastics, though. Even though it is an all purpose cleaner, it is meant to be used for cleaning tiled floors, sinks, drains, toilets etc. not for the car.

Many people use it, and say it is fine. But you spend so much money on a car, and for about £12 you can get meguiars all purpose cleaner, or other brands of car specific all purpose cleaner, and you don't need to worry about it damaging plastics, or having strong chemicals that could produce nasty fumes in the passenger cabin. I bought the sainsbury's apc once, and it smelt so strong I binned it straight away.

hmmmm, i have bought a bottle anyway, so will provide feedback once i have used it.....i'm sure it would be safe on plastics anyway, because it needs to be dilluted down 1:10, and also, its meant to have a lemon like smell

davemarkey:

 There is not that much difference in towels. Personally I buy large towels that are thick, and am not fussed about whether it is microfibre, waffle weave etc.

The wax in the meguiars 3 step system isn't that good. If you have no other wax, get collinite 476s. It is the best for beading and looks great on reflex silver

You may also want to buy meguiars plastX. Its a polish for plastic and I use it on the rear lights, instrument cluster. You could use it on the front lights, are the mk5 headlights plastic??

What do you use to clean interior plastics, door cards etc.? You may want something for that. You could try meguiars all purpose cleaner, or autoglym interior shampoo - leaves  a very matt factory finish.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Collinite-476s-Super-Double-Coat-Car-Wax_W0QQitemZ120280969903QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

^^ is that the stuff your talking about?

I think the headlights are made from some sort of plastic mate, all i ever to do the interior is give it a good vac and dust down the inside, i only like a nice Matt finish inside the car, i can't do with the shiny greasy stuff which is put on at these car valet centres.. I have added Autoglym interior shampoo to this ever growing list lol!

Is this a good clay kit?