[NoHero]

If there isn't already a thread on this perhaps we can start one on how people are caring for their UP!'s and keeping them looking showroom fresh.

Perhaps with photos too!

Still snowing so mines mostly sat on the drive since picking up, but I am already thinking about a regular once a month wash, wax and polish with weekly alloy cleans to stop those sports alloys getting grubby, which happens quicker than you might think.

Any tips?

 

[Itzben]

I bought the Autoglym vallet pack for my up! lol £40 ish on amazon and comes with a little booklet on correct ways of using there products and for chrimbo I got the hd wax and hd cleanser. when I searched around on amazon I got a good deal, infact I got the wax, cleanser, a pack of 6 microfibre cloths and a big microfibre drying towel shipped to me still cheaper than what halfords sell hd wax for! The wax lasts for ages the water just beads on the car and when driven all the water just fly off and its dry! The day after I waxed it I went through a muddy puddle I was a bit peed off but left the car out in the rain came back to it after work and the rain washed the mud off! Cracking stuff!

I wash twice a month with the second wash re apply wax and twice a year (before summer and before winter) clay bar and good coating of wax!! The weekends I'm not washing the car I give a wheel rinse and the interior a clean! Some people think it's a bit much but I love my up! And want to treat it well and I also enjoy all the cleaning and detailing etc! When I valet my up! it's mostly a all dayer of a job and my neighbours go out and come back in 10 mins saying they spent £5 for a wash wax and laugh at me lol but at end of the day I have a lovely looking car that will hopefully last a long time!!

One thing I'm not sure on and I have googled it and people say its just personal opinion is shall I use wax or polish

This is how I understand it... You wash and clean the car, polish it which puts a glossy finish on but its slightly abrasive so you then go over the top with a good wax to build up layers of protection!

I haven't used polish on my new car because the autoglym hd wax and cleanser didn't mention to use it!

 

[NoHero]

Thats what I'm interested in doing, layering up polish/wax to get a good protective layer.

 

[NoHero]

I also want to give the car the attention it deserves

curious about what to clean the glossy dash and internals with, valet pack sounds good

 

[NoHero]

Oh and does the valet kit you mention have the shampoo and wipe interior stuff, is that ok on interior fabrics?

 

[NoHero]

sorry for the multiple posts...

Are those products non 'cutting' ? I'd hate to use an abrasive product on a new car, no need.

 

[Supermegamonkee]

Autoglym SRP has a mild cut, but its full of fillers which fill micro scratches. I applied Colinitte 915 to my car back in September... still going strong.

 

[Itzben]

Erm For the glossy and non glossy part of my dash I use a product I have from work called vuplex, it's brilliant was first designed for marine products but then our suppliers said its the stuff for kitchen doors (I work with fitted furniture) especially the gloss doors, when you peel off the protective se through layer its so static it attracts everything, but the vuplex gets rid of static and puts a coat of polish on, so its ideal for dash boards!

Just checked amazon for what comes in the kit amd it hasn't got much for interior, ( I have in the past bought single bottles of products) so from having a look to get you going is the autoglym valet collection, it varies from £25ish up to £30 and its got

Bodywork shampoo
Super resin polish
Clean wheels
Fast glass
Interior shampoo

 

[Rickenbacker]

For the black shiny plastic on the dash i use Mr Muscle cleaner for glass and shiny surfaces.

 

[doowop]

I must admit that I am surprised at the money some car owners spend for detailing products. The only relatively pricey product which I use on our cars is Bilt Hamber Auto Balm (http://www.bilthamber.com/auto-balm), an excellent and long-lasting wax treatment, carried out three times a year.
Otherwise, it is always Astonish stuff for me (http://shop.astonishcleaners.com/cat/car-care/113/) at 99p to £1.20 tops in many budget stores. Definitely at least as good as the other overpriced (advertising, sponsorship?) products around. It seems that some owners work on the premise that "it must be good if it's expensive"!

 

[Davec86]

Dodo juice. I love the stuff. They make a great variety of coloured waxes, some great wax friendly and ph neutral products, and best of all, it all smells great.
I swear by it, knocks spots of auto glym, IMHO.

 

[NoHero]

Well I've just booked the 'lifeshine' from my VW garage.

http://www.lifeshine.com


I figured I may as well protect my investment, plus you get about £120 worth of cleaning products to continue the effort afterwards.

Seems extravagant but may stop the chips and certainly will help with kids dirt on the interior.

 

[VWXYZ]

Well I've just booked the 'lifeshine' from my VW garage.

http://www.lifeshine.com


I figured I may as well protect my investment, plus you get about £120 worth of cleaning products to continue the effort afterwards.

Seems extravagant but may stop the chips and certainly will help with kids dirt on the interior.

No, it won't stop chips at all, nor scratches - salesmen convince buyers that it can all the time. It's a very thin sealant coating a few microns thick. Not going to stop a stone at umpteen miles an hour doing its thing with your paintwork.

 

[NoHero]

Will definitely help with making it easier to maintain appearance though and keep the interior safer from spills.

 

[Davec86]

The sealant will only last so long surely, once you give it a good intensive clean, it'll need resealing. It's a good idea for the interior though I think.
If you keep the car clean, weekly maintenance washes etc, it should stay good for years to come. I truly can't recommend dodo juice stuff enough either!

 

[Itzben]

The sealant will only last so long surely, once you give it a good intensive clean, it'll need resealing. It's a good idea for the interior though I think.
If you keep the car clean, weekly maintenance washes etc, it should stay good for years to come. I truly can't recommend dodo juice stuff enough either!

Haha I'm very keen on car detailing and I always here you recommend this dodo juice lol I am going to have to give it a go arnt I lol even though all my products are autoglym, is it available on amazon? And what products do you regularly use?

 

[Davec86]

I think most of it is available from amazon yea. I used to use auto glym, and still occasionally do, I just prefer DJ.
For weekly maintenance I used their 'Born to be Mild' shampoo, just a wax friendly PH neutral shampoo. 'Red Mist' detailer for when I don't wax. I wax it maybe every 6/8 weeks with 'Diamond White' hard wax.
For intensive cleans, like now after the snow and for stripping wax they have an alkaline cleaner called 'Crudzilla', really really good for stripping the tar off.
Then 'Born Slippy' lube with Supernatural clay, covers most of it for the regular stuff! Haha. All of their cloths, mitts applicators and stuff are nice quality too. Everything smells great, although for some reason they do a 'Low on Eau' range of stuff too :-/
I think the last bits I got, I bought from Rubbish Boys Rubbish BoysEdited by: Davec86

 

[Itzben]

What colour up! Do you have? Strange question but my neighbour had a black car and said some waxes are really difficult to use on it amd I've done my mates white cars and I found that was difficult because I couldnt see the wax haze, I have a light blue up! And find when waxing in the garage at the right angle its easy to do lol I just had a look on amazon its very reasonably priced but I've seen upto 3/4 different waxes lol just reading there website now to see if they say what the different waxes do! there detail your car guide is good

 

[Itzben]

Also that website has so many things!! My wife is going to hate you hahaha

 

[Davec86]

Haha. By bank balance hates that website!
Ye, it's all pretty self explanatory, they do different coloured waxes for different coloured cars. But you can use any on any.
I have a white car, as yea, it's a pain in the backside to wax! I considered using one of their coloured waxes to make it easier!