I've heard nothing but good things said about this.
It's a re-badged product from the States called Mr Clean Autodry. The main benefit being that the filtered water allows the car to dry without streaks.
Have to admit that I haven't used it, the local £5 hand job is too appealing :d
I prefer the bucket of water and sponge, plus a silicon blade thingy to speed up the drying. In the winter, I will use a car wash for quickness and to save the skin on my hands. How many of us have the space and time to get out a hosepipe every time we have to wash our cars?
My Scenic has plastic wheeltrims over steel wheels. The Galaxy is the first car I have owned with alloys, and it takes an age to clean them properly, even using Wonder Wheels. I also seem to ruin a sponge every time I wash the wheels (I use 2 sponges to wash the car, one for the bodywork and glass, the other for the wheels).
The bloke over the road from me gets out a garden knee mat and a toothbrush, yes, a toothbrush, and spends about 20 mins on each alloy on his Volvo V5 thingy.
Yes, I should think so - judging by your previous posts, it seems you'll have to get your local, ahem, 'hand job place' to work alot harder on each corner!
Yes, I should think so - judging by your previous posts, it seems you'll have to get your local, ahem, 'hand job place' to work alot harder on each corner!
Anyways - I have actually got a flash car wash system thing. I've had it since the start of May and haven't used it yet (still using the traditional Auto Glym method) as I can't quite get it right in my head that I should use Flash to clean my car...
I've given up trying to keep the wheels clean, and just settle for the half-job that the roll-over car wash up the road does. Still, at 2 quid a go for their top wash (provided you buy fuel or something from the shop) it makes more sense than getting the bucket out. The car has 3 years and 80,000 miles worth of chips and dings in it, so I've given up on making it look good. Maybe when I get the new one...
But back to the wheels: These 17" Silverstones are a nightmare. Fourteen separate spokes by the time you get to the rim - it takes forever to get into all the nooks and crannies, even with a toothbrush. I've tried all sorts of things on them, but the only thing that was any good was some aerosol stuff from a cheapie shop in Caernarfon. I don't know what I did with it, and when I went back for more, they'd stopped selling it. It must have been pretty strong stuff, as the instructions said you had to wear gloves when applying it to avoid burning your skin.
You know... us valeters really hate to hear this kind of thing!
There arent many 3 year old cars that are beyond help
I know this is going to sound like sales patter, but if you get your wheels cleaned up, have the paintwork buffed (to remove all the scratches that automated car washes give you), have the dents removed and touch in the stone chips - you may find that you can increase the resale value of your car by as much as £2000.
This of course depends on what condition your car is now and what sort of money they are making in a private sale. But typically any money you spend on 'tarting' up your car, you will get back two or threefold when you come to resell it.
Obviously, its better if you don't let your car get into a state in the first place. And if you DON'T take it to the car wash, you won't have to pay people like Clean Image to remove all the scratches!
I would always recommend cleaning your car yourself by hand.
I have to admit that I haven't tried the Flash Car Washing system... I don't have a hose pipe at home so there wouldn't be much point. But I'm totally sold on the idea of cleaning your car with purified water which is what the Flash system does.
I remember cleaning up my Mum's Micra for her as a birthday treat a few years ago. It was red and really faded, a bit of TLC and some new wheel trims made it look like new.
You know... us valeters really hate to hear this kind of thing!
There arent many 3 year old cars that are beyond help
I know this is going to sound like sales patter, but if you get your wheels cleaned up, have the paintwork buffed (to remove all the scratches that automated car washes give you), have the dents removed and touch in the stone chips - you may find that you can increase the resale value of your car by as much as £2000.
If it was my own car and I was thinking of selling privately then I'd do exactly that. Trading in against another car, it doesn't make quite so much sense. Dealers aren't that bothered about minor damage: They can sort it for themselves at minimal cost when their own workshop is quiet, so it doesn't usually hurt the trade-in price that badly. As it stands, mine's a contract hire car, so it's not worth sorting anything that I think will slip by the guy who comes to take it away. Based on past experience, apart from the cracked fog light, I don't think there's anything bad enough for him to actually flag it up on the paperwork.
Once the honeymoon period is over (about the first six months or so) my car is just a donkey. I wouldn't drive it with huge chunks of trim hanging off it or a dirty great scuff along the bumper, but I can live with the odd minor scratch and dent here and there. If I bother getting the back door repaired, sod's law says someone will rag a shopping trolley along it again the following week, and when you do 25,000+ (mostly motorway) miles a year, keeping on top of stone chips is a non-starter. As for the wheels, I could spend an hour on them, and they'd be filthy again within another hour of driving.
Yep, tarting the car up for private sale makes perfect sense. Fixing every little dent and scratch as and when it happens doesn't, unless you really can't stand to see your pride and joy sporting an injury. The exception is when the top coat of paint has been broken (even the laquer on metallics) as the other layers are porous, and you could be inviting rust.
I have got one of these and whilst I have only used it 6 or 7 times, can confirm that it does actually work. The filter which comes as standard doesn't last very long (only 3 or 4 washes) and then you will see the odd spot on the car after it has dried. If you follow the instructions, it really does have a great effect. The Flash detergent is good at loosening squashed flies as well.
It is satisfying to rinse the car off with the "de-ionised" water, walk away and see it dry to a shine without you having to touch it!
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