Bigpower

If you have any questions about cleaning your cars, post them here and I'll do my best to answer them.

Gary
Have you got anything that removes Pidgeons?
No, in all seriousness, my wheels have severely cooked on brake dust. Do you have any tips? I've tried the normal high street brands and nothing has touched it.

LOL... pigeons are simple, buy an air rifle and get some target practise, failing that throw some bread on your neighbours roof at regular intervals

OK the wheels, I use non acid wheel cleaner. Its alkaline based and as you mentioned alkaline is stronger than acid but not as corrosive. I find that on really bad wheels this and agitation is all thats needed, although on the Noble on my site, I did have to do them each twice. Following this I use an Orange zest cleaner that also being very mild acid (so mild I'd be happy for my kids to wash in it) neutralises any residual wheel cleaner. Also washing after each step with a pressure washer lifts loads. Finally I would clay bar the wheels.

If this doesn't work then maybe time to get them refurbished, but so far I've never found wheels that need to go that far. wheels can be removed and treated as above so that every part is cleaned for a more complete job.

Once the wheels are clean, I treat them to a waxing, using a specially formulated wheel wax thats designed to work and last under the heat that is generated by brakes, this makes them look good but also slows or stops the future brake dust from taking hold so much, though you do still need to clean them on a slightly more regular basis than you have in the past Stu

Any tips forr stopping it f'ing raining just when I sit down to admire the glossy finish. just finished mine now and guess what?.... arghhh

Seriously though, do you take the wheels off to clean behind them or is that just the anal S & S lot?

Any good tips for cleaning the engine bay?

Its dead easy to stop the rain, move to Arizona or put a gazebo up and keep the car under there, failing that put it in the garage after taking a pic and just look at the pic

I don't actually remove wheels as although I know how to remove and refit, if there was ever a problem the buck will always fall at the feet of the last person to fit them, however if the owner wants to remove them I'm quite happy to do them then... all down to liability.
I do have proper wheel brushes which will reach right through the wheels so 99% of muck is removed.

Its not really only those who are as you say anal who like the full wheel cleaned, a coat of wax all over the rim, inside and out will keep the wheels looking better for longer plus as mentioned they don't keep as dirty when washed with just plain water.

Cleaning engine bays are fraught with problems, and this is one part I won't do for people. The main reason for this is there are so many electrical bits and bobs that even though they are designed to get wet, cleaning the engine can in some cases get them wetter and again if anything goes wrong I'm at fault no matter what.

Now saying that, if people want to clean the engine, I recommend using a good engine cleaner or all purpose cleaner, using a trigger spray coat what needs cleaning, then agitate with a soft brush and finally wash off using just an open hose or watering can. Then dry as much of the standing water, close the bonnet and let the car run for about 10mins to dry it off properly. Finally using a spray enhancing liquid cover anything thats either plastic, rubber or polished to make them look better than new, wiping off any excess.

Hope this helps, and sorry for adding liability bits but as a detailer I need to cover my back.

Turbosnatch wrote:A lot of people are bigging up this mguires clay stuff, anyone tried it?

Also Shooter i know you specifiy in exterior cleaning but do u have also any advice on interior? My interior is mint only my roof carpet has gone really patchy i thought it was mould when i first got the car but its not and i cant remove it, it kinda lets the car down to me. Wondered if you knew of a good cleaner.

Meguiars clay is very good value, its slightly abrasive so will remove over spray as well as all other normal contaminants, though you do need to use quite a lot of the quick detailer spray to avoid possible marring of the paintwork.

Although most of the posts are about exterior's I do work on interiors as well, though to be honest not as much as outside, never could work out why the outside is more important to inside, especially as we all spend loads more time inside the cars driving them

Anyway the head lining I guess is what you mean, unless you have had it carpeted, the best way to clean it, using household stuff, mix up a weak mixture of fairy and warm water, using a trigger spray lightly wet the lining, using a soft nail brush drag the brush in one direction only (lightly) then if you have a wet n dry vacuum go over it, else a towel to blot any wetness, then put heating on with windows closed to force dry. I use either an all purpose cleaner or carpet cleaning solution with a shampooer which normally removes most marks, or a worst improves them as much as possible.

Thanks mate appreciate it.

Ok i have a question for you please Gary.
I have noticed that i am getting small green speckles on the roof and bonnet of my car?
I have no idea where it is coming from but i think it may be when it is parked at my house as it is between two roofs.
It does not come off when washing with shampoo alone and the only way i can seem to get it off is by scratching them with my nail which is far from ideal.
Its getting on my nerves now as i really really take pride in my car.
Could you please give some advice on this as i dont want to polish over them or something and wreck the paint.
What is best stuff to use and i go no where near T-cut type products as i dont like the idea of taking a layer of paint off.
Many Thanks.

"I use an Orange zest cleaner that also being very mild acid (so mild I'd be happy for my kids to wash in it)"

What a great way to test your cleaning gear!! Bet you have the shiniest kids in the street :-D

Ian, without seeing them I'd hazard a guess that they are pollen/sap spots, the safest way to remove is with a clay bar and quick detailer, Meguires do a kit available at most auto part stores, just wash the car, then clay either all over or just the spots and then wax. I agree an aggressive polish is not the best way in this case.

BigFil :lol: yep they are real handy to check the safety of some of the products I use, I wouldn't say they are the shiniest kids on the block, but dirt certainly doesn't stick to them, a good coating Zymol wax and the dirt just rolls off when sprayed with water :P