Quite an honour today. 

"Svend" (svend) 02/09/2018 at 10:07 • Filed to: None

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The gentleman down the road has looked after his cars for years, every now and then when I was cleaning a car, he’d come out and clean his, giving the old ‘Cumbria nod’ of ‘hey, lads doing lads stuff’. Well as he’s getting older and his wife less mobile, he came and asked me if I could clean it for him. I was a bit surprised but accepted.

The front passenger wheel I couldn’t do anything about as it was kerbed to hell and was corroding badly. But I did what I could with the rest and he was very pleased.

That’s why I love doing what I do, some people may not have the time, the energy, the inclination or able bodied enough to do it, so it’s a pleasure to do it for them.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Svend 02/09/2018 at 10:16

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Svend! I need input on cleaning products I should buy for new acquisition/cars that have been neglected over the course of buying a home. Mostly wheel cleaning, and spot cleaning on carpet/seat belts.

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > Svend 02/09/2018 at 10:17

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Ever considered moving to France? I need a neighbor like you :)

Svend > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 02/09/2018 at 10:34

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How bad are the wheels?

First you need a good wheel cleaner, Valet Pro Bilberry Wheel Cleaner is a fantastic none caustic, non acid wheel cleaner and a good brake dust remover such as CarPro Iron-X, Bilt Hamber Korrosol, Valet pro Dragon Breathe, etc... and a good wheel wax or sealant to seal.

Tools needed

Wheel cleaner

Brake dust/iron fallout remover

variable lance head

assortment of bushes (Wheel Woolies are a bit expensive but I’ve had mine a good three years and they are still like new)

bucket

From this

To this

For seats and seat belts the best I’ve used is Valet Pro Enzyme Odour Eater. It’s a shampoo with anti bacterial properties, not only killing the bacteria but it’s food source too.

Before

For example, this is a before, left side of the picture, and after, right side of the picture.

After

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Svend 02/09/2018 at 10:35

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Good lord that is amazing. Hopefully we get that in the US. Will that work for the carpet on the floor too?

Svend > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction 02/09/2018 at 10:36

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I fancy north central Italy to be honest.

I’ve got another neighbours Clio to do tomorrow.

Svend > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 02/09/2018 at 10:43

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Works on all fabrics.

I believe Valet Pro is available stateside.

It’s good that you can buy a litre and dilute it down 1:5 to make six litres from it.

Another good one is Gtechniq I2ab Tri-clean. It’s an all surface (leather, plastic or fabric) cleaner that sprays on and wipes. The ‘ab’ part is that it contains Bio-Cote anti bacterial elements.

punkgoose17 > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 02/09/2018 at 10:49

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Try looking online. I tried to buy everything at the store, I bought different products, and it all ended up being junk.

Funktheduck > Svend 02/09/2018 at 10:51

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I was gonna ask about interior cleaning. Between my dogs and client dogs the car has gotten a bit gross. Did some cleaning the other weekend which helped a bunch but I still see a lot of improvement needed. My other problem is the driver’s seat is pretty gross. When it’s warm I wear shorts and T-shirt’s. Then I sweat a lot and get in the car. The places that touch my legs and arms are pretty gross (by my standard). Would those things listed help? The mazda’s Fabric is unlike any car seat I’ve had before

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > punkgoose17 02/09/2018 at 10:53

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Yeah im hoping I can get it. Looked like the Gtechniq I2ab Tri-clean is available but the other one might be a bit difficult.

His Stigness > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 02/09/2018 at 11:19

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If you can’t get the wheel cleaner he recommends you get Sonax wheel cleaner on Amazon. And for a wheel soap I have been using Ammo’s Brute wheel soap.

Svend > Funktheduck 02/09/2018 at 11:19

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Absolutely.

For best results use a wet’dry vacuum and an extractor nozzle.

Simply place a cloth or two over the centre console/gearshift, etc...

and spray liberally onto the seat.

Agitate in straight lines following the weave with a stiff nylon brush.

Vacuum up with an extraction tool on the end or a wet’dry vacuum.

Don’t worry about it being daft afterwards, it won’t dry into rings and while it stays wet it keeps killing bacteria and odours.

If you regularly have pets in the car, a good product to keep to hand is CarPro So2Pure, it’s a photo catalyst odour destroyer. Sprayed onto the fabric, while the airborne odours settle in the vehicle onto the fabric, the UV light from the sun breaks down the odours.

It’s only 120ml in size but will do the whole car if done right.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > His Stigness 02/09/2018 at 11:20

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What about carpet?

Funktheduck > Svend 02/09/2018 at 11:30

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Thanks

His Stigness > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 02/09/2018 at 11:40

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Well I’ve had very good luck with Chemical Guys Lightning Fast for stubborn stains, and I also use Chemical Guys Fabric Clean to remove odors. I did a friend’s Scion once with Fabric Clean, and he’s a smoker (but with the windows down), and it killed 90% of the smell.

So those are your options for stuff we can easily get here, but I’ve been meaning to get some of the Valet stuff as I had asked Sven the same thing. Sometimes you can find it on Amazon.co.uk from a seller who will ship here, but I found a site that will shit, but the postage is £26. So it comes out to $51, which sucks. Granted you can make 5 litres with it, but I need to look into postage costs for Sven sending me some himself.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=1054

Svend > Funktheduck 02/09/2018 at 11:42

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No worries. A wet’dry vacuum pays dividends to any garage. Great for drying wing mirrors from the dreaded drips that come out, around the wheel nuts and tyres to get on with dressing them.

Something like this (you don’t need the application sprayer).

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > His Stigness 02/09/2018 at 11:56

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If you figure the postage out let me know. I have a 315,000 mile car that needs cleaned and a wifes RX that carries the dog lol.

His Stigness > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 02/09/2018 at 12:11

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Try the Fabric Clean for now. It’s less than $10 on Amazon, I think, and it dilutes down really far.

But I’ll talk to Sven about sending over some Valet. It may be cheaper to have him send a package to one of us and then do like a postal flat rate box to the other.