Product Info
Below is some info on how I look after my own car as well as some products that, through my own experience, I’ve found to be very good.
With regard to washing and drying, these are the two main areas where the car will get damaged. Use a good technique and tools for both and you’re already more than halfway there to keeping your car in good condition.
Here is some info and products that I use to maintain my own car
The main suppliers I buy from are:
and
Both have secure eCommerce sites so you can buy online.
I have in place a 10% discount agreement with both of these sites for Dan’s Garage Detailing clients.
Use the code: Dansgarage19
At checkout to get your discount on most items on these sites.
ZAS have a really good detailing library on their site:
https://www.zas.com.au/detailing_library.php
Have a read in particular of the Two Bucket Method and How to Correctly Dry a Car sections. They’re quite useful and promote good techniques to maintain your car well.
For foam lances, I like the unit from Detail Store (ZAS and Detail Central currently do not have foam lances):
https://www.detailstore.com.au/collections/snow-foam/products/apex-customs-snow-foam-lance-plus
This is designed for use with pressure washers. You will need to specify at the time of purchase what pressure washer you have in order to ensure the right adaptor is supplied. If you’re unsure, call Detail Central and talk to Dan Henderson (owner). He is incredibly helpful and will assist you in choosing the right adaptor.
Foam lances are good as a pre-soak to help loosen bigger bits of debris and road grime off the car so they can be removed before you contact the car with a wash mitt. This pre-soak can significantly reduce the chances of scratching the paint while washing. Foam lances can also be used for removing light dust if the car has been sitting for a while. In situations like this, when used in conjunction with a blow dryer (below), it’s a great touchless and fast way of knocking light dust off the car rather than doing a full wash or using quick detailers and cloths to remove dust film.
For foam, Envoke Snow Pro Active Foam:
https://detailcentral.com.au/envoke-snow-pro-active-foam/
Or NXTZEN Foam Decon:
https://www.zas.com.au/product/1046/nxtzen_foam_decon_500ml.html
Envoke Snow Pro Active foam has a terrific dilution ratio. It also has great shifting power, which is terrific for coated cars.
NXTZEN Foam Decon can be used both as a foam or in a wash bucket as a shampoo. Like the Envoke Snow Pro it’s designed for coated cars and is non-ph neutral and safe to use for regular use. I’ve found through personal use that the NXTZEN doesn’t quite have the same level of “oomph” in terms of lifting dirt than the Envoke Snow Pro, but either foam has much more power than any ph neutral foams and car wash shampoos.
Here is the wash mitt that I use. Highly recommend them
https://detailcentral.com.au/premium-microfibre-wash-mitt-grey/
Here is the bucket and grit guard kit I also use
https://www.zas.com.au/product/435/20l_opt_bucket_with_grit_guard_insert.html
or you can get just the grit guards and use buckets from Bunnings (must be wide base laundry style buckets to fit the Grit Guards)
https://www.zas.com.au/product/533/grit_guard_bucket_insert.html
For car wash, I personally use Envoke Reboot Descaling Shampoo:
https://detailcentral.com.au/envoke-reboot-descaling-shampoo/
Or NXTZEN Foam Decon
https://www.zas.com.au/product/1046/nxtzen_foam_decon_500ml.html
For cars that have been coated, use whatever automotive shampoo you are comfortable with. The coating does not have any requirements to use specific branded shampoos etc. I like the Envoke Reboot Descaling Shampoo because it’s designed for use with coated cars and provides greater dirt shifting ability than ph neutral shampoos. Nxtzen Foam Decon is also great as an alternative choice to use as a shampoo as well as a foam product.
Here are the tools I use for wheels. These are optional but make life a lot easier when cleaning wheels
Wheel Woolies:
https://detailcentral.com.au/collections/applicators-and-brushes
Wheel brush (good for wheel nuts & nooks/crannies etc):
https://www.zas.com.au/product/865/wheel_woolies_boars_hair_detail_brush.html
Tyre brush:
http://www.detailcentral.com.au/brush-soft-utility-scrub-green-short/
The same wash mitt as above:
https://detailcentral.com.au/premium-microfibre-wash-mitt-grey/
Here are the microfibre cloths I use. These are of an extremely high quality and won’t shed, fall apart, or risk damaging your paint like the cheap ones you would buy from Autobarn and Supercheap etc
Here is the waffle weave drying towel. I’d recommend getting two of these as one isn’t really enough to properly dry a medium sized car. They work better when they’re slightly damp but they soak up a lot of water and can get over saturated if you try to use just one. I use one to get as much off the car as I can and then follow up with the other one to get the rest.
Personally I prefer an electric blower. It’s a good, touchless way of being able to dry the car. Being touchless it minimises the chances of damaging the paint through contact, unlike a drying cloth. It also gets water out of areas that a drying towel won’t usually reach (ie. From badges, honeycomb grilles etc). There are a couple of options here depending on your budget.
The cheapest effective blower for this task I find is a Makita blower like this:
https://sydneytools.com.au/makita-ub1103-600w-blower-vacuum
It has a small rubberised nozzle and is 600w, which is a good amount of power. I would use electric only as the cordless units tend not to be as powerful.
A step up is something more powerful like the Big Boi Blowr Mini:
https://detailcentral.com.au/big-boi-blowr-mini/
For the best in touchless drying there is the Big Boi Blowr Pro:
This is an extremely powerful unit and will make light work of blowing water off coated cars
An electric blower allows you to effectively blow the bulk of the water off the panel and from out of panel gaps, mirrors, grilles, wheels etc without physically making contact with the panel. If the car is coated, the water should fair rush off the panel pretty effortlessly. What’s left behind can be dealt with by using a finishing spray (quick detailer) like Envoke Ceramic Quick Detailer (also below)
Avoid the bigger garden style blowers as they often have too large a nozzle and are too bulky to effectively dry the car. The size of the Makita or the Gardeners Choice is the biggest you want to go with.
For glass I use Envoke Ceramic Glass Cleaner:
https://detailcentral.com.au/envoke-ceramic-glass-cleaner/
For leather care, I use Angelwax Heaven for Leather:
http://detailcentral.com.au/angelwax-heaven-for-leather-cleaner-500-ml/
Spray and lightly agitate with a good quality horsehair leather brush:
https://www.zas.com.au/product/867/wheel_woolies_horse_hair_upholstery_brush.html
Then wipe with a damp microfibre cloth to lift the dirt/oils off the leather (microfibre cloth link above). Follow with a dry microfibre cloth to remove any final residue.
To keep the leather supple, I will follow the cleaning process with a humectant called Angelwax Hide-Rate
https://detailcentral.com.au/angelwax-hide-rate-250ml/
For alcantara, I normally suggest lightly wiping with a damp microfibre cloth (a cloth held under running water and then wrung out so it’s damp) . This will be sufficient to keep those surfaces clean in most cases. Be careful about using chemicals not specifically designed for alcantara as the wrong product can damage the knap of the material or discolour it. For stains try the damp microfibre cloth method first as the least aggressive process then other methods can be employed if there is still an issue.
For exterior plastics and rubbers (inc tires), I like Angelwax Elixir:
https://detailcentral.com.au/angelwax-elixir-tyre-dressing-500-ml/
Spray onto an applicator (for tires):
https://detailcentral.com.au/tyre-dressing-applicator/
Or for other plastic and rubber trim, use a mf applicator such as:
https://www.zas.com.au/product/598/nxtzen_micro_applicator.html
Once applied to the area, us a microfibre cloth to lightly wipe the surface to remove any excess and create a nice even finish.
For finishing sprays I use Envoke Ceramic Quick Detailer
https://detailcentral.com.au/envoke-ceramic-quick-detailer/
If I’m washing my car every couple of weeks fairly regularly I will generally use this after I’ve dried the car. It gives a beautiful slick feel and just adds a little more pop to the paint. It also helps clean up the stray water drops that will be on the car even after drying. It only takes about 10-15 mins to apply. Wipe on, lightly wipe off. Use it after each wash and dry to give the car a final streak and water droplet free finish. It’s also a great product for carefully spot-cleaning bird poo off paintwork if you’re out and not able to immediately wash the car.
I hope this helps.