CarPlan Flash Dash Shine Pad Review

I've never been a big fan of products that make your dash shiny, but then my car's dash wasn't really designed to look that way. However a friend of mine who doesn't clean their car interior was taken with the idea of a product that simply wiped over the dash making it look clean. The other big selling point is its £0.79 price tag.

On inspection the shine pad is well made. It sits in the lid and opens up to reveal a pad not unlike those ones you see to clean shoes. Taking the CarPlan flash dash shine pad, I liberally wiped it over the dash. It's doesn't appear to make the dash wet like some sprays but it leaves a waxy like shine behind it.

Now my friend’s dash is inside a Punto and is a grey coloured dash and it certainly brought it up a treat. My complaints are minor but worth mentioning. As stated before I’m not a fan of a shiny finish and personally I would go for a matt gloss product. My friend has also said that the dash now reflects in the windscreen on a sunny day which can create glare.

I would recommend this product but only if you’re not prepared to use a more through product like the gloss dash shine products from car plan.

Astonish Car Care crystal clear wash and wax car shampoo

Astonish Car Care might not be the most well known brand, in fact I hadn't heard of them until I saw a bottle of their wash and wax crystal clear shampoo in a discount warehouse. A decent sized bottle of this stuff was priced at 99p! At that price I couldn't resist. The bottle promises a crystal clear finish and a coat of wax at the same time, not the first time a product has made this claim.

The liquid inside is yellowish and quite thick, smelling citrusy. Mixing half a cap full with a bucket of warm water soon turns it into a bucket of suds, so far so good. After washing the car over with water, I applied the suds to my car with a Kent Microfibre noodle mitt. The astonish wash and wax removed the dirt easily bringing the paint up to a good shine. Now as with other wash and waxes like the Turtle Wax Zip wax I would use this product purely as a shampoo. Although it does give a waxy shine, I don't believe it'll protect like a wax.

I would highly recommend this product as a budget shampoo and one that cleans very well. I'm soon going to be reviewing a shampoo from my friends over at Ninja Shine and it'll be interesting to see how it compares to a budget end car shampoo.

Trico Neoform Beam Blade Windsreen Wiper Review

In a slight departure from my normal car detailing product reviews I thought I'd review the Neoform Beam Blade wiper blade from Trico, as I've recently purchased them and they're fantastic!.

Ok before I get ahead of myself I’ll tell you why I think they're great in a little more detail. Firstly this is the first type of beam or arc wiper blade I’ve used. If you’re not sure what I mean by that, take a look at the picture to the right. Traditional wiper blades from companies like Bosch (Bosch do a new beam blade style now, so may be worth a look) have essentially a two piece design. They have a rubber blade which is held to a straight metal strip that is then fixed at four points to a plastic frame that connects to your car's wiper arm (sounds complicated, so I’ve added another pic). The Trico Neoform Beam Blade on the other hand is a one piece unit which naturally arcs. When this arc is fixed to your wiper arm on the car and placed against the screen it forms a very close seal which when in operation shifts a great deal more water. I’ve previously seen cheap blades that always left a streak on a screen or even seen some windscreens that have scratched from old blades. This will not happen with the Neoform. They are also very aerodynamic, I believe to be more so than the cheaper style with a spoiler.

The fitment is straightforward (well my Toyota has a hook fitment) and took about 5 mins for all three. The next time it rained I couldn't believe the difference. If you take the time to wash your windscreen and then apply something like CarPlan Screen Clean to your glass, I think you’d be impressed.

Available at most motor stores they cost around £10.00 per blade and are well worth it. Interestingly I saw a cheaper copy in a discount warehouse the other day for £3.00 each, and purchased them to compare. I'll be fitting them to another car at the weekend and will update the Blog with the results.

Achilles ATR Sport Tyre Review - Part Two

Well if you've been following my Blog you'll know that I purchased a set of Achilles ATR Sport Tyres a couple of months back and at the time I was really pleased at how they were performing and taking the price point in to account I thought they were excellent. This leads me nicely into the review - part deux.

I went on a long holiday where I took my car via the ferry to France and back, in total covering around 1000 miles in both the dry (France) and the wet (back home ;-) ) and I'm happy to say the tyres are excellent. They give me confident grip in all conditions (Not snow or ice yet) and didn't make the steering feel twitchy even at motorway speeds in high spray conditions. I will stress that I don't take my car above recommended speed limits on the roads, however I believe the tyres would remain capable. I said last time that I would buy the tyres again should I need to and the verdict remains the same, although as I run a review Blog I may feel compelled to try something different by way of comparison. The Achilles ATR Sport remains a firm favourite in their price range.

Kent Alloy Wheel Brush Review

As I’ve recently purchased a set of AEZ Raver alloy wheels I thought it only right to buy a decent alloy wheel brush. Like most of my purchases it was made whilst doing a regular weekly shop in the supermarket and the Kent Alloy Wheel Brush was on offer for around £1.00. At that price I thought it was well worth a gamble. On first inspection the brush looked to be very well made, a sturdy plastic handle and relatively soft bristles mounted on a strong but bendable twisted wire structure. Something that I always check is if the brush could scratch or damage my wheels, however the packaging was reassuring and the bristles looked to cover the metal wire sufficiently.

 

I used the brush on each wheel carefully moving it over each spoke and it did indeed shift the road grime and brake dust. I will say however that I have previously washed my five spokes using a Kent microfibre mitt and similar results where achieved,

In short I do really like the product but it would be far more effective on multi-spoke alloy wheels with hard to reach places, as opposed to my AEZ Ravers which have a big wide 5 spoke design. I also know that Kent are offering a no metal microfibre alloy wheel brush that may serve my needs better. All in all another strong product from Kent, at a competitive price.

Ken Block Gymkhana 4

Ok this isn’t so much a review but definitely car related and something I recommend. Ken Block is a name quickly becoming a household name and he is without a doubt someone who knows how to drive.

He’s had a mixed level of success with WRC but his ability to impress in his Gymkhana series is unrivalled. This is his 4^th outing now in the Ford Fiesta (I preferred the Subaru, but I’m Jap car bias). Enjoy.

Kent Microfibre Noodle Wash Mitt Review

I've been using the Kent Microfibre Noodle Wash Mitt for some time now and this is a product I find really hard to fault.

One of the first rules of car detailing is to stop using a traditional 50p sponge. Why, I hear you ask. Well a sponge is actually more coarse than you might think, rub one against your arm and you quickly feel it start to itch, now imagine if your arm was covered in dirt and dust (I hope it isn't ;-) ) and you can imagine how swirls and scratches can appear in your paint. The Kent Microfibre Noodle Wash Mitt has microfibre noodles which make sure dirt is drawn up into the sponge and away from your paint. Coupled with the fact it's a mitt so it's comfortable to use and it also retains a good amount of suds meaning less trips back to the buckets.

The Kent Microfibre Noodle Wash Mitt can be bought for well under a fiver and is a great wash mitt. Also available in many colours, I seem to like the bright green ones!

CarPlan Dash Valet Review

Ok another CarPlan review, I know I’ve reviewed a lot of products by this brand, but I’m constantly impressed by there quality and price point that makes it hard for me to choose anything else at the moment.

On with the review...

The interior of my car was starting to look a little dull, my car coming up to 10 years old and keeping the interior plastic nice and clean is important. I purchased a can of CarPlan Dash Valet matt finish from ASDA that cost me around £2.00 which is ridiculously cheap for a product of this quality. Importantly i choose matt as there are products available from companies, including CarPlan that leave the dash very shiny, this is a look some people want but I prefer a matt finish.

To use the product you just liberally spray it directly onto the plastics, I spray it on as if I’m spray painting the car if that makes sense? Then wipe it over with a dry microfiber cloth.

The interior plastic come up to a rich matt gloss and look in some ways better than new. I'll try different products to compare, but I really can't fault CarPlan Dash Valet

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CarPlan Interior Valet Review

I recently got back from a long trip abroad where I'd taken my car and the inside was in need of a freshen up. I decided to clean all my car's upholstery, and although it wasn't too bad I decided to purchase a can of Interior Valet.

A quick look at the products in Halfords outlined that there is a lot of choice. I decided to go for a can of CarPlan Interior Valet. I made my decision based on three things. The first is that many products feature a plastic bristled top for scrubbing the upholstery. However I don't like the idea of scratching away at my seats with stiff plastic bristles and although CarPlan Interior Valet can be bought with such a lid there is an option to get a can without. Secondly the price was excellent, if I recall I paid around £4.00, which compared to some other products is very good. My final reason was that I trust CarPlan’s range and feel they are always good value.

A quick read of the instructions tells you to spray the foam onto the seats leave for around a minute then wipe off with a clean damp cloth. As well as cleaning it also adds a protective clear barrier to your seats that will help them to repel grime and grease etc. I decided to use a damp Kent microfiber cloth as I know they're great at picking up dust and don't mark or scratch surfaces, they also don't get too sticky like some J-cloths which can pull at the seat's fibres.

I sprayed the foam all over the seat and waited as instructed. The CarPlan Interior Valet has a pleasant orangey citrus scent which was a bonus. I wiped the foam off and it left my driver’s seat looking slightly damp but very clean.

I moved onto the rest of the car and was really pleased with the results. I would definitely try this product again and would recommend it to anyone looking for a reasonably priced fabric and upholstery cleaner.

Dodo Juice Tooled Up Detailing Bag Review

For ages now I’ve had my various waxes, microfibers and shampoos taking up an increasingly large amount of shelf space and while this was ok I found it annoying having to keep going into the house between washing stages. I don’t like to leave products on the floor etc as they can come into contact with grit and grime, in particular the cloths need to be kept off the floor at all times.

So then it was on an evening much like this one that I set about looking for a box or bag that I could keep all my car detailing products in, but I also wanted a solution that would let me take them all outside and off the floor.

The product I came across was the Dodo Juice Tooled Up Detailing Bag. It was at a very competitive price of £20.00 on Amazon and I’ve been impressed with Dodo Juice before so I went ahead and bought it.

2 days later it's at my door and my first impressions are fantastic. It came well wrapped in a plastic bag and packed flat. The bag is made from a very tough material and has an incredibly sturdy metal handle which sports a foam grip. The bag folds open and a stiff base velcros into place making it very solid feeling. On the under side of the Dodo Juice Tooled Up Detailing Bag are several rubber feet which is a nice touch. All around the sides inside and out are material pouches ideal for holding clay bars and microfibre towels.

The bag comfortably holds all my various car detailing products and I wouldn't hesitate to buy the Dodo Juice Tooled Up Detailing Bag again.

Meguiar's Quik Clay Starter Kit

I recently decided to try the Meguiar's Quik Clay Starter Kit. I haven’t ever used car clay before and was always slightly reserved in trying it out. After watching several very helpful Meguiar's YouTube "how to" guides though I was ready to take the plunge.

I purchased the Meguiar's Quik Clay Starter Kit from Amazon at a very reasonable £10.00 and it was delivered a day later. I waited for the weekend and then finally had the opportunity to try it out.

Now I carefully read the instructions first and went through the following steps.

Step 1: Washed the car fully using Turtle Wax Zip wax and a Kent Microfibre noodle mit wash mit, I also used the two bucket technique which was outlined in an earlier video post on my car detailing blog.

Step 2: Rinse the car off with clean water.

Step 3: I then used a Kent Flexi Blade to take off the majority of the water but the paint still wasn't bone dry.

Step 4: I then used the Meguiar's Quik Clay Starter Kit. Taking the clay out of its wrapping it feels like a piece of hard-ish putty. I then sprayed the provided Quick Detailer over a section of my bonnet and directly onto the clay bar its self. In side to side motions I rubbed the clay over the quick detailer lubricant and could feel it getting smoother until I was satisfied the area was clean. I repeated this process over the whole car and took around an hour.

Step 5: I used a Kent microfibre towel to buff off all the excess Meguiar's Quick Detailer and dried the paintwork to a dullish shine.

Step 6: I then used CarPlan Triplewax to bring the car up to a protective shine.

Step 7: As a final touch I gave the paint work a quick going over with Carplan Demon Shine.

Now I have to say that the Meguiar's Quik Clay Starter Kit was fantastic and never before have I seen my car look so clean and the paint work so deep. I think the next time I do it I will try a different wax product, perhaps one from the DoDo Juice range to compare.

Turtle Wax Ice Liquid Wax

Well if you’ve read my car detailing Blog before you’ll see that I’ve already reviewed a wax, CarPlans Triple Wax to be precise. However as I’m recommending products it’s only fair that I add different products that essentially cover the same needs.

On with the review….. I came across Turtle Wax Ice around a year and a half ago. I was looking for a wax that was easy to apply, could be used on all areas of my car (including plastics) and that wasn’t white and chalky. It’s easy to see why I selected Turtle Wax Ice Liquid Wax then as it says it’s safe and doesn’t mark or leave white marks. My choice was further impacted by 2 rather good American type adverts / demonstration videos I found on YouTube (please see below). I bought the product in Halfords and it came complete with an applicator sponge pad and microfibre cloth, all costing around £12.00 which seemed good value.

I washed the car as normal, dried it off with a chamois and then squirted about a thimble full of the wax onto the blue pad. The process of applying the wax was very easy and once I’d rubbed the pad over the whole car I folded up the provided microfibre and polished the whole car up to a very good shine. Now the main difference I found using this over other waxes was its ability to darken black plastic back to a new like shine. Even on a friend’s car which has solid black bumpers it brought them up to a new looking standard, something other waxes have failed to do in the past and in fact most waxes say avoid plastics at all cost.

My car is silver and it’s relatively easy to miss streaks, my friends black car however took more buffing and polishing than I’ve found with traditional white paste waxes however, albeit in the end it did come up to a brilliant shine.

I still use this wax in conjunction with CarPlan Triple Wax as I now use it for the black plastics only, simply because I still prefer the traditional white paste style. If you’re new to waxing a car though I would recommend starting with the Turtle Wax Ice Liquid Wax as it’s a brilliant introduction as to just how good your car will look if you’ve not waxed it before and if you're to believe the video professionals are standing by it as well.