ASDA Interior Valet

A couple of weeks back I was on my way out when I noticed a small light coloured  mark standing out against my black cloth sports seats, it didn’t look serious, but it certainly required cleaning. I popped back home and grabbed my can of CarPlan Interior Valet, to find that it was empty (oops). So a quick trip to ASDA was in order (ASDA is my first choice of shops - not including online - as I just find them to be so competitively priced). A quick look over the shelves highlighted that they were out of the CarPlan stuff (not good). The only other product available was the ASDA Interior Valet at £2.00. Now I know I preach about budget options and that you don’t have to spend the earth, but something I’ve always avoided is own brand stuff. Now I was in a pickle, everywhere else was closed and I was keen to clean the interior. I decided to take a shot at the ASDA Interior valet, with view to using it sparingly in case it stained my seats (extreme, but hey). I read over the instructions and they were almost identical to those of CarPlans. If I were to speculate I’d say the stuff inside the can was the same and that ASDA buys it and re-brands it in order to save money, but this is of course just speculation. Once home, I hoovered the seats, then taking the can liberally applied the foam cleaner, working in a sweeping spray pattern. I left the product for 60 seconds or so , then grabbed a clean Kent microfiber cloth and wiped off the dissolving foam. It brought the seats up to a fresh standard, comparable to the CarPlan product I’d used previously.

ASDA has impressed me this year, by offering a good range of car detailing products at market leading prices    (bought some Holts tyre weld for £2.00, it was £7 in Halfords!). Their own range seems to be well thought through and very cheap. If I had to choose between own brand and a trusted manufacturer, I’d take the latter, but at a pinch this stuff is great and if ASDA continue to build on their range it could be well worth considering.

Carplan Tyre Shine Foam - Review - Part 2

Further to my previous review of Carplan Tyre Shine Foam, I thought a follow up review was in order, backed up by some actual pictures. I washed my car a couple of days back and with the rest of the car looking so shiny the dull Achilles ATR Sport tyres, that almost have brown marks on them (road grime) needed a freshen up. Now living in the UK staying on top of car detailing is hard enough without worrying about your tyres but Carplan Tyre Shine Foam is so easy to use it’s hard to find a good reason not to apply it. In addition to making your tyres look like new it also helps maintain them, preventing things such as premature cracking (and who wants that).

Ok - step 1:
Making sure to wash your wheels and tyres first, take the can and spray the tyre wall. Hold the can about 5 inches from the tyre and apply the foam almost as if you're painting the tyre with a spray paint can. Soon your tyre will have a white rim and look like a tyre from an old Ford Model T (unusual look as it may be…).

Step 2:
Leave the foam to dissolve on the tyre, the white foam soon turns into a liquid and starts to run off the tyre. The can says that it can stain drive ways so might be a good idea to do it on the road (Hey we pay our road taxes right?)

Step 3:
After leaving the foam to do its thing for around 10 minutes, take an old cloth (I find an old Kent microfibre towel does the trick) and wipe off any excess, revealing your new back to black tyres.


I normally run a damp cloth over my alloy wheels just to make sure there’s no chemical residue, albeit the can says nothing about this.
Carplan Tyre Shine Foam really is a great product and at the price makes it hard to want to use anything else.

Citrus Pearl AutoWash Shampoo and Very Cherry Acid Free Wheel Cleaner

I've just recieved a couple of products from my friends over at Ninja Shine! The very well respected Citrus Pearl AutoWash Shampoo and some Very Cherry Acid Free Wheel Cleaner. Reviews for both coming soon....

Autoglym Super Resign Polish Review

I've been enthusiastic about car detailing for the last 3 years or so, learning more with every wash of my car and always keeping a close watch on other car detailing product review sites and forums, as well as speaking to friends about products that really stand out. As I’ve mentioned before I normally try and purchase more budget end products. This isn't because I think they're as good (although similar results can arguably be achieved) it's more the fact that I don't want to spend hundreds on items where I think alternatives can be found. Perhaps it's my want to find a value option, or to believe that you don't have to be a huge name to make a great product. It's perhaps for these reasons that the Autoglym range has been largely missed by me in the past. I've seen their glossy adverts, noted their superb recommendations from the likes of McLaren, but believed their premium price tags might be a little out of reach.

A friend of mine was given a bottle of Autoglym Super Resin Polish as a gift and like many people, he wasn't prepared to put it to use, favouring one of the many hand car wash companies' quick and convenient solutions instead (I'll talk about them in another review perhaps). Long story short I was handed the bottle as he knew I’d put it to good use (he is a good mate :-) ).

Now a quick read of the label put me in mind of a shampoo made for humans, very glossy terminology and it really does make you believe it's a product that will look after your car's paintwork. So far, so good. I washed my car using the two bucket technique (full washing stages review to follow) and dried the car off using a Kent water blade and a chamois leather. I then took a cotton pad and as the bottle suggests rubbed the product onto the car in a circular motion, finishing with straight lines. I did the whole car, allowing the Autoglym super resign to haze, which takes a couple of minutes. The product applied very smoothly and looked nice and waxy, as opposed to thick and gloopy.

Taking a Kent microfiber towel I then began buffing and polishing the car, removing the haze. Instantly the polish brought the surface up to a deep rich shine, rivaling anything I’ve previously used. I completed the whole car in around 20 minutes and when I stood back, I was thoroughly impressed with the results. As with many cream polishes it's important to either tape off the plastic un-painted plastic areas, or use a product like Turtlewax Ice to remove any over spilt wax.

I would highly recommend this product to anyone wanting an easy to use polish/wax that I truly believe will help to protect your paint work, as well as making it look superb. It has certainly prompted me to take the Autoglym range more seriously and try other products they make. Car Detailing Junkies certainly recommend.

Update: Not long after washing the car the heavens opened and covered the car in water, the Autoglym Super Resign Polish beads water extremely well and looks to provide a good barrier to the elements.

AEZ Alloy Wheel Video

Well if you follow my Blog I’m sure you'll remember my review of the AEZ Raver Alloy Wheels a month or so back. I'm still really impressed with the wheels and continue to recommend them as an alternative to some other well known brands. Here's a promo video from AEZ showing off their complete range. Some great looking wheels here and if they're all as well made as the AEZ Raver then they should be great quality as well.

Meguiars Quick Detailer Review

I have previously mentioned Meguiars Quick Detailer when I was reviewing it along side the Meguiars quick clay starter kit a few posts back, but then I was reviewing it as a lube for the clay bar as opposed to a quality quick detailer in its own right. Firstly I guess we should learn why you would use an occasional detailer as opposed to giving your car a full wash and wax, or just wiping over with a wet microfibre cloth etc. Well the other day I came out to find my car had been blessed by a passing bird by virtue of a dropping. Let’s just say I was less than pleased, but it did give me chance to try out the Meguiars Quick Detailer. The reason for using a detailer, is that if you’ve recently waxed it saves you doing a full wash that can strip the wax off meaning more time waxing again.

Now when this type of thing has happened to me previously and I have just taken a damp warm Kent Microfiber Towel to the area and left it at that. However in this instance I noticed a few finger smudges on the roof as well and decided to wash the roof using turtle wax zip wax, rinse it over and then dry it over with a kent water blade. I could see there was still a good layer of wax, by the way the water was beading, so grabbed the detailer and gave the roof a liberal spray. I then wiped it over with a soft Kent microfibre towel. The roof was once again brought up to a deep lustre and shine.

I can't recommend Meguiars Quick Detailer enough and for in-between waxes it's ideal. I should also mention it smells great, kind of like sweets!