Car Cleaning

[john luke]

In the UK, spring is coming and you may consider giving your car a spring clean. How do you do it? Do you have any special hacks? Does it get a polish as well?

[Nightcrawler]

I used to wash my car by hand, using a few buckets of water, a sponge and a few microfiber cloths.

Alloy wheel cleaning is a pain in the arse and requires a lot of bend and stoop. I don't have a pressure washer either. 

Nowadays, I simply can't be bothered and take it to the Albanias down the road at their hand car wash for 12 quid outside and 15 quid inside and out maybe  once every six weeks or thereabouts.   They shine up and  the tyre walls as well.  Plus a free smelly deodorant thingy that hangs from  the rear view mirror. 

Washing up is an effort for me these days, so a whole car is out of the question 🥴

They look a dodgy bunch of c*nts, but they get paid bugger all whilst the boss creams of most of the profits and owns a top range BMW. 

Clean off bird shit as and when as it can eat into the paintwork. The bastards always seem to crap on it shortly after it's been cleaned. I think it's deliberate 

I used to get the missus to do it when I was married, to help earn her keep 😁😁

 

[AJSP]

Mixture - have a small pressure washer which gets used occasionally but much prefer bucket and hose pipe etc. I do use the Kurdish lads near work and they charge £15 for a really good in and out job. 👌

[Nightcrawler]

1 minute ago, AJSP said:

 I do use the Kurdish lads near work and they charge £15 for a really good in and out job. 👌

Is that in a gents lavatory? 😁😁

[ChiFlyer]

When we lived in Jomtien at VT2A I used EZ-Carwash on the street behind Rompho. They did a good job for 170 (small car). I would give them 200. What was great is that Mr. Moo (formerly of soi 7 fame) had a place next door to where the car was where they made pretty good fried bananas. A bag of fried bananas and a diet coke timed well with the car wash.

Out here in Huay Yai I go to PJ's Car Care on Hwy 1008. Similar price and also a good job, but sadly no fried bananas. Also living in a house with a covered car park, the need for a car wash has decreased, though when the wind kicks up the dust does fly.

Just as a side note I reported in another thread that we had recently been rear ended on Sukhumvit. Got the car back from repairs a few days back and the shop did a fantastic job matching colors etc. I hear the place (on the far Dark Side) has only been open 3 months, but they have customers lining up and they seem to be very well run.

Good Luck Garage

https://www.facebook.com/jdcjdjjjjjjjjjjjj/

 

 

Edited April 21 by ChiFlyer

[coxyhog]

I use the east Europeans down the road but only for the outside,I do the inside myself.

[Painter]

Living next to the sea, my car suffers....

Whilst a mate drives it most weeks during my winter in Thailand, he doesn't clean anything more than the wipers do for him.... so when I come back it goes to the people at Tesco and comes back gleaming. After that it's me, usually monthly unless we've had a storm, when it's covered in dust and salt.

My weapons of choice are a lidls battery pressure washer (it's not as powerful as a mains one, but does the job, and one of those hairy car washing mits

[AJSP]

3 hours ago, Nightcrawler said:

Is that in a gents lavatory? 😁😁

I’ll have you know nothing and I repeat nothing goes up my rear tail pipe. 😂😂

[boydeste]

I take both my car and van to our local Foreign joint for the outside wash and polish and sometimes the inside too, especially after a rainy trip to France in the van.

[fygjam]

Do cars need to be cleaned?

 

[Nightcrawler]

10 minutes ago, fygjam said:

Do cars need to be cleaned?

 

Of course. They are unable to clean themselves. One day a self cleaning car will be invented no doubt. 

But for now, they are dirty bastards  😄

Driving around in a filthy car caked in dirt is a reflection on its owner. 

[forcebwithu]

12 minutes ago, Nightcrawler said:

Of course. They are unable to clean themselves. One day a self cleaning car will be invented no doubt. 

But for now, they are dirty bastards  😄

Driving around in a filthy car caked in dirt is a reflection on its owner. 

I resemble that remark.

I no longer own a car, so one less need to do item in my life.

I do own a motorbike and I keep reminding my lady she needs to clean her bike as the registration is in her name. 🙂

[Lantern]

There is a car wash place in the closest town, where a bloke does it by hand. Go there every couple of months.

[thunder367]

i have a karcher k2 got rib of the lance and hose bought a 60ft hose with new attachment one of theses

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/stubby-tigger-gun-nozzle-kit

got a snow foam bottle i can connect it.rinse off first spray wheels with chemical to clean them up and remove the break dust off them. turns purple when sprayed and left for 5 mins brush over them then clean off.snow foam leave for 10 mins or so wipe it over in tight places.then wash off get the hot soapy water star to wash car off with another bucket to rinse clothe out before i get fresh lot of soap on car then wash off.dry with microfibre clothe after takes 2hrs or so from gettign stuff out and finishing.

     get most of my soap and snowfoan from local detailing shop just 5 mins away.next hols the cars going in for a full detail and cermic coat as it 6 yrs now and and needs doing again plus a full interior clean to.

[Siam Addict]

I have a Toyota CHR and I used to take it to a local car wash for a tenner. It changed ownership after covid and the guy moaned everytime I went there. He said he could wash a Range Rover quicker than my car as there were less curves but he couldn't charge as much as the CHR is not a 7 seater or a 4x4.

I either wash it myself or drive 3 miles to another car wash. But I do prefer washing and waxing it myself as I get a better waxed finish.

[Yessongs]

20 minute walk from the house here to this industrial park/place where I take my SUV....500 baht all in and it takes them about 1 hour to do...no way I attempt to do any car washing outside in this dreadful humidity. 

[Pumpuynarak]

I take my Fortuner to The Mall in Korat who have a great car cleaning set up, they do inside and outside and provide a real professional service and as a member i get a discounted price of 450bht per clean (its normally 550bht per clean). I have to set up a 1 year service and pay in advance 4500bht but i get 10 washes and interior clean plus 3 ozone treatments on the interior plus 2 outside polishes.

I've been using them for 18 years now and am delighted with their work in every respect. Its useful dropping my car off with them and then going shopping for an hour before picking up.

2 hours ago, Yessongs said:

no way I attempt to do any car washing outside in this dreadful humidity

Me too Mike 👍

 

Edited April 23 by Pumpuynarak

[coxyhog]

On 4/21/2025 at 11:49 PM, Painter said:

Living next to the sea, my car suffers....

I worked a lot in Southend & Exeter....fucking seagulls!

[fygjam]

3 hours ago, coxyhog said:

I worked a lot in Southend & Exeter....fucking seagulls!

Could have been pelicans.