Car Cleaning and Maintenance Products

The latest and best

Automotive products tested and reviewed by

Fred-in-the-shed

Updated 5th November 2008

Welcome to my new page where it test and review all the best products for car valeting and simple maintenance tasks.

I am a 40 something self confessed petrol head and have owned nearly 100 cars and motorbikes in my lifetime. I currently own a Chrysler 300c and a Mini Cooper S convertible. I like to keep my motors in tip top condition and keep them out of expensive main dealer garages whenever possible.

Over the years I have bought nearly every type of gadget and device for car care and have been disappointed with most of them.  Hopefully this page will help you save time and money by learning from my mistakes. If you have some tips you would like to share with me and the Fredshed readers please mail them in.

 

NEW PRODUCT ALERT Bosch Aqua clic Pressure washer

Jump Starters and Battery Boosters To compliment the battery chargers Black & Decker has also launched a 450amp Jump starter that will instantly start any vehicle from its' own internal power source, (which is a robust 19ah rechargeable sealed battery). The BDV012 has a built in LED work lamp and 12vDC outlet so it can charge or power other DC appliances like laptops and mobile devices. For extra safety it has reverse polarity warning so you can avoid dangerous sparking. The larger BVD012 Jump starter shown right  is more of a workshop tool that is ideally suited to car dealerships, repair shops and motor racing enthusiasts.  buy the Black and Decker BVD012 £70 approx

This is effectively a mobile backup battery so don't forget to charge it up!

CAR CLEANING TIPS

 

Step one - removing filth!   Car wash-verses hand wash The hands on approach will put you in touch with your vehicle's paintwork and let you spot problems early. I agree that a carwash requires less effort but over time they can scratch and dull your paintwork.  True car buffs NEVER use a carwash. If you use a carwash don't ever use the wash AND wax facility - unless you really want your windows waxed too. The next time you put your wipers on your windows will be smeared and you wasted £6! If your car is really filthy the first step is to remove this muck without causing abrasion. I use a simple hose and spray gun, or if it is really bad you could use a pressure washer. If you don't have either a bucket and sponge will do but use PLENTY OF WATER.

Carwash alert ARC carwash puts muck all over Fred's new Chrysler 300c! As my new 300c is a bit of a beast and ARC built a new carwash near my local Tesco I thought I should try it out and see if carwashes have improved. After spending £.3.50 and waiting 15 minutes I was horrified to discover that when I got home and parked the beast it was covered in white and grey stains that were unsightly and very hard to remove. I returned and questioned the attendant, who said  at busy weekends the carwash gets speeded up and the water which is recycled does not get a chance to get cleaned. So thanks ARC for charging me £3.50 to cover my car in other people's dirty water!

Pressure washers Unless your vehicle is caked in mud I think they are a waste of time - unless you have a seriously powerful one like this Karcher machine,  even then the finish is likely to be poor unless you use shampoo and shammy dry. Karcher - The brand leader in Pressure washers This is my neighbour Annette with cleaning her land rover with a Karcher pressure washer. Karcher are a German company and the recognised brand leader in pressure washers - and for good reason. As Karcher specialise in powered cleaning products you can be sure you are getting a well researched and reliable tool and not just a "me too copy from the far East that will not be supported well for parts and accessories. Also Karcher make the widest range so you can find one to exactly suit your purpose-and budget. Many of my readers use Karcher pressure washers and the feedback is very good.  see the Karcher range

Step 2 - Shampoo rinse and dry You cant beat a bucket and sponge! I use autoglym car shampoo, a quality sponge and this excellent Kent Car Care Dip & Wash brush for the hard to reach areas. As an 18 year old I worked for Ford preparing new cars for the September rush and was taught how to professionally clean and valet cars. My number one tip is use plenty of water, change buckets regularly and dry off with a leather shammy. (chamois )

Alloy Wheel Cleaning Tips I think it's sacrilege to have cool alloy wheels and then drive around with them caked in crud! Also the crud on your wheels contains corrosive particles of brake lining and it is important that whatever you use to clean them does not come into contact with your paintwork. I use a separate special brush from Hozelock that attaches to my hosepipe and allows the crud to be washed away. If you do this regularly there is no need to use any chemicals!

Step 3 - Polishing Usually I can't be bothered to do this and prefer to go to the pub or something, also if your car has been well polished before there is no reason to polish every time you wash it. A good quality polish like the Autoglym that I use will stay on and protect your car's paintwork for months. Another product/service I can really recommend is the Autoglym lifeshine treatment that came as a £300 extra on my mini-cooper s convertible. With this treatment you only need to wash the car regularly and it looks like it has been polished! Also water and dirt seem to be repelled and mostly run off the car - wowser!

Rags,  Buffing and polishing tips Luckily for my cars I only wear 100% cotton t shirts and these make great polishing cloths. Do not attempt to apply polish in direct sunlight, it will go hard quickly and be a pain to remove. Rub the polish in and let dry before buffing off 10 minutes later. As with washing - use plenty of rag and elbow grease! You can buy buffing machines but I think these are for pussies so I never use.

Wanted

Polaris Quadbike  must be 4 stroke pref 350cc

Just like this one!

e-mail fred@fredshed.com

 

The new Black and Decker Auto wrench is another excellent tool for working on motors	Cordless Dremel - Ideal for small bodywork jobs For sanding small hard to reach areas of car bodywork I use the cordless Dremel tool. It is also useful for cutting off small bolts and screws or any bit of rusty metal. There are many similar tools on the market but I think the Dremel is the only cordless one worth having due to its excellent battery. Dremel is made by Bosch of Germany Dremel 7800 multipro cordless Now with Lithium ION battery!
Aftermarket Car Products Car customising and audio upgrades Fredshed recommended supplier  As a young man (some time ago) I was very attracted to customising my vehicles and fell victim to a number of fashion trends - from furry steering wheel covers to "A Team stripes" and more recently induction kits, chipping and powerflow exhausts. After many road miles I have finally grown up and realise that manufacturers like VW with years of experience probably know better that a  youth with a hacksaw and welding torch based in a Croydon shed. A lot of the aftermarket car customising products are crap - simple as that. Occasionally legislation or economics can prevent a manufacturer from fitting the best equipment and it is here that the customisers may be useful - but how do you decide which goodies will actually enhance you car or make you look like a pratt - with an empty wallet? The best purchases for me have been car audio and fitting larger wheels to improve handling. I buy all my kit and take advice form my car care guru Ken from Marston Autoparts in Oxford. Ken has been in this business for over 20 years and I value his experience greatly. If you are thinking of buying any customising product or car audio (or alarms) then I can recommend this company. 9 years ago ken fitted a superb Pioneer minidisk player in my Golf and it still sounds incredible. I also bought my 17 inch black widow wheels with low profile tyres that have improved the handling of my VR6 by giving more traction and less roll.   Martson Autoparts also stock all the best car car products like Autoglym, tried and tested mechanics tools from Draper and Pioneer car hi-fi equipment.	My first car - a customised Ford Escort 1300GT (complete with hairy teenage friends) My cool "Black Widow" Alloy Wheels These look great AND improved the handling of my VR6 I get my wheels and tyres fitted by Philips Tyres of Oxford, I think they have the the best prices and friendliest service. You can buy decent parts worn tyres too if you area bit skint or are not keeping your can for long. Unlike certain " tyre specialists" they wont try and sell you an exhaust or battery as well.  Fredshed is happy to recommend Philips tyres.
My friend Ken from Marston Autoparts (Also known as Oxford Car Audio) This guru of car accessories have saved me from many embarrassing and useless purchases.     .
buy set of chisel screwdrivers

Best Key Ring Torch for Car keys Having a little torch on your key ring is so useful but most of them will only just about light up a keyhole. Advances in battery and bulb technology now mean that you can have a proper torch measuring just 2 !/2 inches on your keyring and the great thing is the batteries will last ages.   I have been using this LED Lenser V8 photon pump for over 2 years on the same batteries and absolutely love this handy torch. Now a new smaller brother is available which has 24 carat gold connections and the option of flashing mode. This incredible torch weighs only 17gms, and is about the size of a little finger. Buying  the new Led Lenser V2 nano keyring torch could be the best tenner you ever spent!

Super Glue not so Super? Which is the best all round glue? I have bought so many tubes of super glue and the only thing it has successfully held together is my fingers! Doh. In fact super glue is so good for this that surgeons even use it! However if you have a bit of trim or plastic to repair, or even wood and metal then the best and easiest to use glue I have found is this Extreme repair from Unibond. I am also a fan or Araldite glue and used it for many years to hold parts of my motorbike together. As I'm still alive this is some testament to its strength. Unlike Araldite Extreme Repair Glue does not need to be mixed and squeezes easily from a tube. And unlike superglue this tube has a proper cap and does not go dry or need a fiddly pin stuck in it!

This Glue is the best I have tried and uses the latest research in chemical engineering to make a strong and ready mixed adhesive that does not go off in the tube.

FRED'S TOP MOTIORISTS MONEYSAVING TIPS

1   Never renew you car insurance without getting a quote from another company.

This also applies to breakdown insurance and if you have been with the AA or RAC for years you should be able to negotiate a loyalty discount by ringing and saying you have been offered a better deal and might leave.

They don't offer this so it is up to you to ring and ask them.

If you dont ask - you dont get!

2 - know your car tyre pressures and keep them pumped up

If you are running your car with low tyre pressures then you will be using more fuel and possibly causing wear.

3 - Move tyres from front to rear wheel and visa versa.

Front tyres frequently wear at the edges due to steering scuffing whilst rear tyres do not.

By swapping your tyres around halfway through their lifecycle you will probably get more even wear and longer use from them.

For free expert advice - on buying tools, (on and off-line) mail me at
fred@fredshed.com  (please include tool name in subject header)

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