# Autosmart



## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

I'm seeing an Autosmart rep next Tuesday as I need one of their Aromatek deodouriser units for a car I'm working on and I'm tempted to try a few of their their other products whilst I'm there. Is there anything that should definitely be in my list? My definites so far are:

Bio-Brisk/Brisk
Fallout remover (similar to the ABC system)
Glass glow

Products I'm intrigued to try are:

20/20
Dash dandy
Rubber dressing
Tyre dandy
Preptone
G101
Jelsol
...and maybe their abraisive polishes from the Restore pack.

I'm also going to enquire about their Smartfoam system.

Anybody got any comments (good or bad) about the products I've listed above (or indeed ones I haven't)?

Ben


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

Nice one tell us all how you get on. 

They sound interesting.


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## pugoman (Oct 27, 2005)

The 20/20 foaming glass cleaner is awful stuff. I threw mine in the bin after a couple of uses.


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

pugoman said:


> The 20/20 foaming glass cleaner is awful stuff. I threw mine in the bin after a couple of uses.


Excellent - I'll have to give it a go then! (Assuming I don't have to buy 12 cans of the stuff!) 

Ben


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## Peter D (Oct 26, 2005)

Ben, we tend to use a mixture of Autosmart and Concept at work, the valeting boys using all the usual bits - TFR, Brisk etc..
I got them to try Carnauba Gold (paste wax) - gives a nice slick finish, but I found it a PITA to use.(Don't know about the durability though)
Stardust Myriad (I think that's what it's called) is an all-purpose aerosol light polish - I use that for the odd stain on leather upholstery/water marks on washed wheels.(much like AG Instant Showshine) It says "ideal for showroom cars", but I've just got some Meguiar's Final Touch which works very well.
Cherry Glaze seems to work O.K. for a quick coat of wet(ish) look bling - better than Superglym IMO.
I can't remember what the white SRP-like polish is called - much the same IMO.


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## AndyC (Oct 25, 2005)

Ben,

£ for £ Brisk is amongst the best cleaners out there, esp on mats.

Dash Dandy is as I recall very high gloss unless they've changed the formula etc.

HTH


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

AndyC said:


> Dash Dandy is as I recall very high gloss unless they've changed the formula etc.


Well on their website it says it leaves a "natural" look. I'll chat to the rep about various things and see what he reckons. I'm sure I'm come away with a truck load of stuff though just out of curiosity!

Ben


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## binman (Dec 10, 2005)

BenP said:


> I'm seeing an Autosmart rep next Tuesday as I need one of their Aromatek deodouriser units for a car I'm working on and I'm tempted to try a few of their their other products whilst I'm there. Is there anything that should definitely be in my list? My definites so far are:
> 
> Bio-Brisk/Brisk
> Fallout remover (similar to the ABC system)
> ...


Ben 
I have used use the Autosmart foam system , and in my opinion this works effectively on certain cars. As with all foam systems , and I've tried at least 7 different companies, they are all quite similar. The way these systems work is as follows. If you have a foam gun , you simply fill it with the neat chemical solution and foam the car , foaming it from the bottom, foaming upwards to the roof. Let the foam dwell for a few minutes (roughly 3 or 4 minutes) do not let the chemical dry in !!!, then rinse from the bottom working upwards, then down again. Heavily soiled cars have to be rinsed thourougly beforehand. The down side using the foam systems is there is no one company who can clain their chemical can remove all off the soiling. These systems have seen an upsurgence in Scotland and I'm sure throughout the rest of the U.K, giving the customer a quick wash. One thing to watch using similar kinds of foam solutions is to make sure they don't discolour onodised chrome striping around windows etc. These chemicals can be quite strong Ph 13+ so I wouldn't recommend using them on single stage paints. They will also strip wax and certain sealants, ok if you are doing a prep thou on clearcoats.
Regarding your list : I am no way associated with Autosmart, but I use some of their products.
You wont be disapointed with G101, it's great for removing nicotine from plastics, headliners etc . Spray on and watch the nicotine run, YUCK.
If you dont mind petrolium distilates, Highstyle gives tyres and trim a nice wet look.
Platinum is a good cleaner wax , the revisied version can be used on glass also.
Cherry Glaze is a easy on and easy off glaze, also revised.
Try some of the TFR range, great for really dirty upholstery.
The non acidic wheel cleaner is excellant.

I have used many other Autosmart products, please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
Stu


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

Thanks for the imput Stu. I imagined that the foam system would be pretty potent. To be honest pH 13+ is a little too potent for me as I'd hate to ruin anything and I'd only ever be using it as a pre-wash on previoulsy undetailed cars, so from the sounds of it it may not be worth the expense for what I'd actually use it for.

Am definitely going to get some G101 and am going to ask the rep about TFRs. I'll also just have a poke around in his truck and se what I fancy!

Ben


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

*Got some stuff!*

Well I saw my local Autosmart rep today and didn't come home with as much as I anticipated because I wasn't expecting the Aromatek system to cost £240+VAT! Here's what I did get though:










I definitely needed the Aromatek so there was no getting out of that. The starter kit (£240+VAT) gets you the heater/vapour generator, three cartridges (10hr Neutrox, 4 hr Lemon and 4hr Orchard Fruits) and the bottle of Bio-Brisk. I'll be trying this out in the next couple of days so will let you know how it performs. One thing's for sure though, if it doesn't work, Autosmart are getting it back!

The Preptone is a whoop-ass solvent based cleaner. I got this because the Merc I'm working on would take 6-7 clay bars to get clean and I'm not prepared to use that many, so thought I'd give this a whirl instead. It's £18.05+VAT for 5 litres and is a spray on, let dwell, wipe off job.

"The Finishing Touch" is basically their Finish vinyl/rubber dressing but in a retail size. I didn't want to risk 5 litres of it in case it's crap. I was going to get Dash Dandy but my rep advised me that Finish, being water based, can be diluted to adjust the severity of the look it gives. Apparently it's satin as it is, but let's wait and see shall we?! Smells nice though! £3.99+VAT - I imagine considerably cheaper if you get it in trade sizes.

20/20 (£2.20+VAT) is a foaming glass cleaner which is apparently crap (according to pugoman anyway!) so I thought I'd give it a whirl for ****s and giggles!

Jelsol (£2.70+VAT) is an aerosol based solvent product, similar in nature to Preptone but is apparently much more effective on chewing gum. You spray it on and let it encapsulate the gum/glue for five minutes of so and then apparently just pick it off. Again, we'll see.

And last but not least, Tyre Dandy (£2.65+VAT) is their aerosol tyre cleaner/dresser. Spray on - walk away. My rep told me if I like the finish it gives to move over to their Highline dressing which gives the same look, but is applied with a brush. It works out much more economical than the Tyre Dandy.

I wanted to get their Glass Glow polish as apparently it doesn't dust or stain trim, but as the smallest size you can get is 5 litres I didn't risk it.

Will let you know how I get on with their products, but if these are good, I'm tempted to try many more of their products, even if I just use them on beater details I have to do.

Ben


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## AndyC (Oct 25, 2005)

Nice one mate - if Preptone is similar to Prepsol then be careful as Prepsol's what bodyshops use to prep panels prior to priming/painting and it's ****ing strong stuff - personally I've only used prepsol under my 205's arches prior to painting them.

And would it shift bonded contaminants as well as clay? given the state of that Merc you've got  I guess you're not too worried?


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

Well I gave the Preptone a go yesterday on a couple of panels and $hit the bed it's strong! I kid you not, only two seconds after spraying it on the panel the tar was running down it! Quick wipe with a MF and all gone! I was warned by the rep that it can damage soft plastics so I'm being careful with it, but so far I'm really impressed.

Could it replace clay? I honestly think so, although the car would have to be dry before you applied it. Nothing stands a chance with this stuff and I imagine I'll find some good uses for it - especially on the inside of my wheels to get the old weight adhesive off.

Need to try it on a less trashed car as well though. The Merc has so many stone chips on it that when you run your hand over the surface it's hard to tell whether you're feeling a chip of a bonded lump of crap. Will give it a go on mine when i get the time.

Have also tried the 20/20 and it's pretty good, although it didn't foam much so I'm not sure if I haven't got duff one.

Will keep you posted!

Ben


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## pugoman (Oct 27, 2005)

BenP said:


> Have also tried the 20/20 and it's pretty good, although it didn't foam much so I'm not sure if I haven't got duff one.


No, you haven't got a duff one - that's another reason why I didn't like the stuff. I found it evaporates too quickly, not leaving you enough time to work with it. I couldn't get consistent results with - one time I'd use it and it'd be ok, then the next time I use it I'd get loads of smears... certainly not a patch on Stoners IMO.

Any reason why you particularly wanted the Autosmart Aromatek unit? I noticed that Smarter World have a deodorising unit at a fraction of the cost, I'm nearly tempted to get one myself... http://www.smarterworld.co.uk/viewproductdetail.asp?id=152&Group=

BTW, if you ever want to buy a Smartool, I'll sell you mine for a very good price.


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

I got the Aromatek unit simply because I can now offer it as a branded service from the company. Sounds stupid, but if the business can now offer "Autosmart Aromatek odour neutralisation" rather than just "odour neutralisation", I can guarentee you more people will opt for it. Besides, it's only a one off cost and I've got it now. If it's crap, it's going straight back to Autosmart!

Ben


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## pugoman (Oct 27, 2005)

BenP said:


> I got the Aromatek unit simply because I can now offer it as a branded service from the company. Sounds stupid, but if the business can now offer "Autosmart Aromatek odour neutralisation" rather than just "odour neutralisation", I can guarentee you more people will opt for it.


Good idea in theory, but I reckon you'd have more success selling the service to people if it were made by Autoglym. Not sure if they do one though?


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

pugoman said:


> Good idea in theory, but I reckon you'd have more success selling the service to people if it were made by Autoglym. Not sure if they do one though?


 I couldn't agree more - but the Autosmart one is the only "branded" one I've come across. I may even ditch the "Autosmart" bit and just use the "Aromatek" bit. Also, in terms of refills etc, I have an Autosmart chap come to my neck of the woods every second Tuesday, so I can just get them off him, rather than having to second guess when a courier will turn up if I order from Smarter World.

Prochem do one, but it's even more expensive.

Ben


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## pugoman (Oct 27, 2005)

I'm certainly interested to hear how you get on with... keep us updated.


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

Well one thing I noticed about it is that it doesn't fog - it creates dry vapour. An instant benefit of this I can see is that it won't mark anythng. Fog by it's very nature is damp, so I can't help but feel you'd need to wipe everything on the inside over again once you'd finished treatement.

The Merc I'm working on had two hours of treatement today (one downside of the vapour over fog - it takes longer) so we'll have to see if it's actually done the trick.

Ben.


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## pugoman (Oct 27, 2005)

Ben, how have you been getting on with the Aromatek? Is it proving to be a worthwhile purchase yet?


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

pugoman said:


> Ben, how have you been getting on with the Aromatek? Is it proving to be a worthwhile purchase yet?


Yes it is! It may have cost £300 but after two hours in that Merc it cured the wet-dog issue. 10 days after treating the car the smell hadn't come back - it's now been sold and there haven't been any complaints about it returning from the purchaser either.

Other than that it's only been used once and that was in my kitchen after christmas to get rid of the cooking smells - and that worked as well just with the orchard fruits air freshner cartridge.

It definitely works that's for sure, but imagine it's only worthwhile to the "trade" rather than the private individual. Now I know it woks I'll be selling it as a service when I finally get my business up and running properly in the next few weeks.

Ben


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## extreme-detail (Nov 7, 2005)

hey ben i have 1 of these 
an idea for u drop off ur bizz cards at the local pet shops and kennals 
i`ve got family that own`s pet shops and kennals and i get loads of work from this way


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

xtreme-valet said:


> hey ben i have 1 of these
> an idea for u drop off ur bizz cards at the local pet shops and kennals
> i`ve got family that own`s pet shops and kennals and i get loads of work from this way


Great tip - I arrange to do that. Thanks.

Ben


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## k80 (Oct 26, 2005)

What do you guys charge for the Aromatek treatment? Would like to now how many jobs I need to get to pay for the unit.


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## BenP (Dec 2, 2005)

I'm not sure what I'm going to charge yet. The Aromatek starter kit cost me £240+VAT and that comprises the unit, one Neutrox cartridge (10hr), one lemon cartridge (4hr), one orchard fruits cartridge (4hr) and 500ml of Bio-Brisk. Replacement cartridges are about £35 for the Neutrox and £12 for the air freshener ones (that are also available in vanilla and leather).

That Merc took two hours of treatment so I imagine you can get at least five cars out of one Neutrox cartridge. As the air freshener is only designed to mask odours I imagine you'd only need to run it for an hour max in a car so assume four cars from one of those cartridges - although I have to say as an air freshener only, I can't see myself waiting for an hour - I'll just use a spray version on the mats and upholstery etc.

I was thinking that I could charge it out at maybe £35 on top of a full interior detail, which based on five cars per cartridge, gives an 80% ROI. It seems a lot, but I know this product works so have confidence in it - and what's the alternative to the client? They either put up with the smell or pay £35 (which all of a sudden seems pretty reasonable) to eliminate it. The stand alone air-freshener could be charged at £5-£10 per treatment, but this will be a lot harder to market than the Neutrox as it essentially doesn't do anything that a few puffs of Autofresh doesn't - and that's included in my detail pricing already. I'll have to give it a go in the girlfriend's car and see whether the scent lasts for more than a few days like Autofresh does.

These are just my initial thoughts on the matter, and obviously they are demographic dependent.

Ben


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## k80 (Oct 26, 2005)

Some good thoughts there Ben. It is something I would certanley consider in the future to add to my kit.


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## extreme-detail (Nov 7, 2005)

well for this to work u have to give the inside a real heavy going over
shampoo seats, carpets, under the seats ,roof linning, all trims
once the whole inside is cleaned and dryed off then i offer this treat ment on top of this service i put across to the client that they will have no problem whats over if there going to selling the car after this treatment
i charge an extra £50 for this service
i also go round the garage`s in the area and offer this to the used car sale`s once they have cleanded them self`s so i just pop in set it up and leave it to do its job 

ching ching


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## Sue J (Jan 26, 2006)

Hope you don't mind me posting guys - I am the marketing manager at Autosmart. I promise that I won't try and sell you anything but it is great to get your feedback on the products - we're going to take a look at 20:20 again following your comments. 


Glad to hear you're having success with the Aromatek Ben. Have you tried the leather fragrance yet - a lot of our customers are using it in prestige cars that they have valeted to put back the leather smell into the car. Psychologically, it helps makes customers think that a car has been well prepared. You might find that you can sell the deoderising service for more than £35, especially for cars with bad dog smells or cigarette odours - I know that there are people out there selling it for £50 plus but this could just be to people trying to sell the vehicles. 

Incidentally, you are correct that there is no fogging or ozone. The Aromatek is unique to Autosmart in the UK and works off natural aromatherapy oils. The machine heats the oils that then release a dry vapour that actually works to eliminate the smell. We were pretty sceptical ourselves at first but they really do work even on cars with bad cigar smells. You may need to play around with the time though - sometimes you need longer on a really foul car. The other benefit is that there is no mess and no risk of steam getting into the electrics (oops almost went into sales mode). Good luck with it. 

thank you for the feedback Sue


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## Sue J (Jan 26, 2006)

So sorry to be a pain but just read thread about Eurochem manufacturing our products. Have posted on this thread, but just to remove any doubt can I repeat here that Autosmart manufacture and research all our own products, here at our head office just outside Lichfield. Our formulations are confidential and if Eurochem are using the same product names and descriptions then it is an unfortunate coincidence. If anyone feels the need to see for themselves then they are always welcome!

Sorry again Sue in Marketing @ Autosmart


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## Admin (Oct 25, 2005)

Thanks for posting Sue, and welcome to the forum


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

thanks Sue , by the way you have a pm


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