# Two most versatile products for any job?



## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

I have an absolutely filthy car that's been sat on my driveway for around 5 years. It's covered in all sorts and has algae growing on it. I don't have many cleaning products, and I certainly don't have any shampoo. I do have stardrops though. 

Now the question is, I'm going to buy one, maybe two additional products to clean this. What do I buy?

Said products will also be used on other cars in the household (exterior and interior). I'm no detailing junkie. 
Certain things I have read have led me to Koch chemie green star and bilt hamber surfex hd. Also meguiars wash plus as a one stop shampoo. 
I do have a pressure washer, but I don't have a snow foam gun - is that really necessary?

Many thanks.


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## ArGo (Nov 9, 2017)

Sorry to say, but I think you got lost in wrong forum. Here you will get comments that you will need minimum ×*n different chemicals to wash car from outside and same amount from inside 

Koch is good for prewash, spray that with for example 1:10 dilution rate and let sit and spray off. If limit is only 2nd product with that, I would say some shampoo. Doesn't matter what, Meguiars is good one. You car will be clean, but is missing the shine, so you need wax with these 2, for example spray wax from turtle.

Interior goes with green star also, but use much milder formula.


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## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

Ha. I was expecting to some extent a few comments like that 

Do I need a foam gun to spray green star? Could I wipe it on with a sponge/cloth? Do I need to wet the car first or is dry ok?

What's the most longest lasting wax sort of product I can use? Preferably I'd like a spray or liquid rather than a solid wax for ease of use. Please don't recommend outrageously priced products lol. 

I may tack a couple of extra products onto the list... 
First one would be a leather feed. Is this actually necessary after cleaning with green star?
The second would be a product for any rubber seals. My daily suffers from hardened window rubbers and I'd like to soften them up. I imagine the other car works be the same due to our sitting for 5 years.

And does stardrops still have any business being in my cleaning arsenal or should I bin it?


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## JU5T1N (Dec 7, 2019)

you could use stardrops as a prewash, for a heavily soiled car your want some shampoo with good cleaning power like garage therapy decon shampoo.
Pol-star would be safer for cleaning leather, liqui moly gummi-pflege works well for rubber seals.


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## ArGo (Nov 9, 2017)

You don't need foam gun for spraying the green star. I'm using it with one liter sprayer. Just make sure that that sprayer tolerates high PH levels. GS is around 11-12.

Foam gun you need if you get separate pre-wash like koch's GSF or bilt hambers auto foam. Those are meant to take biggest dirt away before hand wash with shampoo.

As mentioned pole star, it's for textile, alcantara and leather. Green star would go with plastic with low dilution rate, so you don't necessarily need separate cleaner for interior plastics.


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## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

Thanks. I'd rather stick with the least amount of products as possible, hence I'll use green star on the leather. Just needed to clear up if it's worth applying some sort of 'feed' product after?

Now the question lies in whether star drops is anywhere near as effective as green star?

From what I've read, green star is far more effective at removing contaminants than snow foam. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't snow foam been the source of contention for some time?

There seem to be a few gummi pflege products on the market. I notice autoglym does a rubber and vinyl care product. Is liqui moly the best or are they all pretty much the same?
I've read that silicone grease is good to use. But which is better?


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## GeeWhizRS (Nov 1, 2019)

fufuandrice said:


> From what I've read, green star is far more effective at removing contaminants than snow foam. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't snow foam been the source of contention for some time?


There is no spray on product available (as far as I am aware) that will allow you to do a contactless wash that will remove all surface dirt in the same way that a contact wash will.
A snow foam is a 'pre-wash' only - i.e. it shifts the outer crud only and the last rubbish you need to remove with your wash mitt in the contact wash phase.


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## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

Yes thanks, I do understand that, which is why I'll shampoo it with megs wash plus afterwards. If you read the first post you'd see that. 
Reading between the lines, the question was: is snow foam actually effective/useful?

Actually, ignore that question. Snow foam is a gimmick. I know I'll get better results with green star. 

So is there any point in having star drops?


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## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

The more I've been researching, the more it looks as though there's no need for greenstar - stardrops or other cheapo APC can do the same job. Unless someone can convince me otherwise?


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## Saladin (Nov 18, 2020)

Part of me thinks you should take this car to a car wash (blasphemy on here), any car wash. And then use that as your base for future products etc.

And I wouldn’t say snow foam is a gimmick but it’s important to limit expectations of it. It’ll loosen dirt and get rid of the top layer. It’ll make the wash stage easier and much safer.


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## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

You missed the part where I said the car has been sat for 5 years. I'm not paying someone to come and clean it either!

I'm absolutely certain that it's a gimmick. Bubbles mean jack all, it just looks good and makes people think it's doing a good job. When a product such as greenstar has been proven to remove considerably more material from a prewash, it kind of defeats the point of snow foam. I see no reason as to why any other APC would not perform as well as greenstar. Maybe I'll do a 50/50 test.

Moving on from that, I'm going to try Wurth Gummi pflege aerosol on the window rubbers. they say it doesn't contain any silicone. I thought about using the stick, it's cheaper, but I don't see how it would get into any gaps, especially between the window and the seals. Any thoughts?

https://eshop.wurth.co.uk/Product-c...pray/31083007030502.cyid/3108.cgid/en/GB/GBP/


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

Bilt hamber auto foam.
Valet pro snow foam.

Try those two.


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## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

Thanks, but it sounds like extra expense with no benefit. See the link below:

https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1419


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## garage_dweller (Apr 10, 2018)

fufuandrice said:


> You missed the part where I said the car has been sat for 5 years. I'm not paying someone to come and clean it either!
> 
> I'm absolutely certain that it's a gimmick. Bubbles mean jack all, it just looks good and makes people think it's doing a good job. When a product such as greenstar has been proven to remove considerably more material from a prewash, it kind of defeats the point of snow foam. I see no reason as to why any other APC would not perform as well as greenstar. Maybe I'll do a 50/50 test.
> 
> ...


I use surfex hd as a pre wash then autofaom, after using these products the car is 95% clean. If you think it's a gimmick then that's fine, but you haven't used the products.

Why not just use stardrops, then washing up liquid, they'll do the job.

It does appear as though you're just trying to start an argument though, like you did the last time you asked the same question.

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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

What was the paint like before sitting for 5 yrs? 

If virtually spotless and swirl free then what you do to it is going to be different to if it had spent its life being washed with a sweeping brush and old t shirt. 

If the latter then as suggested, get it to a car wash or get fairy liquid on it and go from there, see what you're playing with then. 

Surfex and Born to be Mild shampoo should be a good start though.


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

So green star then.


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## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

garage_dweller said:


> It does appear as though you're just trying to start an argument though, like you did the last time you asked the same question.


A discussion. There's a difference.

It seems that many people will buy products based on marketing. The link I provided shows irrefutable evidence that snow foam does almost nothing, yet people still recommend it after I tell them that I'm not interested.



Darlofan said:


> What was the paint like before sitting for 5 yrs?
> 
> If virtually spotless and swirl free then what you do to it is going to be different to if it had spent its life being washed with a sweeping brush and old t shirt.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I'll stick with star drops and perhaps give it a shampoo with megs wash plus if there's anything left.

Is there an APC or shampoo that has corrosion inhibitors within it?

I'm still after suggestions on a long lasting protectant. Whether it's wax or glaze or some other coating doesn't matter, as long as it protects for as long as possible. I'd rather a liquid product as they seem quicker to apply, but I'm open to ideas.


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## noorth (Jul 10, 2019)

Carpro lite or gyeon cancoat. LSP. More contenders now on the market though. IGL just came out with a single layer coating. People say some of the wolfgang spray coatings lasts close to a year has well. Not sure about blackfire. You can get, easy to use, 1 year protection with maintenance at any rate.

No you don't need foam to clean a car. I tend to agree its a lot of hype if you want to call it that. Its not overly cost effective at cleaning but its fun and it adds a lot of lubrication. Going forward i was going to experiment with using the foam and hand washing while the foam is still there. I have done it before. Always depends on how dirty the car is.


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

I found auto foam good in a sprayer at 4%.

Also have the autosmart xls to try. Aparantly more ml per bottle though. Think 100 or 200ml.


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## noorth (Jul 10, 2019)

Imprezaworks said:


> I found auto foam good in a sprayer at 4%.
> 
> Also have the autosmart xls to try. Aparantly more ml per bottle though. Think 100 or 200ml.


I think pump sprayers make the most sense. Especially for dirty cars. Foaming a dirty car using a pressure washer with a 10 percent per volume solution of car shampoo/water isn't going to do much. 10% per volume in a pump sprayer will be much stronger of course.


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## spyk3d (Nov 25, 2007)

I don’t understand the need for this thread. You’ve asked for recommendations and then shot them all down. Star drops is an APC the likes of GS or Surfex HD, heck you can even get 5l of the Flash APC from Costco if you so choose to.

The cars been sat for 5 years with algae forming on it so APC, a shampoo then if you like cheap and cheerful and not too many products then I would suggest looking at the new turtle wax line of products or even Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer. I wouldn’t want to sit inside without cleaning it with some sort of biocide such as Autosmart Biobrisk to make sure I have killed any mould spores that might have formed from the car being sat.

Why the need now to clean it after 5 years? Are you selling it? Intending to drive it? These will all factor on how much you should spend on it in terms of cleaning and protection.

No shampoo has corrosion inhibitors as far as I am aware.


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

noorth said:


> I think pump sprayers make the most sense. Especially for dirty cars. Foaming a dirty car using a pressure washer with a 10 percent per volume solution of car shampoo/water isn't going to do much. 10% per volume in a pump sprayer will be much stronger of course.


Do prefer a 1 litre sprayer but obviously takes longer. Snow foam is fun if nothing else.


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## fufuandrice (Feb 26, 2011)

I continue to research, hence why I may shoot down others' suggestions. I base my conclusions on facts and evidence, and I don't take anyones word for anything. Not online or in real life. 

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out. 

No I just want to protect the paint whilst the car sits on my driveway. It's going to continue sitting there for a couple of years.


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

What's the car?


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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

You need a product that cleans deeply and I'd say you'd need an All in One polish product to chemically clean, lightly polish, fill and do some protection. With just 2 products, those 2 types will give you the most bang for buck.

For the product to clean, I doubt that the car needs to be looked after hugely well so using Surfex would be my choice. It will pre clean everything and can be diluted up or down for pretty much every cleaning job you need.

AIO - Bilt Hamber Cleanser Polish.


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## noorth (Jul 10, 2019)

roscopervis said:


> You need a product that cleans deeply and I'd say you'd need an All in One polish product to chemically clean, lightly polish, fill and do some protection. With just 2 products, those 2 types will give you the most bang for buck.
> 
> For the product to clean, I doubt that the car needs to be looked after hugely well so using Surfex would be my choice. It will pre clean everything and can be diluted up or down for pretty much every cleaning job you need.
> 
> AIO - Bilt Hamber Cleanser Polish.


touche. Use lots of towels and/or pads too.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

fufuandrice said:


> The link I provided shows irrefutable evidence that snow foam does almost nothing, yet people still recommend it after I tell them that I'm not interested.


What about this which shows snowfoam does help clean, and leaves your protection in tact






Or this one


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

I have that aio polish and find it great.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Also, why only 2 products?

Budget? Eco Friendly? Or just your favourite number?

Sure, we can go OTT and have "too many", but only 2 products is a bit limiting....

The basics at the least would be
- a cleaner of some sort for the bodywork (shampoo/APC/whatever),
- window cleaner

There done.... But is that good enough? What about iron and tar? What about protection? (or maybe you don't care - which is fine).... What about upholstery cleaning or leather cleaning? Do you want to nourish and protect the leather? Do you want to protect any fabric from spills?

If none of that matters and you just want the dirt gone, then throw some of your stardrops in a bucket, add some water, grab a sponge and go at it.

No-one here will change your mind, or convince you otherwise.


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## BrummyPete (Jun 10, 2010)

fufuandrice said:


> I continue to research, hence why I may shoot down others' suggestions. I base my conclusions on facts and evidence, and I don't take anyones word for anything. Not online or in real life.
> 
> Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out.
> 
> No I just want to protect the paint whilst the car sits on my driveway. It's going to continue sitting there for a couple of years.


Where are you going to get your facts and evidence from then if you don't trust a word from the real world or the Internet


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

fufuandrice said:


> I continue to research, hence why I may shoot down others' suggestions. I base my conclusions on facts and evidence, and I don't take anyones word for anything. Not online or in real life.
> 
> Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out.
> 
> No I just want to protect the paint whilst the car sits on my driveway. It's going to continue sitting there for a couple of years.


Collinite 476 then. Easy to apply, lasts months even when washed so should protect it fine. Unless you have a video saying otherwise!


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## muzzer (Feb 13, 2011)

Can we play nicely please, i really don't want to have to lock this but it is getting to that stage.


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## Bilt-Hamber Lab (Apr 11, 2008)

fufuandrice said:


> Thanks, but it sounds like extra expense with no benefit. See the link below:
> 
> https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1419


Auto-foam needs to be applied at 4% at the panel to get efficient cleaning - the instructions to get this are well-known and need to be followed. In that test the German material was applied at 10%. Compare like for like if one is then going to publish results and make claims that a product does little more than water, if not that could lead to a problem as it demonstrably false.


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## noorth (Jul 10, 2019)

Love to try Auto-foam, seems to be a stand out with regards to cleaning power for foaming and rinsing.


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

for now, buy a garden pump sprayer (£15) and make a strong mix of stardrops and warm water.

spray all over - wait 5 mins then rinse off with hosepipe.

repeat several times.

buy a pair of marigold gloves (£2) (yes really) and use a weak mix of stardrops in proper hot water for the car interior, making sure to really wring the cloth / sponge out before use, so you don't get the interior too wet.

Then the car should look a lot better inside and out and you can decide how to proceed further. 

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## suds (Apr 27, 2012)

Old Skool - water and carbolic soap is all you need mate.


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## Tykebike (Mar 27, 2016)

BrummyPete said:


> Where are you going to get your facts and evidence from then if you don't trust a word from the real world or the Internet


These phrases spring to mind: "Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not."
"There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

noorth said:


> Love to try Auto-foam, seems to be a stand out with regards to cleaning power for foaming and rinsing.


On certain sites its 16.95 for 5 litres. Some offer free shopping on 25 and over.

That and shampoo job done.


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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

Imprezaworks said:


> On certain sites its 16.95 for 5 litres. Some offer free shopping on 25 and over.
> 
> That and shampoo job done.


He's over the pond so it is pretty expensive.

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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

noorth said:


> touche. Use lots of towels and/or pads too.


Touché indeed! Surely everyone will need those!

I find it funny that everyone is recommending a strong protection product straight after washing. It doesn't make much sense to me, it's like trying to play 18 holes of golf with only driver and a putter. Much better off with the bag of irons (AIO) to get the ball close to the hole. Then any club will probably get it in.

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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

roscopervis said:


> Touché indeed! Surely everyone will need those!
> 
> I find it funny that everyone is recommending a strong protection product straight after washing. It doesn't make much sense to me, it's like trying to play 18 holes of golf with only driver and a putter. Much better off with the bag of irons (AIO) to get the ball close to the hole. Then any club will probably get it in.
> 
> Sent from my LYA-L29 using Tapatalk


Indeed and after the initial clean, the OP could do a lot worse than source some SRP for further cleaning + short term protection.

It would leave a surface then suitable for waxing if desired.

That's what I would do if the car is currently as bad as described.

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## spyk3d (Nov 25, 2007)

It seems that you asked all these questions back in 2018 and little seems to have changed. So I will respectfully ask you revisit that thread were the answers still remain the same to this day.

https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=405960


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

Maybe in 2024 another thread will start.


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## ArGo (Nov 9, 2017)

Imprezaworks said:


> Maybe in 2024 another thread will start.


And the car has been sitting there 8 years in that moment


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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

GleemSpray said:


> Indeed and after the initial clean, the OP could do a lot worse than source some SRP for further cleaning + short term protection.
> 
> It would leave a surface then suitable for waxing if desired.
> 
> ...


I suggested Bilt Hamber Cleanser Polish, though SRP is a well proven alternative. I find that The Cleanser Polish has a touch more bite and abrasives. It's more like SRP used to be before the formula change, whilst keeping pretty good protection levels.


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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

spyk3d said:


> It seems that you asked all these questions back in 2018 and little seems to have changed. So I will respectfully ask you revisit that thread were the answers still remain the same to this day.
> 
> https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=405960


Trolio pedair blynedd.:tumbleweed:


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## suds (Apr 27, 2012)

Rinsiwch a ailadrodd. :detailer:


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## suds (Apr 27, 2012)

Prynu fy cwyr os gwelwch yn dda :thumb:


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

roscopervis said:


> I suggested Bilt Hamber Cleanser Polish, though SRP is a well proven alternative. I find that The Cleanser Polish has a touch more bite and abrasives. It's more like SRP used to be before the formula change, whilst keeping pretty good protection levels.


yes indeed BH Cleanser Polish is a fine product - my suggestion of SRP was in line with the original criteria of cheeeeeep 

I would happily accept the challenge of doing a "wow thats better than i expected" job on a filthy car using only a garden pump sprayer, stardrops (or household apc) , and good ole SRP.

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