We’re all familiar with the usual ways of cleaning a car – shampoo, bucket and sponge to remove dirt, a shammy leather to dry and then the difficult application of polish to make the paint shine and wax to preserve it. But there are now other products on the market that produce better results for less effort.
Snowfoam
Snowfoams are powerful pre-cleaning products that provide the basis for a truly clean car. Best used with water guns or power washers, they generate a thick, clinging white foam (hence the name) that includes agents to soften dirt. Grime, road film and bird lime are lifted off the paintwork and into the foam, which can then be washed away.
Snowfoams have a relatively gentle action. They won’t power through hard deposits like tar spots, engrained dirt, grease and oil marks, stains or dried on bird lime. But neither will it disturb existing layers of wax or polish. A snowfoam removes superficial dirt so that a shampoo can get to work on the harder jobs.
Traffic Film Remover
In some ways Traffic Film Remover (TFR) is the opposite of Snowfoam, although it is also best used as a preparation treatment. TFRs are powerful chemical cleaners that dissolve deposits such as oil, tar, road salt and brake dust. These can become embedded in the surface of paints and become hard to remove from smooth surfaces.
The formulation of TFRs also means that they remove existing layers of wax, polish and other coatings. This is good preparation for a deep clean or detailing session, allowing you to get bodywork as clean and uncovered as possible before applying new protections. It’s important not to use TFRs too often or leave them sitting for too long, as they will degrade paint, plastics and rubber with time.
Waterless Wash
Sometimes you don’t want to do a decent, let alone a full, wash on your car. You may not have ready access to space or a hose (if you rely on on-street parking, for instance) or to just keep the car looking smart in between more thorough washing sessions.
An ideal product for cases like these are ‘waterless washes’, which are solutions of shampoo, solvents and waxes. They can be sprayed onto the bodywork, rubbed in with the cloth, and then, as it dries and leaves the wax elements behind, buffed to a shine. It won’t clean a truly dirty car, but will remove light grime, dust and fingerprints that cars pick up in daily use and will restore and maintain the waxy sheen.
Clay Bar
If waterless wash is perfect for quick refreshes of a car’s appearance, clay bars are the way to give a truly deep clean. These bars are made of malleable resin compound, which when rubbed over the paintwork (in tandem with a clay lubricant or detailing spray, which stops the clay from sticking) lifts engrained contaminants from the body of the paint. This includes things like brake dust, metal particles, paint flakes, tar spots and so on. Different grades of clay bar can be bought for different purposes – harsher bars will more aggressively lift deposits but may damage thin paint.
The soft abrasive action of the clay removes these from the paint and carries them away. It also removes the very top surface layers of the paint, which often oxidise and fade with time, thus leaving the paintwork looking more colorful and lustrous. It will also feel smoother to the touch, making it a better basis for the application of protective layers like wax or ceramic coat.
Ceramic Sealant
Speaking of which, if you’ve gone to the effort of making your car sparkle then you’ll want to make it stay that way as long as possible. Waxes and polishes degrade with time, but ceramic sealants can last for years. These products consist of ceramic compounds that bond with the texture of the paintwork and harden into a clear, hard layer. This layer shrugs off rain (producing a desirable and luxurious beading effect), bird lime, fingerprints, UV damage and light scratching. It also removes the need for wax and polish layers.
