I have had my black 2003 Audi A3 for almost 4 years now and while it still looks good when cleaned I have noticed many swirl marks appearing and many light scratches from idiots in car parks!
My previous cleaning strategy has been:
- Rinse the car with the hosepipe
- Wash each panel (starting with the roof working down) with a sponge and a single bucket
- Rinse each panel as I go
- Let it dry on it's own
- Polish it using micro fibre clothes and Autoglym polish
Almost bought an A5 last week but have seen some sense and have now decided to keep my car for a year or two. Figured I will spend a fraction of the cost of an A5 on making my car look a little better
Currently every panel is covered in various light scratches which I think can be sorted with a bit of work, but I have 3 slightly more concerning marks.
All three images should be clickable to very high resolution images! (5-6MB!), please excuse the excessive tree sap all over the car! Was forced to park under a tree the other night and haven't had chance to clean this yet.
Passenger door - appears something has been closed on and marked both the door and frame down to the metal!
Rear passenger side panel - no idea what caused this but again down to the metal and looks like it may be rusting!
Drivers door, two scratches crossing over each other, one deeper than the other. (will try re take this photo as seems more focused on the hedge)
I have set myself a budget of £300 for everything I need and starting to feel like this is too low! Especially if I am to fix the above marks.
Anyway after spending hours researching reviews into various products here is my current shopping list, hopefully in order of use to clean the car
Pressure washer - Nilfisk C120 £99.99 - can be found slightly cheaper but those additional accessories may make this useful for other things too! - from eBay
Snow foam - Auto Finesse Avalance 5L - found many positive reviews about this I figured the slightly extra cost could be worth it - £29.95 from Amazon
Lance - Autobrite lance - Everything I have read says buy a good one, still not 100% on this one really - £41.48 from Amazon
Wash mitt - Dodo Juice Tribble - Seems to have good reviews, should I buy two? - £12.50 from eBay
Shampoo - Dodo Juice Sour Power - So many mixed reviews on shampoos, any suggestions? - £7.49 from Bears wax factory
Buckets - ScrarchSheild 2 bucket set - Probably could get this cheaper! - £27.95 from eBay
Alloy cleaning - I currently use Autoglym Clean wheels and seems to work ok
Alloy brush - BWF Alloy brush - Any suggestions here? - £3.75 from Bears wax factory
Drying towel - Dodo Juice Orange 60x60cm - How many are needed to dry a car? - £12.95 from Bears wax factory
Meguiar's Clay kit - Still not sure on this, some say not to clay at all (Have also read some positives about 3M clay from eBay) - £20.70 from Amazon
Polish - I already have some Mer polish and some Autoglym super resin polish, do I need anything different?
Microfiber clothes - BWF branded - Was going to get a few of these, but would like some suggestions here - £0.89 each from Bears wax factory
Wax - Angelwax Dark Angel - £34.95 from Bears wax factory
Alloy sealant - Angelwax Bilberry - was this or the Poorboys alloy wheel sealant - £12.95 from Bears wax factory
Rain repellent - Angelwax H2Go - Seems to have a few good reviews - £4.95 from Bears wax factory
This comes in at £311.39 so slightly over budget!
Any suggestions would be welcome
My previous cleaning strategy has been:
- Rinse the car with the hosepipe
- Wash each panel (starting with the roof working down) with a sponge and a single bucket
- Rinse each panel as I go
- Let it dry on it's own
- Polish it using micro fibre clothes and Autoglym polish
Almost bought an A5 last week but have seen some sense and have now decided to keep my car for a year or two. Figured I will spend a fraction of the cost of an A5 on making my car look a little better
Currently every panel is covered in various light scratches which I think can be sorted with a bit of work, but I have 3 slightly more concerning marks.
All three images should be clickable to very high resolution images! (5-6MB!), please excuse the excessive tree sap all over the car! Was forced to park under a tree the other night and haven't had chance to clean this yet.
Passenger door - appears something has been closed on and marked both the door and frame down to the metal!
Rear passenger side panel - no idea what caused this but again down to the metal and looks like it may be rusting!
Drivers door, two scratches crossing over each other, one deeper than the other. (will try re take this photo as seems more focused on the hedge)
I have set myself a budget of £300 for everything I need and starting to feel like this is too low! Especially if I am to fix the above marks.
Anyway after spending hours researching reviews into various products here is my current shopping list, hopefully in order of use to clean the car
Pressure washer - Nilfisk C120 £99.99 - can be found slightly cheaper but those additional accessories may make this useful for other things too! - from eBay
Snow foam - Auto Finesse Avalance 5L - found many positive reviews about this I figured the slightly extra cost could be worth it - £29.95 from Amazon
Lance - Autobrite lance - Everything I have read says buy a good one, still not 100% on this one really - £41.48 from Amazon
Wash mitt - Dodo Juice Tribble - Seems to have good reviews, should I buy two? - £12.50 from eBay
Shampoo - Dodo Juice Sour Power - So many mixed reviews on shampoos, any suggestions? - £7.49 from Bears wax factory
Buckets - ScrarchSheild 2 bucket set - Probably could get this cheaper! - £27.95 from eBay
Alloy cleaning - I currently use Autoglym Clean wheels and seems to work ok
Alloy brush - BWF Alloy brush - Any suggestions here? - £3.75 from Bears wax factory
Drying towel - Dodo Juice Orange 60x60cm - How many are needed to dry a car? - £12.95 from Bears wax factory
Meguiar's Clay kit - Still not sure on this, some say not to clay at all (Have also read some positives about 3M clay from eBay) - £20.70 from Amazon
Polish - I already have some Mer polish and some Autoglym super resin polish, do I need anything different?
Microfiber clothes - BWF branded - Was going to get a few of these, but would like some suggestions here - £0.89 each from Bears wax factory
Wax - Angelwax Dark Angel - £34.95 from Bears wax factory
Alloy sealant - Angelwax Bilberry - was this or the Poorboys alloy wheel sealant - £12.95 from Bears wax factory
Rain repellent - Angelwax H2Go - Seems to have a few good reviews - £4.95 from Bears wax factory
This comes in at £311.39 so slightly over budget!
Any suggestions would be welcome