Best car cleaning products 2022: From waxes to cleaning kits | Evening Standard

2022-07-23 00:03:59 By : Ms. Tansy Feng

From car shampoos to detailing kits to waxes, we’ve picked the products that will help you make your ride gleam

e know you love your car. Of course you do. It takes you where you want to go, it’s your home from home and it looks great. Wait, what?

It looks a bit scruffy? Has lost its shine? You’re a little embarrassed that the second-most-expensive thing you’ve ever bought looks like it’s been driven through a mud puddle and left out in the rain? Have no fear! There are myriad ways to bring it back to the state it looked when you first drove it out of the showroom – or near enough.

From the inside out, you can clean, buff, shine, wax and polish your motor until it looks like it’s worth a mil. What’s that? It’s just an old jalopy? Well, don’t hang about – make it looks its best with these tried and tested products to give it a second youth (or at least a bit of a facelift).

As well as keeping your car looking buff, there are practical reasons for ensuring it’s clean and shiny. First up is that leaving debris - like soil, grease, grit and bird droppings - can permanently damage the paintwork and thus shorten lower the price when/if you come to sell it. Making sure your windscreen and windows are clear improves visibility, which is a safety issue. Plus, you’re more likely to notice if bits need maintenance or replacement if you go over your ride on a regular basis, which is why the AA recommends you wash your car every two weeks.

Of course, you can take your car to one of those automated car washes, but doing it by hand means you’ll get into all the nooks and crannies, wipe off any watermarks, and you’ll note any wear and tear.

The best time to wash your car is when it’s not too hot, so it doesn’t dry and leave streaks before you can wipe it down. Aim for a cool, dry day, or early morning or evening.

You can remove a lot of the dirt with plain water. If you have a pressure hose, all the better, but a regular garden one works fine. Start on the roof and work your way down. Next soap up with a special car wash, again starting at the top and working your way down so you don’t spread dirt where you’ve already cleaned. Wash off the cleaning agent before moving on to a new area to avoid leaving a soap residue. Finish by drying with a soft cloth or microfibre to give it a streak-free finish.

Clean the wheels with a brush or cloth, dry inside doors and the boot, and then finish with a wax or shiner. Not only will this give your car that professional-looking touch, but it will help to repel dirt, meaning your cruiser will look the biz for longer.

Best for: having one product that cleans everything

This bonza-sized car cleaner is pretty amazing and a little goes a long way. Follow the dilution instructions on the label before washing your car – or anything else – with it, but it will get the dirt and grease off like it’s no big deal.

You can use it on the outside, the inside, on paintwork, wheels, dashboards, windows, upholstery, carpets… Basically, just about anything, anywhere and not just car-related. It’s also pretty magic on one-off SUS (strange unidentifiable stains). For instance, we think it was lipstick that had somehow ended up on a door handle (no judgement, just saying) and it took it off in one clean swipe.

Best for: washing without water

The active ingredient in this car-cleaning solution is carnauba, a wax that comes from the leaves of a particular kind of palm that only grows in north-eastern Brazil. Also known as the ‘queen of waxes’, it will leave your car’s paintwork glossy and gleaming.

It’s a two-in-one product, doing away with the need to buy a car wash and wax separately. Another bonus if you’re a flat-dweller or can’t get your hose to reach the curb, this one’s a waterless concoction - so you can just wash, dry and buff with it. Pro-Kleen also comes in some tasty scents to suit your style; Bubble Gum Burst, Cherry Splash and Apple Explosion.

Best for: high-quality equipment that will last

Everything you need in one handy bag, this attractive car cleaning kit will take you from outside to inside, and from top to bottom. The instruments have been designed with quality and care for what the car lover will get the most use out of. There’s a soft wash mitt for soaping up; a mesh mitt for removing stuck-on chunky bits like bird poo; a generous towel for drying; two waffle-weave towels for streak-free windows; a wheel-cleaning brush; and two differently sized interior brushes for getting dust out of vents and awkward spots that can be used wet or dry. The mitts are a great way of really getting in there to clean and they won’t slip off, so you won’t end up with a dirty soapy hand.

Best for: a lot of products at a great price

With 15 tools in this car cleaning kit, you’ll have everything you could possibly need to clean every inch of your roadster. It comes with four microfibre cloths for drying and buffing, a wheel brush, a tyre brush, five differently sized detailing brushes to get into all the hard-to-reach spots of the interior, a wash mitt, two wax-applying pads and a storage bag to keep everything neatly together in one place. The brushes are made from boar hairs, so they’re stiff enough to do the work, but soft enough to never scratch. This is a well-priced kit of tools that have a high-quality finish.

Best for: a professional-looking finish

A carnauba-based car wax, which means it’s going to protect and polish like a boss, this easy-to-use product can be applied while your car is still wet after washing. That means you can save time by rubbing the car down just after. You can use it on paintwork, plastic, rubber and even glass. The kit comes with two microfibre cloths; one to apply the wax and one to buff afterwards. It’s pricier than some, but rightly popular and worth the extra ka-ching for the added badda-bing.

Best for: a truly magnificent shine

This car wax has been around for a long time – 88 years, to be exact. It’s probably endured because, though it requires a bit of elbow grease, it does buff up to a superior shine that protects as well as looks great. It’s a two-step product: apply with a cloth, let it dry a bit, then start your buffing and polishing. You’ll get a bit of a work-out, but the end result is a looks-like-new shine that will last. There are a lot of car enthusiasts out there who won’t use anything else.

Best for: when you don’t have time to wax

Want to look smart when you pull up to meet your pals but don’t have time to fit in a proper wax job beforehand? No worries. For that just-waxed look without the effort of actually waxing, this spray-on shine works a treat. For the best finish, wash your car first, let it semi-dry, then spray this on, working in sections. You’ll probably want to give it a quick buff, but you don’t actually have to and the shine lasts a few weeks. The price is right too. Avoid getting it on windows and glass, as it will leave some serious streaks, but it’s fine on bumpers and wheels, and will give those a shiny look as well.

There’s a pleasing cherry scent to this car wax, which is just as well, since it’s a pricey one, so you’ll want a few extras. However, it does give a satisfyingly high gloss sheen that’s almost second to none. You just add a bit of polishing and buffing with a microfibre, and the elements just bounce off. Try taking a look after a heavy rainfall and you’ll see how the water beads up. It all goes to show how much protection your paintwork is getting from the elements. With this kind of wax, UV and other harmful factors won’t have a chance to fade your car’s colour.

Best for: gifting the car connoisseur

One for the car-lover in your life (maybe that’s you?), this gift box is so cute you may just want to gaze at it. The seven 100ml bottles come in a sturdy presentation box that includes a Stjärnagloss air freshener for your car. The products include high gloss car wash, gloss-enhancing polish, trim and tyre dressing, tar and bug remover solution, glass cleaner, a spray sealant and a high gloss detailing spray. The idea is that you – or your gift recipient – will fall so in love with these products that you’ll be back to buy the full-size versions and they’re so nifty you probably will. Take the Pärla spray sealant, it provides up to five months of protection so that bugs and whatnot just bounce off your paintwork. Pretty impressive.

Best for: a lot of cleaning products at a good price

Packed with products at a sensible price, this kit comes with all the solutions you need to give your car a good going over and make it sparkle. The car wash leaves a shine behind so if you’re in a rush you can skip the waxing. However, there is a ceramic wax, which offers protection from UV rays and other environmental hazards. The wheel cleaner is effective and the dressing will bring up a smart, durable shine to the tyres. The glass cleaner didn’t leave behind streaks or smears. The kit includes a pack of handy microfibre clothes and the whole shebang comes in a storage bag, though you may have trouble fitting everything in.