a-kem automotive

soupz

RMS Regular
Messages
2,308
Location
Lisburn
Drives
Boxster S
Putting in an order for a few things here.

Glass cleaner - Clearview or HydraClean? Clearview seems simple enough and lots of good reviews on here, how do you apply the HydraClean - does it come with a spray nozzle? I've used Autoglym Fast Glass before and thought it was terrible, quite liked Auto Finesse Crystal and 50 Cal 20:20, but still haven't found one that I would say is great.

Scent - recommend Signature or Hybrid? (I've got Hybrid detailer in the basket but haven't used it before so none the wiser what it smells like)

CitraClean - again from reviews on here it seems great for a multitude of things. Your normal spray bottle OK for this?

Is it possible to purchase Product X yet? :grinning: I've a MINI Countryman here in some desperate need of tidying up!

Few other bits in the basket there too. All I need now is for it to stop being so damn cold!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ben

da.murf

RMS Regular
Messages
10,312
Drives
Nissan 350z
Putting in an order for a few things here.

Glass cleaner - Clearview or HydraClean? Clearview seems simple enough and lots of good reviews on here, how do you apply the HydraClean - does it come with a spray nozzle? I've used Autoglym Fast Glass before and thought it was terrible, quite liked Auto Finesse Crystal and 50 Cal 20:20, but still haven't found one that I would say is great.

Scent - recommend Signature or Hybrid? (I've got Hybrid detailer in the basket but haven't used it before so none the wiser what it smells like)

CitraClean - again from reviews on here it seems great for a multitude of things. Your normal spray bottle OK for this?

Is it possible to purchase Product X yet? :grinning: I've a MINI Countryman here in some desperate need of tidying up!

Few other bits in the basket there too. All I need now is for it to stop being so damn cold!
Clear view is the cleaner for inside and outside (i use it on house glass etc)

hydraclean is for exterior car glass and offers a hydrophobic coating for rain run off etc. Don’t use inside car etc. I spray onto glass and then wipe with glass cloth then buff off with mf cloth.

Personally I love signature scent more than hybrid scent inside car lol
 

Big Pimp

RMS Trader
OP
Big Pimp
Messages
14,826
Location
Downpatrick
Drives
like im late
Putting in an order for a few things here.

Glass cleaner - Clearview or HydraClean? Clearview seems simple enough and lots of good reviews on here, how do you apply the HydraClean - does it come with a spray nozzle? I've used Autoglym Fast Glass before and thought it was terrible, quite liked Auto Finesse Crystal and 50 Cal 20:20, but still haven't found one that I would say is great.

Scent - recommend Signature or Hybrid? (I've got Hybrid detailer in the basket but haven't used it before so none the wiser what it smells like)

CitraClean - again from reviews on here it seems great for a multitude of things. Your normal spray bottle OK for this?

Is it possible to purchase Product X yet? :grinning: I've a MINI Countryman here in some desperate need of tidying up!

Few other bits in the basket there too. All I need now is for it to stop being so damn cold!
Clearview is for inside and outside. HydraClean is exterior only and hydrophobic. It comes with a spray head. You can spray it on and rinse it off and its amazing. You can also spray it on and buff it off with a microfibre to clean the glass too, and its still as hydrophobic.

Scent is really personal preference. I love signature, but the hybrid is just like aftershave too and its lovely. I'd suggest if you have hybrid in your basket, to then go with the signature, as you can always get a hybrid one in the future, and you can buy refills only - make sure you keep the spray head!!

CitraClean is perfect for normal spray bottles (like my own ones!)

Product X is ready, but Shopify is being akward - I can only put in one commodity code, but there are 3 different items in it. Its purely for export reasons though, so I'm waiting on them coming back to me with a suggestion.

If its cold, I always have the super warm beanies too :joy:
 

svensktoppen

RMS Regular
Messages
32,749
Drives
FK2 CTR
Didn't realise you could rinse off HydraClean, always buffed it off with one of your amazing glass cloths. Does that mean it can be applied on a wet windscreen as well, or does it need to be dry?

@soupz : Whichever glass cleaner you go with, get the blue "diamond pattern" glass cleaning cloths, they're amazing! MF will do the job too, but those glass cloths are really good.

Personally I mainly use signature and grape for scents, but it's all just personal preference. There was a "sample kit" for a while, don't know if that's still available. If not, just get Signature to start with. The hybrid scent is exactly like the hybrid detailer. Grape is a bit like a sweet shop if that makes sense. Signature somewhere in between.
 

gingfto

RMS Regular
Messages
675
Location
Co.Antrim
Drives
CLS500 (5.5)
@Big Pimp sent you a pm the other day

As for shopify, had a similar problem in the past with our store; IIRC only way round I could find at the time was to create the individual component parts (hidden from sale) then use the bundles and display the kit. There was an app from shopify before for something like this I believe but they removed it :rolleyes:
 

gary1365

RMS Regular
Messages
10,196
Location
limavady
Drives
Great news
I didn't realise you could spray on and rinse off hydraclean. I always use it after I've washed the car anyway so I'll have to try that next time.
 

Walder

RMS Regular
Messages
3,224
Location
infinity and beyond !
Had a go with cleanse for the first time as it had to sit in the box for about 4 days and between work and work I never got near it.

But bravo @Big Pimp fantatsic product. Sprayed on and power washed off. You'll not sell many woollies with products like this

IMG_20210212_165531.jpg
 

Big Pimp

RMS Trader
OP
Big Pimp
Messages
14,826
Location
Downpatrick
Drives
like im late
Any tips to stop Hybrid leaving smears/haze on black paint?
use less than you think you need, keep flipping the towel over so you're buffing off with a clean side of the towel.

I've 2 black motors, and only time I got smearing was the using too much, or the same towel all the time
 

svensktoppen

RMS Regular
Messages
32,749
Drives
FK2 CTR
Yep, very little needed. One or two pulls on the trigger per panel basically.

I use two towels - one for applying, and a second dry one to buff straight after. Finish one panel at a time, don't let it dry. Just apply and buff.

Two black cars here :innocent:
 

jimc

RMS Regular
Messages
1,021
Location
work
Drives
caddy
Big Thanks to Ross , order placed Monday night delivered today, That's how to make your business stand out above the rest, oh and the products are great to use too.

looking forward to trying cleanse.
 

ShaunB

RMS Regular
Messages
2,318
Gave Cleanse a go this afternoon. The car hadn’t been washed in 8 weeks and was in a hell of a state. The pictures don’t show how dirty the wheels were. Mixed the Cleanse at 4:1in the supplied bottle.
Sprayed and left to dwell for 5 minutes

Then sprayed with some ultra foam and left for another 5 minutes


I am impressed with Cleanse, it works well without needing the get the wheel brushes out

I washed two cars yesterday and used cleanse for the very first first time.
Having read this, I suspect I know where I went wrong, I didn't leave cleanse to dwell and then apply foam on top.

I foamed both cars as normal, and hosed off after maybe 5 mins on each car.

I sprayed cleanse on the alloys on car 1, then on car 2 and after maybe 5 minutes or so, head back and power hosed car 1, then onto car 2.
I did notice it doing something on both cars almost immediately, especially the tyres.

I did have to use the wheel woolie on car 2 though, as after washing I could see brake dust residue on the alloys.
Now, I used it neat, filled the spray bottle, and used probably 90% of that bottle on the two cars.
Perhaps that wasn't enough, but at that rate it'll not last very long, so are you supposed to dilute it then?

Having seen the stat of your wheels, I guess the foam on top of cleanse made a big difference.
 

svensktoppen

RMS Regular
Messages
32,749
Drives
FK2 CTR
It won't be as effective on baked in brake dust as Purge, so if you do have that on the wheels then finish off with Purge.

But Cleanse removes all dirt, and pretty much all lose break dust deposits too. And is unreal for cleaning tyres. Plus much more cost effective than Purge.

So start with Cleanse. Apply it at the same time as Articulate or Citraclean on the rest of the car. Foam on top. Then powerhose the heck out of everything, lol.

After that, if there is still old baked in brake dust then spray on purge (do NOT let it dry!), work with a brush, and then powerhose.

I think you will find, over time, that if you clean the car regularly then Cleanse will do the job most of the time, with Purge only needed rarely.
 

ShaunB

RMS Regular
Messages
2,318
It won't be as effective on baked in brake dust as Purge, so if you do have that on the wheels then finish off with Purge.

But Cleanse removes all dirt, and pretty much all lose break dust deposits too. And is unreal for cleaning tyres. Plus much more cost effective than Purge.

So start with Cleanse. Apply it at the same time as Articulate or Citraclean on the rest of the car. Foam on top. Then powerhose the heck out of everything, lol.

After that, if there is still old baked in brake dust then spray on purge (do NOT let it dry!), work with a brush, and then powerhose.

I think you will find, over time, that if you clean the car regularly then Cleanse will do the job most of the time, with Purge only needed rarely.
thanks
Two final questions please if I may.
How long do you leave cleanse/ultrafoam on for?

Do you dilute cleanse yourself?
 

svensktoppen

RMS Regular
Messages
32,749
Drives
FK2 CTR
thanks
Two final questions please if I may.
How long do you leave cleanse/ultrafoam on for?

Do you dilute cleanse yourself?
Personally I don't dilute it. When just used for the wheels it doesn't need much so it's dirt cheap. And I'm lazy and leave it too long between washes. I know people who wash their cars more regularly get away with diluting it by a third, or even half. In summer it can probably be diluted as well if you wanted.

Anyone with coated wheels can probably get away with diluting it a bit as well. Unfortunately mine are not at the moment but they definitely will be, and soon!

Personally I leave it on as long as I dare. Basically you don't want any of this stuff to dry on the car. In winter it can sit for longer than in summer, but usually just a couple of minutes either way. I'm impatient too 😅
 

Big Pimp

RMS Trader
OP
Big Pimp
Messages
14,826
Location
Downpatrick
Drives
like im late
I washed two cars yesterday and used cleanse for the very first first time.
Having read this, I suspect I know where I went wrong, I didn't leave cleanse to dwell and then apply foam on top.

I foamed both cars as normal, and hosed off after maybe 5 mins on each car.

I sprayed cleanse on the alloys on car 1, then on car 2 and after maybe 5 minutes or so, head back and power hosed car 1, then onto car 2.
I did notice it doing something on both cars almost immediately, especially the tyres.

I did have to use the wheel woolie on car 2 though, as after washing I could see brake dust residue on the alloys.
Now, I used it neat, filled the spray bottle, and used probably 90% of that bottle on the two cars.
Perhaps that wasn't enough, but at that rate it'll not last very long, so are you supposed to dilute it then?

Having seen the stat of your wheels, I guess the foam on top of cleanse made a big difference.

Personally I don't dilute it. When just used for the wheels it doesn't need much so it's dirt cheap. And I'm lazy and leave it too long between washes. I know people who wash their cars more regularly get away with diluting it by a third, or even half. In summer it can probably be diluted as well if you wanted.

Anyone with coated wheels can probably get away with diluting it a bit as well. Unfortunately mine are not at the moment but they definitely will be, and soon!

Personally I leave it on as long as I dare. Basically you don't want any of this stuff to dry on the car. In winter it can sit for longer than in summer, but usually just a couple of minutes either way. I'm impatient too 😅

Cleanse is a non acid wheel cleaner. It is designed to clean wheels and tyres safely and more cost effectively than Purge.

Purge is a dedicated fallout remover, designed to get rid of the ingrained brake dust etc.

Cleanse is £19.95 for 5 litres, meaning your 750ml bottle which cleaned 2 sets of car wheels costs you <£3.00

I'd recommend it be used full strength the first couple of times you use it. If you choose to dilute it, and you clean your wheels regularly (every week at least) then I can see no harm in diluting it.

I personally don't, and thats not just because I have hundreds of litres of it - it's because it works so effectively and cheap.
a 750ml sprayer will do at least 4 or 5 sets of wheels, so I find it very economical. But then, my wheels are properly cleaned and easily maintained.

Spraying it on, allowing it to dwell and then foaming will keep it wet and active longer and again, is the preferred method.
 

Martyn

RMS Regular
Messages
4,392
@Big Pimp do you have any of the 1/4" quick release connectors for the snow foam guns?

Was going to order one but cant see the fitting in the drop down menu?

Thanks
 

Lappintyre

RMS Regular
Messages
8,540
Location
Co Armagh
Drives
Model Y / M3
Anyone got the correct instructions for tarminator? Says on the bottle to use carefully following the instructions... but has no instructions that I could see 8-|

Had a bit of a play with it yesterday, sprayed on and left for about 30s to 1 min, did loosen some tar off in fairness but wasn't sure whether to agitate or not.
 

svensktoppen

RMS Regular
Messages
32,749
Drives
FK2 CTR
I'd keep it away from plastic and rubber myself, it's a strong solvent.

Or just use Articulate or Citraclean, followed by a hand wash. Nothing much left after that.

Unless you've been through fresh tarmac or something, then just spot clean with tarminator after a normal wash. Amazing for cleaning off glue and lifting stickers too!
 
Top