Daniel works as the in-house preparation specialist at a busy VW garage in the South of England. With a steady turn over of new and used car stock, plus a large number of service washes to carry out, Daniel often cleans up to 35 cars a week. Once a long working day is over, Daniel then heads out to look after his private clients, this guy just can't stop cleaning cars!
With that many cars passing under his wash mitts each week, Daniel knows a thing or two about which car care products are most valuable to him. He first picked up a bottle of Autoglym 30 years ago, and uses Autoglym every day at work. We asked him to tell our readers what his must have products are and why.
- Clean All Why: "This is a product that literally does what it says on the tin. This has many uses not just on vehicles. Tackles any task you give it. Can be used on the exterior as pre-wash, also great for interior cleaning including pedals and trims." Daniel's Top Tip: Not to be used on leather and avoid chrome trims on exterior.
- Coat-It / Polar Seal Why: "A fast and efficient way of putting a protection on the vehicle through a foam cannon. Great when the weather is raining to protect the vehicle. Gives a few weeks of protection and a great shine"
- Express Wax / Rapid Aqua Wax Why: "An underrated product which is a quick way to apply protection when in a hurry. Lasts well with a great shine"
- Instant Ceramic Coating / Rapid Ceramic Spray Why: "Quick and easy to apply to a car, just two squirts per panel. It is easy to buff off, provides great beading properties, a great shine and lasts well."
- UHD Wax Why: "One of the best waxes on the market that is easy to apply and remove with just a quarter turn of the puk in the pot required to cover most panels. Enhances the colour of the vehicle and has great longevity. The UHD Wax layer can be easily topped up during a maintenance wash using Coat-It / Polar Seal or Instant Ceramic Coating / Rapid Ceramic Spray."
- Liquid Clay / Magma Why: "These reactive products are great at removing iron fallout from the paintwork and wheels of vehicles with dramatic visible results. Quick and easy to apply, just squirt it on and watch the results happen in front of your eyes." Daniel's Top Tip: An essential step of the the decontamination process.
- Silicone Free Spray Why: "Great for dressing internal trims and exterior trims also engine bays after cleaning. Can be used in environments like body shops where silicone is not allowed to be used. Fantastic trim enhancement"
- Rapid Renovator and Rapid Renovator Plus Why: A pair of fantastic machine polishing compounds! As I work at a car dealership trading in new and pre-owned cars, I am often tasked with removing paintwork damage and keep as many cars as possible out of the spray booth. I use Rapid Renovator for light swirls and scratches as a one-step cut and refine process, which saves me a lot of time and effort. Rapid Renovator Plus is for the heavier swirls and scratches, and I also use it to remove marks put in during 2000-3000 wet sanding. It leaves leaves amazing results".
Daniel can be found hanging out in the Autoglym User Group on Facebook. Head over and say hi, show off your buffing skills, ask a question, contribute an answer or just get some inspiration. See you there soon!