Our car is a typical family car. By this I mean it rarely gets cleaned. It tends to get left until it reaches a point of critical mass and the dirt and rubbish can no longer be ignored.
It was quite different when I was younger. I won’t tell you my cars were always pristine, but they were regularly vacuumed, rubbish was not allowed to build up and, from time to time, they were even waxed.
When life is a succession of short-hop car journeys, ferrying children to school, or pre-school and after school clubs, well you get a bit lax. It shouldn’t be this way, but I would be lying if I claimed the Adams family car looked like it had just been driven off the showroom forecourt.
At this point I have to say a big thank you to Halfords. “Come hither Mr Adams and try out the Turtle Wax products we sell as part of our car cleaning range.”
“My liege, I would be delighted.”
Needless to say, that was an approximation of a conversation I had with the guys at Halfords. Even so, I have never been so delighted to test out cleaning products.
Our car, you see, was in desperate need of a thorough clean. For instance, there was a large mark on the driver’s seat where a drink had been spilled, a sure sign that my family’s life never stands still. Here is a photo taken before I cleaned it up.
Here is an after shot, taken after I had used Turtle Wax Interior 1 spray which is meant for use on fabrics and uphosterly. It’s a foam cleaner that is very easy to use. Simply spray on to the fabric, rub it in using the brush that’s been supplied and leave for a few minutes before wiping off with a cloth. As you can see, the mark has been consigned to history.
Handprints had been smeared across the top of all the doors. This was an unexpected side-effect of being a father. Allow me to explain.
You go somewhere on a hot, sunny day and apply sun cream to your children. You get caught out without any way to wash your hands or wipes to clear away the excess. You clear off what you can, but some of it remains on your hands. When you close the car door it sticks to the bodywork and not even a pressure washer will remove it (trust me, I’ve tried).
I cleaned the hand prints off using Turtle Wax Waterless Wash. Watch the short video below to see how I got on with the Waterless Wash and other cleaning products.
The other thing I was very keen to have a go at removing was a scratch along the driver’s side of the car. I’ve never known a twig scratch a car’s paintwork before but that’s exactly what happened. I was very keen to remove it and Turtle Wax’s Renew Polish did a superb job.
The range is very large. It includes a Dash and Glass cleaner that I tried out to great effect on the hard, plastic interior to great effect. There is also a wheel cleaner and a Wax it Wet wax for anyone who likes their car to gleam.
I’m always a little suspect about such cleaning products. On this occasion, the Halfords Turtle Wax range has left me feeling very impressed and our car is in a much better state as a result. It all seems to work very well and the Renew Polish and Waterless Wash were particularly good. Items vary in price but to give you an idea the Interior 1 cleaner £5 and the Renew Polish £7.99.
I should also add the range is not limited to Turtle Wax. It includes a variety of other brands. All are available from Halford’s outlets or the Halford’s website.
Disclosure: Turtle Wax products provided for review purposes. Thoughts and opinions entirely my own.
