ValetPRO

ValetPRO Achilles Prep  500 ml – £9.20 / 5 litres – £46.00

As a paint preparation product, this stuff is truly excellent. It can be used as an ‘after claying’ product or on its own if you’re in a rush. We put only a small amount on a foam applicator pad and went over panels until we had covered a full car. The paint was in bad condition and the vehicle had not been washed properly or waxed in a long time and it had plenty of swirl marks and light scratches in the paintwork. After we’d removed the Achilles Prep from half of each panel we were astounded at the results. The paint went from a dull and lifeless look to a glossy and fresh-faced youth again. Nice. The lighter scratches were almost removed and the swirl marks were a lot less obvious. On a machine polisher, we think this stuff will be even better to use. It’s much like T-Cut, only better as it shines as it goes.

9/10 A little effort produces great results. Much like T-Cut, only better as it shines as it goes

Buy a sample bottle of Achilles Prep from our Sample Shop

Buy ValetPRO Achilles Prep (full size) from ValetPRO

ValetPRO

ValetPRO Poseidon’s Carnauba Wash  500 ml – £5.75 / 1 litre – £9.78 / 5 litres – £24.15

One of the very few car shampoo’s we’ve come across that actually produce proper beading after washing your vehicle. It cleans well, leaves a nice glossy finish and adds a good layer of protection onto your paintwork afterwards too. The finish is very much as if you’d waxed the vehicle and it will keep whatever wax or polish you have on already topped up nicely, making it last longer. They recommend 50 – 80 ml of Poseidon’s per 5 litres (1.3 Gallons U.S) of water. However, we found that by using warm water you could get away with using just 35 ml to that mixture instead, saving you a considerable amount of the product per wash.

9/10 A great car wash which genuinely waxes and protects in one go.

Buy a sample bottle of Poseidon’s Carnauba Wash from our Sample Shop

Buy a full size bottle of Poseidon’s Carnauba Wash from ValetPRO

CarPlan EcoCar Polish  500 ml – £5.87

We’re slightly confused here. Is this stuff a wax or polish? It contains Carnauba wax and Bee’s wax too so surely it’s a wax? Oh well, onwards. It’s Eco-friendly, but does that mean it’s not as good as other waxes (or polishes)? We found it was easy to apply and take off, however, on paintwork that had been neglected for a while it left marks and streaks which were difficult to remove. On good paintwork it left a bright polished finish, rather than a deeper waxed look. Endurance wasn’t very inspiring though as it only lasted between 2 and three weeks. The price may be cheap but as the endurance is rubbish you are better in the long run paying more and getting a longer lasting wax.

6/10 A cheap polish which works in line with the price.

Buy CarPlan EcoCar Polish from Amazon (UK)
Buy Car Wax or Polish from Amazon (USA)

An easy to use polish, Mer is good one to use if you’re in a bit of a rush. Apply it onto a damp microfibre cloth, wipe it over the panel and leave for 10 minutes to haze. Then remove. Easy. You can use it on a wet or dry car too which is pretty handy. We found that it left a fairly good shine, but there was no depth to it. It lasts for around 3-4 weeks on one coat. Using it on vehicles that haven’t been waxed or polished for a while means that streaks are left behind and are a bit of a pain to remove. It can also make a mess of and plastics it gets onto, as it leave a white residue behind, so avoid them.

7/10 An average, easy-to-use polish which is priced to suit.

Buy Mer Ultimate Car Polish from Amazon (UK)
Buy Car Wax or Polish from Amazon (USA)

ValetPRO

ValetPRO House Wax  500 ml – £9.20 / 5 litres – £46.00

A quick ‘n’ simple wax which gives good results without any fuss or hassle. Put a small amount onto a foam application pad or microfibre cloth, apply to the entire vehicle, leave until it’s hazed (it takes 1 – 2 minutes depending on the weather) and buff off. Using hardly any will still go a long way around the car and it left a good finish on both cars with good or poorer paintwork, working itself into it and producing a nice deep lustre. It contains the highest grade of Carnauba wax available and it shows too. For a quick and cheap wax it has very good durability and will last between 6 and 8 weeks depending on how you clean your car. Using a good quality shampoo should make it last longer.

8/10 A cheap and user-friendly wax. Quality ingredients shine through.

Buy a House Wax sample bottle from our Sample Shop

Buy a full size House Wax from ValetPRO

CarPlan Wonder Wheels Universal Wheel Cleaner  500 ml – £7.99 (spray and tub)

A good overall wheel cleaner, CarPlan has manufactured the product so that it’s safe for all types of wheels. So that means that you out there with the split rims, polished or chrome alloys etc can use it safely in the knowledge that it won’t damage your Dubs. We found that even baked-on brake dust and winter grime was still shifted fairly easily. CarPlan’s other Wonder Wheels product is quite a bit stronger and shifted deeply ingrained dirt better, but this is slightly more advantageous all-round product.

The ‘U’ comes in either a spray bottle or a tub, but both include a soft and fairly good quality wheel brush too, which is a bit of a bonus. To use, apply the Wonder Wheels ‘U’ to your alloys, leave for up to 1 minute to soak and then use the brush to push product in deeper into the grime. After that – rinse off well and maybe use a sponge or wash mitt and some shampoo to finish it off.

8/10 A good and ’safe’ all-round wheel cleaner which shifts baked on grime well.

Buy CarPlan Wonder Wheels (normal) from Amazon (UK)
Buy Wheels Cleaners from Amazon (USA)

ValetPRO

ValetPRO Carnauba Liquid Paste Wax  500 ml – £8.50 / 5 litres – £40.25

We found this really easy to use and it left the body work with a deep and glossy look to it. Even on older paintwork which hadn’t been looked after this wax still performed well and gave slightly faded paint a fresh lease of life. It can be applied and left as long as you want before removing, or you can even take it off just a minute after it’s been applied. We’d say that this is a good wax to use if you’re in a bit of a rush as it’s quick to apply and remove, lasts a good few weeks and leaves a nice finish. Another plus is that exterior plastics come up great when this wax is used on them. A very fair price means that this Carnauba Liquid Paste Wax should be one to look at buying for those of you that find waxing a chore.

8/10 Leaves a deep glossy finish, is well priced and easy to use

Buy a full size bottle of Carnauba Liquid Paste Wax from ValetPRO

ValetPRO

ValetPRO Artemis Wax Seal  100 ml – £17.95

A very good product indeed. We were impressed with the finish of this wax. It leaves a real crystal-clear sharp shine to the paintwork and looks extremely nice on coloured cars such (Reds/Yellows etc). The better the paintwork is on the vehicle the better the effect is. A well prepared car will accept this wax far better than one that hasn’t really been looked after. The wax really goes a long way and only a small amount is needed to cover a large panel. Application and removal is easy and non-fussy. This wax has exceptional durability and we saw a great shine months after we’d applied it. Washing your car regularly (with the right car wash product) will prolong the wax even further. The price may seem high but consider a little goes far and how durable this wax is soon eliminates any doubts about that.

9/10 A sparkling finish matched with great durability

Buy Artemis Wax Seal from ValetPRO

CarPlan Wonder Tyres  200ml – £4.75

Having tested this product thoroughly and to the instructions we came to the conclusion that it is truly rubbish. The best thing about it is the sponge applicator which makes it easier to apply the product neatly and with no excess. You gently squeeze the bottle and apply slight pressure to the sponge which has a release valve inside and allows the liquid to come out neatly. However, used as a tyre shine this really is appalling. Sure, it’s easily applied but that’s where the positives stop. It didn’t leave a very good shine and after using it for around 20 – 30 miles in the rain it had worn off. Even in sunny weather this product will only last a day or two at the most, and it did in fact, leave the tyres looking worse than originally. A real waste of time.

3/10 This product truly sucks and lasts virtually no time at all. Avoid.

Buy Tire Shine from Amazon (USA)
Buy CarPlan Tyre Shine from Amazon (UK)

Farécla

Farécla UniWax Wipes  3 wipes – £9.78

A good concept that has been carried out well by Farécla. You get 3 cloths in each container and the wipes will work up to 3 times each depending on how big your vehicle is. To use them you simply wash your car as usual and the use one of the wipes to dry your car down. At the same time as you are drying you’re also waxing the car. It’s really easy, the cloths leave no smears behind and they leave a really nice polished look to the bodywork even on a car that’s not been waxed or polished in a while. We’d use these in between waxing or polishing your car as it can save a lot of time and does leave a good finish. Water beads up well on the vehicle afterwards too and even when the wipe runs out of wax they still make a very good drying cloth and are well worth keeping.

7/10 An easy way of keeping your car looking good between waxing or polishing.

Buy Wax Wipes from Amazon (USA)
Buy Car Wax from Amazon (UK)