Review: BDClean.co.uk car detailing products

I was recently asked to review some car detailing products from BD Clean by my partner Becca over at her blog , & those that know me know I love a clean car! So I was delighted to get stuck in with the products they sent us, which included a non-acidic wheel cleaner, a rain repellent and a snow foam shampoo.

Utilising a well earned week off work, I checked the weather and decided it was time to get into the garage this morning and start the clean. Armed with tea I cracked on. I’d left the car for about a month to pick up a load of grime, dirt & grease too, so it really needed doing. This would be a good test. You can tell by the state of my seats after a recent tip run the car needed doing.

My usual products are typically from CarPlan or AutoGlym both for wheel cleaning and snow foam. At my end of the market with a relatively inexpensive car, they are effective and reasonably cheap. I do felt they left wanting somewhat but were known quantities, so I was keen to see what these new products from BD could do.

Cleaning a car is a skill, one you learn after many mistakes, so getting the right product is important and usually you end up building an inventory of cleaning products which suit your own particular car. I was nervous using products from a company I’ve never heard of before and potentially exposing my car to an inferior clean.  Either way and after my plain water pre-wash – I started with the snow foam and crossed my fingers.

You should note that all these products typically require self mixing and decanting into either a hand pressure washer, and the foam shampoo will need agitating with an snow foam lance & pressure washer combo’  so you should consider that before you buy the products as if you don’t have a pressure washer, you can expect pretty limited effectiveness. The rain repellent & the wheel cleaner however was provided with a spray nozzle so that helped.

The foam was great  – It was viscous and clung to the car really well. Compared to CarPlan’s Demon Shine which can be quite greasy, this was really nice. It lathered well and once washed off left a far superior shine than anything else I’ve used so far. (I’m a 3 out of 10 starter nerd when it comes to cars so I’ve only used a handful of products before) I was pretty happy regardless. So for the shampoo, at least 6 to 7 out of 10 as a product. It dry rubbed off well leaving no smears or swirls so I was impressed.

Nice!

The rain repellent isn’t something I’ve seen in action yet but I applied it to all my exterior windows following the instructions carefully. It went on well and didn’t smear. Once it rains (always likely in the UK) I’ll report back but for those who don’t know, a rain repellent encourages water to bead and fall down the glass helping to keep visibility to a maximum. I’ll let you know how that goes.

The wheel cleaner was the star though. You have to be really careful with strong wheel cleaners, some are often acidic and can tar & pit your alloys even though they cut through grease like a good un’. This wheel cleaner as you can see went on well, cut through the grease quickly and without even getting the sponge out you could tell the difference straight away. It was so good, I even saw my wheel balancing weights for the first time in the dish of the wheel, that’s how clean they were! Staggeringly good product and smells good enough to drink. 8 out of 10.

From a brand perspective, I have to say they look a bit micky mouse. The websites also difficult to use with products not matching the pictures but they do offer a range of product so with time, I’d expect to see things improve. The bottles are capped with a plastic insert protector which you have to remove first, and they are on so tight, you end up spilling a load as you pop off the cap, but these are all minor things I guess.

I get a feeling of immaturity at the minute ( I could be wrong ) in terms of product, but I can’t deny they worked well and I’d potentially use them as part of my standard cleaning kit.

Overall, 7/10 and you could definitely buy worse.

The finish result though, was superb and the pictures really don’t give the clean justice. Just ready for my wax and stage 1 paint correction polish, which I’ll cover in another review.