Are you using supermarket shampoo and chamois to clean your car? Do you ever stop and think that maybe some quality products will pay for themselves with how good your car looks? That the more advanced formulas will be kinder to your paint and maybe even the planet too?
We’ve been thinking the same. Maybe spending a little more on your cleaning products will yield better results. To test this car washing theory we’re testing a range of products from 26JPN. Is a more premium brand of car cleaning products worth the money if it can clean an utterly filthy car?
In this article we’re putting the whole range to the test – read on for more information and find links to where you can purchase them below.
The test
Here’s the ultimate test, a mucky Jeep Wrangler that Richard Kilpatrick has just spent the day green laning in. It’s ripe with mud and other contaminants to clean. Surely if the 26JPN stuff can excel here, it’ll definitely be worth the price.
Cleaning the wheels
We have three wheel cleaning products to test, Fallout, Wheel Soap and Hydro Tyre. Fallout is a specialised alloy cleaner that’s designed to remove iron fallout and other embedded contaminants that regular cleaning usually cannot deal with. The Wheel Soap is a more generalised wheel cleaner, perfect for cleaning general grime and mud from the wheels. Finally, the Hydro Tyre is a tyre dressing that will make your tyres look great with a satin finish.
The first thing we tried was the 26JPN Fallout and it was astoundingly good. While it smelt atrocious it was incredibly effective on iron fallout and grime, cutting through the dirt with ease. The product turns purple when it reacts with the contaminants too, meaning you know it’s time to wash it off.
The wheel soap too was impressive but almost unnecessary after the Fallout. It’s a super-concentrated formula meaning you dilute it in a bucket, lather up your wheel brush and get to work cleaning the wheels. The soap smells a lot nicer than the Fallout and was very effective on any bits of dirt that remained and helped make the alloys look better than new.
The Fallout probably won’t be needed for every single wash you do, it’s an extra step during a deep clean. As such while we were blown away with its cleaning ability, the Wheel Soap will probably be more of an essential. One bottle will last for ages, it’s great on mud and smells very nice too.
The final step to cleaning the wheels was applying the Hydro Tyre. As the product ships without an applicator sponge, it is a little difficult to apply, especially to a tyre as large and knobbly as the ones fitted to the Jeep. Still, with a little ingenuity, the tyres soon looked pretty nice, coated in a nice satin finish.
Cleaning the bodywork
With the wheels looking factory fresh we moved on to the muddy bodywork. This is where you’ll notice the results most and we have three products to test as well as a 26JPN Wash Mitt and Detailing Brushes. We have Bug & Grime spray, an alkaline pre-wash for your car, Snow Foam and Shampoo.
The Bug & Grime Spray was never going to be the top performer in this test because its use is so limited. It was good for dislodging embedded insects and other deposits shampoo would otherwise miss, but a blast with snow foam would be just as useful.
Snow foaming is the coolest part of washing your car in my opinion and a good snow foam is important for getting the best results possible. It needs to be clingy and thick to ensure proper coverage and be effective on deposits. Thankfully the 26JPN Snow Foam was both of these things. It stuck to the paintwork easily and was nice and thick. We did adjust the dilution rate on account of the reduced pressure offered by the Worx power washer we used but it was still a very good option for snow foam.
After the snow foam had been washed away using water it was time to shampoo the car. The 26JPN Shampoo is incredibly concentrated so only a small amount of product was required. Added to a bucket of water it also gave us a chance to test out the wash mitt and detailing brushes. The shampoo lathered up well (a good sign), and we had no problems cleaning the car with it. It smelt good too and didn’t leave any residue either, all good signs.
The wash mitt and detailing brushes were also great additions here. Both were excellently made and supremely useful. The boar hair brushes were great for effectively cleaning smaller, more intricate areas like grilles and badges. They were soft enough not to damage the paint but still good for lifting the dirt. The wash mitt on the other hand was great for any washing task. The 700gsm microfibre means it lathers up really well and won’t risk scratching your car’s paintwork. The central split and cuffed hand also give excellent control.
The final part of any proper cleaning job should be to protect how good the car looks. Thankfully there were three products perfect for the job. The 26JPN Gloss QD is a quick detailer, designed to bring out a deeper gloss in the paintwork. Both the Hydro Coat and Crystal Coat are spray-on paint sealants, the Hydro offering hydrophobic protection, the Crystal a ceramic coating.
The Gloss QD was great for topping up small areas that could do with a little more shine. It’s very simple to apply, simply spray on and buff with a drying towel but the results are instant. The car was totally transformed, the paintwork looking richer and better.
The two other sprays were just as effective. Both are to be sprayed on and wiped immediately but apply good levels of protection for your car’s paintwork. Water beaded off the areas we applied the Hydro Coat, an excellent way to keep your car clean after washing it. The Crystal was a little harder to demonstrate but will offer long-term protection from debris and grime, as well as giving an even deeper gloss to the paintwork.
The verdict
The above image speaks for itself in how good the 26JPN products were. They may be rather expensive but they were expertly made and all performed the job they were designed to do perfectly.
We found the standout products to be the essentials, the Snow Foam, Shampoo and Wheel Soap, in particular, being excellent products. The same can be said for the wash mitt and detailing brushes.
The Fallout was excellent, but not as essential for a regular car wash, the same can be said for the Gloss QD and Hydro Tyre.
Individual product reviews
26JPN Fallout
Price: £10 | VIEW OFFER
The stand-out product from this test. We were astounded by how quickly and effectively it tore through the muck on the wheels and removed iron fallout. The product stuck well to the wheels and turned a nice purple when it was ready to be washed off. We didn’t try it on any bodywork but it can be used there too. Just avoid the horrible smell (rancid eggs) and you’ll be amazed too.
26JPN Wheel Soap
Price: £12 | VIEW OFFER
This super-concentrated wheel cleaner is very effective for cleaning away baked in dirt and mud, even if it’s not as dramatic as the Fallout. The super-concentrated formula means that it’s great value for money and smells a million times better than Fallout.
26JPN Hydro Tyre
Price: £18 | VIEW OFFER
Admittedly, the knobbly tyres of a Jeep Wrangler aren’t ideal for tyre shine. Still, the Hyrdo Tyre did help it scrub up well. A proper applicator would have helped it go on more evenly and it’d mainly suit lower-profiled tyres.
26JPN Bug & Grime
Price: £17.25 | VIEW OFFER
Not an essential by any stretch, this spray was alright for dislodging embedded insects and other debris but was no more effective than a good snow foam would be. It did at least smell nice.
26JPN Snow Foam
Price: £17 | VIEW OFFER
Everyone enjoys snow foaming their car and this was quite a good foam. It may not have been as thick as the Bilt Hamber example we tested, but it clung to the bodywork well and had a nice cherry scent when applied. It’s also super concentrated so should last a while.
26JPN Shampoo
Price: £8 | VIEW OFFER
A good shampoo should lather up well and be tough on mud. 26JPN’s shampoo did both well and was easy to wash off once applied. We also liked how concentrated it was. Even a small bottle should last you a long time.
26JPN Ultra-Soft Detail Brushes
Price: £19 | VIEW OFFER
We’re big fans of these detailing brushes from 26JPN. Well made and using no metal at all they’ll pose no scratch risk to your car and the soft boar hair will ensure that you’re able to lift mud and other deposits with ease. They’re also very easy to hold for long periods of time.
26JPN Microfibre Wash Mitt
Price: £9.94 (Currently unavailable) | VIEW OFFER
A wash mitt is the simplest upgrade you can do for washing your car and the 26JPN model is a good mitt. The 700gsm fibres are thick and absorbent meaning you get better lathering and no more scratches in your paintwork. The cuffed hand and central split give great control and an ergonomic fit. It’s also exceptionally well made.
26JPN Gloss QD
Price: £11 | VIEW OFFER
A simple spray-on detailer will always help bring out the extra shine in your car. All you’ll need to do is buff it a little and it’ll look fantastic. Obviously, it won’t last as long as a proper polish but it’s still good.
26JPN Hydro Coat
Price: £12 | VIEW OFFER
A simple spray-on detailer will always help bring out the extra shine in your car. All you’ll need to do is buff it a little and it’ll look fantastic. Obviously, it won’t last as long as a proper polish but it’s still good.
26JPN Crystal Coat
Price: £24 | VIEW OFFER
Ceramic coating is by far the best way to protect your car’s paintwork but a proper coating can be laborious and expensive. This simple spray and buff option may only last up to nine months but will protect your paintwork and is very good value for money too.
How we tested them:
We’re using our own cleaning guide as a basis for this test, meaning we followed the steps of starting with the wheels before moving onto the bodywork. All the cleaning products were provided by 26JPN but we used our own essentials, including a pressure cleaner, two buckets, a wheel brush and drying towels.
The Jeep Wrangler was selected because it was so dirty. We concluded that if the 26JPN products were good here, they’d be perfect for pretty much any other car, regardless of how dirty it was.
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