Frequently Asked Questions
At Autosmart we get asked many technical questions regarding all aspects of vehicle cleaning. We have posted below some of the most common questions asked.

Q. I only want to buy one polish to do everything, which includes some cars whose paintwork has seen better days. Have you a product that will do all these?
A. Mirror Image, not only is it a high wax polish, it also has substantial cut for bringing old degraded paintwork up as good as new.


Q. I only want one polish for all the cars here. All our cars are under 3 years old and of high quality paintwork and I also want a product that protects them and last a long time.
A. Platinum, quick and easy to use, ideal for putting a gloss back onto cars, even those a few years old, provided the paintwork is of a reasonable quality.


Q. The silver seal on my car no longer beads water does this mean it has come off?
A. No. What happens is that debris, dirt and dust get washed down when it rains and this builds up on the surface of the paint. This changes the characteristics of the surface including the "surface tension" and this results in diminished water beading.


Q. Is TFR ok on stainless steel ?
A. Yes - any alkali product (TFRs) will be fine on stainless steel. (The alkali products are made in stainless vats). However, you need to ensure surface is stainless steel and not an aluminium alloy. Aluminiums can be damaged by alkalis.


Q. What is the best upholstery shampoo to use on heavy soiled interior.
A. If using a machine then Brisk Low Foam would be our recommended product. If cleaning manually then Brisk Extra. Bio Brisk is another option for both.


Q. Which products can be used on aluminium / aluminium alloy surfaces ?
A. In food accounts best/safest product is Non-caustic Sanitiser. For general TFR accounts then hazsafe would be the best bet. The absolute safest recommendation is a neutral product - which then requires manual cleaning (eg brushing) - if manual cleaning is acceptable then neutral products are the safest options.


Q. Can you use TFR through recycling equipment?
A. It depends - if the recycling equipment uses carbon filters it is important that the effluent reaching these filters has a pH less than approx. 9.5-9.0. If the chemical dilution is correctly set and the system has large enough separating tanks and these tanks are regularly cleaned out then the effluent stream will normally be below these pH levels for Hazsafe & Active XL. However it is not often that all these conditions are met and caution is advised. Neutral products are the safest for the filters, the safest TFR is Envirowash.