I have owned cars all my life from the 3 wheeled BMW Issetta bubble car, to my now Mercedes 'A' Class and I think used almost every polish I can think of even Simonize wax which is an excellent polish but really hard work not only to apply to the vehicle but even harder to remove and achieve the shine required.

Having made that claim please bear in mind that I worked for the 'Roots Group' of car retailers in the sixties, valleting new and used as well as customers cars on a daily basis.
That's why when I was first saw the demonstration for 'Proshine, Spray & Shine' I was highly sceptical and couldn't really believe it worked as was demonstrated.

There was of course only one way to find out, and yes true to their word it works and boy what a shine, it is so easy to apply with just a clean cloth and just as easy to remove the polish leaving a deep lustre on the surface paint work and the shine unlike some finishes does last. And effort required to polish the car? Well using spay & shine , still well within my capability.







The other really interesting point is that you can polish straight over windows and plastic and the are no white stains or remnant polish marks left, everything just looks clean and polished including windows and plastic on which you would normally expect to have to use other cleaning products.
I would however make the point that I prefer and always wash or pressure wash my car before polishing, this ensure that there are no fine grit/dust particles adhering the car which if picked up by the polishing cloth will scratch your paintwork.

I know this rather undermines some of the advantages of the 'Spray & Shine method of polishing but that's my choice, 'Old habits die hard' and I'm not likely to change now.
Although having said that, I have made the change to always using my 'Spray & shine' on not just my Mercedes-Benz 'A' Class but the Wife's Mercedes/Smart' car as well and when I've completed I must say, the both look Smart, and take much less time to complete than with other polishes.

and of course the real test is how it protects the car from the environmental conditions, in this case it's very obvious by the the car's paintwork is well protected.
Having said that don't forget to wash the underside of your car following the winter months, the highways and local authorities have been using not just Rock-Salt but the by-product of Table-Salt on our roads, that certainly won't do any of the coponents, metal brake pipes etc any good at all!






I don't however use 'spray & shine' on the front or rear screens because 'Net parts' sell another product called 'Rain Away' Again the performance of this is outstanding the windscreen remaining clearer for longer than normal and the beads of water simply run off the screen, putting the wipers on to the slowest setting is generally adequate to do the job even when encountering heavy showers and as far as I have witnessed reduces or eliminates the judder sometimes experienced when the screen needs a good clean, in all the wipers are smother as they sweep the screen of any remaining water.




No Fog
In light of the problems experienced by many owners including myself where the inside of the windscreen suddenly and without warning fogs up, albeit we know it is connected to turning the heater ON.

I have asked 'Netparts ' about de-misting products, they do sell a product called:- 'No Fog' which is normally sold in a twin pack along with the Rain-Away, so we will be trialing this in the coming weeks, although this problem is experienced by A class owners it is more of a problem in the 'Smart' car, so the results of a trial will be interesting.

And the results of the trial?
We have received the FOG-AWAY and I tried it on the bathroom mirror and my Glasses, which at this time of year fog up every time I come into the warm house from the cold, and the outcome is great no more having to remove them and clean, one coating of the FOG-AWAY and they are staying clear.
I can now report that following use of both cars, a truly massive improvement with no misting at all, makes me wonder why we haven't invested in something like this before. But like most things it gets forgotten until the next time it happens.

Now we have a small bottle in each car, so we shouldn't get caught out. If you would like to try this product for yourself, there is a link below which will take direct to the item at 'Netparts' Also please read to the bottom of the page to obtain your 10%


So that's taken care of the outside of the car itself, although I'm aware this Company do sell other products for car interior cleaning etc I have not so far have not used them.

But what about the other important bit? The engine.
Well again anybody who knows anything about engines will understand the tremendous part lubrication plays in reducing wear on the moving parts, and will appreciate that when then engine is going slow or you have stopped in traffic, that's the very time when you need to keep the parts of the engine well lubricated, as they obviously get hotter and yet the oil pump is slowed down with the speed of the engine reducing the oil pressure at the very time you need it most.




When I saw the demonstration on T.V. of the 'Greased Lighting Engine Treatment' which is simply added to the engine oil, I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and as they say 'seeing is believing' the oil simply seemed to adhere to the moving parts of the engine, chains gears etc.
In this instance I had no hesitation in purchasing the 'Instant Engine treatment' the demonstration was sufficient to convince me.

A very interesting aspect of this is that I own a Mercedes 'A' Class, this car is known for producing considerable deposits of 'emulsion' some times call mayonnaise, because of its texture and colour, a frothy oil water mixture that can clog the crankcase breather pipes and also shows itself in the long filler neck of the oil filler tube, this is known to be caused by condensation, the engine not getting fully warmed up when used and yet hundreds of thousands of cars are used daily just for the school or shopping run, the engine never reaching is optimum operating temperature.

Using the greased Lighting Engine treatment every 10000 miles when I change the engine oil and I have no such problems.
If by chance you still get your vehicle serviced by a garage ask them to only put 4 litres of oil into your car on the service, then you will have room to add the 'Instant Engine treatment' which consists of 236 ml, you will need to purchase a One litre container of the same oil as used by the garage to top up the oil, a further 214 ml being required to reach the maximum fill level. DO NOT OVER FILL or you will get a HI warning displaying on the instrument cluster. And contrary to popular belief this is the car's oil level sensor telling you the oil level is high, not the car saying hello as you turn the ignition on!!




The 'A' Class like many modern cars also has fuel injection system. The fuel filter on the car costs in excess of £50.00 and that's without the cost of fitting.
I have used 'Greased Lighting Concentrated Fuel Treatment' for at least the last 5 years putting it into the tank of petrol once a year.
I have had no problems with fuel pump or fuel filter on my car but am aware of many owners with the same car that have.

I have been asked via my site on many occasions do I need to use fuel treatment.
My answer to that would be it's good practice, also if you look at the list of items on your Mercedes-Benz Parts used when your car is serviced, you will almost certainly find fuel system cleaner.

This will not be a Mercedes Product, Mercedes do not have the own fuel system cleaner, it will be a product chosen by the garage you are using, for which you will pay top prices not knowing what the qualities of the product used are.
Mercedes-Benz handbooks clearly say not to use additives?
However when questioned the Service department of my branch said they did not consider fuel system cleaner to be an additive and that it was essential to ensure the injection system remained in a clean condition and that they use it in all cars taken to the garage for service.
If this is the case then why not use the one you know works!
Oh and if you get your car serviced by the garage tell them you you do not want fuel cleaner put into your car as its already been done!
And to day you can purchase both the Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner and the Engine Treatment for on only £4 more than I paid in 2002 for just a fuel system cleaner on my service bill, and you have the advantage of knowing what has been put into my engine and fuel tank.

Now I can almost envisage you being sceptical of my comments, well I do have the proof and would invite you to look at the evidence, simply log onto my web site: - http://www.aclassinfo.co.uk where you will see 183000 plus readers 01/02/09 have already beaten you to it.
Look at page 12, the evidence is there.
Burnt out fuel pumps, caused by blocked fuel filters, using the 'Greased lighting Concentrated Fuel Treatment' and of course buying fuel from a reputable retailer as well as changing the fuel filter at the prescribed time/mileage periods has avoided such defects.

I'm pleased to say my car performs as well now as it did when I first purchased it over six years ago and I honestly believe it's in part down to the products above which I continue to invest in because I believe and know they do work.
That along with the fact that my car 8 years old in February, passed it MOT with flying colours, it now having just under 13 months valid MOT, confirms to me that the products and the way I maintain the car is the correct one. I will therefore continue to use the products I currently do.
Having just placed an order and received it, delivered to my door by courier in 3 days (order on the 29th January delivered am on the 29th January 2009) I now have my items required for a further years motoring, along with another product to try




'Instant Windshield Washer Tablets' 5 tablets in a small cylindrical container each tablet making up to one gallon of screen wash.
My initial reaction is good, I simply dropped one tablet into the half filled screen wash reservoir of clean water (don't mix fluids) where it quickly dissolved. I then topped the washer reservoir up with water to the max level. So much more convenient when you on holiday and yet still need to fill the reservoir, the tablets I can be carry in the car and they take up no room at all and they are a lot cheaper and more convenient than the bottles of washer fluid I have previously purchased from Mercedes-Benz parts.

It's also interesting to note that the tablet fully dissolved, leaving no residue to block your washer jets.
And the tablets give the water in the washer reservoir a deep blue colour so you can see the washer water level easily, remember a car fitted with a windscreen washer system must be in working order for your car to pass the Ministry Of Transport Test (M.O.T) in the UK and that includes the washer reservoir having fluid available, and expensive failure if you don't ensure it has fluid available. Although there is no legal requirement for screen wash tablets of fluid to be used it does make sense if you want for instance to remove birds droppings and the dead insects from the screen.



A 10% Discount to you as one of my readers
Having told you what I use, If you would also like to purchase these products then I have arranged for you to get a 10% discount off your orders, please remember orders are subject to VAT and carriage.
To order a particular item link below

Spray & Shine
12,000 Fuel Treatment
Instant Engine Treatment
Rain Away
Washer Tablets
No Fog

To obtain your readers Discount just quote ACLASSINFO in the redemption section of their checkout process (step 2 of 3) and the discount will immediately be applied to the total.www.netparts.co.uk This is a concession to my readers made by 'Netparts' for which I thank the management.
Please also note, I 'lofty' have no connection with this company other than the fact that I use their products.