Car Care and Home Cleaning Product Review

A couple of companies asked me to review their products – some products were for car care and the others a safe and effective way to clean things around the home (and garage). Both of those matter to me so I agreed to check them out.

Barrett-Jackson (yes, the famed auction house from Scottsdale, Arizona that moves some of the most awesome classic cars of all time) has put its name on some premium car care products and they sent me a selection of their goodies to try.

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The first one I tried was the Self Drying Wash & Wax. You simply add about 20% of the jug to a bucket of warm water, hose down your car and then wash it with a sponge or towel using the Wash & Wax. I have to be honest, I’m not usually a fan of these combination products, but this one worked as advertised. It cleaned well, and has a nice wet finish and shine once you’re done. I noticed there were no spots or soap residue, which is nice. As an added bonus, it’s 100% biodegradable.

The next one I tried was the Spray Wax. It’s as easy as this – spray on, wipe off. I was a bit skeptical about the “works on all exterior surfaces including plastic, rubber and trim”. But I thought I’ll give it a shot. It works on wet or dry vehicles, and because it’s a wipe off product, it actually doesn’t leave any powdery residue behind, which is nice for a quick wax. It does become hazy after you spray it and wipe it off, and then you simply buff it with whatever you usually use to buff your vehicle wax.

The last exterior product I tried was the Wet-Look Tire Shine. What really caught my eye was the ease of application and the no-sling promise. Again, I couldn’t help but be a bit skeptical, because I’ve often learned that the less effort a product promises, the crappier it is. And once again, Barrett-Jackson’s product delivered on its promise. There’s nothing more to it than misting it onto your clean tires and letting it soak in. No wiping off required. That part made me very happy. And yes, it dries to the touch, which is sweet and yes, it does not sling off onto your car when you’re driving. I was very impressed. I found it required a second (or heavier initial) application for the really wet look, so count on that if that’s your thing.

Finally I got to trying the Interior Protectant. It’s non-greasy, which is important obviously. I like the semi-gloss finish and the fact that it doesn’t rub off once applied. I expected it to dry more quickly, but it takes a couple of minutes, which is acceptable. All in all, it’s a decent interior product that served its purpose when it came to renewing my car’s inside surfaces.

I’m not sure who makes Barrett-Jackson’s car care products for them, but I would guess that they would only put their valuable brand name on a decent product from a reputable manufacturer. I was impressed by the sampling I received. The labeling and packaging looks high-end, the bottles have nice grips and excellent high-quality pumps and the products delivered on their promise.

Of note, Barrett-Jackson Premium Car Care products are only available on Amazon for Canadian buyers right now, but they are working on Canadian distribution so it should be in stores soon. If you’re in the US, you can pick them up at Walmart, Pep Boys, Menards and Home Depot – and of course Amazon.

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I also got a couple of products from Krud Kutter. I honestly can’t stand that name, but I’m here to tell you the products redeemed the terrible name. Before I even used the Krud Kutter stain remover, several things caught my eye and made me happy. The cleaner/degreaser is completely non-toxic, 100% biodegradable and therefore earth friendly. That’s important to me, as I want to leave a better planet behind for my kids, and although it’s a small thing, I try to use earth friendly products whenever possible. It’s also colour-fast and fabric safe.

Krud Kutter promises a lot, and it’s hard not to go into it with some eye-rolling. But it performed as advertised on every single thing we tried it on.

I wanted to give you a specific example. Krud Kutter makes a big deal about its ability to remove dried latex paint. If you’ve ever tried to remove dried latex paint, you’ll know why they are crowing about it. Because it’s nearly impossible to do this – at least without damaging the surface beneath. Anyway, we have a number of bathroom vanity lights that our painter left on the wall while applying the final coat of paint in our home. Needless to mention, the paint roller caught the back surfaces with paint, which we didn’t notice until the first time we had to change the light bulbs. Once we realized it, it was too late and nearly everything we’ve tried didn’t take the paint off the glass light covers without damaging the finish underneath. Enter Krud Kutter. I simply put the frosted glass globes in the sink, sprayed them with Krud Kutter (soaking it pretty well), let them sit for a minute and lo and behold, a quick wipe and the 7 year-old latex paint lifted off without a hint of drama. I was worried about what would happen to the frosting underneath, but I needn’t have been concerned – it was left untouched. Very impressive. And as mentioned, safe.

We also tried it inside our oven, on our shower tile and grout and many other surfaces – all of which were left perfectly clean.

Krud Kutter also sent me their Oil Grabber, which is essentially a way for you to pick up oil stains from asphalt, concrete or masonry. The timing was perfect for this, as a vehicle parked on our driveway (I won’t mention any names here…) leaked oil. Anyone who knows me will know this was a big issue. To date, after 7 years in our new house, we have not had an oil stain on our driveway. And I didn’t take kindly to this. So I thought I’d try this stuff out. You basically just soak the stain with it, and let it dry. It’s that simple. After about 5 hours of drying, all that was left was a powdery substance which I simply swept up. Then you hose down the area and let it dry – and it’s good as new. It’s hard to imagine something soaking into and lifting off an oil stain, but it works just like they said it would. Very impressive. I’m pretty careful regarding what gets on my garage floor, but if you’ve got a garage floor that looks like a mechanic’s garage, I’m guessing this product would work miracles there.

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I wouldn’t hesitate recommending any of these products from Barrett-Jackso or from Krud Kutter. Check them out next time you’re looking for premium car care products or you have some wicked interior or exterior stains to deal with.

Disclosure: Barrett-Jackson and Krud Kutter sent me their products for consideration – to review and to keep afterwards.