This is one of those products that i saw on the shopping channel and i thought looked intriguing. Don't get me wrong, i don't ever believe the claims they make on any kind of tv shopping channels. I think those of you who are cynics like myself will understand where i am coming from. They tend to make elaborate statements which seem too good to be true and that often turns out to be the case.

When i first saw the Greased Lighting Showroom Shine advert they were showing a gleaming red Ferrari 360 being spray painted with a black aerosol can by one of the presenters in a hooligan-ish type manner. I was absolutely horrified (being the great car lover that i am) thinking they are never going to able to take that spray paint off that car now. As if by magic, the car is restored to its natural beauty within 15 minutes! I had to get this and try it for myself, but the price was making me think twice.

However, with the winter coming up and my creaky joints playing up again i couldn't afford to spend an hour every couple of weeks washing the cars and then polishing them. I needed a car polish that was effective and, more to the point, quick to apply. And as i have 2 cars to maintain I opted to give this product a go. Normally the process of washing a car involves washing and drying the car and then you need to apply wax allow to dry and then remove with a microfiber cloth and then buff it for a great finish. Instead of using multiple cleaning products, according to Greased Lightning, this is all you need to give your car that showroom finish.

The bottle is very practical, in that the liquid comes in a spray bottle, as opposed to say, Turtle wax bottles. The liquid itself is a creamy milky colour and has the same consistency as water. Another added benefit is that it has a really nice perfume smell as opposed to other car cleaning products.

In terms of what makes it work, the key ingredients are Carnauba wax (a combination of fatty acids (80-85%), fatty alcohols (10-16%), acids (3-6%) and hydrocarbons (1-3%). This is what gives your car the protection from the elements, it acts like a barrier. Similar to other waxes, except this lasts alot longer than your average products. This also serves to give a glossy finish to the paintwork.

Not only can you use this on your car, but around the home as well. Darth (our Daewoo American Fridge Freezer) has received a glossy coat from the showroom shine. It can also be used on worktops, windows, mirrors, metal surfaces, fibre glass, gel coat or any glossy, non-porous surface. It removes most types of dirt that you'll encounter on the roads, such as road film, tree sap and bird droppings etc. I've tried it myself on rust patches on an old car and it even removed most of the caked on rust. This is an absolutely brilliant product and if you can get past the price, it will be well worth it and a permanent addition to your car cleaning arsenal.

The directions say to spray evenly on each bodypart (I'm referring to the car not yourself! LOL) and then with a dry cloth, rub the liquid in using a circular motion until dry. However i found it easier to spray the cloth and then apply it to the bodywork therefore there's less waste. The result is a very shiny car that lasts for around 2-3 weeks before you need to apply it again. It takes around 15 minutes (like they advertised) to complete a whole estate type car and according to Greased Lightning, a 1 litre bottle will clean up to 15 cars, so it works out very cheap indeed. You can also use it on the windows and interior, so bear that in mind when counting how long the bottle lasts.

Greased Lightning is part of the Medsa Group, a private company that develops pioneering, fast growing and lucrative businesses. They focus their attention on companies that make a difference to people's lives. As the overlookers, they share their outlook with the companies in their portfolio - they state that customers should be listened to. So far, this sounds idyllic. They are currently backing Shield Automotive, The Recycling Company and DTR Medical.

As a company, Greased Lightning have a range of other products which are for use either around your home or for car maintenance. On their website you can tell your story and be entered into a monthly prize draw where you could potentially win products to the value of £25. At the moment, to entice people to purchase from Ideal World, they putting entries in to win a brand new car. This is subject to your purchase being before December 11th 2009.

Ideal World has various packages - 1 bottle for £19.99, a quad pack for £37.98, with the postage added on top of £6.95 make it a less cost effective method. The more you buy, the cheaper it works out. I suppose if you've got a car garage, then it might make sense to bulk buy, but as we only have 2 it seems more logical to get the single bottle. As with most purchases, I tend to make a concerted effort to find that same product cheaper. For this reason, I did not use Ideal World and instead bought my Showroom Shine from Ebay. I managed to get the same 1litre bottle for £15 with free P&P!

The advantages of using this product:
* You don't need water, so it's environmentally friendly and economical at the same time.
* It's easy to use. There's no need for any further 'equipment' such as sponges, buckets, detergents or hoses. Rather than take your car through a jet wash costing, on average £5 per use, it is more cost effective to use this product. You can get a thorough clean, that lasts with the Showroom Shine.

At £15 per 1 litre bottle it can seem to be exorbitant but with the multiple uses it has, it turns out to be well worth the wonga! All in all this is a fantastic product i honestly would recommend it to anybody who owns a car or even just use it as a household cleaner.