We don't add brands often. The shelf is full, and every new line has to earn its place. Here is why Yum Cars did.
Yum Cars got our attention through its story before we had opened a bottle. It was started in 2018 by Nick Briton and his partner Kelly, two former British Army soldiers who met while serving, in a single unit in Mansfield. Watch any of Nick's videos and the enthusiasm comes straight through the screen. He clearly lives for this. We know the type, because we are the same. My son and I are workaholics, we love what we do, and we feed off people who are wired the same way.
Enthusiasm doesn't get a product onto our shelf though. Chemistry and quality come first here, always, so we asked for the safety data sheet on every chemical in the range and read all of them before listing anything.
Then there is the experience of using it. The bottles look great, the scents are good, the products are easy to use and the slickness under the mitt is obvious.
The last reason is the simplest. Yum is very consumer friendly. A lot of what we stock is built for professionals and serious enthusiasts, and we felt the missing piece in our store was a range that someone washing their own car on a Sunday could pick up and get right the first time. Yum fills that gap.
Sixty seconds. The detail is underneath.
The people. Two ex-Army founders who started in one unit in 2018 and still front their own videos. Yum's own line is that they "never do a day of work". We recognise that.
The chemistry checks out. We read the safety data sheet for all twenty wash, decon and protection chemicals. The formulations are what the labels say they are.
They don't overclaim. Yum tell you their detail spray adds no protection and that their wax should not go on a coated car. Brands rarely say that about their own products.
It is easy to get right. Colour coded, clearly named, sensible dilutions. This is the range we will hand to someone washing their own car for the first time.
It still has depth. An acidic shampoo, a foam-on sealant and five ceramic coatings, including one made for paint protection film.
What the safety data sheets told us
A safety data sheet is the one document a brand cannot dress up. It lists the hazardous ingredients and their concentration bands, and it is where marketing and reality either agree or don't. With Yum they agree.
Yum Wheels is a proper thioglycolate iron remover, the same class of active we compared in our iron remover article, and Yum describe it as non-acidic. Yum Reset gets its acidity from citric acid, which dissolves mineral deposits and softens the wash water at the same time, with no harsh mineral acids. Yum Panel Wipe is isopropyl alcohol backed by a slower glycol ether, which is what lets it lift polishing oils and then flash off clean. Yum Tar & Residue is a low-aromatic hydrocarbon solvent with citrus terpenes, the right tool for something water will never touch.
Where the data sheet does not tell us something, we say so. The sheet for Yum Ceramic confirms a water-based formula but does not declare the resin or a percentage, so you will not find an SiO₂ figure on our listing. Yum state that Yum Foam+ contains fluoropolymers, so we make no PFAS-free claim for it.
The brands we trust most are the ones that tell you what their product does not do.
Yum on their own detail spray
Yum Cars say a detail spray should not carry protection behind it, it should carry extreme gloss and slickness. So Yum Detailer is sold as exactly that, and we make no durability claim for it because they don't.
Yum on their own wax
Yum Wax is a carnauba and montan wax, and Yum Cars tell you plainly not to use it on a ceramic coated vehicle. On a coated car they point you to Yum Ceramic or Yum Detailer instead.
The range, in the order you would use it
We have laid the Yum Cars collection out by job, the same way we organise Koch Chemie and Labocosmetica, so you can find the step you need without knowing the product names.
There is also Yum Citrus for bugs and lower panels, Yum Rinse-Less for washing without a hose, a full set of towels and applicators, and Yum's own bundles at 10% less than buying the bottles separately.
Our methodA 3pH wash from one brand
Regular readers know how we wash: alkaline first, then acid, then neutral, with a rinse between each. We explained why in our acid, neutral, alkaline framework. Alkaline lifts what is organic: road film, oils and bugs. Acid dissolves what is mineral: water spots and the dull film that flattens a coating. Neutral then does the foam and the contact wash without stripping what you have already put on the car.
Most consumer ranges cannot do this because they have no acidic wash. Yum do, in Yum Reset. So we built the Yum Cars 3pH Wash System in the same order as our Labocosmetica 3pH system:
Yum Citrus, alkaline. The citrus pre-wash. Short dwell, then rinse.
Yum Reset, acid. The mineral step, dosed to Yum's own guide. Do not let it dry, then rinse.
Yum Foam, neutral foam. Rated pH 7 by Yum Cars. A coating-safe foam layer before you make contact.
Yum Wash, neutral shampoo. Also rated pH 7 by Yum Cars. The bucket product for the contact wash.
Yum Cars sell these as four individual products. The 3pH sequence and the system are ours, from how we wash in the studio. Reset is a mild strip shampoo, so the full sequence suits coated and sealed cars best, and for the ordinary weekly wash steps 3 and 4 are all you need.
The Serums, and why one of them matters to us
Yum's ceramic coatings are called Serums, and they come in bottles that look more like a fragrance than a car product. There are three for paint, rated by Yum Cars at 2, 4 and 6 years, one for exterior trim, and one that caught our eye for an obvious reason: we install paint protection film, and PPF Serum is made specifically for film and vinyl wrap.
The durability figures above are Yum Cars' own, and the coating data sheets reached us as scans that are still on our reading list. We have not had these coatings on cars long enough to confirm or dispute them, and we will not pretend otherwise. When we have real time on them we will report back, good or bad. If you want to know what actually decides how long a coating lasts, preparation and maintenance matter more than the number on the box.
Who Yum is for
We are not replacing anything. Labocosmetica and Koch Chemie are still what we reach for on a correction job or a trade account, and MIRCH is still our own range. Yum sits beside them as the line for the owner who wants a good result, a product that is pleasant to use and a system they do not need a course to understand.
The weekly wash. Yum Foam then Yum Wash. Add Yum Wheels and Yum Detailer and you have most of the Wash Bundle 2.0.
Protection without effort. Yum Foam+ through the cannon, or Yum Ceramic as a spray and wipe.
A coated car that has stopped beading. Yum Reset, or the full Yum Cars 3pH Wash System.
No hose, or water restrictions. Yum Rinse-Less.
The full Yum Cars range, in Melbourne
Alpha Details in Heidelberg West carries the complete range, supplied through the Australian distributor, and ships Australia-wide, free over A$95. Not sure where to start? Ask us.
Who makes Yum Cars?
Yum Cars is a British car care brand founded on 14 March 2018 by Nick Briton and his partner Kelly, two former British Army soldiers. It started in a single unit in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire and moved to Dinnington, South Yorkshire in 2022.
Where can I buy Yum Cars in Australia?
Alpha Details in Heidelberg West, Melbourne stocks the full Yum Cars range, supplied through the Australian distributor, and ships Australia-wide.
Is Yum Cars any good?
We read the safety data sheet for every wash, decon and protection chemical in the range before listing it, and the formulations are sound: a thioglycolate iron remover in Yum Wheels, a citric acid shampoo in Yum Reset, an alcohol and glycol ether panel wipe. What stands out in use is how easy the range is to get right, which is why we recommend it to people washing their own car.
Is Yum Cars safe on ceramic coatings?
Yum Cars state that Yum Foam and Yum Ceramic are safe on coated vehicles, and that Yum Reset unclogs ceramic coatings. The exception is Yum Wax, which Yum Cars themselves say should not be used on a ceramic coated car.
What is the Yum Cars 3pH wash?
It is our studio wash sequence built from four Yum products: Yum Citrus as the alkaline pre-wash, Yum Reset as the acid step, then Yum Foam as the neutral-rated snow foam and Yum Wash as the neutral-rated shampoo for the contact wash, with a rinse between each. Yum Cars sell them as individual products; the system and the order are ours.
What should I buy first?
For a weekly wash, Yum Foam and Yum Wash. Add Yum Wheels for brake dust and Yum Detailer as a drying aid, and you have most of the Wash Bundle. For protection, Yum Ceramic is the flagship.
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