Washing/Detailing your car: What do you do/use?

[ninjasenses]

Heres my usual regimen:

 

Use general soap from the autostore and water

wash it panel by panel and try to keep the car wet during the whole process

After the car is washed i do the wheels

the key and I think this rerally works is to use wax as you dry

when i dry the car i spray this on each panel and wipe it down with a regular cotton towel(microfiber will work better)

after i use black magic on the tires..they have this deodoerant stick looking think for tires that works great

 

the wax as you dry is amazimg, it give it that shine you want and you will notice when it rains the water beads right off...I highly recommend it

[kbmag1]

Picked up my new 2010 sport and enjoyed detailing it .

I used MF wash mitts and towells.

Meg's gold car wash

Pinnecle clay bar w/ bar lub spray

wolfgang prep/polish

wolfgang 3.0 sealant...which requires a 12 hour cure, so I let it rest overnight

Collinite 845

wheels and jams had sealant and collinte applied

tires dressed w/Optimum OptiGaurd

leather dressed w/Optimum

carpet rec'd auto scotchgaurd

 

Durogloss AW for future post cleaning/drying.

 

The tux black shines up deep and wet well.

[Venegas22]

Use Mothers polish. And wash the car with Turtle Wax Love it! Nice shine to it!

[michael95376]

I've always used Meguiar's 3 step wax for detailing. Applied and wiped off by hand. I do have a 10" orbital buffer, but it tends to leave swirlies. It's a lot of extra work to do it by hand, but the results are so much nicer. As for my normal wash regimen, I use Meguiar's Caranuba car wash concentrate and it does the job rather well. For the tires, I've sworn by Westley's Black Magic for years. I currently use the Wet Shine spray-on tire gloss. With my rims, I use a narrow nylon brush with the car concentrate to get in the spokes and around the rim itself. Never have found a "safe" rim cleaner that was spray-on/wash-off with any decent results.

 

I've been using The Absorber to dry the car with. I hate going through several towels to dry the car off, but does it really drag that much dirt when drying?

[Petruc4140]

ChemicalGuys.com is the spot for me to find great products, great service and fair pricing. Try their 50/50 concourse paste and Jet Fuel protector. You will not be disappointed. Orders usually ship next day..

[HenryVIII]

Picked up my new 2010 sport and enjoyed detailing it .

I used MF wash mitts and towells.

Meg's gold car wash

Pinnecle clay bar w/ bar lub spray

wolfgang prep/polish

wolfgang 3.0 sealant...which requires a 12 hour cure, so I let it rest overnight

Collinite 845

wheels and jams had sealant and collinte applied

tires dressed w/Optimum OptiGaurd

leather dressed w/Optimum

carpet rec'd auto scotchgaurd

 

Durogloss AW for future post cleaning/drying.

 

The tux black shines up deep and wet well.

 

I use Autogeek products. I specifically like Wolfgang Sealant and their polish enhancer/old sealant remover.

 

I use:

 

Wash: DP Shampoo with MF bone. Natural sea sponge for the nice car, MF waffle cloth to dry. I use black MF cloths for wheels.

 

Clay Bar: DP rinseless wash/gloss with water for lubricant, Pinnacle clay or Meguiars Clay, MF edgeless cloth to dry after claybar

 

Polish & Sealant: Wolfgang Paintwork Polish Enhancer w/gray buffing pad, Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant w/ Red Pad, wait 45 min, buff clean with MF cloth 12 cure time.

 

Next day admire and appreciate your work. :) Should last you 3 months easy.

 

Winter Washing: Bucket with semi-hot water and DP Rinseless Wash and gloss and MF washing cloth. Great in getting the excess salt off after a storm or when it's way to cold to wash or avoid using the auto wash. Sometimes I go in the touchless auto washes.

 

Interior: I use Pinnacle and Wolfgang care products. Pinnacle's vinyl restorer gives your dash a matte/satin sheen to it instead of that typical Armor All (over)glossy shine. Pinnacle is highly recommended!

 

Carpet cleaner: DP Carpet & Upholstry cleaner. Great for home use too! Seriously! It works lol! Don't let it sit and wait too long however.

Edited March 14, 2013 by HenryVIII

[acdii]

I havent found an interior protector yet that didn't outgas onto the windshield. Seems like no matter which one I tried, a few weeks later I had gook on the inside of the window.

[mokee]

I use Turtle Wax Ice wash and liquid "wax" on cars, truck and boats. I use to use Mothers, 3M and Collinite products, but I guess I not a "wax on wax off" type of guy anymore. The easier the better... What's this claybar you talking about?

Edited March 14, 2013 by mokee

[acdii]

http://www.mothers.com/02_products/07240.html

 

 

THis is what I usually use. I also have clay bars from Zaino, more expensive, and a wee bit better, but the ones I linked are your best bet, easy to get, and use right out of the box.

[jeff_h]

What's this claybar you talking about?

 

I think everyone has their preferences on cleaning/detailing/brands... just like preferences for beers, or cars, or whatever. They all get the job done to varying degrees, and the one you like is always the best and the guy who has another preference doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

I like Meguiars, below is a quick 2 minute clip on using a clay bar. Use this brand or another, I think the concept is the same.

 

[acdii]

I use that too. Either one, Mothers, or Meguires is good, just depends on pricing, whichever is on sale I get.

[mokee]

I see. Kinda like an eraser for car finish. Wonder if it'll work on FRP.

[jeff_h]

Here is an attachment that I've attached to a cordless drill and used for several years (and bristles have not deteriorated)... give it a spin in the bucket and then hold sideways against the wheel and hit the trigger (each wheel takes about 15-20 seconds)... works very well on my 17" wheels and I've just visited my dealer to see the 18" wheels (that come with Titanium Hybrid) in person and using this would probably be a big time saver with all those 'spokes'. I saw this in the Skymall magazine several years ago while on a flight and was the only time I've ever ordered from there (don't see if on their site now)... but you can also find similar ones at (both URLs are for same product, first appears to be a pass-through with Amazon - for those who may not want yet another customer account etc):

 

http://www.amazon.com/Drill-Brush-Cordless-Power-Scrubber/dp/B002DLYV22/

 

http://drillbrush.net/Drill_Brush_Original_Yellow_and_Black.html

 

 

Added - I also bought one of the below, was $20 more than the one above, and doesn't seem to work as well (though probably more suitable for hard-to-reach places on the rims, etc).

 

Edited April 27, 2013 by jeff_h

[GrySql]

Here is an attachment that I've attached to a cordless drill and used for several years (and bristles have not deteriorated)...

 

Looks like it would work great!

 

Hmmm... Probably could replace my electric toothbrush too...

[GrySql]

delete

Edited April 27, 2013 by GrySql

[mmorri12]

ChemicalGuys.com is the spot for me to find great products, great service and fair pricing. Try their 50/50 concourse paste and Jet Fuel protector. You will not be disappointed. Orders usually ship next day..

another vote for chemical guys. all of their products I have tried, I really like. if you wash your car a lot, then go for the gallon size jugs. it's really economical compared to the smaller sizes.

 

I cant comment on the concourse but can confirm the jetseal 109 is a really good polish/sealant. I also like their diablo wheel cleaner (I have not had to scrub a wheel since using it). and for wash soap, I have one of their foam lances so I use their foam (citrus wash and gloss) and they really give a good suds with either the pressure washer/lance or the bucket method.

Edited May 10, 2013 by mmorri12

[acdii]

I may give them a try, I could really use some good wheel cleaner, the wheels on the FTI are gloss black and the brake dust and road dirt really show quickly.

[HenryVIII]

Sorry Acdii this is going to counter your recommended use but:

 

Do NOT use dish soap.

 

I just saw an episode of Motorweek. They went over a few things of dos and don'ts of car washing. Using dish soap/detergent is a definite NO. As Motorweek stated, dish soap removes EVERYTHING. The most important thing they highlighted was that using dish soap can prematurely age the clearcoat on your car.

 

Honestly as inexpensive as car care products can be, you can find much better suited and formulated products that will do the same job. I use Wolfgang Paintwork Polish Enhancer ( http://www.autogeek.net/wg2000.html ) and use this after I clay bar the car to remove deposits and such. I've been on the same bottle for years. Why potentially risk damaging your clear coat?

Edited June 16, 2013 by HenryVIII

[acdii]

I know where they are coming from, and they are correct, however, what they are referring to is your average car owner going out and hand washing the car every weekend, and they are 100% correct. It will destroy the cars finish if you do that. If you are doing a start to finish detailing of the paint, then following the recommendations from Zaino will have no ill effects on the paint since you are applying protectant right after stripping off all the old wax and dirt. Also if you only use Zaino and never wax again, you never have to use Dawn ever again to clean the car.

 

Another way to strip old wax off is to use a chemical degreaser that is used to prep the paint before repainting, however, I would much rather use Dawn than that stuff, it smell nasty and you dont want it on your skin, plus you have to wash it off or the wax wont really stick well.

 

Besides Dawn is very gentle, have you see them washing birds and animals after an oil spill, they use Dawn to clean them.

[HenryVIII]

Okay I want that to be clear to readers and owners here. For those readers please be careful because paint and clear coat finishes are very thin on new cars.

[vangonebuy]

When you have the time. This is a great series on a 2 bucket car wash.

 

Starting with this one.

http//:www.youtube.com/watch?v=w09r6m6sRCA

 

Link came off the Tesla Model S guide.

[acdii]

I use the 2 bucket system too. Especially since I have a gravel drive and the underside of the rockers and wheel wells gets fine grit on them.

 

BTW, my wheels are always clean! Its like NO brake dust, ever! Couldn't say the same for the 2010, there was always some small amount on them, even though the pads had little wear after 44K.

[jeffo65]

The 2 bucket system is the only way to go. Have been using it for many years on our daily drivers and show cars.

[hybridbear]

Somewhere I read about using a hair dryer to blow water off the flat surfaces so that there's less water to soak up with the rags. I washed both cars tonight and tried this. It's amazing how well the hair dryer works to blow the water off the car. Then there's only a little bit of water left to wipe away with the towels. It means I was able to use only 4 towels to dry both cars. Without the hair dryer I would probably use 4 towels to dry each car... I no doubt looked rather silly using my wife's pink hair dryer to dry the car, but it was rather quiet in the garage at our apartment so I didn't mind ;)

[jeff_h]

I no doubt looked rather silly using my wife's pink hair dryer to dry the car,

 

This is where pictures would help -