Cleaning your Car?

[onlyjays9p]

Winter's coming up... Salt... I plan on buying a monthly pass to a car wash, how many times a week is to many? And what product's does everyone recommend to keep the inside nice? Bought a newer impala want to keep it nice lol

 

[sbib1130]

my family owns a carwash. what exactly do you want to clean on the inside?

 

[onlyjays9p]

Everything, It's clean now and I want to keep it that way. I bought some ****&span car wipes which were supposed to be for anything but they leave streaks.

 

[sbib1130]

for the most part stoner products are the best. get microfiber towels and stoner invisible glass to take care of your windows. to wipe your dashboard there is a stoner product called trim cleaner. There is also a can called trim shine. spray a little and wipe your dash. personally i dont think any of those wipes work.

 

[romedadude]

View media item 121163
Armor All everything!

 

[purple sneaks]

View media item 121163Armor All everything!

this.

 

[rfx45]

Armor All is terrible, if you are going with off the shelve products, go Meguiars or Mothers.

Don't use those interior dash shine, it keeps the interior oily and shiny and when it's sunny, it'll reflect to your eyes and you'll be annoyed by it, trust me. I always go for the no shine or just a simple duster works, I have a portable one inside my car all the time.


And I wouldn't recommend going to one of those car wash machines, major cause of swirl marks. To be honest I never let anyone else wash my car for the simple fact that if they do not care about it, they'll like mess the paint up.

 

[air spider 777]

I dont go to car washes. The brushes they use have been on thousands of cars and it just scrubs the dirt onto your car and **** up your paint with swirls and marring. I hand wash the car using the two bucket method with a little ONR in the soap (I use the chemical guys super suds wash soap) and water buckets to make the water a little softer. Then I use a nice sheepskin mitt.

Oh and for cleaning the tires and wheels I use Sonax wheel cleaner or meguiars all wheel cleaner. For the wheel wells I use Meguiars APC. For tire dressing I like the Meguiars Hot Shine in the aerosol spray can (wipe down with a microfiber after you spray it on each wheel for no sling).

Oh and if you want to keep your engine clean. I like to use Meguiars apc and scrub the necessary areas and then rinse. After drying the engine bay, to leave a shine with a non slick touch, I use bare bones by Chemical Guys.

Now you want to leave your paint feeling smooth and protected. What it needs is a paint correction. I like to use this. Meguiars 105 (Compound), Megs 205 (polish), BlackFire Wet Diamond or Poor boys White Diamond (sealant) and M16 by Meguiars (wax). All would be applied by a PorterCable. I just cringe when I see/feel paint that feels like sandpaper.

And in between washes to wipe off dust on the car. Use Meguiars last touch quick detailer with a microfiber.



Oh and to clean the glass on the car, use Invisible Glass (aerosol version) with two microfibers (one to wipe off what you spray on and one to wipe again).

Now to keep the interior nice. Of course you use the invisible glass for the glass. I like to use 303 aerospace protectant for all the interior plastics. Now for the leather seats if you have them, I like to use the cleaner and conditioner system by Meguiars (cleaner is blue, conditioner is white). And for cloth seats you can use a 10:1 dilluted version of Megs Apc and wipe with a damp cloth.

Hope that helps for your general car cleaning.

 

[216301baller]

Over the summer I washed my car 3 or 4 times a month..since school has started I get it washed twice a month

 

[utvol23]

If you really want to know how to take care of your car go to autopia.org or autogeek.net,

But it all depends on what you want if you really want your car to have a nice finish and truly be clean then you will do a lot of the info is given on that site. If you just want your car to "look" clean then take it to a car wash. I personally would never take my car to a wash that uses brushes or any hand wash place all they do is induce swirls, marring and scratches. Look and your car or most anyones car under halogen lights or lights at a gas station and you will see all the spiderwebbing. The most I would ever do and that is only if I need to get something off the paint asap is take it to a touchless wash but even those I avoid because most places the water is recycled and has dirt in it so you are blasting your paint with dirt in some circumstances.

It also depends on how much you want to spend. I hardly use anything over the counter except some Stoners invisible glass and a few other products maybe meguiars gold class car wash

As someone already alluded to ONR and the two bucket wash system is great way to wash your car in the winter or you can use Duragloss Rinseless wash with Aquawax. I like a grout sponge infavor of a sheepskin mitt.

A good conventional wash solution is Duragloss #902. Griots wash is also good but its quite expensive.

Also make sure you clay your car before you do any paint correction or waxing/sealent. The clay will remove contaminants and if your paint is contaminated the other products will not bond correctly.

I like Merenza products for polishing but Poorboys or Optimum are also good.

Choosing a sealent/wax is dependent quite a bit of perference and the color of your car. Sealents will generally last longer than wax. I really like Poorboys Natty blue wax for my black car. A good over the counter wax for dark cars is Mequiars #26 Hi tech yellow wax

For dressing my tires I like Poorboys bold and bright give a matte finish with a nice sheen but not too shiny

303 is good for interiors or rubber trim and it can be found locally

I like FK425 for a detail spray also helps drying after a conventional wash.
Another great product is infinite use detail juice. It can be used for many applications.

What kind of climate do you live in?

So in summary the process would be:

clean tires/wheels> two bucket wash of body> clay> polish>IPA ( isopropyl wipe down) to remove any residual fillers> sealant/wax or you can do sealent then a wax on top if you want but that more for looks

 

[onlyjays9p]

My problem is Michigan winters and all the salt. I cant really wash it myself in freezing temps and no hose lol. I can use the self wash places but I don't know how I can get all the salt off the underbody then.

 

[loskickking23]

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View media item 121163Armor All everything!

Hell naw

 

[b7audia4]

For interior go with 1z cockpit, stay away from armor all. For class stoners is good, cheap, and can get it locally at Walmart/auto parts stores.

 

[utvol23]

My problem is Michigan winters and all the salt. I cant really wash it myself in freezing temps and no hose lol. I can use the self wash places but I don't know how I can get all the salt off the underbody then.

Whats your living situation like? do you live in an apartment? do you have access to a garage?

For ONR you dont need a hose just two buckets filled with water

 

[skills]

I've been wanting to try ONR for quite some time now. UVOL23, do you use grit guards?

 

[air spider 777]

I've been wanting to try ONR for quite some time now. UVOL23, do you use grit guards?

Grit guards at the bottom of any bucket used for washing is a must.

It really does trap the dirt at the bottom.

 

[utvol23]

I've been wanting to try ONR for quite some time now. UVOL23, do you use grit guards?

\\

Yep always use grit guards in both wash and rinse bucket.

I really use three buckets one for wheels and tires and then two for the body one wash on rinse

 

[rfx45]

I really use three buckets one for wheels and tires and then two for the body one wash on rinse

I only use 2 buckets and save the wheels/tires afterwards (when I am sure I am done washing the whole car) with a dedicated mitt/sponge for it.

 

[utvol23]

I only use 2 buckets and save the wheels/tires afterwards (when I am sure I am done washing the whole car) with a dedicated mitt/sponge for it.

I used to do that but switched to doing wheels and tires first because I noticed you can get contamination on the lower rocker panels and rear quarter panels also it decreases the chances of water drying on your paint if you go straight to the wheels.If you dry first then when you rinse the rims you can get splatter on the body.
Using a separate bucket ensures there is no residual brake dust etc left over in your wash bucket prior to the next wash even if you rinse it well. I dont think either way is wrong

 

[rfx45]

Definitely not saying it is the wrong way, just adding my reasoning why I don't do it.

Also, I tend to spray my wheels with wheel cleaners that practically melt the brake dust away and rinse the wheels before I get started. The final part of the wash on the wheels is just to clean the leftover residue and the tine crevices, plus I do it after I rinse the whole and. It's pretty spotless by the time I do the final rinse on the wheels and the car again if needed. I always wash in the shade anyways so there is no risk of the water drying on the paint before I get to drying it with a blower (yes I use a leaf blower to dry my car).

 

[onlyjays9p]

I have access to a garage I will def check out this 2 bucket method but im still stuck for cleaning underneath my car and keeping rust off

 

[utvol23]

Definitely not saying it is the wrong way, just adding my reasoning why I don't do it.
Also, I tend to spray my wheels with wheel cleaners that practically melt the brake dust away and rinse the wheels before I get started. The final part of the wash on the wheels is just to clean the leftover residue and the tine crevices, plus I do it after I rinse the whole and. It's pretty spotless by the time I do the final rinse on the wheels and the car again if needed. I always wash in the shade anyways so there is no risk of the water drying on the paint before I get to drying it with a blower (yes I use a leaf blower to dry my car).

Yea I use a blow dryer as well best way to get all the water out of the door jams, mirrors and trunk so you dont leave any spotting later also it can saves any unnecessary rubbing against the paint while drying but I occasionally do a towel microfiber dry with a spray wax or detail spray, Aquawax to give my LSP a little boost.

I also love my Foam Gun to assist in washing

 

[utvol23]

I have access to a garage I will def check out this 2 bucket method but im still stuck for cleaning underneath my car and keeping rust off

You can use an initial coin op if need be to get the salt etc off of the lower rocker panels and give the undercarriage a spray but I wouldnt do any rubbing of the paint. If its cold like i assume it will be I would then go to the garage and do the ONR wash.

 

[rfx45]

I use Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detailer for drying, help protect the paint too.


And man, I've been wanting to get a foam gun, just never got to doing so. Cold weather is upon us again so I won't be using the hose much (I use luke warm water for my bucket when it cold, keeps my hands from freezing) for the next couple of months.

 

[utvol23]

I use Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detailer for drying, help protect the paint too.
And man, I've been wanting to get a foam gun, just never got to doing so. Cold weather is upon us again so I won't be using the hose much (I use luke warm water for my bucket when it cold, keeps my hands from freezing) for the next couple of months.

Not sure if youve ever used it but definitely check out Duragloss Aquawax as a boost for drying the stuff is amazing one of my favorite products

Yea going to be ONR for the most part for me except for the occasionally warm day during the winter. Get a foam gun though for next spring well worth the $60