Looking to make this a sticky so keep it clean and to the point people.

Thanks.

 

For Starters:

Use two buckets. One with clean soapy water and the other to rinse off the wash mit after a couple passes on the car.

Make sure there are some suds in the bucket. It's the suds that suspend the dirt so that you don't scratch your clear coat.

Start washing the car at the top and work your way down. The bottom half of the car is usually dirtier.

Dry off the car with microfiber towels. Those things are the best.

I always put my wash mit and the MF towels in the washing machine after every wash. I don't use any soap. And if you use the dryer, don't use fabric softener.


Who's next.............

 

after washing rinse off the car without the spray nozzle on the end of the hose just let the water run freely out of the end over the car this will greatly reduce water spots

wash the car in the shade or in a cool spot not directly in the sun...I wash mine 1st thing in the morning

do your wheels the same way cool to the touch

try to clean your rims inside and out if you have spokes I regularly take off all 4 of my wheels and clean them inside and out

I wash my car 1st then dry off(I use the ABSORBER) and then do my wheels last...

 

I used to totally detail my car every now and then.

Exterior:

1. Wash with liquid detergent
2. Clay with Clay Magic
3. Wash off with Meguire's GC
4. Polish
5. Wax
6. Put ice on sore shoulder

 

never let the car dry in the sun, especially black cars

wipe it down with a soft towel to get most of the water off then a clean chamois to completely dry it... do it spot by spot

 

Does anyone know of a good automatic waxer/buffer? After seeing the job it did to my friends Impala (perfect shiny swirls), I knew I had to get one. I checked sears, they don't have it. Where can I get one? There are rumors like they don't really work, or that they will burn through your clearcoat, but I have seen proof that a good one works better and 10 times faster then hand waxing.

 

Porter Cable!!! I use it on my max and the shine it puts on is unbelivable!!! Also, go to www.griotsgarage.com. That's were I got the buffer and all the buffing stuff.



P.S. The stuff on that web site is expensive but it works!!! The clay pad for the polisher is a good buy too, the cars surface will be 100 times smoother than a babies bottom.

 

Is that only available through the website and not at a local store?

 

 

took me a few trys and with the help of frends and Meguiars i ame up with this.. maybe its not that good but its worth a look


http://home.attbi.com/~geophrum/cwstepfull.html

 

You could get it at a local store. Sorry though, I was just saying that's were I got mine.

 

It's funny but I think I wash my car like no one else.. although I do wash my car every 3-4 days.

Spray car, wash wheels, emtpy bucket and swap sponge mits, wash car in sections, spray on wax as you dry and dry with a chamois cloth and towel down the windows.

Maybe a little Meguiars 26 Gold Wax here and there..

 

For the outside of the car I do pretty much what everyone else does. For the insdie I do as follows.
1. Take out floormats, rinse with hose, scrub with a plastic bristle brush, rinse, vacuum, hang to dry, vacuum again

2. Use any carpet/fabric cleaning solution to get rid of any stains on seats(if cloth) or floor. Vacuum everything. *For leather I used bleach and a little water. sprinkle some on a small spot, take a SOFT bristle brush and rub in a little water, so it turns white and liquid y. thenrinse it with a little sprinkle of water and dry fast with towel. no hose here! this method is debated but it has always done wonders for my leather!! makes it look brand new. leather-all works too. above method tkaes time.


3. Wash windows. Self explanatory. be sure to get the plastic over the guages.

4. Dust off dash and console and any other plastic with damp cloth.

5. Apply armor-all to cloth and do all the plastic. Be sure not to touch the clean glass as it leaves nasty streaks that are hard to remove. Also do the armorall in the shade when the dash is cool.

6. Fill pop cap with armor-all and take a q-tip and armor-all the inside of the vents and all the other places you couldnt reach with a cloth.

7. I dont armor-all the black plastic surrounding the radio and AC. It streaks really bad and looks splotchy. I simply use a dry towel and use my finger to clean it up. no splotches!

8. Scotch guard all your fabric/carpet.

9. Scotch guard floormats and throw them back in the car.

10. roll up windows so no new dust appears and sit back and enjoy.

 

Nice site. The only thing I would add is to clean you're tires, you can use baking soda and a scrub brush, gets the dirt off really well. Then whatever tire shine stuff you use will look / adhere better.

 

Never tried that!.. great idea... mind if i add it with your name attatched to the site?

 

My routine here in college town has been...

1) Rinse with water
2) drive off.


The water here in Davis really sucks. The best I can do is rinse the car very well and dry it naturally. Sometimes I get really nasty water marks and I have to use some quick detailing spray. Luckily I get to fully detail the car 3 times a year so most of water beads up and sheets off.

My routine @ home is...

Wash in sections....rinse in sections. Use a new bucket of car/soap water for the wheels and lower sections of the car (near the edges of the bottom of the car). Like Metallic I use just regular flowing water too...starting from the top and "following" the stream of water on the way down. This elimiates 85% of the water on the car *if* your car is properly detailed.

I think we should still open up a small detailing forum...it would be useful to all of us.

Also, anyone in the Bay Area in CA...just let me know if you guys want me to work on your cars.

 

Anyone have tips on cleaning dirty seatbelts? mine are tan so it really shows and I might buy black ones if I have the money. I was thinking of using a brush to scrub them but I dont want to fray the material and make them fuzzy ya know.

 

Not sure...but have you heard of Soft Scrub? You know...the stuff that some crazy ppl on this bbs use...well...I've heard it can also clean the seat belts. Try it on an inconspicuous area first.

 

Yeah Soft Scrub will probably work, but keep in mind is has some bleaching agent (chlorine) in there that might discolor the fabric. So like Turdz said, test a small insonspicous area first.

 

 

All the stuff in this thread looks good so far, especially the detailing link. I worked a summer at CarBuff's Detailing so I've detailed many, many cars aside from my Maxima (which is stripper/rewaxed every week). Some basic things many people tend to overlook:
*Do not use generic wheel cleaners to clean painted wheels.
*Wipe wax off of chrome and black rubber trim immediatley after wax is applied.
*Do not use generic tire foam or sprays unless you are willing to wipe silicone spots off your car, or wipe the tires down repeatedly.
*If you wash car in a circular method you will see circular clearcoat scratches in the right light.
*Soap and water is a very effective tool for cleaning windows, it just requires a lot of work (i.e. not dripping on car).
*Wax the painted part of your doorhandles.
*Wax your car evenly so the paint will wear evenly.
*Do not forget to wax your doorjambs, they get weathered too.
*It's a good idea to have the underbody of your car steamcleaned anually if you can afford it.
*Listen to njmaxseltd, deezo, & Turdz because they know good detailing.

-Cyrus

 

 

According to Kev, we should get it when the new server is up.

 

cool!!

 

now, I do I clean the headliner? I have a few finger smudges from ppl folding down the sun visors.