well! I never found this forum till i got bored and went to the main index lol.

Anywho, my car will be out of the shop w/ the front fender and driver side door repainted/re-clearcoated ('96 superblack). If i'm lucky, the paint matching would be excellent...

but after I get the car, I plan to detail the rest of the body panels in order to match the new lustre the repainted fenders would have.

I was reading through the many articles on Autopia.org... I was still a bit confused. Can any of you guys recommend what kind of rag/cloth I should use when washing the car, and what kind of rag/cloth to use when i'm drying. The only thing I got was to use microfiber towels for washing, drying (waffle style?), polishing, and waxing.

Anyone recommend a place to buy all these things or recommend a specific product? Thanks!

 

Nadir. Here's what I use to wash/dry my Max:

Viking Chenille Wash Mitt (I have 2 of them)
Sheepskin Mitt (relegated to cleaning fenders/wheelwells)
Another Sheepskin Mitt (Cleaning wheels)
Viking Tire Brush (It's triangular in shape but it does a very good job)
California Water Blade
Chamois

All of the above items can be bought at your local chain auto parts store (e.g. AutoZone, Checker, Chuck's Kragen, Pep Boys, Murray's)

For hand wax application, I use the circular foam applicators that you can get 3 in a pack.
I also have Eagle One tire swipes, terrycloth apllicators (used to apply Vinylex on dash and other vinyl), and a long brush for cleaning the wheelwells.

If you have any questions PM me.

 

Thanks for the reply!

So w/ those products, you don't have any scratches in your paint or paint swirls?? That's what I'm really worried about... I mean as old as my car is, the one thing people like is the paint on the car, even though the front is all screwed up w/ chipmarks. I like the mirror shine hehe.

The products you listed can all be found at walmart too! So i'm happy about that... also, I already have the cali water blade. I was sorta hesitant to use that... hopefully it doesn't scratch the paint.

The chamois is strictly used for drying right? I currently use "The Absorber", but that too I was afraid would scratch the paint...

Hmm what do you recommend when polishing the car. I have yet to do that ever since I got the car last year. THanks again!

 

Personally, I use microfiber cloths for washing, quick detailing, and wax removal (seperate ones for each). I use a 100% cotton terry-cloth bath towel for drying (raid your bathroom and get the most expensive one your wife/mom has bought, and make sure it is from a company in the USA, not Pakistan because a lot of foreign towels say 100% cotton but are stitched/bordered with polyester). After drying, if the towel leaves lint, use your quick detailing microfiber cloth for a final wipedown to remove the lint. A very important part to all of this is to keep whatever you use CLEAN. If it touches the ground, etc..., I get another. All of mine are washed/dried after each use. And when washing, wash them seperate from your clothes, and don't use bleach or fabric softener/conditioner. Microfiber cloths and 100% cotton will not scratch your paint. I also only use the weight of the cloth against the surface; no scrubbing or pressure. Stubborn stains can be removed with a paint cleaner or even pure car wash shampoo.
For polishing/waxing by hand, I use the terrycloth over foam applicators from Autozone, etc..., and remove with microfiber cloths (seperate ones). For machine application, I use a foam bonnet. Machine removal is either with a terry cloth bonnet or microfiber.

Dave

 

Some of that is also due to the technique used to wash the car. Many folks (even myself back in the day ) used a single bucket with soap solution to wash the car.

Nowadays, I use a 2 bucket method to wash the car. This keeps dirt from getting back on the mitt/sponge and prevents scratching/swirling of paint. The two bucket method is quite simple. You have one bucket with soap solution and the other bucket with clear water.

After soaping the car down, you move the mitts to the clean water (Henceforth to be referred to as the rinse bucket) and then dip it back in the soap bucket to resume cleaning. The dirt from the mitts will settle in the rinse bucket leaving a cleaner mitt that is less likely to scratch/swirl your finish.

 

i just use old white t-shirts