[kv2]

What stuff do you guys use to wash and/or wax your car?

I use some turtlewax washing stuff and use a scrub... It's kinda hard work cause it takes me almost two hours. The end result is obviously better than before the wash... but it seems like it's not.. clean and shiny enough? lol :nerd I just air dry the body of the car cause it doesn't leave watermarks (i don't think). Then I use windex and paper towels for the windows and mirrors. It still doesn't look that "clean" though.

Does anyone have any product suggestions of what I can use?

thanks!

 

[yello250]

Mothers Products are great, so are Meguiars (prefered). Others may recomend more expensive products, but for the money, these are well worth it, I have tried them all. Meguiars has a "paint rx" you fill in the blanks and it reccomends supplies for you (works great). I think your technique may have something to do with it too. Never use an abrasive "scrub" on paint, or most other automotive surfaces. I only use terry cloth towels and bonnets. Sponges are not too harsh on paint either. You dont need all that blue windex, the ingredient that makes windex work is amonia. As far as drying, I use terry cloth, or the absorber. Never let it air dry, water contains too many minerals, (unless you have a softner) its these minerals that cause water spots. Once you detail it, maybe once a month if garaged, it should not take more than 25 minutes start to finish, inside and out to give her a quick wash, dry, vaccume and tire dressing. Maintaining that quality detail job is easy, if you don't neglect it. Oh one last thing, wash in the early morning, or evening. The sun can dry that water fast and cause water spots. Besides, it is cooler and you will be more comfortable. You will be more detailed when you are comfortable.

 

[Filip75]

I use the spot-free Mr. Clean wash. It's awesome and seriously does leave the car spot free without drying it.

For wax I use Zymol (blue). Every other month a I clay-bar the car too.

 

[Course 3]

Mothers Products are great, so are Meguiars (prefered).

I agree with the Meguiars statement. They used to be solely a professional product line only until they expanded and were able to mass market it. I also agree with not letting it air dry. A good non-abrasive drying towel works best and with a little extra effort, use a chamois. I also keep old cotten towels around to take care of the hidden spots, eg. inside the doors, trunk, engine bay, etc, so that you don't have water coming out of spots after taking it for a "test drive" (and showing it off).

The windows are always prone to spotting when air drying and I get around that by drying them 1st with a cotten towel or chamois and then using a good glass cleaner (generally not windex but a foaming one) and then follow up with a good coating of rain-ex on all the glass (after the entire car is dry) Also make sure you clean the inside of all the glass as well because no matter how clean you get the outside and how clean you THINK the inside is, it won't really have that "sparkle" unless you do it all. Some people also use crumpled up newspapers to wipe the windows with. Sounds kind of crazy, but the reason being is that they are almost completely lint free (depending on the paper) and really do a nice job. I have used newspaper myself when cleaning them and also when preparing windows for tinting and it worked great.

 

[Ludicrous]

For wax I use Zymol (blue). Every other month a I clay-bar the car too.

I love Zymol. I had some serious hard water spots on my car. Last night I washed & Zymol-ed it. No more water spots. That stuff rocks!
:headbang

 

[Ordie]

you ought to try Zaino products.


www.zainobros.com

 

[Wreckless]

you ought to try Zaino products.


www.zainobros.com

+1 to that .. Zaino works GREAT!!! leaves your paint feeling as smooth as a babies butt and all the water beads right up!!!! Very goog product!!

 

[kv2]

Hmm... those Zaino products seem damn expensive for a tiny bottle.
and I thought Meguiars was hefty lol.

 

[Wreckless]

They are a bit expensive but they work great... My buddies use Zaino products religiously... and the small bottles last a pretty good amount of time...

 

[Ordie]

yea you only use small amounts so it last a good while.... thats actually alot of products for $116

 

[Course 3]

I wonder how that stuff would work on an acrylic body....


grrr...damn rare cars!

 

[Matt Sterbator]

ZAINO !!!

Absolutely the best stuff I've ever used. (I've used Zymol, Mothers, Meguiars, Eagle One...). Worth every penny.

I use it on my car, my bike, my helmet (and shield). One really cool "feature" I guess you could say, is that if you get it on the black rubber trim, it doesn't leave white marks.

Using it the first time is a pain (washing with dish soap, drying, clay bar, wash, dry, apply polish lok... apply Z5, wait 45-60min, remove, apply Z2 for clear coat finish, wait 45-60min, remove... stand back and admire). The actual "polish", the Z5 and Z2 go on VERY easy, and come off VERY easy. The PITA is all the prep for it (clay bar, etc..). After that, just keep it wiped down with the Zaino quick spray (outstanding), and/or wash the car with the Zaino car wash. This stuff is the best. Using it for 3 years and counting.

 

[Matt Sterbator]

I wonder how that stuff would work on an acrylic body....


grrr...damn rare cars!

Will work great.

 

[kv2]

hm.... well I got the Meguiars Cleaner (step 1), Meguiars polish (step 2), Meguiars Gold Class Wax, Eagle One 20/20 glass cleaner, and some terry towels. I got em cause they were on sale

I used the cleaner and my car looked nice. But for some reason the polish and wax didn't seem to do much. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.. Do you pour polish onto the towel and wipe? then immediately wipe it off?
When I was applying the wax, how much do you usually use for, say... a car door?
I have swirl marks too . vverry annoying... I didn't use circular motions for anything either.. plus the Meguiars paint cleaner is supposed to remove swirls. ugh

 

[Jay-D!]

+1 on the Zymol

The stuff rocks!

 

[brentsR6]

zaino zaino zaino. i work at a car wash and the stuff is amazing. best ive seen. theres a reason we charge up to 250 bucks for a full detail with the stuff

 

[ZRexNJ]

What stuff do you guys use to wash and/or wax your car?

I use some turtlewax washing stuff and use a scrub... It's kinda hard work cause it takes me almost two hours. The end result is obviously better than before the wash... but it seems like it's not.. clean and shiny enough? lol :nerd I just air dry the body of the car cause it doesn't leave watermarks (i don't think). Then I use windex and paper towels for the windows and mirrors. It still doesn't look that "clean" though.

Does anyone have any product suggestions of what I can use?

thanks!

I wash my '02 Jetta with TurtleWax Car Wash liquid using a 'sheepskin' mitt. It works well to remove bugs and grime from the fenders and grill area. I clean my windows with 'Invisible Glass' from Stoner. It's great! Does not leave any residue behind or streaks. I personally use a couple of soft cloths for the windows (one of them is made of microfiber) - one to use as soon as I have sprayed the glass cleaner on the winshield, and the other to give it the shine and clean up all the residue, if any. The waxing, I do twice a month, otherwise use Meguiars' Spray and Shine to give the car a freshly waxed look. This is my 2 cents worth. P.S. I wash my car atleast 3 times a week!!