Alright you guys I have a couple questions. What is the best wax to use. And also what steps do I take to wash the entire car and in what order. Heres what I think I should do, please correct me if im wrong.

1. Mr. Clean Autodry (wash car with wool mitt?)
2. Use some sort of polish? (recommendations?)
3. Wax using Meguiars NXT Tech. (rub with microfiber?)
4. Clean windows with ?.
5. Clean Wheels using ?.

Heres my newb list of things to do. Please help me out here you guys. Money is no object, I want the best products. Put a list of what you do, personally, to wash your car and in what order you do it in.

 

One word "Zaino" all your worries will be diminished. Hands down the best product you can buy.

 

I am in no means an expert, but I am pretty good at washing my car. First thing you need to do is to buy your products. I suggest go to Wal-Mart and buy your stuff from there.

Products to buy:
2 Buckets (most people have this at home)
2-3 Decent Terry Cloth Towels (you'll probably have this as well)

~$5 - Wheel and Tire Brush
~$3-4 - Quality wash mitt
~$1 - Cheap sponge
~$2-3 - Cheap 64 oz. Soap
~$6 - Meguiar's NXT soap
~$3-4 - Finishing/Detailing Towels

~$5 Tire shine
~$2 Eagle One Tire contour brushes (package of 2)
~$3.50 Stoners Window cleaner
~$4 Eagle One Chrome Polisher

Well the wax, here are the two that I would recommend. I suggest getting Eagle One Nanowax. This is about $10 at AutoZone, and it comes with a microfiber cloth and an applique. My second choice is Zymol $12, Zymol is equally good, but make sure you get a microfiber towel and an applique (about 5 bucks for the two). Those are the two I recommend. My friend with a Lexus IS300 used NXT wax and I used the Eaqle One, we both was a lot better. Get either Zymol or E1 nanowax and you'll be set.

Ok, so now you have all your stuff. Start off by rinsing the car thoroughly. Afterwards, get the first bucket and mix the cheap soap with water until suds form. Take the cheap sponge and wipe off anything that is really dirty e.g. wheel wells, underside of the bumper, exhaust pipes, basically anything that is dirty. Then take your wheel and tire brush and clean your rims and scrub your tires, you'll be surprised how much crap is on your tires. Rinse all the regions you washed right now and then get your second bucket out. Mix your Meguiars Soap and then dip in your mitt. Start washing from the top and go all the way to the bottom of the car. Rinse off the car. Now get one of the 3 towels and fold it in half, and then in half again. Dry from the top to the bottom, while unfolding and refolding the towel to get all 8 sides of the towel.

So your car is now clean, now you have to wax it. Start off by shaking the wax thoroughly and then apply it in small circular motions on the hood, and then do the front fenders and then the doors, then do the roof, and then trunk, and then rear lower part of the car, and then then the side skirts and then finally the front bumper. Make sure you do not do the windows or any rubber sections. After your wax has been applied wait for like 5-10 minutes for the wax to cure. Afterwards, pull out your microfiber and then start buffing the wax out. Go in the same order that you applied the wax in. Also make sure you view your buffed sections from different angles to make sure you have no wax left behind. Afterwards, rinse your car again. This second rinse will bring out more shine and makes the car look really nice. This time around spend a lot of time drying your car. Also, open up your trunk and get all the crevices in there. Get the area under your license plate, get your fuel filler door, get your door sills and also I say open your door and close it with some force 3 or 4 times. This will get a lot of teh water out. Also wipe the grill up well too. Now you are ready to finish detailing your car. Open up the doors and take a damp detailing towel and wipe up teh door sills. Give the interior a good wipe down. Then pull out your Stoners and clean the interior part of the windows. Then vacuum your car by taking out your mats and doing all of that area, vacuum your mats, and then vacuum your seats with the furniture attachment. Now do the exterior of the windows and the side mirrors. Also get your headlights and taillights too. Now get out your chrome polisher and apply a little to your exhaust pipes. This will make them look really shiny. Last job is to spray a little bit of tire shine on to the tires, try not to get it on the tread and the rims. Use the contour tire thing to spread it evenly. By now, you will have some drops of water floating on the car, wipe those off with a detail cloth and open up a bottle of beer and stare at your sexy car.

Also our cars have that pain in the *** part where our windows go up a little after you close the door, try to wipe it off so your windows remain clean.

There you go, hopefully that helps.

-Neal

 

I prefer these microfiber towels, they are the best:
http://www.dftowel.com/


I second on zaino:
http://www.zainostore.com/


Lexol for the leather:
http://www.properautocare.com/lexol.html


Anything for the wheels (tire shine). You might also want to polish/wax your wheels after you wash them, it can do nothing but help combat the brake dust.

 

neil thanx for the step by step guide, i think its going to help me a lot. these are the products i got today. bunch of microfiber towels, urtle wax car wash, meguiars nxt tech wax, meguiars detailing spray (for those imes between washes), meguiars scratch remover (just in case), 2 wool mitts to use with the sudz, stoners glass cleaner, meguiars leather conditoner? (it was lying around the house, you guys recommend it?). and thats about it.

one thing i wanted to ask is, what do you guys use for the dashboard????

thanx for the tips guys, keep them coming.

 

no problem about the step by step guide. also there are two types of microfiber towels that I have seen, one is a a type used for detailing and one is used for like detailing (buffing your car after waxing it). make sure you use each for its specific purpose. also for the dash, i suggest just using a damp towel and then wiping it dry. if you want to get something specific, you should get some wipes. i think armor all makes some dash cleaning wipes, dont get the wipes taht have armor all on tehn though because they leave your dash all oily and stuff.

neal

 

What kind of car wash do you guys use? and what kind of leather cleaner and leather conditioner?

 

dawn liquid soap then meguiar's soap for subsequent washes. i'm a crystal guard user although you hear lots of good things about zaino. the only thing is zaino (according to this forum) won't hide stuff like swirls, etc, and takes relatively longer to apply. either one is a thumbs up. for the leather: lexol.

 

DONT use mitts = will collect dirt and scratch. use 100% cotton expensive towels

first step wash with dawn (be generous but make sure all soap is off car)

i really doubt the comments elsewhere that a clay bar should be used on a brand new car. use at your own risk.

i've detailed a ton of cars and my own. recently i just purchased zaino and applied... DAMN I have never seen anything shine like glass . zaino has been proven to last longer / protect longer / bead up longer (subjective to crits since i dont have any links to backup that claim).

never ever wash your car in an automatic car wash.

zaino wasnt that bad to apply, it went on easy and was removed easy. imo its one of the easier applications. btw some people may call zaino a sealant opposed to a wax. wax sealant , it doesnt matter to me if it protects,shines,applies easy,lasts long.

gl

pp

 

I used to detail cars for a while and then have preferred to maintain my own car finishes for ~ 20 yrs
When I got my G in August, this what I did and why.

1) Washed with a dishwashing liquid soap to cut oils, greases etc.
2) Clay barred it to get out bumps and to insure smooth surface with Zymol Lehm Klay & Lube Kit
3) Cleaned it with One Grand Special Touch Polish . Note this product will remove light scratches in the clear coat, yet can leave swirl marks is done by hand without much care. This step removes all oxidation, skuffs, road tar, etc. If you do this step by hand , do not apply or wipe off in a circular motion. Follow the directions and go front to back. Also Zymol One Step Cleaner Wax is good and I use it on my wheels - Stk 17's
4) Polished it w/ One Grand Omega Hand Glaze or 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. This step takes out swirl marks and gives your car a deep, rich shine. I use a Ryobi electric buffer (I think Home Depot has them).. If you do this step by hand, again, do not apply or wipe off in circles.
5) Now that I thoroughly evened, cleaned, and polishd the surface I need to protect the brilliant shine with wax and condition the clear coat. Incidentally , I was told that our clearcoats and paint are made up of oils and powders, which is why you need to put back in the oils by waxing ~ 1/month, or more if you have the time, to avoid drying & cracking. I now use Zymol waxes (Titanium and Concours) both of which you apply with your bare hands. Take off your rings, etc first. I wipeoff the wax w/ microwipe type towels. Then use two new or clean towels and hand buff off any residue. Cloth diapers are still good for removing wax & old soft t-shirts 4 buffing.
I know it's a long process but I enjoy it ~ 3-4 hrs.
Windows - Sprayway Glass cleaner (aerosol can @ Costco) with newspaper.
Dashes - I just dust them. products have a tendancy to vaporize in the heat, rise and get on the inside of your windshied.
Carpets - I initally treat with scotchguard and use Resolve carpet cleaner for cleaning. Leather - Lexol as needed.
Wheels - Are clear coated so I treat like the body surfaces.
Tires - I am still comparing products and shiny or not shiny is up to the you
Subsequent washes - Two cotton mitts, one for the wheels & tires, one for all else; A "car wash only" soap; Original Calfornia Water Blade and t-shirts to dry;
In between washes - One Grand SHOW-OFF Spray Gloss. I often use after washing, because it gets rid of recent water spots.
Plastic - (headlights) I just ordered 3M Plastic cleaner/conditioner again.
I have heard of Zaino, but have not tried it. Could be very good
I never use a rubbing compund and only waxes containing carnuba.
Most of the above products can be bought or researched from below link
http://www.autosupermart.com/store/shop/index.html
Long live the G!

 

Autopia.org

enough said.

 

You aren't kidding! Thanks for the link.