I bought the sheepskin mits at costco. Be sure to tear off the nylon wrist strap off, so you don't accidently scratch your car. For soap, the Meguiars NXT Soap is awesome. Smells good too. I wax the car with Meguiars NXT Spray Wax. Goes on really easy, and comes off even easier. No elbow grease at all. I also bought a bunch of microfiber towels. I bought some online, and I bought the ones at costco. As far as I can tell, they work the same. I airdry the car with a leaf blower. Not sure about doing that in a public wash... But than again, they sell an A/C power inverter at costco too

 

What should I use for drying. On my old car I would just get a towel and wipe it dry, but this left a world of swrils and I'm not having that with the G... Please share you method of drying.

 

crowj hopefully with all the replies you can see automatic car washes are no good. I don't like the carwashes that offer a hand wash either. I'm very picky when it comes to my G. I tried getting a hand wash with my previous car and wound up washing the car anyway when I got home. It seems like they never do a good enough job. I would recommend going to a friend or family member’s house.
My method is:
1. Wash with Zymol (I wash the rims last to avoid smearing my car with break dust and road debris)
2. Dry
3. Clay Magic clay bar (if needed)
4. Breakout the Zaino (start with Z-5)
5. After Zaino dries wipe off with 100% cotton towel (white only)
6. Use Zaino quick detail spray (Z-6), wipe off with 100% cotton towel (white only)
7. Another coat of Z-5 (if needed)
8. After Zaino dries wipe off with 100% cotton towel (white only)
9. Use Zaino quick detail spray (Z-6), wipe off with 100% cotton towel (white only)
10. More Zaino this time Z-2
11. After Zaino dries wipe off with 100% cotton towel (white only)
12. Use Zaino quick detail spray (Z-6), wipe off with 100% cotton towel (white only)
13. Clean windows
14. Clean rims
15. Polish exhaust tips (I use Never Dull)
16. Lube up the tires (I use Meguiars Hot Shine Tire Spray)
That pretty much takes care of the outside. Make sure you have some time to do this it will take awhile but its well worth it. When your wiping off the car or waxing it do not go in a circle, straight lines only to avoid swirl marks. I know this is more info then you asked for but it should be helpful. Your car will look like this.

 

Let me try that again.



346446-234.JPG

 

Washing my car is kinda like having sex with my girlfriend in one respect.
At the beginning when the car was new, I washed it every day, sometimes even two or three times a day.
Now I'm lucky if I wash it once a week... =)

 

Nobody mentioned the first rule of carwashing......do it in the shade!! If you wash your car in the sun the soap can dry up very fast and leave film and residue on the car.

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2004 6MT DG/G Coupe | Premium | Aero Kit | ClearBra | See profile for pix

 

thats why you wash one side of the car, rinse, wash another side rinse, and so on...i always tend to rinse the whole car first, pre-wipe (to make sure no rocks or debris will be on the car), rinse again, then apply soap. im using the micro fiber towels to dry but its a bitch to dry the whole car as ill need like 10 towels lol.

1 more thing, i was wondering if it really matters to wash the car with dawn (as ive read many ppl use it to wash off the wax) to remove the wax to apply sumthing different. for example, if i applied wax and now i want to apply crystal gaurd?

 

I'm not sure about crystal guard but its recommended for Zaino.

 

I've always had a b!tch of a time with this one...there's no shade for hundreds of yards around my house...so, it's been like a race when I finish washing (I use MacGuiers (sp?) NXT car wash) to get my black coupe dry with no watermarks. Today, I gave up and bought the Mr. Clean auto dry system....

I still used my own soap, but once I was done washing, I switched on the filter. I must admit....It did a fabulous job. I know some of the "wash it yourself" places in MD also have a "no spot rinse" button...I'm sure it uses some kind of similar filter.

Keith G

 

i usually just wash/soap the car down outside and then park the car into the garage and dry/wax.

ive heard good and bad things about the mr.clean auto-dry

 

I wish....

my garage is full of gym equipment and snake cages....

I was pretty happy with it....the pressure when using the filter is pretty weak, so you still have to hit the car quickly before the regular water dries....

Keith G

 

i own a black coupe in the caribbean. to say its difficult to keep clean is an understatement (it is worth it though). ive learned a few things in the 4mo ive had my car:

1. waffle weave microfiber towels are the only way to go as far as drying goes. ive heard the mr clean system is good, but these towels are amazing. highly recommended, even if you use mr clean.. my towel can dry my entire car without ringing out and it doesnt put swirls in the paint. i wish i had known this from day one.
2. dont wash in direct sunlight. i wash my car at 6-7am before the sun is really out. that helps a lot because not only do you do a better job (nothing dries onto the car) but it lets you wash the car much quicker. with a ww mf towel, i can wash the whole car and then dry the whole thing. no need to do it one panel at a time.
3. wash and dry in a front-back motion
4. wash the front bumper often, a lot of times bugs or little particles get on it. cleaning it often will help your car look best.
5.i dont know if this applies to others, but: dont roll up/down your windows until the car is thoroughly dry. if i roll my windows i get water all over them which doesnt look good when it dries.
6. dont forget wheels. and when you wash them, dont forget to dry them. if you dont, youll kick water back all over your car and itll get dirty again. normal car wash soap works best for me here.

as far as soaps go i use nxt and like it. i hear genuine sheepskin is the way to go for washing, i havent tried it yet.