My black g35 2007 sedan is going to be left outdoors in the college parking lot next year and I was wondering what reliable products can be used to keep it relatively clean for the longest time possible.

Something that can resist heat and allow water to roll off?

Any suggestions?

 

i suggest a car cover.. seriously. the paint on our g's suck. bird doodoo and tree sap + rain is deadly. i cant get some stians off still..

 

Fuggettaboutit! A black car will only stay clean for 12.37 nanoseconds. Sign up for philosophy 101 and learn to love dirt.

 

a bubble, to avoid all they key marks, dents, dings, drunks, idiots, that are going to mess up your car. it is inevitable.

 

car covers only do more damage to a car.

on a more serious note, the best you can do is a good couple coats of wax. Make sure to clay the car before waxing, for wax I suggest either two coats of Collinite 845 or 476. The 845 is going to be easier to apply and lasts really long. Give that a shot.

 

Make sure you prep your car well before winter. Like xfactor said clay it. I have heard good things about Collinite but have never personally used it but from what I've heard durability is one of their strong points.

I personally for winters seal the car. Use your favourite sealant be it zaino z2pro, jet seal 109 or jeff werkstat. Get a couple of layers of sealant on it and you should be fine.
Reapply sealant when you can ( i do it once a month for the sake of it ) and since you're in LA weather should accommodate you. I'm in Canada sooo college season usually means -20 degree weather .

Cheers and good luck in your new school year !

 

What kind of clay bar do you recommend?

And how come Collinite 845 and not other ones like ICE

 

I've never used ICE but I've never had good luck with over the counter products. Don't cheap out on detailing supplies, IMO with a lot of them you get what you pay for. I recommended Collinite 845 because it's easy to apply, make sure apply it thin, 1 or 2 drops on an applicator pad is perfect for one panel. Apply light and do a couple coats and you'll be set. If you want to get an over the counter clay bar just pick up a Mothers one or Megs, in general they're all the same. But if you want to go online get Riccardo if you can or Sonus Green is good. You can't go wrong with clay magic either.

 

Why would you say that? I had a cover on my old car made from Kimberly Clark fabric and it kept my paint looking new. No scratches, no damage, nothing.

 

okay hm.. what products would you suggest for a complete start to finish job on the exterior of the car?

 

On black cars you should be getting your vehicle a one step polish twice a year. However if you are skipping the polishing step, you should wash and seal once a month because of the harsh dry heat in LA. Depending on how hard the water and how heavy the contaminants are in your area, clay your vehicle at least once a year. Because you have a black car rail dust does not show up as much as say a lighter coloured car like an ivory pearl.

Product
Car Wash Soap (Meguiars, Duragloss, PB, Chemical Guys) You Choose there are so many options and there really isn't that huge of a difference although I'm partial to Meguiars because of their value in Toronto anyways.
Wash Mitts - 2 x Sheepskin ( Some like sea sponges or groute sponges )
Grit Guard
3 Buckets - 2 ( one clean water bucket, one soapy water ) for the car and 1 for the wheels.
Clay - Any light duty clay like clay magic, riccardo's yellow, etc.
Drying - sheet the water off and use a waffle weave microfiber towel to pat down the remainder of the water. With black cars avoid pulling the towel across the vehicle. Every imperfections shows up so just pat down your car with the microfiber. Also if you have an air compressor use it to dry crevices so you don't get water marks from left over water. If you don't have an air compressor you can use a computer duster ( expensive if used a lot ) or just get a garden leaf blower from your local hardware store.
Seal - favourite product zaino, CG, jeff werkstate
Wax - favourite product PBs, CG, whichever

Hope that helps.

 

Define complete start to finish...including polishing? If you're going without polishing here is what I would do. These are mostly products I get at a detail shop.

Wash:
-2 Grit Guards
-2 2.5 or 5 gallon buckets
-Proline Grout Sponge (only this brand, find @ lowes) or Sheepskin Washmitt
-Majestic Solutions Ultra Gloss Shampoo (Megs Gold Class works great as well)

Drying:
-2 or 3 Vroom drying towels (from target, i love these towels)
-NO CHAMOIS OR WATERBLADES

Claying:
-Yellow Riccardo Clay if your in Canada
-Claymagic Blue/Red if available
-Optimum No Rinse for clay lube (used @ QD dilution)

Wax:
-Blackfire Wax Applicator
-Collinite 845 Wax
-Exclusive 530 MF Towel (to remove wax)

Windows:
-CG Ammonia Free Window Cleaner
-Waffleweave Window Towel

Rims:
-P21S Wheel Gel
-Poorboys Wheel Sealant

Tires:
-P21S Total Auto Wash
-Blackfire Long Lasting Tire Gel

Thats my idea of a detail minus engine bay, wheel wells, paint correction, and metal polishing. You can get most of those items here:
http://autowerkesexclusive.com/index.html

The owner of that shop stands behind everyone of his products, every product on that site he uses every day to detail. He's tested many many products and those are what he likes. Check him out, it'd be like free shipping for you anyways with the exchange rate if you buy from him. He's already got low flat rate shipping as well. Let me know if you need anything else


I'm not saying you're wrong but in general most do, and if you're car isn't completely dust free it will cause marring on the contract points. Did you compare you're car under halogens before and after you put the cover on? In general thats the only way to tell, not saying your wrong or I'm right but a lot of car covers cause marring.

 

+1 for xfactor sorry x i didn't mean to cut in like that.

 

Very good tips and suggestions Nikku & X, thank you. I'm sure you will be helping out several members. One definitely being myself as I haven't exactly been taking care of my previous autos and want to make sure my G gets babied.

 

you better be sorry... haha jk bud. It's all good, hes asking everybody not just me.