what do you guys use to wash your cars or do you take them somewhere? i bought this armoral kit it has something for the intererior, wheels, tires, and the soap and then this sheepskin mitt.

I like to keep a thin layer or dirt to protect the paint

I like you use zip wax car wash by turtle wax. But the stuff you got is good too. As far as wax I use Mequirs gold class....good stuff. It's good you got a sheepskin mitt. Sponges can actually hold small particles that could scratch your paint.

Zip is my favorite too as well meguiars wax. For a quick wax a product called kit wax works well. It is a liquid and takes hardley anytime to put on.

I use Mequirs gold class....good stuff.

Really good stuff...

Nothing better than Zaino! [sm=smiley20.gif]

Nothing better than Zaino! [sm=smiley20.gif]

I was told one time long ago never to use Amor All due to it is petroluem based and tends to " DRY OUT" your vinyl interior [sm=exactly.gif]

I work at a professional detail shop, and I will shed the following light on the situation:

Armorall isnt good. Refer is right. The petroleum will not only dry out the vinyl, but it will also make dirt and dust stick to the vinyl, thus making it dirty quicker. What we use is a product called Vinyl Shine, made by Zep. I dont know if this is available non-commercially, but it works great. Meguiars isnt bad to use, as it doesnt contain the petroleum like armoral. Another tip: when you use a vinyl shine, use an air compressor and a rubber tipped nozel to spray the liquid into the vents and cracks. This will eliminate where you can see unprotected vinyl due to not being able to get the cloth in the crack.

As far as the outside, unless you own a pre-clearcoated car, you might as well throw that wax out the window of your stang next time you are doing 120+ mph. Wax has no place in new cars. Clearcoat replaced wax. Wax was used to protect the paint from rust and dirt. Clearcoat does essentially the same. Plus, when wax gets hot, especially on dark colored cars, it melts, kinda like a candle. Then, when you go cruising, all the dirt and bugs stick to that wet wax, and then are stuck to the car. Paste wax is the worst. If you want to make your car look good, you need to get rid of all the wax you have on it first. First, use a pressure washer and get off the loose dirt. Then, use laquer thinner. I know this sounds scarry, but trust me, if your car has clearcoat, it wont hurt it. Wipe the car down completely with this. If there is a lot of wax on the car, the cloth you use will get really yellowed from the wax. Keep folding it if it is dirty. The last thing you want to do is scratch the car with the dirt you pick up. Once you wipe down the car, you will notice that it feels a little smoother. Then, if you really want a nice finish, get some detailing clay, made by Wizards products. Rub out the entire car with this, using water or cheap glass cleaner to lube the clay. If you try it dry, the clay will stick. The clay will remove overspray and most of the dirt that gets imbedded in the clearcoat. Also, it will remove water spots. Finally, go to Walmart and buy a can of Speedbead or another form of aerosol spray wax. I know i said not to use wax, but this appies such a thin layer, you wont really be effected by it. If using this wax bothers you, you can find some clear coat protectants at some parts stores. Most of these are applied with a air sprayer. They work great, if you can find them. When applying any final finish, pick up some microfiber cloths. These work great, and are nice for not leaving lint and other deposits behind.

If you have a buffer, whatever you do, DO NOT buff the car without first wetsanding, or using clay on it first. You will pick up the dirt in the paint, and swirl the heck out of it. I recommend wetsanding with 2500 grit wet/dry sandpaper lightly with a sponge. Wash off the white film that forms (this film is actually dead clearcoat). Then, use a fine buffing compound. DO NOT use heavy cut compound, as this can swirl the paint too.

When you wash the outside, do NOT use household dish soap. This can wreck the clearcoat. Buy the armorall or other forms of soap made especially for cars.

Umm...I cant think of anything else offhand, but if you have any questions about cleaning the inside or out, just let me know. I can give you some advice.

I use the autodry car wash and a sheepskin mitt on my car. Works good for me.

I have been a professional detailer for many years on both automobiles and aircrafts. I am now a PPG certified painter. Brando's advice wasn't too bad up until he said wipe down the car with a rag and lacquer thinner. What are you smoking crack or are you just trying to see who would actually be dumb enough to do this on here? Thats horrible. I don't really agree with much else you said either, and don't care to add on it. However, about the buffer and scratching. Whether you choose to wetsand your car or not with fine grit is up to you. But take caution because you do not know how much clear is on it, if it has been buffed before, or for older cars if the clear has faded over the years. I'd generally only sand any areas that have surface scratches. I'll give you a bulletproof method for your buffing flaws. The reason you get swirl marks is because the panel hasn't been cleaned. Not because it hasn't been wetsanded or such. First and foremost even if you do wetsand it, it should be cleaned extensively because dirt will get under the paper and scratch it. A fine compound is fine depending on your application. After you are done buffing, for dark color cars, wipe the panel down extremely good with water and a very soft paper towel. Use seperate towels for drying and washing. Once you got all excess compound off the panel or any smears I would like to recommend a product that 3M makes called 'swirl mark remover'. Switch the pad on your buffer to a new one that preferably isn't used with compound and go back over the panel. This is a MUST for black cars. I buff cars every single day freshly painted and/or detail purposes. And my method works great and I never have a problem with swirl marks or the such.

Also Brando i'm not trying to cut you down, but I don't see the logic behind how 'dish soap will hurt your clear coat but lacquer thinner won't?'

Some more notes:

IMO, anything that Zep makes is a good product.
Also I heard the rumors about armorall the other way around, that they used alcohol in their wipes and they'll crack plastic over time? Who knows...

Also if anyone is interested in what I think is one of the best waxes out there. Liquid Glass owns!

has anyone seen a post on a mustang forum I believe the title is "chipstick" it was like a 4 post long set of intructions on how to wash you car without scrathcing it. Invovled like fill a bucket with towels and soap and then after you use one towel to wash your car put in in a laudry basket and don't use it again till you clean it.... it was nuts he said it took like 6 hours to wash his car. Anyway... I can't find it now and it's bugging me.

i work at turtle wax, and im not promoting our products. i prefer meguirs gold glass wax. both t-wax zip wax and meguires NXT gen car wash are awsome soaps. also about wax having no use on a clear coat. sounds like b.s. everything ive heard and everyone ive talked to says it protects the clear. i taken cars down to the clear with a special chemical we use before buffing and its not smoother. it safely removes all the wax (not like laquer thinnner) but a bare clear coat isnt smooth. its like rubbing your hand across rubber, it "sticks" after even just a wax its shines and feels so much better. just my profesional observation.

As far as what you said zennx, no, i am not smoking crack. I've detailed many cars with these methods. Just wiping down a car with soap and water wont always get all of the dirt out. A lot of the dirt gets embedded into the clearcoat when you drive down the road. Most of the cars we do we only wetsand scratches, but if you want a showcar appearance, the factory clearcoat alone wont be smooth, as Shaggy said. This is where you lightly wetsand the car out. If you use a mix of water and soap to lube the car when you wetsand, you wont leave any big scratches. Small scratches will be noticeable, and you'll see a whitish speckeling to the paint. This speckeling is the high spots getting sanded off. Then, when you buff the car, it will fill in these microscratches and give it a shinny, and smooth appearance, unlike buffing alone. I have nothing against those wax removers that you can buy in the store either, but i cant justify spending 2 to 3 times as much as laquer thinner for essentially the same product. The laquer thinner will also remove the rubber from the sides of your car after a burnout.

Another thing I forgot to say in my original post was not to let the water dry off in the sunlight. This will leave waterspots. Even if you go to a carwash, which, if you do, only go to touchless ones, stop and wipe down the car with a microfiber cloth to remove any excess water.

dont go through the automatic car wash. i went through one and it sprayed so hard it went through my trunk and got my husbands 2 day old kicker 600 amp wet. he was pretty ticked. it shut off for about a week so we thought it was blown or whatever, but it started working again. He was lucky, im never going through one again though.

the seals in the trunk must be gapping and allowing water to enter. also the trunk on my stang never gets wet even when i spray directly at the cracks with my hose. i get all under the spoiler and every possible angle to clean around the trunk. if water does enter, it is cought by the grooves by the trunk spring and actuator running on the side, and the water exits out when the trunk is opened. water will only enter if the rubber seal is loose like it happens sometimes around the windows. none of this has yet to occur on my 99 stang. sorry this happened to your car. the only suggestion i have is replace your seals and dont be afraid of the car washes. i dont use them, only because i care enough about my car to wash it myself. last thing though, never. never use the car washes that have brushes. if you do, your paint will get so f*cked up and it will rip off your antenna.

I am a detailer and I use Meguirs Gold Class car wash. Also use there new line of waxes NXT Next Generation,
because I like the finish with no residue. And Black Magic for the tires. Interior no Armor All on dash will destory
it over time. Just keep it clean with a dry towel.

Matt

nice thanks a lot guys. this was very informational, i think i'm gonna go with the Meguiars Gold Class package they got, and oh yea where can you get something like that, like any stores or do you gotta go online?

The laquer thinner suggestion cracked me up. Don't be dumb and clean your car with laquer thinner.

Simply use dish liquid or a wax stripper you can buy at any parts store. Then use a clay bar like everyone has stated, which will get the rest of the contaminants out of your paint. When you've completed these 2 steps you can take your hand and simply try sliding it down a fender or your hood. It's not going to do it very well and it's going to squeek a whole lot without much pressure at all, that's when you know she's clean of wax & dirt...

I also have to laugh about the comment about don't bother waxing...heh. Are ya smoking crack man....you said dish liquid will damage your clearcoat...ahaha, but WTF, won't the sun & acid rain from our polluted skies do far more damage than dish liquid ever could (and it doesn't even hurt a thing). The whole purpose is to protect your clear coat, which your clear coat protects your paint...uhhh so hm, yeah. Wax your car, Zaino is just about the best on the market regardless of what anyone else says. You need wax that contains polymers, they will give your clearcoat/paint a shine like you've never seen before.

As for the buffing comments by Brando, duh... if you take all your wax off and clean your clear coat clean of crap with a clay bar, you don't need to wetsand anything, which by all means I would advise against wetsanding for anyone who hasn't done it before, as you can make a bigger mess of swirls and damage than you'd want to admit to. So if you have a buffer, it's perfectly fine to use the steps I listed above, with skipping the whole wetsanding process. Man, I sure wouldn't take my car to you to be detailed, I think I'd be better off letting my little nephews throw rocks at my car.

Whats so funny about the laquer thinner? My boss has been in business for over 20 years, and has always used laquer thinner. IT WILL NOT HARM THE PAINT!!!!!!!!!!!!! We just detailed a squad car yesterday. The only problem with using the laquer thinner was that it tried to take the stickers off the outside. And I'm not talking about the ones that are embeded in the clearcoat, im talking about the vinyl stickers stuck over top of everything. The laquer thinner doubles as a tar & rubber remover too. Those cops must really burn out a lot because they sure have a lot of pieces of rubber on the sides of the car.

If you guys don't believe me, go ahead and spend 3-4 times as much for some "Magic wax and adhesive remover" from walmart or a parts store. I guarentee you that the laquer thinner wouldn't be any worse on the paint than these solvents. And as far as saying dish soap will work as good? Good luck trying to get rubber, old wax, or stuck on bugs off of the car.

Then, after that, go ahead a stick a nice thick coat of PASTE WAX on your car. Sure it will look good for a week or so, but then just wait until the sun starts beating down on the car. It will soften the wax. Then, when you go down the road, or even just let the car sit, all of that dirt floating around the air will stick to it....yeah....great idea. Plus, not even including the dirt, the wax alone will dullen after a couple of weeks. Why do you think your car looks so nice after you stip off all the old wax? Let me let you in on a hint: THE WAX IS THE PROBLEM!!!!!

THERE IS NO PLACE IN TODAYS CAR PAINTS FOR PASTE WAX OR HEAVY APPLICATIONS OF WAX

Wax was used to protect the paint on older cars. These cars didnt have clearcoats on them. Now, clearcoats came out on the market, to protect the paint. You dont need to protect the clearcoat. Thats what it is for, to protect the paint. If that was the case, you would never be able to stop applying protectants. Because, what would protect the wax? Thats to protect the clearcoat that protects the paint? WOuld you put another wax over the wax? Think about it. Also, have you ever realized how hard a clearcoat is? You dont need all of these products to protect the paint from dirt. Plus, do you think a soft paste wax that has a coat about .00001 thick is going to stop a lot of rocks and other damage? I sure as heck dont.

Hey Dan- You go ahead and clean up the outside of your car any way that you want want, and i guarantee that my detailing will look better to start, be smoother, and hold a shine a heck of a lot better. The clay will remove contaminants from the paint, but it sure as heck wont remove scratches or high spots from spraying the clearcoat.

Also, ever so smart one, wetsanding doesnt make swirls, its the DUMBA$$ who goes and takes a buffer to a car that hasnt been properly prepped (i.e. not WETSANDING)

Take your car to whoever you want, because I've heard of a lot of people who are "professionals" who use the half a$$ methods you listed.

Let you little nephew throw some rocks at your car. And stand by it too. Maybe he'll hit you and knock some sense into you!

lol damn, well if i'm just tryin to wash my car would a sheep skin mitt and some of that meguiars gold class stuff be cool? and i've heard black magic looks REALLY good on tires. oh and i don't have a buffer can i still use a clay bar, and where would i get a clay bar?

Wings- Yeah. The Meguiars would work good. Just make sure the mitt is free of dirt. Black magic looks pretty good too. You should be able to get a bar at any parts store. I know Carquest and Bumper to Bumper here have them.

so would this be cool if i do the clay bar first, then after that use the meguiars gold class? and thanks again for all the help guys, especially brando for getting this started.

Wings- I would wash the car down really good, clay it, spray the tire shine, and then use the meguiars. Do the tireshine before the meguiars, because the overspray from the tireshine will be removed when you use the meguiars. Make sure you dont do it in the sun either.

No problem for the help. Gave me something to do, and a little argueing to raise my blood pressure.:)

ORIGINAL: brando5.0
THERE IS NO PLACE IN TODAYS CAR PAINTS FOR PASTE WAX OR HEAVY APPLICATIONS OF WAX

Wax was used to protect the paint on older cars. These cars didnt have clearcoats on them. Now, clearcoats came out on the market, to protect the paint. You dont need to protect the clearcoat. Thats what it is for, to protect the paint. If that was the case, you would never be able to stop applying protectants. Because, what would protect the wax? Thats to protect the clearcoat that protects the paint? WOuld you put another wax over the wax? Think about it. Also, have you ever realized how hard a clearcoat is? You dont need all of these products to protect the paint from dirt. Plus, do you think a soft paste wax that has a coat about .00001 thick is going to stop a lot of rocks and other damage? I sure as heck dont.

Hey Dan- You go ahead and clean up the outside of your car any way that you want want, and i guarantee that my detailing will look better to start, be smoother, and hold a shine a heck of a lot better. The clay will remove contaminants from the paint, but it sure as heck wont remove scratches or high spots from spraying the clearcoat.

Also, ever so smart one, wetsanding doesnt make swirls, its the DUMBA$$ who goes and takes a buffer to a car that hasnt been properly prepped (i.e. not WETSANDING)

Take your car to whoever you want, because I've heard of a lot of people who are "professionals" who use the half a$$ methods you listed.

Let you little nephew throw some rocks at your car. And stand by it too. Maybe he'll hit you and knock some sense into you!


Damn, you are so wrong all I can do is chuckle about it. You are right to a certain degree about lacquer thinnner, it's essentially the same as any tar & bug remover, just diluted far more. But, as for everything on the car like tar & bugs and such, that's what the wax remover & clay bar will remove. You need to read your posts again and see how you are contradicting yourself.

Have you ever seen what an untrained hand will do to their clear coat trying to wetsand, it's HORRIBLE. It's not for any old average joe to try doing, I couldn't believe you'd give this advice.

Also, let's refresh your great knowledge about car care, clearcoat is to prevent corrosion on your paint, from such things as dirt & sun, acid rain and other garbage in our air & rain. I never said it would protect from rock chips. I don't know why you pulled that out of your rear-end.

Scratch removing pastes will work just fine for the average joe, it will take care of all the fine swirl marks and scratches in your clear coat. It's ridiculous you would suggest this to someone without letting them know the damage they can cause. Clear coat is simply a layer of paint without pigment, it's very very important to take good care of your clear coat, it scratches easily and it's there to protect your pigmented paint man.

I don't care how long your boss has been in business, your proceedures aren't correct and ridiculous.

For example, I stripped all the wax off my hood, as you said over time it became "dullen" (LOL), I did not have time to re-apply wax and forgot about it over a 2 week period. Over this time it rained twice and we had three 85 degree sunny days, when I finally got around to waxing, I had NASTY water spots etched into my clear coat. Which is why, homeslice, we need to protect our clear coats. But hey, I'll take your advice and go strip all the clear coat off my car and need a good buffing every 2 weeks until my clear coat no longer exists and I finally have a real excuse (according to your handbook) that I can now use wax!!!!!

C'mon man, you're so wrong I have tears dripping from my face outta laughter.

never go through a car wash always do it yourself. i hear Zymol is suppose to be real good as well as Mequires. I use armor all for the interior but nothing of that for the exterior.

What would you recommend for removing tree sap? I used rubbing alcohol. I was told that this product or thinner wouldn't hurt as long as the car wasn't scratched.

Dan- You are probably right aboutthe average joe comments. Most people would f-up their cars if they try to do the wetsanding.

My procedures will work right....if you do them correctly. I very, very seldomly have a car leave our shop with swirl marks, and have NEVER wrecked a car by using laquer thinner.

As far as your car having water spots etched into the clearcoat, the clay will remove them. It doesnt matter if you have wax on the car or not, if the water can collect, which it will, there will be water marks.

Also, I never said that you have to wetsand the car every two weeks. Once wetsanded, the smoothness will last indefinately. Most cars from the factory wont be smooth. The way they spray the cars they will have clearcoat overspray. Thats what you wetsand for, adn to remove the scratches.

The clay will work to remove the water marks and most of the dirt. You can get a pretty good finish with clay alone.

The clear coat protectant we use is rated to last for 6 months. The stuff you get at the parts store wont last that long usually, but my main point if you are going to use wax is to use a liquid spray wax, like an aerosol. It doesnt take a lot of wax to repel the water, especially if you think that you need to clean the car every two weeks.


Do what you want. There is more than one way to get a good finish. Do what you are capable of doing. If you are satisfied with waxing every couple of weeks and a decent finish, go that route then. In my opinion (which is what everyone is giving here--their own opinion) my methods work great and give a show room finish.

I'm not out to make enemies on this board. I'm just giving my methods and sharing my knowledge on the subject. People view things in different ways, and have their own ways to go about it.

aright i just bought all that megiurs stuff, and i also bought this drying thing i think it's called a maciaso leather or something, is that cool?

[8D]

Your posts have slowly transformed to what everyone else has been saying this whole time man. I'm not here to make enemies with you either man ;)

Clay wouldn't remove any of the water marks etched into my clear coat. I had to wetsand to remove them, all the more proof that you need to protect your clear coat with a wax. There really isn't much of a difference between spray, paste & liquid wax's. Some people claim certain forms shine better, are easier to apply and remove and some last longer than others. Products that contain polymers are going to give you the deepest, most reflective & wettest shine.

You were saying that all wax's are pointless and completely 100% not needed for vehicles that have clear coat on them, and now your talking about this 'clear coat protectant', whaddya think that stuff is man - it's wax. It's there to protect the clear coat ;)

Sooo if anyone is going to take any information from this thread:

Yes, you need to wax your car, regardless of what you've read. In order to wax your car properly you need to go through the steps I provided in my previous posts.

so heres what i'm gonna do, i'm gonna use the meguirs NXT soap to clean it, then clay it, then i'll use the liquid wax by meguiars. then after i'll add the black magic to the tires, that sound good?

Finally the end.

Yes you need to wax your car. It is an important step in protecting the finish of your car. The reason behind clearcoating a car was......because 1 stage paint when waxed will start to be wiped of the car. You will never take it off you unless you do it over and over and over on an unwaxed finish. Even still you will reduce the orange peel. Ever wonder why the paint can be so bad on older cars? because they weren't protected and the pollutants in the air would attack the finish.

Clear coar is a 2 stage system , color spray then a hardened unpigmented finish. Clear coat is just like paint, it needs to setup before it gets it first wax, typically 6mnths after it has been sprayed. Job until the first wax is keeping it clean.

As far as getting a swirl free finish, I haven't seen one car that has been profesionally done that I couldn't see a swirl somewhere in the finish.

But the best thing you can do is strip the wax (how ever you choose, I use dish soap and wash the car several times with it) Clay bar the finish. and invest in a nice liquid wax. Zanio is good, Zymol (NOT the stuff you buy in the Auto parts store, ordered $$), I use stuff called IBIZ also very good stuff. Use a quailty car wash too. Nothing with the wax mixed in and nothing cheap cheap (typically just like dish soad). I use mothers reflection soap and it does a very good job. The amorall soap works good when it gets colder because it will still sud up.

Always dry in the shade, and keep the car wet until you do start to dry it.
As a finishing touch you can sprits water on the wax and buff it off using a flanel or finish cloth to knock any wax high spots off and gloss the finish.

Have any of you guys heard of this stuff in my picturecalled "super gloss" I used it this last summer and I thought it was the best wax I've ever used. I was told it only has to be applied every 2 years and it says on the bottle that it doesn't make swirl marks. It also says that it was put in a machine that test both durability and shine and operates 24 hrs. a day at 12 min. intervals. First it is cooled to -5 degrees,then sprayed with water:frozen,then heated to 140 degrees. After that it is sprayed with detergent and goes into a wind tunnel with hot air to 120 degrees. Then it goes into cold air with chill factor to -5 degrees and then brought back to normal temperature. It also says that it lasted 14 days while many others failed after one day. Personally I like it for 2 main reasons 1)It really has a great shineand 2) It actually cleaned all the oxidation off my headlights. Needless to say I was very impressed!!:)

local://upfiles/8760/4C57E5C335E04E72953794E5055932FC.jpg

local://upfiles/8760/C641A79FCF2F47CE98CEA38DED59E218.jpg

ORIGINAL: Wings65288

so heres what i'm gonna do, i'm gonna use the meguirs NXT soap to clean it, then clay it, then i'll use the liquid wax by meguiars. then after i'll add the black magic to the tires, that sound good?


i ahev the same question - any answers?

also SIlverGTV8, you mentioned you use dish soap and then clay then wax - but then you said to use a quality soap...do you mean instead of the dish soap? or at some other point in the cleaning..
also have you have ever notivced the dish soap hurting the paint/clear under the wax?

Yeah that is a little confusing. I use dish soap to strip the wax off the car. Dry, claybar, wax, sprits and buff. Inbetween waxings, use a quality soap. You don't need to strip the car of the wax everytime. Atleast once a year you should, or when you notice water spots that are not coming out with washing. A quailty car soap will leave the wax on the car. If I had to guess my car has about 8 coats of wax on it right now. (thin liquid coats) In the spring it will get striped and the whole process will start over again.

I have never heard of/seen any damge done with dish soap. The stuff is not harmful in anyway. It just reacts with the wax to take it off. Kinda like it does with grease.

I use to own a black car and if you know black it is one pain in the a$$ color to keep clean and major swirl free. Never once had a problem with using dish soap.

k so from that silvergt8 i got this, dish soap wash the car first, clay bar it, then wax, then buff it with some terry towels, and then your done. then next time you wash it skip the dish soap/clay and instead use the NXT Generation Car Soap form Meguiars then wax it using their Gold Class Wax, then buff it with some terry towels, sound right?

Sounds good. I do the same but.... I use mothers reflection soap and my IBIZ wax. I use a wash mitt. I have bucket souly devoted to rim and tire with there own sponges/mitts and I use amorall soap and eagle one a-z rim cleaner and Bleach white for the tires. A bucket for the body with a nice wash mitt (washed after everycar wash). This keeps the dirt from the wheels from contaminating your good mitt for the car and also keeps the rim and tire chemicals off your paint because they can be bad for the paint if left to sit.

A tip for cleaning, clean your rims and tires FIRST. Everyone cleans them after but if you read the directions it says to have cool DRY wheels, not so dry after you washed the rest of the car;). Throw some wax on the wheels to. The brake dust will be easier to clean off the rim.

Howe do u prevent getting swirl marks on the paint. i cant stand that!!!!!

Damn do i feel like a fool. Heh i always felt that i baby mine, just bring it to the presure washer, wipe it clean with a california wipe blade the stick on the turtle wax.

damn this is by far the most intense car hygiene discussion i could have ever imagined. i use to think i washed my car crazy religoiusly, i was wrong, i am nothing compared to you detail mongers of laquer, wax, paste and what.