Ok, I'm a newb for a nice car with the great paint and clearcoat finish. Most of the other cars/trucks I've owned have been 2nd and sometimes 3rd hand so the paint is shot by the time I get them. This is the only car I've had where the paint is still in great shape, no swirls. I want to keep it that way.

I've been reading the forums and have a question or two about the cleaning and car of the car. So if I sound confused, it's because I've never had a nice car like this before, and finally had the chance to get one (love the car...)

There are a lot of car care products out there. I stopped in AutoZone today and bought some microfiber towels and 2 cleaning mitts (one for the top and one for the bottom of the car as I read this is the way to do it). Also got a soft bristled brush for the wheels so as not to mar the finish. And a new clean bucket.

There were a lot of cleaners/soaps on the shelf. I've heard dishwashing soap is great, so is laundry detergent (believe it or not I've had it recommended). I have some of Amway's LOC (liquid organic cleaner) which is a mild cleanser (can be used as hand soap) that makes lots of suds.

What to use???

I don't have a lot of time unfortunately, so I also need a good recommendation for a polish/wax that will not take a lot of time to use and will still keep the car nice and shiny.

I live in Arizona, and we have very hard water. So that may need to be factored in also. I've chipped a tooth drinking it (lol, jk).

Thanks!

 

Never use dishwashing soap or laundry detergent on your car. They will strip the wax or other finishes. There are loads of good car soaps out there (some are even called "shampoos"), so take your choice, but they're all better and safer than household cleaners. I personally prefer Adam's, but almost any car wash liquid will be okay. See the detail shop section of this forum for other personal preferences for soaps, polishes, waxes, acrylics, etc. (And I know very well what you mean about the hard water in the Valley, too).

Once you're hooked on keeping your car clean, shiny and swirl-free, you will become a fanatic, perhaps even like our own Mr. Clean (andrew). And since we usually have so little rain here (except for this time of year, of course), if you get in the habit of using a good duster and detailer (spray) regularly, the car will always look sharp and sleek with less overall effort than our friends up North usually need to do.

 

Stay away from dishwashing soap as it will, over time, dry out the paint and all the rubber and plastic trim. As for the laundry detergent recommendation...do not EVER take advice of any kind from whomever recommended that to you - they have no freakin' clue what they're talking about.

Since you have fairly hard water I would recommend Meguiar's NXT Shampoo as it has some water conditioners in it and will help with that situation, plus it's available at any decent auto parts store. As for an off the shelf wax you can find anywhere, I'd go with either Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax or Meguiar's Gold Class Wax. You may find a bit deeper shine with the Gold Class and it may hide very fine swirls a bit more. I also highly recommend Meguiar's new Ultimate Quick Detailer. This is the stuff in the black bottle, not the burgundy bottle. Use it between washes to remove very light dust and fingerprints, but not anything worse than that. It will leave a super slick finish and it sheds water like a duck. Amazing stuff. But keep in mind it is NOT a substitute for a proper wax job.

Finally, I highly recommend you check out the Meguiar's detailing forum at meguiarsonline.com (you'll find me there using the same name as here). Be warned though...regular reading there will get you hooked on detailing and you will step up to Meguiar's Professional Line rather quickly. This will take your finish to a whole new level!!!

 

Try this it works GREAT!!! Other forum members use it and share my opinion.

http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-no-rinse.html

 

Depending on what you want to spend Meguiars makes several different soaps, used them both. Currently using the Zaino product, I know most all of the other wax/polish companies make a soap product. I mentioned this before - no matter what you use make sure your wash bucket is clean, rinse and wipe it out after you use it. The grit that is left behind in the bucket is an excellent contributor to swirl marks.

Pat

 

I also use this when i don't feel like pulling out the hose, works great, nice shine.

 

This product sound looks interesting. Do you have any concerns about scratching the paint? Can I assume you would only use this product if the car is not too dirty?

 

No concerns with scratches and my car is black. I would not use it on a real dirty car, my car is never really dirty i wash it every 5 to 6 days, i may use the hose every 2nd or 3rd wash plus the car sits there till the weekend, and i also use Adams detailer in between.

 

Thanks, I think I'll give it a try. My car's not ever that dirty. Gets washed twice a week, but this might help me cutting down to once a week with the hose. I also use the Adman's detailer.

 

I for one use EVERYTHING Zaino. It's expensive, but no detailing product line I've seen works better...

 

This is all excellent info and suggestions. I appreciate the help.

 

I really like the Griots carwash soap, high quality product with lots of suds. I also like the new Turtle Wax ICE carwash soap, smells great and produces lots of suds and isn't that expensive, especially when you pick it up from Costco. The Griots soap is $30 a gallon, but well worth it IMO. I've even combined the two and did so using an old Tide jug that has the spigot for dispensing the product, you even lay it on its side to boot. If you really care about your car, doing the job right and consider how long a gallon will last you, you'll agree that $30 for a gallon of quality carwash soap is a small price to pay.

 

$30 a gallon isn't bad at all. I think a gallon of Zaino would run you more than that. I'll have to try the ICE when I run out of Zaino wash. I was told by a detailing expert (owned his own detailing business and I saw his work) whatever you do use soapy water. the suds lift the dirt and particles off the car so you cut down on swirl marks. I was washing my first black PT with water every week, no soap. Apparently that wasn't a good thing to do and it did have swirl marks.
One other suggestion for you...make sure you wash your wheel wells. They "frame" your tires and wheels and nothing looks worse than dirty wheel wells when the rest of the car is clean and shiny.
One of my ****, pet peeves.
Good luck with your car washing.

Pat

 

i can't tell you how many people clean & polish the heck out of cars the paint... but... completely forget the dirt in the wheel wells and underside... and when driving behind a crossfire the underpinnings are very apparent imo... bend down and check your crossfire today... clean um' already!



pictured at over 35,000 miles...

 

I don't know whether to be incredibly impressed by Andrew or deeply concerned for him.

 

I just bought the Turtle Wax ICE soap. Not sure how to judge a good soap, but it smells really good!

 

I usually sprayed foaming tire shine up in the wheel wells to make them look great, but now that I've found top of the line detailing products I just use their Grape Tire dressing up in there, works great. One thing that sucks about my MCS is the fact that the wheel wells are carpeted, yes, carpeted, so I can't even spray anything up in there like I used to. I just spray my all purpose degreaser in there from time to time but always rinse out everytime!