My "new" Crossfire is in the garage, waiting for the mail-order lien to be released so that I can register the car.

But giving my "MiniCuda" its first wash is on the to-do list (as is prepping my old car for sale). My normal wash procedure is likely inadequate for this XF.

What basic products and procedures are appropriate for the routine wash-jobs (~1 hour or less)? I see many bits and pieces in various threads here, but ...

I already have available many clean buckets, a relatively new wash mitt (and a couple of older ones), new/washed microfiber towels, and _hot and cold_ running water at the garden hose.

What cleaning products/tools should I pick up, and where? On my daily-drivers I just use Ivory liquid for the washes, Simple Green/Purple Power for degreasers, Windex for the windows, and 409/Fantastik for door jambs, etc. I'd first look for such products at WM, and then at the local car parts stores, then lastly mailorder.

The car is/will be garaged year 'round, and only driven in the summers.

Thanks!

 

Welcome! About all you could ask for is covered in this thread: https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...crossfire.html

 

Thanks -- saw that "detailed" detailing ... Lots of good stuff there for the future.

I'm interested at this time in methods/opinions on basic washings. (If not willing to post due to fear of a heresy flaming, please PM me with your technique -- thanks!)

 

Go to the wash yourself type carwash -wash by hand when the carwash is not busy (have to have the soft water for final rinse)

Take along Meguairs gold car wash - do not use dish soap it strips your wax.
Have along you favorite microfiber or 100% cotton mit and towels - hint...this is no place to skimp, buy quality towels. (check out www.perfectautofinsh.com get a waffle weave drying towel and a couple of the microfiber polishing towels - you will not regret it)

Use any of the clay bars available- again Meguairs or Mothers as they are easy to find.
Use a good wax/polish sealer..Meguairs, NanoWax, I perfer Zaino.
Keep it looking good with Meguairs Ultimate detail spray.
Simple...

 

Always hand wash.As far as im concerned buy a foam gun.If you arent familuar with them here is a short vid showing one in action
How to use a foam gun to clean your car | Wonder How To

They make car soap especially for the foam guns that work great
Use a good waffle towel for drying and then a couple times a year claybar the car

The next part is all up to individual taste.I apply everything by machine.For me i put a coat of Wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant on and then a couple days later follow that with a coat of your favorite wax for a really deep shine.Wipe off with a good microfiber towel.For the rest of the summer i usually stick to a detail spray or spray wax to keep it looking good

 

If you truly want to start from scratch......I would wash with Dawn. Yes it does strip the wax. Then throw it away or use it for what it was intended for. From this point on you should use Maguiars Gold Car Shampoo. I've tried a ton of them and it is hands down the best. Make sure you rinse the car well before starting the wash process which should be a side to side motion, not circular. You should now have a car stripped of polish products. Depending on the condition of your finish you might want to get a scratch and swirl mark remover. Best applied with a Porter cable buffer. Maguiars makes an excellent product called ScratchX, Mike from Orange I'm sure will add his thoughts. After that's done I would clay bar the entire car. This is what will get your finish looking and feeling smooth as glass, you, will be amazed at how smooth your paint gets. Take a plastic bag and put your hand in it and rub it over the surface of your finish. If it doesn't feel smooth use a claybar. After that you can use your favorite polish product. Maguiars, Adams, Mothers, Zaino, there are a ton of them, all are excellent. I use Zaino. After a THIN coat of polish you will want to use a detail spray to bring out the depth in the clear coat.
Couple of points - use either 100% cotton towels to dry or microfiber towels.
Wash Top to bottom.
Use a wash mitt and rinse it often. I stay away from a sponge as it holds grit.
I do my wheels, tires and wheel wells first so the water doesn't dry on the car. I have a separate bucket and sponge/brush for the tires, wheels, and wheel wells.
Wash a dark color out of direct sunlight, cuts way down on water spots.
Use thin coats of polish when you apply your wax, you want to build up many light layers.
Use your detail spray after the car is dry after every wash.
NEVER, EVER PUT YOUR CAR THROUGH A CAR WASH.
Good luck, I doubt you'll get any bad answers to your question here.

 

I am no expert but why would you not use a clay bar before the ScratchX?

 

Good question and Mike from Orange, who is a professional, can answer this one. He may disagree with me on this? I've done it this way for ten years now. I think that the finish on all the cars I currently maintain speaks to my detailing process.

 

Thanks all -- please keep the suggestions coming!

Just stopped at the local WM and picked up the Maguiars Gold Wash/Shampoo ($6/big bottle), M. Ultimate Detail Spray ($9.50), and saw the tube of Scratch X ($8) and Turtle Wax Ice wax (~$15).

Same stuff at the local Advance Auto. Nether had the Zaino or Nanowax wax, S100 Gel Wheel Cleaner, Poorboy's Bug wash, or spoke brush I was on the hunt for. Nor 100% cotton wash mitt -- only synthetic ones, and one lamb's wool.

Best not-too-harsh wheel cleaner that I might find locally?

 

Lug Nut - Zaino can be had on line only www.Zainobros.com
They are extremely quick at turning around orders. My suggestions are
Z-2, Z-6, buy both leather cleaner and conditioner, your interior will smell like an old baseball glove and once a year I use the AIO (all in one) as a base for the Z-2. The Z-6 is Zaino's detail spray. When I get home, hopefully on Monday I'll pull you the web site for a killer wheel brush that also get the backs of the wheels. I think there is a pic in my gallery.

 

A little off tangent here perhaps, but would anyone have tried or recommend auto-dry products like this:
Mr. Clean Auto-Dry Carwash System, Proctor & Gamble MCC0AA -2 Pack : MCC0AA - Buy.com

It isn't much of a chore to wash a small car like like the XF, but auto-dry features could allow more time for the finer details like wheels and interior. It would also motivate for less interval between each wash. If it truly works, that is...

 

laitsabr- The Mr. Clean system has been discussed here when it first came out. I wish I could aim you but just do a search on Mr. Clean. As I recall it wasn't that great of a reaction. The other products i have not heard used by forum members.
Pat

 

Much appreciate the re-direction.
Sorry for the deviation.

 

Found the cotton wash mitts locally, only at O'Reilly's. $4 each.

 

Lots of good suggestions for proper wash technique offered up already (I'm a foam gun user myself - love the darn thing!!) and good suggestions for waxes, polishes, etc so I'm going to leave those alone here, with one exception:

Turtle Wax ICE. Of all the products mentioned and all the products I've played with over the years, this is the ONLY product that I just can NOT recommend. I hate to see people spending money on this stuff. If you like Zaino, Pinnacle, Meguiar's, Mother's, P21S, Zymol, Liquid Glass, NuFinish, Rejex, Dodo Juice, whatever, fine. ICE is just a total waste of time and money - it washes off, it doesn't give that nice slick finish, shine is so-so at best. It's probably the single worst paint care product I've ever come across.

As for when to clay and when to paint clean...... sorry Pat, but you really should clay first. Think about it: clay only works on above surface bonded contaminants, paint cleaners (ScratchX, etc) only work on below surface defects. Therefore it makes sense to get rid of the crud that is stuck to the surface of the paint before trying to correct defects below the surface. Otherwise you're trying to work through those bonded contaminants. Granted, if you don't have heavy contamination then it may not make a huge difference, but if you can feel the crud on the surface, why risk pushing it around while applying a paint cleaner? No, best practice overall is to clay first then paint clean.

A rare exception to that rule is when working on old, badly oxidized single stage paint. When a red car looks more pink and white than red, a good paint cleaner will remove a lot of that surface oxidation and take much of the contaminants with it. You would then quickly clay to remove the remaining deposits and then go back and do your final paint correction. But how many of us are doing this sort of project on a regular basis?

 

7-16-09

I have been using baby shampoo as my car wash soap for years. works great, doesn't seem to take off wax (water still beads) and NO TEARS.
scubaman

 

"baby shampoo": Just finished the first wash, using the M. Gold Wash -- it seems very much like baby shampoo. Not aggressive at all.

Wash came after ~10 hours of work today on the XF, after another 1.5 days before. Tomorrow the XF goes into service! (First drive to work)

While the seller detailed the interior well, except for vacuuming out the center storage and glove boxes (and under the seats ... one quarter found there), there were lots of crud accumulations around the hatch, the gas cap, the window edges, the door jambs, and under the hood. Have just started on the engine bay ... but its my turn for a much needed bath!

 

Exactly what it should be...soap is just a lube so you can wash the dirt off without scratching. Other products should be used to remove anything other than "dirt".

 

Well ... since talking about it, if I want to strip off all existing wax/products (to do some repairs underneath, then to reapply a new wax-job), what should I use that won't damage the paint/CC?

 

Stripping off wax. I belive that Pat already stated this in another post. Use a liquid dishwashing product like Dawn etc mix into a bucket and wash the car and dry. This will remove the wax, sealers, polish etc. You then have a base to start with and the next step would be to clay the surface.

Hope this helps.

Jake80