Cleaning The Car

[bigaudiofanati2 10+ year member]

So I though I would let people know my processes for cleaning the car and let them tell people what they do. Here is my way of doing it.

1.vacuum interior

2. shampoo interior with blue coral shampoo and a meguiars dual side brush ill link ya if need be

3. wipe down all plastic trim with meguiars NXT Tech Protect "much much much better than armor all and it is not greasy and dosent attract dirt and dust"

4. close it all up if its not in a cool dry place and out of direct sunlight than move it there and let it cool

5. Wash it down with basically any kind of car wash soap i use California gold car wash or meguiars gold class car wash yes i do like meguiars sometimes lol.

6. if its summer of fall you know the bugs are a pain in the *** on that front bumper get a mesh covered sponger and LIGHTLY massage the bugs out of the paint

7. after you wash it down take a scrub brush remove your wool mitt that you used for the car was and replace for a scrub brush scrub them wheels.

8. after that dry it all down with a shame i dont mean the or a ones you get at stores there the ones you see at car shows and all that are usually orange and sometimes yellow and come in a big pack they do work very well or a "microfiber waffle weave" drying towel but it seems they stop drying so well after a while.

9. after taking a compressed air line and getting all the water out of the cracks spray the tires with tire shine I love Megiars insane shine and dont touch it just let it set there TAKE BREAK

10.okay her is were i answer your clay question the clay works and it works well but only the mothers clay bar kit dose it right the other ones i have tried **** the smear and all so get a mother clay bar kit should be able to get it at your parts store all this stuff you can and fallow what it says on the box simple kned the clay than spray instant detailed on the car rub the clay back and fort different directions than after doing that wipe dry with microfiber towel i dont like the cotton ones they make stuff smear and dont take wax of well either feel the paint and see if its glass smooth if not repeat.

11.after done the whole car with that i use depending on the car different waxes

Black car mothers synwax

White, Blue, Yellow car anything

Porsche and Mercadies I use Zymol

My car I which is black i use depending on the season and all Meguiars NXT wax or mothers syntech wax which is the best IMO or pure carnuba wax

Okay when i use wax i use a porter cable random orbital buffer and a orange pad if you don't know what that is ask me it is very safe and can never burn paint

12. You remember that instant detailer that came with the clay bar u didn't use it all did u? you can get about 4-6 uses out of the clay.

Now take the spray and spray the door jams and get them clean.

13. You remember the tire shine take another microfiber towel and lightly remove any left over if you are not going to use the car until the next day LEAVE IT ON and add another coat it will look even better.

LAST STEP 14. Take invisible glass and a glass microfiber towel or lint free towels and whipe them windows down.

15. Take pics sit back and look in amazement

Click to read more...

 

[ppazz1101 10+ year member]

Very similar to my techniques except for a few things:

1) Don't use a chamois (shame in your post). They can be rough and trap dirt. I use an "Absorber". It's great. Synthetic chamois-like cloth. Much softer.

2) Don't use dish detergent! Let me repeat that: DON'T USE DISH DETERGENT!!! It is NOT good for the paint. There are additional chemicals in there that will have adverse effects on your finish. I use Meguiar's Gold Class wash. It's the best available in the local auto stores. If you want, you can find higher end washes online, but it's really not worth the extra cost for a daily driven car.

3) Mother's Clay Bar is ok, but nowhere near a normal clay. It's manufactured as a less aggressive clay for the average Joe. If you're serious about detailing, visit an online store and get a clay from there (I like Autogeek).

4) I usually wax by hand. I don't know why, but I just prefer it. I feel like I take more care getting even coats. I usually use a Meguiars wax just for the daily driver. Multiple coats work best.

Usually I get a decent result:

 

[John3000 10+ year member]

I wash 1st, wax or clay 2nd (if needed) then I hit the interior last since I am picky about the inside of my truck.

I use to detail cars for a living so I never let anyone wash my truck but me. Oh and as mentioned, NEVER EVER USE DISH DETERGENT TO WASH YOUR CAR.........EVER!

 

[blackdragonaudi 10+ year member]

I do a lot of the same things but may add a few things but not much.

 

[350zspl 10+ year member]

06 350z volk 19" clear coat wheels

I do this 1 time a week, when paint is cool to the touch as well as wheels

1st shop vac interior

2nd wipe down interior with a clean white 100% water moisted towel ( all windows including winshield are tinted and car is garaged so i do not use interior dressing as UV damage is greatly reduced thru 100% tinted windows)

3rd invisible glass on interior glass

4th wash rims twice with meguiers gold car soap, rinse twice using dedicated rim wash mit

5th dump water and soap from rims refill bucket new soap new water and swap from rim mit to paint mit

6th wash and rinse entire car one time same soap as rims meguiers gold

7th dry car with chamois

8th dry rims with 100% clean white cotton towel

9th meguires tire dressing on applicator than applicator to side wall of tire 2 x each tire

10th wax entire car with meguires nxt wax by hand and remove with many 100% cotton clean white towels

because i wax weekly wax applies and is removed by hand very easy and very fast

1 time per month all mits , chamois, and towels are cleaned

 

[JohnnyStan 10+ year member]

california water blades are your friends. works way better than any sort of drying cloth. save your chamois for the really hard to reach places.

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

california water blades are your friends. works way better than any sort of drying cloth. save your chamois for the really hard to reach places.

Have fun scratching your clear coat! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsupwink.gif.129404938effda6ad9cca39e7f4b58a3.gif

Also, all clay bars are made in the same factory before the detailing manufacturers package them. They are all virtually identical with the exception of color. If you find the clay bar is smearing, you're not using it correctly.

Someone else also said they don't use vinyl treatment because tinted windows and garaging mean they don't have to. My gawd. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif

You are also wasting your time by waxing your car every week and using soap on your rims. In addition, 100% pure cotton towels are a poor choice for buffing.

 

[blackdragonaudi 10+ year member]

X2 They scratch paint up dont matter how clean the car is still going to scratch.

 

[tyler_fitz 10+ year member]

here's a tip: vacuum last.

no sense getting rocks and sand and dirt all over your floor while you're cleaning out trash, wiping off the dash etc. getting in and out of your car.

 

[blackdragonaudi 10+ year member]

No vacuum first if you do it last than the dust particles that the vacuum will pickup and spit out all over the place. Do it first and not worrk about dust and all on your paint.

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

No vacuum first if you do it last than the dust particles that the vacuum will pickup and spit out all over the place. Do it first and not worrk about dust and all on your paint.

What kind of vacuum are you using? Check your filter. It shouldn't be spewing out any more dust than is going to accumulate naturally from the environment. I always find a nice layer of dust within a day of any car I detail, regardless of where it is parked.

It's really a matter of preference. I do interiors after the exteriors, but mostly because cleaning door jambs gets the interior wet and dirty.

 

[Andrew_as 10+ year member]

i go to the car wash and use all the settings on it and than im done... oh yea and i hand dry and shine tires and wheels...

 

[blackdragonaudi 10+ year member]

Its not the vacuum i use its perfectly fine it dosent spew it out like you think it dose just particles of dust stir up when you start vacuuming and all believe me been doing this for 5 years now its better to do the vac first.

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

i go to the car wash and use all the settings on it and than im done... oh yea and i hand dry and shine tires and wheels...

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[bigbangtheory 5,000+ posts]

I also vacuum last. No sense as I leave all kind of shit on the floor from cleaning the interior and what not.

I only wax my car 2-3x a year.