What do you guys use?

[atLas]

What do you wash your car with? Wax? Wash? Scrubber? Dryer? The whole list please.....

Also when I get tough little stains on my car that cannot be wiped off with water, I usually use rubbing compound (turtle wax), is this ok for the paint?

[Styles]

I'm sure if you read around this forum you will find TONS of products we use. Yeah... Wax is fine. It will remove a lot of grime and dirt from your car that wont come off...
I just tried turtle wax HIGH GLOSS wax and detailer and it works really well

[Furious]

there are some good reviews in the review forum as well.



i think my list is as follows (im on a little bit of a buget but these products work great)

wax-mothers cleaner wax or zymol
tire stuff- meguirs endurance
interior- mothers detail spray
leather- BMW's stuff or simonize is good too
for drying-califonia waterblade for winter and those synthetic shamois
for wash anything will do the trick as long as its not dish soap

[Silver4evr]

Originally posted by atLas@Jul 8 2004, 02:11 AM
Also when I get tough little stains on my car that cannot be wiped off with water, I usually use ****rubbing compound (turtle wax)****, is this ok for the paint?

If you use rubbing compound for stains, you gotta wax it after.

What I do:

Wash: RainX self dry soap,r Meguiar's Clear Coat wash or Blue Coral products with soft water. Use the hose without the nozzle before/after/during cleaning. I then squeegee my windows and then wipe the excess water from the windows until completely dry. The rest of the car is left to dry on its own (no spots).

Quick Detailer: First use the California duster if it's just dust on the car.

Then for anything left over I use a DIY mix-a bit of RainX and a capful of rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle of distilled/deionized/soft water. Spray the spots and let sit. Then spray your mf towel real well and also the area to clean. Gently wipe the area clean and buff with another soft cloth. Don't let the QD dry. For hard bird droppings, hot water with some car soap in a spray bottle will soften them up in a couple of minutes.

I carry a spray bottle and some mf towels in the trunk so I can get those nasty spots as soon as I see them. So if you see some guy in a parking lot cleaning his car, that's me!

Note: I also use this stuff to clean my rims. Gets light brake dust of well.

Light Scratch remover/pre-wax polish: Gel-gloss (good for light colored cars).

Glass cleaner: Windex or my QD.

Glass Polish: Gel-gloss leaves your glass sealed and the water sheets off. Like the original RainX product. Gel-gloss comes in a spray or liquid paste. I get mine at Home Depot.

Dash: ArmorAll pro cleaner/conditioner (new product-works good) just wipe it all off for a nice, new car sheen on your dash.

Wax: Permaplate Paint Guard acrylic paint finish. (Zaino seems to be the most shiny/long lasting/most popular.) Search for Zaino on the board to find some good posts.

Interior: Guardsman leather cleaner, Permaplate Leather Conditioner
(Lexol is a popular and well regarded brand-sold on-line and by the many BMW dealers). I use a Rigid 5hp portable vacuum that I picked up at Home Depot for about $70. It works great. See my review in the Product Review forum.

Carpet: Folex carpet cleaner (from Home Depot). 1 gal for about $16. Also great for removing spots from clothes.

Tires: wash with soap and water, after drying, I apply "Black Again", a shiny thick clear liquid that adds a nice sheen to the tires.

Towels: mico-fiber, baby diapers or high density dusting cloths (both washed a bunch of times).

Check the Detail FAQ and the Website links post in the FAQ forum for more good info.

As I told the sales rep when I last saw him at the dealer's, my goal is that when I take my car in for service, it will look good enough to put on the showroom floor and no one would no the difference.

I've had several other owner's ask me at the dealer's what I used to keep my car looking so good.

[Bear]

I use a sheepskin mitt and Trutle Wax Gold auto shampoo (COSTCO).

[ajames]

hello

with your car .. i would STAY AWAY from the Turtle Wax rubbing compound. I cannot fathom any spots or marks on your brand new '04 paint that is in need of a compound to begin with ... and in the grand scheme of compounds and polishes ... TW isn't the greatest.

For marks, or spots, or marring, etc -- the rule of thumb in the detailing world is to use the least agressive product first, and if that doesn't work, THEN move up to something more powerful. For spots that don't come out with rubbing, i recomment using a paint cleaner. Meguiar's Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner is a great one, Your finish is too new to be using strong abrasives and harsh compounds. Light polishes and glazes will do you just fine.

After you use a polish/glaze ... its always a good idea to rewax. The polish will remove any existing wax in order to work out swirls/marks.

If your looking for a few products that you can get to a tengeable STORE and buy ... i'd look for a local harley davidson store and find their S100 Gloss Enhancing Paint Cleaner ... its pretty mild and should clean your paint fairly well ... then follow with their S100 Carnauba Wax. On a new car like yours ... that should be a good combo.

I personally use Einszett (1Z) Polishes their Glanz Wax and several of Meguiar's polishes and compounds. I wash with a sheepskin mit and either Eagle One WET car wash or Meg's Gold Class Shampoo (both great for the $$$)

alex

[atLas]

Originally posted by ajames@Jul 9 2004, 10:44 PM
with your car .. i would STAY AWAY from the Turtle Wax rubbing compound. I cannot fathom any spots or marks on your brand new '04 paint that is in need of a compound to begin with ... and in the grand scheme of compounds and polishes ... TW isn't the greatest.

thank you.... i will definitely keep that in mind and try using different products. thankfully i know that now, and not 3 years in .

[ajames]

btw .... where are you from atlas?

[d3ity]

Meguiars...EVERYTHING.

[woobiee]

pretty much zaino everything

[dewey325]

I use clearKote Vanilla moose and Poorboys EX-P, & s100. All great stuff
superior detail supplies .com has most of that stuff. They have clay bars too.