I like Chemical Guys stuff ,though you can’t go wrong with Meguiar’s Gold Class as far as car wash goes.
I use the two bucket (with grit guards) method. I also use a foam gun to get a decent amount of foam on the car for lubrication. For wax, nothing I’ve used works as well or lasts as long as Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant, it’s not cheap, but it goes on easy, comes off easy, leaves a great shine, and lasts for months.
I have a dedicated microfiber wash mitt for the body of the car, and a dedicated wash mitt and bush for the tire’s wheels. It’s imperative that both mitts get machine washed after every use.
I have a large microfiber towel that’s used to dry the car, if I’m not waxing the car, I’ll spray on some spray-on wax/detailer as I’m drying. As others have mentioned, an electric blower is nice to have to get a lot of the rinse water off before you dry with the microfiber cloth/chamois
For windows, nothing beats Stoner’s Invisible Glass cleaner, I use the aerosol on the inside and outside (with a microfiber cloth) I’ll sometimes apply Rain X on the exterior glass as well, I’ve found that the aerosol version of Rain X is easier to apply than the original, though it doesn’t seem to be quite as effective.
I used to use once a year nu finish car polish but I found that the car was clean, but not real wow. I used this because a mechanic told me it was the safest for paint on older cars. This guy used to work at a body shop so at the time, I believed him. now I am not sure. The water does bead up on the car but it never shines the way cars are supposed to shine after getting cleaned.
I used NuFinish for years, and it worked great. Eventually I tried Maguire’s and I thought it made my car “pop”.
But to keep a car looking great for decades, the key is to keep it as clean as your climate will allow over the long term and use ANY brand name wax periodically. All of the brand name waxes work well. None of them work if you don’t use them.
I used NuFinish during the mid-late 90’s, I think they changed the formulation for it at some point, I don’t think the NuFinish product that’s been on the shelves for the last 10 years or so is as effective as it used to be.
Not necessarily . . . I live in California, and I have known several people that relocated from New York, and still want to be referred to as New Yorkers, even after DECADES of living in California
yeah, try your method here, and your paint will drastically suffer. If you keep the car long enough, that is
I’ve never used Nu finish and not about to start now. I don’t use anything with silicones in it. What you do need to do though once in a while is to use clay, then machine or hand polish with a polishing compound. Using a glaze after that is optional, then finally a good wax. I do it twice a year. The only way you’ll get the accumulated dead paint and small scratches out is to polish before waxing.
yeah, try your method here, and your paint will drastically suffer. If you keep the car long enough, that is
I keep my vehicles for years, and except for an 1995 minivan, I've never had a problem with the paint or clearcoat. Like I said, these ain't your grandfather's paint jobs!
I use a wax product called “Rain Dance” which works well for me. Easy to apply and offers pretty good protection for the paint job. I just use a couple squirts of Ajax dish soap into a 2.5 gallon bucket of warm water and a sponge for washing the outside of the car. I always rinse the car off first with the garden hose, before doing any scrubbing. For the glass I use Consumer Reports home made glass cleaner recommendation, Google will find you the recipe. I use the same stuff for cleaning the hard surfaces on the interior. For the soft surfaces, it depends on what caused the stain and what the material is. There’s help on the internet for what to use for the various combinations. Often for the cloth seats I use a weak sol’n of soapy ammonia, shop vac it off, then plain water, and shop vac that off.
The best advice I can give you from my own experience to keep your car exterior looking good, avoid parking close to other cars to avoid dings, keep the car out of direct sun as much as you can, enclosed garage at night, and most importantly, rinse it off once or twice a week with a garden hose.
most importantly, rinse it off once or twice a week with a garden hose.
That is discouraged and viewed as wasteful in some parts of the country. This is a statement from the water authority in my county;
Vehicle Washing
Personal vehicles may be washed at residential properties once a week per vehicle and requires a positive shut-off nozzle on the garden hose. There is no limitation on washing frequency if the guidelines for commercial vehicles are followed or a high-pressure, low-volume sprayer is used.
Most people here live in communities with home owners association rules that prohibit vehicle washing. The preferred method of vehicle washing is to visit a car wash facility.
[Re: Car rinsing with a garden hose.] That is discouraged and viewed as wasteful
Good point. We’ve been having a drought here in the SF Bay area of Calif the last 4-5 years, seems to have let up a bit the past two years, but water conservation is still encouraged. We water landscaping only on the days allowed, depending on our street address. Even and odd days. Home car washing or rinsing with a hose is allowed on the landscape water days provided a shut-off nozzle is on the end of the hose. I’ve never seen anybody wash or rinse a car in the past 30 years without using one of those though, they only cost $2 each. When I rinse my car off, I capture as much of the water as I can by temporarily damming it off and scooping the water out of the gutter. Then I use it for watering the landscaping. I’d guess I re-capture 75% of the water I use for the car rinsing.
Can you believe the differences? We get a credit for more usage in the summer based on the sanitary sewer portion as they figure a sprinkling credit, as the extra water used is for washing cars or watering lawns and gardens etc. does not have to get treated by the waste water treatment plant.
We don’t get a credit but if you have a lawn sprinkling system its hooked to a separate water meter that doesn’t include the sewage charge. We’re on even odd too during the summer but not because of a water shortage but to not over-run the pumping capacity. I like the idea of a credit comparing winter and summer usage but our water works director likes the extra cash.
There is no credit for water consumption in the desert. The sewer charge is 2 1/2 times the water charge, it doesn’t matter if you squirt it on the ground or flush it down the drain. Water plus sewer charge is $6.57 per 1000 gallons for the first 3000 gallons and is tiered up from there. People don’t wash their cars twice a week here.
