Any car detailing pros out there?

[wildwest450]

I keep getting conflicting info on what to use to hand wash a new car with. Some say don't use dish soap as it will strip the wax off, due to the grease cutting abilities. Sounds ghey to me, but I haven't hand washed a car in 5 years. It never seems to hurt my motorcycle paint.

I also only use real cloth diapers to wash with, those wash mits look like they would trap and scratch. Am I nuts? Any other tips? Wifey got a new car and she won't take care of it, so it's up to me.

And yes it's black, but it's called Black Granite, so it's supposed to stay looking far better than a normal gloss black.

_

 

[Law_Brew]

I would just spend the money on a basic car soap its not that expensive and will last a while ( a year or more maybe?). Get a good car squeegee (I always liked the California dry blade) and get a good shammy, drying is the important part with black.

A dedicated car washing bucket is also a good thing to have to avoid swirl marks.

When I was working at a dealership the owners biggest pet peeve with a clean black car was the flat gray after it was washed, so if you want it to look really good and impress your wife a good tire shine will go a long way.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Any tips on cleaning the inside of the windows? It always seems very awkward to get your hand in positions to clean especially the back glass. Also, how do you get to the very bottom near the dash or back deck?

 

[JetSmooth]

Any tips on cleaning the inside of the windows? It always seems very awkward to get your hand in positions to clean especially the back glass. Also, how do you get to the very bottom near the dash or back deck?

A small child from the streets should be able to reach all those corners pretty handily. Tie 'em up in the back yard and make sure you put out a bowl of water frequently for 'em.

 

[passedpawn]

I have a gloss black car that I wash a lot. Here's my tips.

1. Windows: Invisible Glass (spray can - foam)
2: Wax: my favorite (with or without a buffer) is Turtle Wax Black Magic. Maquires Tech something or other is ok but a little harder to remove. In Florida, we don't mess with pure carnuba.
3: Tires: the foaming tire stuff is far superior to the armor all and such. Much easier to apply, less waste, etc. I think it's called Wet Look or something.
4: Get a big stack of microfiber rags and ONLY use them for the car.
5: Rubber trim that will eventually go gray: use Back to Black and qtips.
6: like someone else said, keep a dedicated bucket and sponges.
7: I put wax on by hand, but removed with a orbital buffer. Significantly better at eliminating swirls.
8. After a wash, dry immediately to removed water spots. When dry, I get a competition shine by going over it with that Invisible glass again. Fantastic. I don't think this is affecting the wax.
9: Clean the rims thoroughly. Makes a world of difference. Have a dedicated sponge just for this because the brake dust (especially on fronts) is pretty nasty.
10: clean the dash with a feather duster (no spray). those things work great.

And, finally, clean your license plate!

 

[brewingmeister]

Take her scissors away if she won't take care of it. She did choose black which does happen to be the most showing, no matter how much metal flake is in it.

Since it's new you wouldn't be stripping any wax off if you used dish soap. . Many people swear by dish soap or laundry soap but yeah they will take wax off. The best option is a soap made for vehicles. More bad news, a woven cloth diaper will hold particles where a mit or something like it wouldn't. I agree, dedicated car cleaning supplies are good to have. Rinse often and have fun buying more bling with your scissor money.

-cheers

 

[MazdaMatt]

What's the concensus on the Mr. Clean/Jet Dry sprayer product?

 

[wildwest450]

That's a purdy Infinity.

_

 

[Vance71975]

I keep getting conflicting info on what to use to hand wash a new car with. Some say don't use dish soap as it will strip the wax off, due to the grease cutting abilities. Sounds ghey to me, but I haven't hand washed a car in 5 years. It never seems to hurt my motorcycle paint.

I also only use real cloth diapers to wash with, those wash mits look like they would trap and scratch. Am I nuts? Any other tips? Wifey got a new car and she won't take care of it, so it's up to me.

And yes it's black, but it's called Black Granite, so it's supposed to stay looking far better than a normal gloss black.

_

I would go to Auto zone, they have car wash there that is designed for use on cars, that is what i would use.

 

[passedpawn]

I would go to Auto zone, they have car wash there that is designed for use on cars, that is what i would use.

I get some red cherry-smelling stuff from Auto Zone. Cheap and lasts a long time. It's a very mild soap, probably very neutral pH. Anyway, it smells great!

 

[jetmechG550]

Dish soap is great if you are planning to clay bar your ride or switch systems from say something like a carnuba wax system to a polish type system like zaino bros. It does strip all product off and you can tell easily enough by just trying to glide the back of your hand across the paint after you wash with dish soap and the vehicle is dry.

 

[iaefebs]

Where I used to live I had a reverse osmosis system for my drinking /cooking water. I would save the extra water the system produced in gallon jugs. Whenever I washed my car I would just pour the RO water over the car after I finished washing and rinsing and let it dry naturally. It gave me the cleanest deepest shine you can imagine.