Car detailing products?

[crackhead]

Im not trying to start another oil thread here, honest. We've jsut bought our first new (real) car, and would like some suggestions on what to use to keep it looking that way. I have a couple questions specifically.

What are some decent tint friendly glass wipes? No lint, no streaks.

Do they make baby wipes for paint? Something to remove the odd spot of bird poop.

What is a good, quick tire and wheel product. Something for painted, clearcoat, gray European wheels.

Who makes decent, non silicone leather wipes?

[A-Bone]

Bob to the Executive Courtesy Phone please.....

[DHC-2]

Stoner Invisible Glass wipes.

Soak a couple of paper towels, place them on the poop. Let sit 10 minutes. Very gently remove the poop. Most birds use grit (tiny bits of gravel, dirt) to aid in digestion. Guess what happens if you rub it vigorously against your paint?

I use Chemical Guy's or Einzett wheel cleaner.

Lexol for leather.

I prefer to buy glass cleaner and leather stuff in liquid form, the wipes tend to dry out.

Check out a detailing thread for more info.

[crackhead]

Oh, and do you guys buy your stuff locally, or order it up online?

[LuciferMutt]

I'm really picky about the appearance of my vehicles.

Some tips from the years of agonizing over them:

-Don't use ArmorAll on anything.
-303 protectant is a very good product for protecting leather, plastic and vinyl from UV rays. 303 makes some other very good products too, like convertible conditioner, etc. It's just good stuff that does what it is supposed to.
-NEVER touch the paint with anything other than a proper microfiber towel. Don't use diapers, don't use face towels, and don't use cotton towels as a lot of them have polyester stitching which scratches the hell out of your paint.
-NEVER wipe a cloth across dirty paint UNLESS you have some lubricant and water on the paint first (ie water and quick detail spray or water and carwash!) Doing so will scratch and swirl the paint.
-Never use dish soap to wash your car, use proper car wash detergent in the specified ratio to water. Dish soap strips off the wax and dries out and cracks rubber and plastic.
-Thoroughly wash your new car as soon as possible and apply a good coat of high quality carnauba wax. There are a ton -- as a general rule, Carnauba gives a deeper more "wet" look while synthetic "nano sealants" give a highly reflective shine. Collinite is a good natural carnauba wax that genuinely lasts a year if the car is maintained in a garage. If water is not beading on your paint, it needs a coat of wax. Wax offers a protective sacrificial coating on the paint to take the abuse of the elements so the paint doesn't have to.
-NEVER use instant wheel cleaners -- most are highly caustic and will ruin your wheels (and some damage brake linings!) Wash the wheels like you'd wash the rest of the car -- with microfiber cloths (use separate ones from the paint!) and carwash soap.

Good luck

I try to buy stuff locally, but not microfiber towels. They are usually shit locally.

[DriveShaft]

Claybar first.

[subvet]

Originally Posted by LuciferMutt

I'm really picky about the appearance of my vehicles.

Some tips from the years of agonizing over them:

-Don't use ArmorAll on anything.
-303 protectant is a very good product for protecting leather, plastic and vinyl from UV rays. 303 makes some other very good products too, like convertible conditioner, etc. It's just good stuff that does what it is supposed to.
-NEVER touch the paint with anything other than a proper microfiber towel. Don't use diapers, don't use face towels, and don't use cotton towels as a lot of them have polyester stitching which scratches the hell out of your paint.
-NEVER wipe a cloth across dirty paint UNLESS you have some lubricant and water on the paint first (ie water and quick detail spray or water and carwash!) Doing so will scratch and swirl the paint.
-Never use dish soap to wash your car, use proper car wash detergent in the specified ratio to water. Dish soap strips off the wax and dries out and cracks rubber and plastic.
-Thoroughly wash your new car as soon as possible and apply a good coat of high quality carnauba wax. There are a ton -- as a general rule, Carnauba gives a deeper more "wet" look while synthetic "nano sealants" give a highly reflective shine. Collinite is a good natural carnauba wax that genuinely lasts a year if the car is maintained in a garage. If water is not beading on your paint, it needs a coat of wax. Wax offers a protective sacrificial coating on the paint to take the abuse of the elements so the paint doesn't have to.
-NEVER use instant wheel cleaners -- most are highly caustic and will ruin your wheels (and some damage brake linings!) Wash the wheels like you'd wash the rest of the car -- with microfiber cloths (use separate ones from the paint!) and carwash soap.

Good luck

I try to buy stuff locally, but not microfiber towels. They are usually shit locally.

all good advice. I read somewhere about using Carnuba on non-clear coat finishes and synthetic on clear coat (or maybe it was the other way around) I'll have to check it out again.
We have a 2011 vehicle that has never been properly waxed..I'd like to do it thoroughly when the weather cools off a bit in Sept/Oct. I read it's good to claybar a newer finish like mine before putting anything on it.

for the OP..there is no shortage of detailing and finish product websites out there but Lucifer's post hit the basic rules on head.

[Hay Ewe]

Autoglym.

its the beesknees and they have product for almost everything.
Some times your gonna need elbow grease as well but if its a new car, probably not too much

(its out the UK but I can get it in most auto shops here in AUS)

Hay Ewe

[Sniper X]

Originally Posted by crackhead

Im not trying to start another oil thread here, honest. We've jsut bought our first new (real) car, and would like some suggestions on what to use to keep it looking that way. I have a couple questions specifically.

What are some decent tint friendly glass wipes? No lint, no streaks. Use the window cleaner in the white can with blue writing that is a foam, works great on tinted and non tinted windows, best window cleaner ever.



Do they make baby wipes for paint? Something to remove the odd spot of bird poop. Use that kerosens based stuff for bugs.

What is a good, quick tire and wheel product. Something for painted, clearcoat, gray European wheels. Any wheels cleaner (for the wheels) that says good for all wheels. On the tyre stuff, no touch tyre care but you should wipe it clean.

Who makes decent, non silicone leather wipes?

No one, buy Leather care made by Maguires. Brown bottle.

[LuciferMutt]

Originally Posted by DriveShaft

Claybar first.

Forgot about that. Claying before waxing will make the wax last a lot longer. Wash the car, clay the car, then wax it.

[crackhead]

Any decent primers on claying? Claying really cleans the paint right? Do I need to clay a "new" car?

[LuciferMutt]

Originally Posted by crackhead

Claying really cleans the paint right? Do I need to clay a "new" car?

Yes and yes. New cars are exposed to a lot more industrial contaminants than most, actually. Specifically rail dust, which are little ferrous slivers that imbed themsevles into your paint.

Clay "hydro-glides" over the surface of the paint floating on a thin film of lubricant and shears off high spots and catches sharp contaminants and carries them away.

The lubricant should be very soapy carwash or quick detail spray. Fold the clay in on itself after every panel, and use a light touch. The clay is actually somewhat abrasive, so you want it riding on the lubricant, NOT on the paint.

Tear off and use a small piece of clay -- becuase if you drop it it's trash! The only thing dropped clay is good for is cleaning glass.

[HighAlpineDrifter]

As a bird owner, I would recommend a product called "Poop-off". Non-toxic and biodegradable and safe to be used around pet birds (which are very sensitive to chemicals) so it should be safe to use on your new car. My wife uses it to clean up the bird cages. Can get it at a specialty bird store, online, and even places like Petco.

[NDEBT]

Originally Posted by LuciferMutt

Yes and yes. New cars are exposed to a lot more industrial contaminants than most, actually. Specifically rail dust, which are little ferrous slivers that imbed themsevles into your paint.

Clay "hydro-glides" over the surface of the paint floating on a thin film of lubricant and shears off high spots and catches sharp contaminants and carries them away.

The lubricant should be very soapy carwash or quick detail spray. Fold the clay in on itself after every panel, and use a light touch. The clay is actually somewhat abrasive, so you want it riding on the lubricant, NOT on the paint.

Tear off and use a small piece of clay -- becuase if you drop it it's trash! The only thing dropped clay is good for is cleaning glass.

All good advice. I have not seen rail dust in a few years though and if you don't catch it in a few weeks you will see it if you look hard enough. My best advice is drier sheets like bounce for bugs with something like quick detail like Lucifermutt said. I don't detail but I am the guy that gets chewed out when it it not right.

[SgtDuster]

A lot of persons don't understand that it's when a car is brand new that we should take care of it. It's so easy to keep it nice, more than it is to revive it later.

First thing first, claying

2nd, Klasse AIO

3rd, Klasse Sealant Glaze

*Done!


After that, it becomes easy (thanks to the Klasse stuff) to keep it shiny. Quick detailer with microfiber every now and then and you're good to go.



*If you are the kind of guy who wants the top of the top, a one of a kind job, it's not done yet. Keep the car inside if you can or you'll want to wash it again, wait 12h after the Klasse SG job and do it again. You can put more layers if you want but I personally don't think that one should put more than 3 layers, 12h between each. After that, wait another 24h (very important) and then put a thin layer of P21S Concours over the whole thing. Can't be more "done" than that.






Quick tip: apply Klasse AIO on your windows too. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to clean them afterward.