I am wanting to see what members secrets are for having a nice and clean looking J inside and out.
2009 Ford Mustang V6
I cant say much for interior besides a good vaccuming and some armour all or some sort of cleaner depending on your prefference (mind you i use some detailer on some of my interior due to it being painted with Base/Clear auto paint but thats different)
But as far as exterior and being a detailer myself for a job i really reccomend anything that Shining Monkey offers. you can pm me for details about it if your wondering.
but usually my routine most of the time when i was the car is park it in the shade (thats the key sun+heat =the devil) anywhere but on dirt because once the ground and your tires are wet you'll just spray mud back on the car so it's pointless to do a good job i the dirt,
then i rince the car thoroughly then i use a 2 sided wash mit ,one soft side and one slightly coarser to get stubborn bugs and such off (i think mine is made by armor all) and scrub for quite a while until i'm satisfied (thats more a prefference call than anything)
then depending on what i'm doing i'll usually rince the soap off than keep the car wet and go panel by panel and clay bar the whole thing (i usually run the water right over my hand as i rub the clay over the car to be sure everything is wet and is rinsed off)
then i use a real leather chamois (they smell terrible when they get wet the first time but after a while it goes away) the reason i use a real one vs. a synthetic one is because i find it picks up more water that the synthetic, although the real ones do take a little more effort to wring out and to wipe across the car i think it's worth it (another judgement call so to speak)
i wouldnt reccomend using the water blades you can get around different places mainly because if you pick up anything on the blade you'll be very likely to scratch things badly where the blade is much stiffer and has far less give than a chamois' fabric would have
as for cleaning wheels and such i usually dry them off first and use detailer on them and call it a day
i usually spray the detailer on my windows inside and out too because after its on it beads water instantly for probably 3 months after if you let it, but i usually do it every 2 or 3 times i wash it
and if you're like me and hate when the car is all shined up and sparkling and as soon as you open the door and close it or drive off water drips out of the spaces you cant get to... a compressor and an air blower of some sort is your best friend
thats all i can think of at the moment, if the right questions are asked i might be able to come up with a solution
www.driftnamiperformance.com
Polishes. A huge misconception is that wax shines your car when its main purpose is to protect your paint. For a deep shine a polish is what you need. Right after you wash your car I suggest using the Crystal Clear Meguires polish then a coat of the next gen tech wax 2.0. this leaves a Phenomenal shine. Also if the car is a dark color such as black maroon or has a metallic paint a coat of mothers carnuba cake wax will make it look deeper than ever. Any other color and its just waste of money. Given those products come out to like 40 bucks so others can be substituted but the polish only runs like 8 bucks and is a must. And paste or cake waxes are a much better deal for the money. They are usually the same price as their liquid counterpart and you get double the use outta a paste/cake. Have fun!
^^^ wax shines my car just fine. amazingly infact. never used a polish before and my 10 year old paint looks phenomenal.
my interior 'secret' is meguiers 'endurance' tire shine, it stays on the plastic and trim etc so well and for so long i havent been able to find anything that beats it. beautiful shine. nasty stuff tho... lol
wax your door jambs/trunk jamb and engine bay, it makes a world of difference....
LEAVING FOR BASH TOMORROW!! WOOt!!!!!!!!
Thanks.
I usually wash my car with meguiars gold glass car wash seems to work well for me. I save my car wash from the previous car wash to clean the wheels first, dont want the water to spot on the car washing the wheels. I use a old wash mit and a brush for car paint. Then off to the car itself, I use a microfiber wash mit, and wash a panel at a time and rinse each section just to go over everything thoroughly. Once washed I use a leather chamois and dry off my car starting at the roof and working my way down. I also make sure to open up both doors, hood, and trunk so the water can drain from those areas. I dry all the areas of the car that were washed. making sure to hit all the door trunk and hood jambs, even getting in the gas door as well.
Now I usually use the mothers #1 pre cleaner to clean and prep the surface for a nice polish, I use my aplicator and apply a light amount on and let it dry to a haze and take it off with a microfiber cloth, then I use the mothers #2 polish and apply a light coat of that on the car and let it dry too a haze and take it off with another microfiber cloth, Now I use meguiars gold class liquid wax and do 2 applications with a foam wax pad and allow it to dry to a haze and remove it with a microfiber cloth. After this I follow up with a ardex spray detailier/wax to clean up any dust or build up.
I also make sure to apply a coat of rain-x as well, Before I do so, I clean the windows with rubbing alcohol to make sure they're nice and clean, then I hit them with invisible glass. Once i've done all this then I apply a heavy amount of rain-x to all of my windows.
Interiors are not my big thing to work on, I only do 2 applications of armorall a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Inbetween those times I use a damp wash cloth and just wipe down all of my surfaces to remove any dust. give it a good vacuming twice a month to keep the interior from looking horrid, and use blue coral carpet dri clean to treat any stains that I might get. Then hit the windows with a treatment of invisible glass to keep them nice and clean. " I hate doing the back window".....
2009 Ford Mustang V6
i always wash a panel at a time form top to bottom. then dry the car with a leather chamois (to the guy that said use real leather chamois speak on brother) and while using a cleaner/wax.polish all in one will get the job done it just dossent have the same effect. i dont claybar all that often but when i do i never use water only quick detailer.
I keap a microfiber towel handy as i claybar so i can go behind where i claybared and wipe it down so you don't have to wash the car again. then go over the car with a polish (the brand is a preference thing) and then a nice paste wax. and go over the head/taillights with plastx if they look dull. and of course do the gas door trunk and under hood.
for the interior sweep it out use a stain remover if necessary ( i prefer blue corral or prestone) then go over all the trim with some sort of interior cleaner. I don't EVER use armoral i only use turtle wax z21(preference) clean all your windows with a non ammonia glass cleaner. dont use anything with ammonia if you have tint on your windows. clean down inside your center console use interior cleaner there also. and don't forget the door jams. spray some air freshener of your choice and move on.
for under the hood. i like to use oven cleaner (you can use a auto degreaser if you prefer) to break down any grease and oil. then go to a motor cleaner (use a brush on stuber areas). hose it all off(i always spray any exposed wires or electronics with wd-40 befor spraying water in my engine bay) then wipe it all down with a terry cloth and apply some polish to any areas that are sutable (hard lines valve cover etc.)then i go over the wiper motor cover with plastx and call it a day.
wash dry claybar x2 wax x2
/end thread
I use Lexol for my interiors, and under the hood hoses and plastic. It cleans and hydrates under the surface instead of Armoral which cleans the surface. I use Poor Boys car wash for the exterior, and some more Lexol for the lenses.
