bschack

I've never been real good about cleaning my own cars in the past - better to start late than never. How often do you wash your car? And what products do you recommend I buy and use? What type of sponge? What kind of soap? What to clean the wheels with (oem wheels)? What about the tires? The interior - should I use armor all wipes in the car foor dust, or does armor all just attract more dust? Any washing tips would be appreciated - btw, my car is black if that matters.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i wash my car like once a week, and wax my car once a week or once every twice (yeah it's a bit too much, but i like shine )

for car wash, i go with zaino
for car wax / polish, i go with zaino
for tires, i would say use magueirs
for leather, i use lexol
for vinyl and all other plastic, i use armor all
for normal dust cleaning (without rain), i use california car duster
for cloth i just use normal 100% cotton ones

SergeDubovsky

I prefer vinilex for vinyl.

GS400_PUSHER

Well I can tell you having a black makes it harder to keek clean But I was told Zaino was very good. I think you would need to order it tho! Now magueirs is good to and you should be able to pick it up at a local Pep Boys.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I wash my car at least twice a year whether it needs it or not. Now they have a car washing service where I work ($20 for inside and out!) I'll get it done more often.

But on the odd occasion I've decided to wash it myself, I use some auto detergent in a big bucket of warm water plus another bucket of just water to wash out the cloth. I actually use a cloth 'mitt' that has mop-like string bits hanging off it for cleaning. It's decent. I don't use sponges because they can collect dirt more easily and scratch the finish (I've been told).

I have some 'Mothers' stuff for the exhaust tips and the wheel rims. Good stuff. I would NEVER use armor all or any similar product inside because it makes the dash shiney which I think looks like sheite.

And as for waxing, if done by someone who REALLY knows what they're doing it looks good, but I personally have never waxed a car I've owned and have no interest in spending that much of my time on car cleaning.

If I had a black car, I'd just budget getting it seriously detailed once a quarter.

mooretorque

Exterior: Zaino.

Interior: Lexol.

It is true that you have to order Zaino. It is also true that Sal hasn't even waited for my personal check to clear to ship my order on all three occasions that I've ordered. And if you email with questions, etc., it is Sal Zaino who returns your email, usually within a few hours.

At Pep Boys, I guess you can talk to one of the stock guys if you have questions.

FutureGSorIS

I wash with a 100% cotton viking mitt. I use mothers clay+lube, I use the klasse twins to give a good shine and top it off with a layer of pinnacle souveran wax. Interior I use lexol for leather and plexus for plastic and eagle 1 for glass. I use microfiber towels to dry. For tires, I havent found anything yet that doesnt attract a lot of dust or slings off when driving. I would stay away from amorall all togther as there are way better things you can use and I havent been fond of armorall since of their milky liquid products they have hurt the vinyl and rubber and what not. For washing tips, I would do the dual bucket method where you have 1 bucket for rinsing the mitt and 1 with the soap, also clean the wheels first before the rest of the car. Since your car is black, you probably will have a lot of swirl marks so you are going to need some swirl mark remover.

Charles GReddy

Mothers Products.

This is what i use. I would sujest you use a wash mit not a sponge.

mcgong

I was my car once a week including wiping down the engine. Once a month I use Zaino Z5 and clean the seats with Lexol.
Everyday I use the Duster to dust the car and if needed, use Zaino's Z6 to wipe down the areas where needed. For the tires, I use Eagle One's Tire Gel with the sponge applicator. Eagle on is pretty good a sticking to the tire and not flying off on the side of your car. Hope that helps.

LS4fun

You clean your car only twice a year? Its not that dirty where you live?

Kbueno

I've been using Zymol wax for quite a while..just wondering how it compares to Zaino??

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

That's an old joke... but not far off the truth in my case.

But hey, at least I'm in good company with others who posted in that I use a wash mitt and mothers when I do have a mad moment and clean it!

And another reason I don't have to clean my car that often is because it's silver, and silver cars rarely look very dirty. That's why I got it. 3 of my 4 cars have been silver. The last one was dark green, which looked good when it was clean, but like a black car, it looked bad when it was even somewhat dirty or just dusty and paint swirls sure show up (I know they can be gotten out, but it's just more of a pain).

But now I've got the wash service at work, I can pretty much forget ever doing it myself again - these guys are good.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Another vote for Zaino.

Need For Speed

DO NOT WAX YOUR CAR ON A WEAKL BASIS, IT IS NOT GOOD FOR THE PAINT, IT DOENS'T LET IT BREATHE AND AFTER A WHILE YOU'LL GET BUILD UP.

diamondgs4

I wash my GS twice a week with Zaino UV add-in.
Once Every three months for a Zaino Z2-Z5 solution.
I hardly use Z1 unless the clay bar is used.

What a job to keep it clean !