McBrain

Hi All,

I recently bought a 3IS Fsport. Had it almost a week and I'd like to buy a low-maintenance washing setup. What I mean by that is I'm not looking to Zaino my car (been there and done that before life got busy). I'm looking for a system that will allow me wash/dry my car in 30-45 minutes. This way, I'll stay motivated to wash it on a regular basis.

In the past I used products from Car Care Specialties (3C). You guys seem to like DI. I like it too (from the looks of it).

Is it possible to use a wash+wax system. From my Zaino days I remember washing my car with liquid dawn to remove any wax. The car is new and I'm sure its been waxed etc.

Here is what I think I need and I'd appreciate any comments/review:
- 2 buckets (1 red, 1 blue) each with a guard. One for body and one for wheels
- Washmit
- A few of these for drying the exterior or washing interior (with Meguirs interior spray)
- Some sort of wheel brush. I'd like suggestions for wheel cleaner. I'm paranoid about damaging these wheels even with something like the 3C P21S

Where I'm a bit lost is what cleaner I should use for the body. I still have some dawn :-) and some Zaino Z7, but I'm looking for some sort of very gentle wax or wash'n'wax product.

The IS350F is my DD, so I'm not looking for showroom quality, but something effective, safe and does not require 3hrs to get through.

Appreciate all comments.

PondScum

IMHO, it's a huge mistake to not put some kind of protection on your paint. You're basically guaranteeing that the appearance will get worse and worse until you can't stand it and end up doing a full correction anyway. Plus, the protection will make it easier to wash your car and lengthen the time between decontamination and correction.

On my DD, I want low maintenance too, but there is a certain minimum level of appearance I want to maintain at the same time. For me, that calls for either a paint coating, or a base coat of premium sealant (take your pick), refreshed as often as needed with a WOWA (wipe-on, walk-away) spray sealant. Opti-Seal has worked well for me as a WOWA sealant.

Depending on weather conditions and how often your car is garaged, you should be able to get 3-6 months minimum out of a WOWA sealant. So that's about 10-15 minutes of maintenance, every three months worst case, to maintain an appearance far better than what would result with what you proposed. That's an hour a year.

The only reason I did not recommend a paint coating is because it doesn't sound like you want to DIY a paint coating, and don't want to pay several hundred dollars to a high-end detailer for a paint correction followed by coating. If I'm wrong about either of those, then you should consider a coating, since you'll go around 4x longer between applications compared to a sealant.

You might want to consider Optimum's No Rinse Wash plus Wax. I don't use it, but it sounds like a product for the person looking to minimize the time spent maintaining their car's appearance.

McBrain

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'm taking this too far. I think I'm just so burnt out from Zaino (too much time/work). I'm looking at the optimum car wax (spray one, wipe off), but I'm not sure if that counts as a sealant. Perhaps the optimum opti-seal? Definitely open to recommendations here. Also, what applicator would you suggest for any of these?

PondScum

Part of the problem might have been that you weren't experienced enough to know what steps you could skip, and how to perform them quickly. For instance, vertical body panels need decontamination very infrequently. You can usually get away with just claying the rocker panels, and the very tops of the sills, if there is any horizontal surface there at all. And horizontal body panels only need claying when the baggie test tells you they need it. You can clay a car while you dry it, and it can take as little as 15 minutes.

Here is a recommendation for a super-low maintenance DIY detailing schedule (again, I'm assuming that you don't want to pay someone else to correct your paint and apply a coating, nor do you want to do all that work yourself):

1) Once every two years years, decontaminate (clay) and apply All-In-One product (Optimum Poli-Seal, Zaino AIO, etc.). Should take no more than 90 minutes.

2) Once every year, decontaminate horizontal surfaces (15-30 minutes). Use a fine clay with a good clay lubricant, or other decontamination product that does not mar your paint.

3) Every 3-6 months (as needed) apply WOWA sealant (Optimum Opti-Seal) (15-30 minutes)

For something a little better, do step #1 once per year and omit step #2.

If you find yourself taking a lot of time to decontaminate and apply sealant, there is likely something wrong with your technique. I can clay and apply spray sealant to a mid-size car in 30 minutes. It's machine polishing that takes me hours and hours.

McBrain

Thanks for the feedback. I think I have everything ordered now (20+ items) except the clay bar. Since the car is only a week old, is it worth to claybar it this time? I am guessing no.

Could you recommend applicator pads for the sealant and for waxes? I still have some of my Zaino applicators, but wanted to pick up some new stuff.

PondScum

You should perform the "baggie test" to determine which surfaces require claying. Do a search here or on Google.

Any old microfiber applicator works for me w/Opti-Seal. For wax, go by what the mfgr recommends, or Google it and see what applicators experienced detailers recommend to apply the same product.

Given that you want to spend as little time as possible detailing your car, I'm not sure why you're interested in wax. Wax has the lowest longevity of any protection you can put on your paint. If you're referring to Optimum spray wax, that's more similar to an instant detailing spray, and doesn't need an applicator. It's spray on. wipe off.

TLcoats

iTrader: (11)

Dont use DAWN as your wash!! It will strip any protection you put on.

Sonax FE wheel cleaner for wheels
Detailersdomain Uber drying towel for drying
Adams car shampoo for the car soap
Any polymer sealant, I prefer Menzerna Powerlock.

LuxuryGS3

iTrader: (12)

May I ask what products you're ordering? Even me restocking about 80% of my items for my detailing isn't 20 products..

By the way, pass on the clay bar and pick up a speedy prep towel. It's the new claying system and can be used for more than 50 vehicles without needing replacement. Also to clean it you just spray it with water and guess what.. If you drop it, you can just rinse it off! Much faster process and much more efficient.

Check out http://www.autoality.com/store/pc/home.asp

Thats where I order just about all of my products. Get the following off Autoality

-: 2 Grit Guard Insters (for buckets)
-: Sonax Polymer Net Shield (Protection, easy wipe on/wipe off 6 months sealant protection)
-: 2 Hex Applicator Pads (applicators for SPNS)
-: Speedy Surface Prep Towel
-: HD Touch (QD/Clay Lube, i'd buy this in the 16oz and 128 to refill with since it's so cheap)
-: Optimum GPS (Glaze/Polish/Seal - All-In-One product) OR HD Speed (if you're using a buffer)
-: Buff & Shine Microfiber Cutting Pads (if you're using a buffer)
-: Buff & Shine Microfiber Polishing Pads (again, buffer)
-: Buff & Shine Tire Applicators
-: 3D APC
-: 3D Wash & Wax
-: Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel
-: Optimum Metal Polish
-: 303 Aerospace Protectant (oldie but goodie for interior protection)

For towels I buy from http://towelpros.com -- They also carry the Speedy Prep towel in a bundle.

For tire/rim cleaner http://www.3dproducts.com/Yellow-Deg...Tire-Rims.html -- This isn't on Autoality yet, but it's def on my next to buy list for tire/rim cleaner.

That should have you covered on all areas.

LuxuryGS3

iTrader: (12)

And yes, clay your car even if it's a week old only. Dealer preps for new cars are trash and you'll be surprised at all the defects you can find in your prep even if it is a 'new' car.

McBrain

I was afraid you'd say that.

Cheers! When I said 20+, I mean items. I had like 6 towels in there, some shampoo, 3 buckets, guards, few microfibers. Spray on wax. It all adds up. Clearly I'm not done yet and need to pick up a few more items. I think I'll probably just to a regular shampoo this week while I get all the arsenal in place.

My intent for DAWN is when doing a full detail (i.e. stripping away whatever wax/sealant is there, e.g from the dealer), and then for subsequent re-sealings as needed. Once sealed, I plan to only use a shampoo wash until I have to re-seal again.

Thanks for all the good info. Its been a while since I've cared enough about my car to worry about this stuff.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Here's the deal... if you want to have a vehicle that is very easy to maintain, the key is all in the prep work...

Since it is new, you should have significantly less work than a used car... but that depends on how good/bad the dealership employee was that prepped the car.

IMO, you need to do a full exterior detail once, COAT it with a permanent coating, and then keep up with routine maintenance washes as needed. Simple as that.

I would proceed as follows:

- Clean Tires with Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner & Brush
- Clean wheels with Chemical Guys Diablo Gel (diluted with water), wheel brush, and wheel woolies.
- Wash car with Chemical Guys Citrus Wash to help remove any products from the paint (dilute as recommended on product label) and Sheepskin Wash Mitt utilizing the Two Bucket Method with Grit Guards.
- Dry the car with Waffle Weave Microfiber Drying towels
- Clay the car using Fine Grade Clay and Nanoskin Glide clay lubricant (diluted in separate bottle)
- Machine polish the car to remove any defects such as scratches and swirls to reveal an incredibly glossy finish. I would recommend something simple like this Porter Cable Starter Kit with 8 pads (I would ask for 2 orange, 2 white, 2 black, and 2 blue pads). Depending on how severe your defects are, you may only need to do a single polishing step to remove minor defects, or a heavier compounding step followed by a polishing step. Either way, a product like Menzerna FG400 compound and Menzerna SF4000 polish would be a great place to start.
- You will need many high quality microfiber towels to remove polishing residue
- After machine polishing, you may need to wash the car again to remove polishing oils and dust from cracks and crevices. Use a similar wash method as mentioned above - 2 bucket method with grit guards, and citrus wash.
- Next, wipe the surface down with diluted Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) and plush microfiber towels to ensure a perfectly clean surface.
- Coat the paint and wheels with Opti-Coat 2.0 for permanent protection that does not require sealant or wax ever again.

** That is what I consider the 'basics' for a full exterior detail... I left out some things like tire dressing, window cleaner, metal polish, etc.


For future routine maintenance after coating the vehicle, I would:

- Wash the vehicle with Optimum No Rinse using the Garry Dean Wash Method.
- Follow up with a quick detail spray from time to time like CarPro Reload or Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer.
^A quick, easy, safe, and effective washing method.


Hope that helps - let me know if you've got any questions.

-Zach

McBrain

Thanks for the great details! Hopefully others will benefit from these replies also.

Looking forward to getting the car sealed up.