pearldrummerms

I was wondering what everyone finds to be the best car wash, car wax, interior shine, or even stain removers from the clothe in seats or floor mats for their scion?

hermDizzle

Do a search it has already been dicussed on this site.

TurboMe

I have nevered waxed any of our cars. We had a camry that was 15 years old and looked brand new. Until it got stolen.

sl0wp0ke

Turtle Wax products all the way!

naztyTC

zaino hands down

Swanny

Heres a great place to learn about detailing your ride. They have a great forum also.
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/

Lonely_Raven

The answers in these threads always make me cringe.

Autopia is a good place to start, read the how-tos. I'd offer some more pages (as I
like to do) but I'm at work and don't have my bookmarks.

Basically it all boils down to using quality products, AS RECOMMENDED, and being
consistent about it. As well as staying away from certain products that just aren't
good for your car in any way! So yeah, Dawn dish detergent would be a BIG no, no.
And waxing once a year, not matter the quality of the wax is pretty much wasted
effort and cost. You *need* to be consistent.

Things to stay away from.

ANYTHING with Silicon, Formaldehyde, Ammonia, or Petroleum distillates.
That includes, Turtle Wax, Armor All, Windex, and most anything that's inexpensive
and you find at Walmart or a Gas Station or whatever.

I'm thinking about doing an depth How To for car detailing using my box and my
digital camera.

But the basics, no matter what the product are:

Cleaning

Fixing Problems/Restoring

Waxing/Protecting


Sorry this post isn't very informitive, but like I said, I'm at work. Do some googling
and you'll find some really good resources...I think maybe I'm going to ask the mods
to sticky some good pages for us to reference to once I get home and can offer
suggestions.

jaewon223

who cleans their car surface with windex?...

Lonely_Raven

Anyone who's dumb enough to spray windex on the windows
rather then on the towel used to clean the windows.

Also, ammonia fumes, while not as bad as direct contact
are still bad for the paint and the plastics.

mancide

Zaino products rule. I was skeptical until I took the plunge and bought a starter kit. My car gleams and shines better than the day it rolled off the dealership lot. Also it seems the Zaino products help repel dust better than normal carwashes.

Dawn won't damage the paint, what it will do is strip the polish and wax off the car. It's actually suggested before you start using Zaino to wash the car in dish soap once to get a clean surface to work with.

Lonely_Raven

ONLY FOR THE FIRST WASH!

That's just to get rid of any old wax and crap off the paint so
the Zaino can bond with the paint and protect it. My Zymol
works the same way, but they make their own wax removal product.

Pretty much any wash/polish/wax kit that isn't the cheap
stuff at Walmart (for example), and doesn't contain any of
those no-no chemicals is going to be outstanding, and look
better then show room. Zaino is good stuff, just not my brand
of choice.

LED-Maniac

mr.clean car wash

Fujiz_xb

shining monkey.. if yall want some pm me.

asianstyler

Since we are on the topic of car care/washing, what do you all use for actually washing your cars. . .that prevent scratches and swirl marks, of course.
I've seen a couple that seem decent online:
Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Sponge (This one says swirl-free)
http://www.autobarn.net/x3030.html
Meguiar's Gold Class Chenille Car Wash Pad (This one doesn't say swirl-free)
http://www.autobarn.net/x3050.html
Chenille Wash Sponge
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/vk-106.html

And also.. recommended air dry or hand dry?
Sonüs Ultimate Drying Towel
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/mf-200.html

Lonely_Raven

As long as the sponge or wash pad doesn't have anything
in it (treated) that would strip away the wax under it, ANY
good sponge or pad will do WHEN USED WITH GOOD SOAP!

The key is that the good soap reduces the water tention
and helps to lift the dirt and road ickyness off the paint and
carried away in the water and/or sponge or pad.

So, if you are using a good soap, what you use to clean the
car shouldn't effect the paint (unless you are pressing too
hard or stripping the wax or something *user* related).

That said, when it comes to what sponge or pad you use
the issue you have to consider there are:

How well does it carry away the dirt, and how easy is it to
rinse that dirt out of the pad/sponge?

Does the pad or sponge leave lint on the car?

How long does the pad/sponge last before you need to buy
a new one?

And lastly, how can you clean the pad/sponge between
washings?

I used to be die-hard chenille pads, but it bugged me that
most of them will leave lint on the paint (Which is not a big
deal because we are going to hand dry after, right?) but then
after the chenille gets used a few times, it's a pain to wash
it in the washer and dryer because it's going to lint ALL OVER
everything else in the wash. No two ways about it.

I've recently started useing sponges from Zymol and I'm
going to try out the Meguiar's sponge and the Eagle One
Sponge for comparison. I never knew how much different one
sponge could be from another before I used the Zymol one.
It's astonishing how well it works, how flexable it is, how
gentle it is, and how much soap and water it will hold!

The drawback...it's $3 a sponge for the Zymol, and I think
I'd be lucky to get 4 good washes out of it before it starts
to tear and fall apart. Which is my reason fro trying out some
of the other sponges out there.

Drying Towels are a whole nother animal. I'm still not happy
with most anything out there. I've probably got a couple a
hundred worth in Microfiber, Cotton, synthetic absorbers,
cod oil treated chamois, as well as synthetic chamois. It
seems each one works well to an extent, and each type has
it's own advantages over another type, though often very
small.

The only thing I can recommend when it comes to drying,
is just use something that's 100% for sure paint safe,
doesn't strip your wax away, and is easy to use.

I hope that helps out some.

asianstyler

Thanks for such an in-depth reply. Any other people with opinions of products that they have had success with?

tckurt

What about that new dupont teflon product line... looks intresting.

atticdog

Lonely Raven have you tried this drying towel?

Sonüs Ultimate Drying Towel
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/mf-200.html

Lonely_Raven

Not yet, but since it's been pointed out in this thread, I've
gotta try it!

From the description it just sounds like yet another
microweave. So we'll see.

trench

Water. I hardly ever use soap. My car never sits with dirt on it. When It rains, the minute I pull into the carport, I wash the car down to get off the dirt so it doesn't sit.

I use microfiber towels to wipe her down, and she it clean. I was my cars everyday. Never leave the house rain or shine with a dirty car!!!!!!!!!!