The Car Cleaning Thread!

Hey all,

Since summer is coming soon and we will all be cleaning our cars ... please post what cleaners (detergent, wax, polishes, etc.) you use on your Grand Prix!

Zaino? Mothers? Meguires?

Be specific and let the cleaning begin!

ZAINO!!

Nothing touches my paint or glass unless its been mixed up by Sal Zaino. For the tires I use Endurance. Inside plastics get Armor All, and Leather gets Lexol. Under the hood I use a bunch of stuff. All metals get polished with either Mothers Mag polish or Nev-R-Dull. Rubber gets Endurance, plastics Armor All. Painted parts get Zaino, of course.

Did I forget anything?

Speaking of car cleaning, anyone with the RAT heat shield, what do you use to keep it clean. Mine has water spots that I can't get out. Tried Eagle One Never Dull and good ole vinegar, but I still have water spots.

I will not comment since there are numerous brands out there and I will not start another M vs. Z flame ware. But I will say that Armor-All will ruin plastic and foam over time. I cant tell you how many tow trucks (back in the day) and and other vehicles that I have seen this happen to over the years.

Thats true. Its also the exact reason that my "Armor All" isn't real Armor All. Its actually a professional product made by Stinger. It works kinda like Armor all except its a different formula. Wish I could give you more info but I can't. Its only available to professional detailers, and I'm not sure what I did with the spec sheet.

Armor All is a water based product, and unless you continously apply the product it will dry out your leather/plastics etc.

UH then why say that it is? Is it that stuff from Kastle?

Say that it is what? Its not made by Kastle. The manufacturer is Stinger. Its their "Premium Dressing". According to the bottle its solvent based, not water based like ArmorAll. I can get more info from the MSDS sheet if you want. I found it last night.

I was busting your chops for saying that its Armor-All.

mother's alum polish polishes the rat heat shield nicely... give that a try. If that doesn't work, use the alum polish on your tips so your $$ isn't wasted

Hi everyone,

I have been detailing my vehicles for the past 10 years and have found these products to work the best for me.

Car wash: Armor-All brand from COSTCO

Tire Cleaner: Eagle One A to Z

Chamois: Genuine Sheepskin (bought anywhere)

Post-Drying: Meguiar's Instant Detailer to take off watermarks and clean the car after you chamois it (always dirt there you can't see after you wash and dry your car off).

Tire Dressing: Meguiar's Premium Tire Dressing Gloss

That's it for car cleaning.

WAXING (beautiful showroom results)

1. Meguiar's pre-wax cleaner (applied and taken off with an 8" orbital buffer)

2. Meguiar's polish/sealer (applied and taken off with an 8" orbital buffer)

3. Meguiar's Wax (applied and taken off with an 8" orbital buffer)

This simple waxing job takes about 6 hours if done properly, but gives a competition grade wet look that lasts for weeks.

has anyone ever heard of this stuff: http://www.5starshine.com
Its got sometype of teflon in it? you guys should check into this. I just used Zymol cleaner/wax on my car last night and it looks beutiful. how can I bring the shine out even more? my car is black.

Hello,

OK guys, here goes.(disclaimer: I have nothing to do with this product, other than being an end user)
When I bought my car back in '00 I was introduced to a product called Dri-Wash by my Dad. I inquired about the product on the message board, and only got back a couple of replies, only one person that actually used it, and that was privately. With that, I decided I would try it on my own with no more consulting. So, in spring of '01 I purchase 2 quarts and started using it on a regular basis. After a Summer, Fall, Winter, here it is Spring in Portland Oregon. My car is over 2 yrs old now, never seen a garage, and I have never waxed it (black). It's very hard to tell that it's never been waxed. It's a spray on formula, that wipes off w/ a dry towel...No water is used. I'm quite impressed w/ the product allthough it, as all things, has its cons.
1. Overspray - It's a spray on application, and it seems to find it's way into all the nooks and cranny's.
2. Longevity - It doesn't last very long during the cold wet times of the year.
3. Easiness - Is that a word?....Anyways, it takes a while to learn how to make it wipe off easily, or, It may be the amount of toxicants on the paint at the time of application that makes it harder to wipe off.

Pros:
1. No water - (Can also be a con....I still like to take a bath with "my baby") but, can be done in the garage, during winter....etc.
2. Portable - This stuff can be used anywhere, even on the floor inside the coliseum during a car show. Take it w/ you to a show on the road.
3. No waxing - This product does not give a competition shine all by itself, but, I've had a lot of people disbelieve me when I tell them I've never waxed it.

It took me a whole year to go through a bottle of this stuff, so the price isn't all that bad. I think I paid $32 a bottle. I've literally wiped off some pretty bad "road grime" with it. Sometimes I use 2 towels. I will continue to use the product until it runs out. At that time, I'll decide whether I want to do something else to protect it. Since I've only been using it a year, maybe time will tell whether it was the right choice or not.
Dri wash is only available through distributers (as is a popular product used by many members here), and I'm not one of them. So, if you are interested, don't contact me, just search the internet. That's what I did

I've used this Dri-wash stuff before myself. One of the local club members sells the stuff.

It's very good for cleaning the car BUT its also pretty darn expensive.

Only reason I went back conventional polishes and waxes.

Plus, I lost that goofy pump spray thing that you need to use it.

Quality - thumbs up
Price - thumbs down

ttt

For all you amateur detailers out there - how about some pictures of your cars AFTER you have just cleaned them. Make these pictures nice, with maybe a few closeups and a few wide shots so we can compare each brand of cleaner.

Consider this a challenge - all you Zaino-ites!

NYC has water restrictions due to the "drought". I can't do my car. The only water I can use is well water, which leaves spots.

Although its going to be raining like heck the next few days - since I have underground parking, I'll try to detail my car (at least the outside) and take some pics to get this thread started.

I won't say what I'm using so we can get honest opinions / critiques.

Then in maybe a week or two, whoever posts up pictures can reveal what wax / polish, etc. they used to clean their cars.

Does that sound like a plan?

Let the cleaning begin!

This could be the perfect opportunity to reveal the product I've been using with Zaino to improve the shine. My year long test is just about over, so I guess its time to break the silence.

I'll see if I can do a detail job with the crappy water. If I can, expect pics this weekend or early next week.

Can I even participate in this? I'm not an amateur. I've been to school for detailing and could be considered a professional.

Professional / amateur - it doesn't matter! Let's clean some cars!

Any of you people that are facing this problem might want to look into a product I recently had recommended to me. "Quick & Easy Wash" by Protectall. Go to www.protectall.com for some information. It does a good job for me although I have yet to use it on a really dirty car. Probably won't. A couple of other alternatives are "Dri Wash" and a similar product from Amsoil. I have used both and while bucket washing is much better, they are better than no wash at all.

Charles

I have to disagree w/ this.....Bucket washing will not give any type of protection from the elements. If you wash w/ a bucket for a year with out waxing, you will notice a big difference. Where as the dri-wash will not give the trophy shine, it will provide "protection" and make your car look like you wax it occasionally. I don't see anyone posting any pics after detailing yet, that being the case, I'm going to continue to put my "new house" together, instead of detailing the GTP. When I do get around to detailing, I'll be posting pics immediately.
'00 GTP(never waxed) Black Sedan

Heya guys,

I did clean my car, but I was too busy to get into the details. I figure I should be able to get a complete and good cleaning job done this Sunday morning so ... my pics will be up on Sunday afternoon hopefully.

Regards,

Chew

It supposed to rain this weekend up here. I need a totally clear weekend. Then I can wash, clay, wash, Zaino, wait, more Zaino, wait, my secret product, more Zaino .

Man....You guys work too hard....I dri washed my car last night, all I have to do is spray my tires, and find a good place to take pictures.....Mebbe Saturday.
Later now

Heya,

I just got my new toy - a Craftsman 10" random orbital buffer.

I know its not a Porter Cable but I only spent 40 bucks on it so I'm not expecting the world from it

I know some people believe in getting smaller buffers for more precision, but I like the big ones so I can do the large areas quickly and then hand buffing the smaller areas where I need more accuracy.

I'll try to have some pics up this weekend.

I have a 8" random. No idea the manufacturer, it was like $14.99 last summer. Also have a 6" high speed buffer from Craftsman. I've used each of them once. Working by hand is slower, but I prefer it.

OK....Due to my webpage host, I can't post the pictures here, but I can give the URL. If anyone knows of a free website host, fill me in. I like tripod, but they keep limiting my abilities...Anyways.......

Here's after 2 consecutive Driwashes.....I've had this car for over 2 years, and it hasn't seen a garage until 2 weeks ago. So, this finish has seen 2 winters, and 2 summers totally exposed 24/7 in the Great Northwest..... Never been waxed.
There is a close up shot, and an example of the grime I took off this time at http://members.tripod.com/~crimpton/clean
I've taken off worse(w/ haste), but have become more confident with use.

These pics REALLY do not do the car justice, but I'll leave the results up to you:

http://24.200.184.120:9001/zaino.htm

Jerry Homolka

Hey Jerry,

Car looks great. I think if I was to get into putting more effort into getting a showroom shine, Zaino may be the way I'd go......I think the water on the tires helps too...;

I'll have pictures tomorrow. I washed her yesterday, clayed her today, I'll rewash her later today to get the clay gunk off and then the Zaino goes on, a coat today and a coat tomorrow.

EDIT: OKay no pictures today. I need to get some ZFX before i take them. I ran out of Z-1 so I couldn't do the whole car this weekend.