TANTALIZEDMIND

I see around here that the paint on Scions aren't the best. My tC should be here in 4 weeks. Once the snow leaves my area and want to wash my car....

SHOULD I go to the car wash with those wet, foamy noodles, or wash it home with a hose and sponge?


Thanks in advance.

hahaitzskippy

i usualy do it myself because i hand wax my car after i wash it...

and i hear many stories of car washes scratchin up paint jobs... i prefer to do it at home.

killerxromances

Never use a car wash unless its just too cold to do it yourself at your own house.

Always hand wash, better for the paint/clear coat and you will usually get it much, much cleaner doing it yourself vs. machine.

When you wax, do it by hand. Don't get lazy on your car! heh.

Good luck with your new car,

Cya

tC9o9

i too thought that a car wash would be better for my car, but got discouraged when i went with my friend, and he got his c/f hood scratched. i wash my car now by hand. i use one microfiber sponge, three microfiber cloths, six pure cotton towels, eagle on car wash, and eagle one wax as you dry. im just tellin you how i wash it so that your car can sparkle like mine ... first put the soap in a bucket, and mix the water in it. then wash your car down with a nozzle on the hose so that the dirt and other stuff comes off nicely, make sure your spray under the body, and get the wheel wells. then wet the sponge before you put it in the bucket, and then basically wipe your car down from head to toe... then you will want to wet your car again to get the soap off, but make sure the nozzle is off, so the water flows out of the hose. start from the roof down. this causes less water drops on the car, and takes the soap away much faster. then begin to spray wax on the panels. do one panel at a time, so that the wax doesnt haze. then after you have wiped your car down, use the second m/f cloth to wipe it down again, making sure that everything is open, hood, trunk, doors. this way you can make sure that you get all the water out. then after you have done that, shut everything, drive the car around the block, and then wipe it down with your third m/f cloth. after that i clean the wheels with the cloth towels, and some armor all tire shine. i usually just spray the tire shine on the wheels to, because it keeps them clean. i then add a little wax to my wheels, but they are painted so dont do this with your stock wheels. my car is BSP so i have to wash it every week, just to keep it clean. i usually wax every two weeks, and clean my engine bay every four. the interior i clean weekly by using a shop vac, and a spray bottle of water.

killerxromances

^ ^

Weekly wash:
Mr clean auto kit, mirco towels to dry, clean wheels seperately using soap, wash, dry with towel, go back over it with meguiars tire cleaner then wipe off excess cleaner. vac. interior, clean interior windows with damp clean towel, clean vinyl with cleaner pads. I also wipe off motor from dust because i have a open hood scoop, polish hood pins and clean off dirt from bottom of exhaust.

Show clean/wash:
Mr clean auto kit, mirco towels to dry, clean wheels seperately using soap, wash, dry with towel, go back over it with meguiars tire cleaner then wipe off excess cleaner. vac. interior, clean interior windows with damp clean towel, clean vinyl with cleaner pads. I also wipe off motor from dust because i have a open hood scoop, polish hood pins and clean off dirt from bottom of exhaust.

Wax all paint, inside, around interior doors with paint, under sideskirts everything with ntx.

Day 2: Wash again like i did prior to waxing, then wax again. Wash car off again just to make sure all wax is off around cracks and places hard to get out of.

Night before: Wipe car off before i goto sleep with a mirco towel to get dust and stuff off that naturally attracts in garage.

Day of show: Wipe off everything with mirco towels before leaving, take two with me. once i get to meeting spot wipe off car, once i get to show wipe off car one last time.

Thats how i do it.

Cya

bpu_TC

Use a good touchless or hand wash. And like he ^^^ said, use micro fiber towels.

tC9o9

if you have mrclean, then why do you use microfibers to dry?

killerxromances

I don't like to use the autodry. I use mr. clean because the soap seems to be a little stronger, "better" than regular car soap at getting dirt off with a sponge. That autodry works fine, i've used it before. But i'd rather dry it myself.

Cya

BlkSandPrlTurbotC

Make sure you clay bar your car after you hand wash it, and BEFORE you wax it.

clay bar will remove all the impurities in the paint. i.e. dirt from shipping. trust me...it's worth it...

dont believe me? i got pics i'll show you after i clay bar'd and waxed my car.

killerxromances

Good call, i've only clay'd the box once. Makes a pretty big difference, i need to do it more often. I do wax at least once a month though.

Cya

Munch

I always hand wash my car. I don't trust car washes.

killerxromances

Exactly. Too many things can go wrong, besides. No one, and no machine is going to be as careful as you are to your own car. End of story.

Cya

agmech

hey killerxromances....you stand by that Mr. Clean auto wash stuff? I've heard some mixzed reviews from retailers and other auto forums. Haven't used it myself yet.

DjCarlitoRoc

i've had my car a week now, and its snowed 2 times already lol. i want to hand wash it, but its too cold. i might give that mr clean thing a try.

agmech

It's too cold for me here in CT. Plus I've already taken the hose off to prevent freezing, so I've been going to a touchless car wash. I've been pretty satisfied with the results, but I can't wait for warmer weather when i can do it myself the way I like. I'm completely OCD about how I wash my car.

killerxromances

Yeah i do. Im more than satisfied with using it, which is why i continue to do so. The autodry works alright, but i still recommend hand drying it. The soap is what really works, if you use it right you will be surprised.

Cya

engifineer

I love the Mr Clean. Works wonders if done properly, even without hand drying. I go through an automatic car wash every now and then in the winter. I have a heated garage, so I dont do it because of the weather, I do it for the underbody wash. But, I only use a touchless wash. They dont get the whole car as clean, but it is worth it occassionally to remove the salt buildup beneath the car. For the Mr Clean, I do the following:

1) Rinse thoroughly
2) Hand wash the entire car using Meguirs car wash soap and a microfiber sponge. I wash and rinse one panel at a time.
3) Spray the whole car down with the Mr Clean soap. It works much better for the auto dry part.
4) Rinse normal and then with the filtered water.

Dries spot free every time! Doing it this way also means less mr clean soap is used since I dont use it for the hand washing part. The Meguirs comes in large bottles and costs less. So I dont have to buy the expensive mr clean soap as often. No matter what, I always use the mr clean soap last, it really does make the water sheet much easier.

BlkSandPrlTurbotC

Totally agree w/ Killer and Engi....

Mr. Clean really does work.

Poison

I use...Chamois'....is that bad? I paid 15 dollars for a large one, so how much do these "Micro" fiber clothes cost?

killerxromances

Its not about price, its about material. You can pick up a three pack of micro towels for like $10.

Cya