getting that perfect shine
 

any recommendations on proper car wash techniques/brands.....also wax/brand? I've been recommended to get the Zaino products, and will using a clay bar do that much for me?

I use the Mr. Clean Car Wash system, and it works great...waterspot free! I also use Mcguires wax, beautiful shine!

clay bar is meant for removing dirt that gets in due to oxidation in the clear coat, your car should be new enough that thats not the problem. McGuiars three stage system works wonders but be careful with the stage 2 (polish) as in reality its a really fine grit sand paper and can eat away at what little clear coat our car has if used improperly on a buffer. If you didnt want to spend the 3-4 hours to do the three stage wax, you could use the cleaner wax from mcguires and follow up with the spray detailer. FYI you'll want to buy lots of applicator pads before you start this job. When cleaning use coral's wash and wax blue soap, it was a very fine wax in the soap and when using that along with a mit instead of a towel you're almost guaranteed to avoid swirl marks.

If you are going to wax your car make sure you wash your car THOROUGHLY two times, notice I said TWICE, so that you get ALL the dirt off. You don't want to be buffing dirt into your clear coat... Any questions go ahead and ask I've been detailing cars for a while now...

tc2nut4 pretty much covered it. The clay bar wouldn't be needed on a car thats under 6 months old, unless you live by the coast, and are afraid of salt. If you purchase a buffer get an oribital one, not rotary, it's easier to use and harder to screw up your paint. I used mothers liquid wax products on my cars and they are great. Easy to apply and very easy to wipe off, especially with a micro-fiber towel. Those towels are the best, especially for picking up the dust left by the wax when you wipe it off. I also have been detailing cars for about the for many years, so between me and tC2nut4, I think we've got ya covered. Ask away.

forgot about the towels :doh:

Mr. Clean Auto Dry is tyhe devil to me.

I detail cars and have my clientel who used to used the Mr. Clean product. Needless to say it stripped the wax completely off and started to damage the clear coat.

The key to keeping a car shiney is maintenice. Its far easier to keep a clean car clean than to keep a dirty car clean.

Microfiber towels are the best things to dry your car. I use Mcguires products on all my customers cars. They'rew website has a wizrad that will ask you questions and suggest the best products for your situation.

Also, the saying "you get what you pay for" also applies to car care products.

^^^ well said, no cheap way for the right way

Just wanted to add that when you dry your vehicle try a squeegee instead of a chamois. Works awesome

After you are done washing, use This

I've had one since I bought the car almost a year ago and love it.

use what???

thanks everybody......lets say i do normal driving, like 30 miles a day, and switch between garage and the street.....so my car doesn't get too noticeably dirty......should i wash every week, and wax every couple of weeks...and is there too much washing of the car....or would once a week be ok?

once a week is fine...

Moving this thread to the "maintenance & car care" forum.

For me. the worst part about washing a car is the drying. The California Water Blade and the Absorber have become my best friend.

As far as polish goes, I only use Zaino products. If you don't want to go that route, the Maguiar's Gold Class producat are good too.

Agreed, the Absorber is the only thing I've used to dry my tC, and I've found it works better than all those chamois I used on other cars for the first 30 years I drove. Microfiber towels for washing, Absorber to dry, then microfiber again for wax on, wax off.

I disagree about the lack of need of a clay bar on a new car... quite on the contrary, you need to clay it before doing your first detail because of all the crap from transport and such.

I clayed about two weeks after getting my tC (I got it the morning it came off the truck), and it took a lot of crap off. The paint felt amazing after the clay...

Do this: after you wash your car, run your finger along the paint. If it doesn't feel as smooth as a robotic baby's bottom, then you need to clay that mother.

Also, if you keep up on your waxing, and if you are able to do use it, a leaf blower makes a GREAT drying tool. If you keep Rain-X on your glass, you can even use it to dry your windows... nothing touches your paint with this method

Then I'll usually go over the whole car with quick detailer as a final step and also to remove any remaining water drops/water spots that may have formed (with a MF towel)

I find that there is no need for any fancy products when drying a car, like all those things that claim spot free drying and such. Just you a hose with nothing attached, with a very gentle stream , and go over the car one last time. this creates sheets of water instead of beads, and they literally slide off. It leaves a few stray water beads behind, easily mopped up by the micro-fiber towel. I wash my car with Rain-x, with the carnunba wax beads in it. I probably wash my car atleast once a week and wax it twice a month. I clay bar as needed, every so often. I've heard, and from experience found that water spot will etch into your clearcoat after about one week, and the only way to remove them is with vinager(spelling?).... hence the reason to wash weekly. drying a car properly is one the most important things to aviod water stains and swirl marks. Don't squeegee your car either. I don't see anyway how that could be good for the paint and you could scratch your car with one of it's hard surfaces. Those things are made for glass. I know it speeds things up, but you have to invest the time, to get the results.

That's true! When you take the nozzle off, a gentle stream will cause it to sheet. I had a bad problem with water spots. Now I have a new favorite polish/ wax/ scratch and water spot remover. It's called Hand Glaze by Evercoat. I got it from my auto boby supply store. It not only got rid of my water spot problem but also removed scratches all while making my paint slick as glass. I've never heard of the California Water Blade scatching. My friend has it and swears by it, not at it.

I've never had a single scratch from a California Water Blade. I always make sure to rinse it before use to remove any grit that may have stuck to it during storage. As with anything, you have to simply watch what you are doing to avoid the handle banging against the paint. I have never had any of my washing gear damage my car....I have made a couple nice scratches when I have forgotten to remove my wedding ring or my watch though.

I think I've got just about everything I need for my car wash kit except a good mit and some good wax. I'm thinking the Meguiar's gold line like someone suggested. Never clayed a car before... that should be fun lol.

Microfiber towels from dollar store FTW!