I know everybody loves to take care of their car, we all do it different, but I know there are right and wrong ways to do it.

Many say don't use a sponge because it causes circle scratches on the paint. Then you read labels on tire cleaners that say DO NOT SPRAY ON WHEEL, MAY CAUSE DAMAGE, so how do you solve that problem? No matter what you do some gets on the wheels.

I thought this might be a good topic to use for people to throw tips & how-to's around.

Have you guys tried the Mr. Clean Auto Wash thing yet? I bought it but haven't had a chance to use it yet. I have been lazy when it comes to washing my Grand Prix, I think it has to do with the fact that I have known I wouldn't have it much longer.

What about cleaning wheels in the fine spots and some wheels have holes? Is it safe to use a wire brush (soft like a pipe cleaner, not like wires on a grill brush)?

What type of brush do you use to clean the corners and cracks on the interior?

LET IT ALL HANG OUT!!!!

 

Do not use a wire brush to clean wheels....

Ill first state that it is super important to never wash a hot car!! let it sit for 1/2-1 hour before washing. as wash in the shade if possible...

do not use the same rag to wash wheels/ hubcaps and paint.

If tires are dirty, use a bristle brush and I use a combo of dawn dish soap and water in a spray botlle. This works great for wheels too.

Mr clean works wonders.

Never use dish soap on paint.....

 

what would you use on wheels then?

 

I use a towel. Use your fingers to get into the small little cracks. I'll put some non-abrasive safe for all rims, rim cleaner on there, hose it off and then the rest I use a towel to get to. It's harder, but well worth the lack of scratches.

 

here's a trick for keeping the tire shine/protectant off your rims.

Cut you a template out of cardboard the size of your rim, cut some finger holes in the center of the rim so you can hold onto it when spraying and or sponging the cleaner on... this works like a champ.

and as for cleaning my wheels, I use a nylon bottle brush to clean the nooks and crannys with an all purpose wheel cleaning solution, JUST REMEMBER, don't let the solution dry, and never apply to HOT wheels.

 

i use tire shine on a sponge, and wipe it on- works great!

 

Ntohing wrong with a sponge per se- but for the risk of ---grit----. Oh, wipe straight, and a gritty sponge will not make ciruclar scratches at all :twisted:

Has anyone here used a ---natural--- sea sponge? Yes, spongebob realsponge is a completely different animal than any synthetic copy. Just be ---sure--- the natural sponge is a high quality item (there are many grades) and contains no entrained rock or sand (cheap ones may scratch). But what a joy is a good, natural sponge. More forgiving than any other kind of wiper.

Having said that I confess, I don't use a sponge these days. I use (get this) an O'Cedar foamed fabric strip mop.

Why? It has a looong handle and speeds the soaping down and washing by a factor of five at least. And the mop strips do not entrain sand and grit, and rinses clean really fast and sure. Tip: If the handle is longer than you desire, just cut it shorter and reinsert the end cap. This mop in action is really just like some of the self serve auto car washes use.

The worst washer in my opinion, is the wooden or plastic handled "car wash brush". Geez, those things may seem soft, but the split end bristles have a way of picking up and entraining fine grit, making a fine scratch pattern in the clearcoat after some use.

Anther vote for Mr. Clean. I got it recently and like it much. With a sawn-off O'Cedar, my car wash arsenal is made perfect and complete. Except, I do keep a soft bristled brush for wheels. If your wheel is simple, of course a cloth works great too. And a sea sponge here- perhaps best of all. But then, never use it on anything else but wheels again.

 

To clean my scion,I use two seperate wash buckets..I use one to just wash my rims and tires,and the other to wash the car.Never use the same bucket of water to to was your car and wheels unless you you wash the car first,then the wheels.Also,when you finish washing the whip,never dump the old water back on top of the car,just dump it out on the ground..duh?Also never use a wire bush on alloys or hubs..it will scratch the paint off the hubs and cause fine scratches on the alloys that will turn into rust streaks down the road.I use a wash glove to wash mine.As far as tire shine goes,most of them will sling off after you spray it on.For a deep wet gloss look without the sling off,I spray amour all on a small sponge,then wipe the tires,then I spray black magic wet tire spray on the sponge then wipe....bling bling gloss w/out the sling and overspray.As far as drying off the car goes,I use my leaf blower on the door jams,hatch and trunk and mirrors to get those hard to dry areas done.[img][/img]

 

I got some of that soap the car dealers use to wash cars it seems to work best, and when I dry my car I use a chamious (not sure if spelled right) and also use that eagle one wax as you dry for a quick wax job but if im not in a hurry I use meguirs.
I did a real stupid thing though on my first waxing on the Xb and I used some old towles that I always use but somebody in my family must have dropped one and dident wash it and when I removed my wax there was a tiny pebble in the towel and now I have some real nice swirl marks engraved into my hood . Im hopeing when i get it buffed it will come out.

 

Since I bought my Mr. Clean car washing kit, three months ago I've never been back to the car wash since...

I've washed my Lava in the sun in the middle of a hot as hell Summer afternoon, in the shade, on a cold day during an overcast morning, and even in the dark...Nothing but good results everytime no matter what the weather or temperature conditions were...I will say that the product directions telling you to wash in the shade are a bit off...I recommend washing in the sun actually...You get a faster drying time and theres less chance of spots developing from long standing drips and beads on your paint...One bad thing however, is you still get spots on the windows no matter what time of the day or wether conditions...

I have been using a product from Stoner called Invisible Glass...It's a foam based aerosal cleaner that works like magic on the windows even in the sun...So far no streaks or smears yet, and I've been using it for about a month now with amazing results...

For rims/hubs I use an ordinary shop rag...For the tires themselves, I use Black Magic Tire Wet in an aerosal bottle, and use a good sponge to wipe it around the tire after applying it...The Black Magic tire cleaner is really cool because it has three different setting for the spray cap for lo/med/hi profile tires...

DAN

 

Sounds like the Mr Clean setup is a winner. I'm glad I got it, shoot I haven't even gotten it out of the box yet!

I have a cloth type hand washer, it fits over your hand like a glove without the fingers. It seems soft but you never know.

http://www.autobarn.net/turemserwasm.html

It's like that, but not that specific brand. I guess I should get a new one for the body & continue using the old one for my wheels since I have used it on my wheels before.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtc/find...INT&vid=008415

Those are the wheels I am looking at getting, yeah the nice rivets are going to be a pain to clean but it looks nice. What would you guys say is the best suggestion for cleaning those wheels?

AND DON'T SAY DON'T GET THEM!!!

 

:twisted:

 

ok 10-4

I have used a toothbrush in the past

 

use something like eagle one tire and wheel cleaner...

 

Here are some tricks of the trade that i have posted in the past ....

Use a natural bristled paint brush about 1 1/2" - 2" for removing dried on wax. Cut the ends of the bristles so that the paint brush is about 1 1/2" in length. This stiffens the bristles, but it wont scratch your paint.

i use Simple Green straight to clean my wheels. Spray it on, then follow with a 2' handled blue bristled brush i got from PepBoys years ago. If the tires are really dirty or new, i use a wire tire brush to get them clean, using Simple Green.

I use the Simple Green wipes for the interior. They clean nicely and leave no cloth particals behind. For really tight spots on the inside, i use the cans of compressed air. The kind you would use on electronics and such.

For removing stains, i use Simple Green straight and a tooth brush. Lightly scrub it out and then blot with a terry cloth towel.

For stubbern wax stains on black plastic, use P-Nut Butter and an old tooth brush. Load the tooth brush up with P-Nut butter and gently scrub out the old wax. Follow with a wash.

For light scratches and marks, i use Scratch Out by KIT. It can be found at PepBoys, and can work wonders for small scratches. Follow with wax.

I use WD40 to remove any road grime that attaches itself to my wheels. I have never had a set of wheels with the lip that mine has on the xB. The Chrome tends to grab all kinds of crap that the washing just wont remove. After its all washed, i grab the can with the tube attached, give a little spray, and it wipes right off with an old rag. Works on paint too.

I have heard about using a pizza box to make a cover for your wheels, so as not to get over spray on the wheels. Me, i spray, then ususally follow with a rag. Or, lately, i have just been spraying the rag, and then wiping the wheel. I have seen small sponges out there that let you soak them, then wipe the wheels with the sponge. It usually has a plastic handle to keep your hands clean.

I clean my engine bay with, you guessed it, Simple Green. I wet the engine down ( noticed i said wet, not soak, nor do i use a pressure washer ), and then spray on the Simple Green. Let it stand for a minute or 2, then use the same brush that i use on the wheels, and lightly brush everything. Follow with a light rinse. ** You have to be carefull not to force water into places it has no place being. Yeah, engine bays are some what weather proof, but if you force water into a spot your not supposed to, you can cause damage. I have seen where cars wouldnt start for days because some one used a pressure washer on their engine and the surrounding components.

And i too use the Mr. Clean car wash system. And i help it along with my leaf blower as well.

Hope this helps.

 

On the Mr. Clean Autodry... I just got done using that crap, and I'm seriously underwhelmed. For one thing, it really takes a long time to completely cover the car, since the filtered water setting has such a weak stream. It takes probably 2 or 3 times the amount of time I'd normally spend washing. But I figured it would be well worth it to be SPOT FREE! No matter where I go or what I do to avoid spots, I always get a few. If I could get it totally spotless, the extra time would be worth it.

Unfortunately, it did a really ____ty job in my case. I have spots all over the place. It seems like the places that were in the shade did much worse than the parts that were in the sun. Go figure. I give Mr. Clean a D+.

 

Well I just tried out the mr clean thing...

Well you're right, it does take longer than usual, but it's only because the car has to be WASHED before you use it. The only dirt I had on the car was from rain that had dried, yet the pressure of the soap/rinse spray isn't strong enough to wash the dirt away.

But if you get out there every 4-5 days and use it before the dirt accumilates then this thing would definitely be useful.

The spot free rinse works just like a car wash does, it's a soft filtered spray so the pressure can't be too strong.

 

I use Mr. Clean's AutoDry system if I'm going to wax right after... The AutoDry soap strips the wax off like it's nothing. I AutoDry'd my car a few days ago. After I washed and rinsed (filtered), I still used my Absorber to help dry the car quicker, then I waxed my car twice with Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax (liquid). The next time I wash my car (later this week...before the big FL meet), I'm gonna hand wash it. I use Armor All's Car Wash, wash mitt, bucket, and I dry with the Absorber...

I'm probably gonna go to Walmart in a bit and buy a california duster...

 

That's a good call, I wonder why it washes the wax off. I mean I know that washing your eventually wears off the wax.

I'll have to hand wash it and use the spot free rinse so it dries fast. Or do you need to use the auto dry soap too?

 

As far as cleaning the wheels, the bust thing I have found, (if your wheels are chrome,
or polished) is Eagle One Wheel cleaner. You can get it at Pep Boys. It comes in a little siver can, and is a wadding, looks almost like cotton. You take a small amount like the size of a cottonball, and rub the wheel. Eventually, the wheel will start to turn gray & get cloudy. Once you do the whole wheel, or a large part, take a towel and rub the cleaned part of the wheel. You can just wipe off the stuff, you actually have to use some elbow-grease, but let me tell you, it is worth it. I would post a pic of the can, but I haven't seen it in more than a month, so I might have to get some more.