Man, I posted a thread awhile ago that I always got water spots after washing, and alot suggested the Mr. Clean autodry cleaner thing.

Well, my sister bought it, seeing how she has a 2006 black Lexus GS (ugh, black is hard to clean but looks nice when its done right)... And she gets water spots as well! So shes probably going to stick to the bi-weekly detailing she gets at the local car wash, which usually comes out really good for about $14. But I dont have $14 to spend every week or two weeks...

We live on a private road so we run on well water, I don't know HOW much minerals is in that in comparison to city water, but even using the Mr. Clean stuff, it doesn't work! And I am doing the process right. It's mainly the top and the hood. And those are always what I clean first. It seems like there is more work using the Mr. Clean autodry because I have to go back and scrub the water spots once it "dries with no spots."

Now, clay bars, waxing...? I waxed ONCE last month and it looked great, it still looks pretty good, too bad the paint is pretty cheap and I have a bunch of chips in the front, not to mention I drove about 20 miles on the highway to work at least 3 days a week, talk about highway 101, nothing but chips and bug stains.

So clay bars, how many people out there use em? And what is the process you go through to clean your Scion? Especially those out there that have exterior mods and have show cars. I mean, this is my daily driving car, but I still want it to look awesome. It's just that everytime I wash it, I get frustrated! My windows look nasty too because the water spots won't go away. I just don't want to buy a $50 car washing kit and have to spend 3+ hours to clean my car. Or does that what it takes?

Thanks for any suggestions, tips, or whatnot. =)

 

i use a rubbing compound of sorts from the ppg store. Rub that on after a nice wash and itll shine like crazy.

To aleviate the water spots, get one of those colored shammys from walmart and dry the vehicle with it after a wash.

Ive only clay bared a car once and it made a world of difference. If you take your hand and run it down the side of the car and feel all the little bumps etc....All that goes away after a clay bar has hit it. Smooth as butter.

 

i typically do all my washing myself at home.

i use armor-all car wash liquid (the blue stuff) mixed with water in a bucket. hose the car.

i then dry it off with a towel and wax with Turtle wax hard shell (liquid). it works well enough for the price.

i tried meguiar's cleaner paste wax but that stuff is just too much work for me. esp cleaning it off.

as for water spots, yeah it's hard to not get them, but if you towel clean after you've rinsed the car and let it dry for a couple minutes, it will help a bit.

i don't know how well those machine washes work. the only machine wash i would ever consider is one that has a bunch of people clean and detail your car for a couple mins after it comes out of the washer.

 

I go get a cheap wash at the gas station, go home and clay bar it, meguiar's polish, meguiar's tech wax.

From that point on I maintain it by,

1. california duster
2. quick detailer.

If it got really dirty I wash it with just water and a microfiber detailing rag, then quick detail spray.

Having a good layer of wax and maintaining it. A good 5 minutes a day and your xb will look for for a long time.

 

That is what my sister gets done and it looks great. They actually do a good job.

I really need to get a clay bar.

And yeah , I used mcguires....meguires? Whatever, haha. It took me like 3 hours I think awh sdyuashd It was sooooo much work. Once a month is fine to me.

And it really sucks because my sister has all these micro-fiber towels and stuff but she leaves them lying around and the dogs get them and they get all nasty and im like ooook whats the point in buying these if you leave them out. And they come with cases too. Because when I use a towel, it looks stupid with a bunch of lint and its hard to dry. Never seems to get rid of the water spots. I usually use an old tshirt, they seem to work better than a big fluffy towel.

 

definitely a fluffy towel will get dust and lint flying all over the place. actually what i found out works well for waxing is those microfiber towellets that are used in cleanroom environments. they have different grades depending on particle count and size and are good for not leaving behind dust/lint/water. i jacked a bunch from my last summer job working in a medical products lab. they don't stay clean at all (in fact they're meant for one time use) but i rinse and use them repeatedly until they're pretty dirty.

 

i got some rubbing compound a couple weeks ago and i can't get it to not leave swirls. Thought i did it right but it looked horrible. user error??

 

I use the Mr clean soap with the wax as u dry set up which I scrapped

 

this pic needs to be updated, i added turtle wax ice polish (as my final topper) and scratch X for bad bug spots. also i picked up a porter cable 7336 polisher with some sonus pads and sonus stage 2 polish
i use a shaggy microfiber mitt, also like a **** dog's hair, but it's microfiber, works so nice.

 

I just use the clay bar on the hood. I have had good luck with the Mr. Clean system as far as not leaving spots. You have to make sure the filter is not dirty and spray the final mist correctly. Mainly I get spots if the sprinklers hit me. The clay bar kit was about $15 and consisted of the clay and a spray detailer. You must have some hard water!! Is it well water?

 

I use Rainx car wash with a soft terry covered sponge to wash with. I dry with a shammy called Aqua something or other...works great though. Then I apply Meguires Gold Class Liquid Wax with a clean applicator and buff it with a fluffy terry. Naturally, I have to dust it afterwards but that's what the California Duster is for. I also use Ice Detailing Spray and a microfiber for in between washes.