cdyerkes

you can pay someone to do anything lol

sodo_moj0

We've got a really nice car wash place here that I have a free coupon for... I think I'll give them a whirl this weekend.

cdyerkes

if it's an auto car wash, be careful. you know those rags have dirt in them.

sodo_moj0

Hmmm... so what about a touchless automatic one? Would that be better? Nothing touches the car then.

cdyerkes

Well I'm no expert here, but without touch, it seems like it would be hard to get all the dirt off at first. Then if the guys who wax the car are doing it all day every day, then chances are they don't have very clean rags...which would mean more scratches.... but like I said, I'm no expert.

I know I would feel most comfortable doing it myself, even if it does take me 3 hours. I also enjoy washing my car too.... : P

nickfury33

Yeah there is a place near me that gets tons of business. They are known for good carwashes. And my buddy takes his truck there. Nothing but swirls ALL over the car. So be careful.

CarbonXe

iTrader: (1)

Either stick to doing it yourself, or get it professionally detailed. I've spent around $250-300 so far on car cleaning materials over the past 7 months and I've kept my car near detailed level. Refills are coming up tho, so time to dish out more money .

Personally I use:
Mother's Clay bar kit (came with a small sample of wax, which I fell in love with and will be using it after my turtle wax is used up)
Turtle Wax (don't like it as much as mothers wax, only complaint I have is that it's harder to see...White car + wax that turns white when dry = A BIATCH)
Mr Clean thingy - Well worth the $40 or w/e I spent on it..comes with an interior duster, duster mitt, and wheel cleaner. Makes soaping the car easier, has a light power wash which is surprisingly good. The auto-dry feature blows, don't even waste your time with it if you're going to get this, which I recommend getting
Meguiar's quick detailer
Meguiar's Wheel polish
Armor-All Tire Shine Gel - It lasts well over 2 weeks, only down side is it spits black crap all over your fenders if you drive within 3 hours of adding it. Works A LOT better than the spray on crap.
Generic soap, going to switch to some all organic cleaner, it worked wonders for cleaning my friends boat, so I'm convinced.
Armor-All Auto glass cleaner, works well but I'm switching to Totally Green® G-Wash Organic.

For the Interior, I don't use ANY liquids, as they will leave a residue and in turn build up fog on the windscreen . I use a simple mini-swiffer (leave it in the glove compartment) and just dust once a week. Seats are brand new, so they don't need any care, plus I'll have suede next week, so I'm sure I'm going to have to treat them with something.

I rarely clean my wheels, if I do, I'll take them off the car and give them a good cleaning, inside and out.

oboogie

I took our other car through an auto touch car wash, and the rags were covered in dirt and scratched the car up quite a bit. My husband polished it out since it was surface, but I was freaking out. Only touch-free car washes for me.

ChelsDS

I use Meguiar's all the way. Will be switching to a different brand when I run out of what I have on hand.

How can you NOT clay your car? lol I love the knowledge and feeling of my hand gliding over the paint all the time. My opinion, claying with a liquid is useless. The point of using a clay bar on your car is for it to pick up the grime that didn't wash off the car. The liquid.. just moves it around. My mom actually bought that TurtleWax Liquid Clay Bar thing and it was horrible.

Buying clay in bars is pretty near impossible as well, someone has owns the only patent on the stuff and therefore doesn't make it available in large quantities. Always have to buy a new clay bar kit, or possibly find a car shop selling a very small jar of clay bar. If you do, prepare to pay out the nose for it.

Car washes whether by machine or another persons hand.. never for me. I've heard too many stories from other owners and the scratches that have happened even in touch-free washes. There is only one other person who I would trust detailing my car, but he's too obsessed keeping his clean hehe.

cigardave

ya im with sodo. too darn much work waxin and buffin. ill just pay someone once a year to put a very good wax on. i have always hated waxing cars...ugh

cdyerkes

just finished up the first wash of my car. I used one of these brush things from carrand with water going through the handle and out the brush. It was very soft and it didn't leave any swirls on my car...plus it was easy to use.

also used a sponge to get smaller areas.

overall the thing came out pretty good : ]

except I found a nick out of the paint on the hood ;_;