I have run across entirely too many people, both online and at the dealership, that feel the need to stock their garage with $20,000 worth of crap off of the Advanced Auto shelves. Armor all does not make a car look more attractive...it makes it look cheap and ridiculous.
If you have never been into a showroom with $80,000-300,000 cars, go visit your local ferrari/mazerati/BMW dealership. You will find many BEAUTIFUL cars that do not have a spec of greasy crap on the interior or exterior, except maybe the tires. The stuff that is on the tires is a light solution that washes away with water, not the heaviest gel you can find on the shelf at O'Reilly's.
While opinions will vary, any automotive detailer will agree that less is more. The products they might squabble about are foaming glass cleaner vs liquid, and which brand compound is best.
Waxing should not be done more than twice per year. I'll wax my cars at the beginning of spring and the beginning of fall. Doing it every other week, while your head is in the right place and it makes you feel good about that vehicle that youre so proud of, will do nothing but gunk up your clear coat.
To thoroughly clean a car, you need nothing more than the following:
SUPPLIES
EXTERIOR
INTERIOR
GLASS
The trick to glass is maintaining a DRY towel, and using as little cleaner as possible. I personally prefer foaming cleaner in an aerosol can.
If you have any bugs on the windshield that washing did not get, squirt them with the foaming cleaner, scrape with a razor blade, and wipe clean.
Go around the car, inside and out, and do one window at a time. One or two small squirts with the foaming stuff is plenty for each window. Wipe clean, turning/exchanging the cloth as frequently as necessary to maintain a dry surface. Don't forget to roll your windows down an inch or so and clean the top edge of the glass (it's always the dirtiest)
You're done! You didn't have to wash the car with soap and water, and then dry it, and then wash it with specialized cleaner, and then dry it, and then wash it with specialized sealant, and then apply the oil a million dead baby seals to the plastic in order to make it clean. Your car now looks as pretty as it did on the showroom floor, and those driving past you are not having horrible flashbacks of John Travolta singing greased lightning.
If you have never been into a showroom with $80,000-300,000 cars, go visit your local ferrari/mazerati/BMW dealership. You will find many BEAUTIFUL cars that do not have a spec of greasy crap on the interior or exterior, except maybe the tires. The stuff that is on the tires is a light solution that washes away with water, not the heaviest gel you can find on the shelf at O'Reilly's.
While opinions will vary, any automotive detailer will agree that less is more. The products they might squabble about are foaming glass cleaner vs liquid, and which brand compound is best.
Waxing should not be done more than twice per year. I'll wax my cars at the beginning of spring and the beginning of fall. Doing it every other week, while your head is in the right place and it makes you feel good about that vehicle that youre so proud of, will do nothing but gunk up your clear coat.
To thoroughly clean a car, you need nothing more than the following:
SUPPLIES
- Soapy water - don't bother with buying jugs of the ice wash or dodo clean or whatever the hell they tell you is better on your paint. You're wasting money.
- Non abrasive wash cloth and/or soft bristled brush - whatever style you prefer
- Good quality Chamois (I prefer "the absorber")
- light to medium rubbing compound (I prefer JAX)
- Non abrasive cloth covered sponge
- microfiber towels
- Spray bottle filled with soapy solution (dawn and water, simple as that...pick out a scent you like for this one)
- CHEAP hand cloths, like the box 'o towels (the blue ones) you will find at your parts store. The good quality absorbant ones will not work, they streak too much
- Leather conditioner (cleaner not necessary) if you have a leather interior
- Razorblade
EXTERIOR
- Spray with water, wipe down with soapy solution and your choice of brush or cloth. Spray soap off with water. Simple as that!
- Dry with Chamois. Don't forget to open your dooLrs and trunk/hatch and dry all of the jams and crevices. ***Take this opportunity to make a mental note of any surface scratches, pesky dead bugs, flecks of tar from the road, etc.
- Go back to those scratches with a cloth covered sponge, a little dab of rubbing compound per scratch, and LIGHTLY rub in a circular motion.
- When you have LIGHTLY rubbed each one, go back with your microfiber towel and LIGHTLY rub in the opposite circular direction until the haze of the compound is gone.
- If this is a cleaning that involves waxing (only twice per year is necessary), wax the entire car now, and then remove with a good microfiber towel (substitute this step for the last one)
- Don't neglect your wheels - when you're shining your tires with whatever you choose to use (lighter is better), put a little squirt on your wheel, too, and then take a cheap towel/rag and wipe your wheels clean of brake dust, dirt, etc.
INTERIOR
- Vacuum
- Run your wet chamois over the dash to get the main layer of dust
- Take spray bottle with soapy water solution and your cheap cloths, and wipe the dash and plastics down. If you're super particular, look for small toothbrushes and picks at the grocery store to get inbetween the buttons of the radio/power windows/cupholders/etc. When you're done, everything will be nice and clean, streak free, and not greasy to the touch. For those of you that put armor-all on your steering wheel, and you know damn well who you are, hit yourself in the head with the bottle of greasy crap before you throw it away.
- Use the mild soapy solution on the leather seats to get them nice and clean (you DO NOT need the special leather cleaner that is a part of two-step clean/protect process that the bottles make you feel inclined to buy.
- After cleaning the leather, take your choice of leather conditioner, and sparingly apply to your seats, rubbing in a circular motion. Let this set for 10 or 15 minutes, and then rub the seats down with a dry cloth. The leather will absorb what it needs, and you can keep from sitting on a slick seat later.
GLASS
The trick to glass is maintaining a DRY towel, and using as little cleaner as possible. I personally prefer foaming cleaner in an aerosol can.
If you have any bugs on the windshield that washing did not get, squirt them with the foaming cleaner, scrape with a razor blade, and wipe clean.
Go around the car, inside and out, and do one window at a time. One or two small squirts with the foaming stuff is plenty for each window. Wipe clean, turning/exchanging the cloth as frequently as necessary to maintain a dry surface. Don't forget to roll your windows down an inch or so and clean the top edge of the glass (it's always the dirtiest)
You're done! You didn't have to wash the car with soap and water, and then dry it, and then wash it with specialized cleaner, and then dry it, and then wash it with specialized sealant, and then apply the oil a million dead baby seals to the plastic in order to make it clean. Your car now looks as pretty as it did on the showroom floor, and those driving past you are not having horrible flashbacks of John Travolta singing greased lightning.