acura00man

+1 Meguiars is all i use.. Im probly a little biased about it but its the best product brand I have ever used.

** steps to washing **

1. Rinse car in shade/overcast/garage.
2. Get bucket fill with luke warm NOT HOT water (~2-3 gallons I believe) and mix in about 1/2 cup of meguiars soap.
3. Get sheepskin wool mit. They're actully REALLY soft (for you new detailers that are wondering) Mix it in with the bucket, stirring up soap and making the suds
4. I start with the roof, dip in bucket, hood, dip in bucket, trunk lid, dip, all windows, dip. **Dont go straight for the mud/grime etc. work your way down the car.
5. Rinse off sudsy areas. Spray out mit with hose.
6. Wash upper half of one side of car.. (fender, rear qtr panel, and all above the door ding strip.) Dip ur mit.
7. Repeat for other side of car.
8. Spray out mit again with hose.
9. Dip ur mit, do front of car (bumper, headlights, grille etc.) Dip again and do the rear, tail lights and finish trunk but DONT do the rear bumper.
10. Dip again, wash lower half of car, i.e. below the door ding strip on one side. Dip and do to the other.
11. Spray out mit one more time, dip it and wash rear bumper.
12. Hose off car and hose out mit. Wash wheels with diff sponge/mit!!
13. Take off hose nozzle, and sheet the water off. (I will NEVER use a squeegee or anything similar. The less you touch your paint the better) Let the hose open full blast on your paint and windows, work from the roof down and rinse wheels after washing too.
14. Take a large Micro Fiber drying towel and finish the drying process. Again, work from the roof down to your wheels.
15. Step away and enjoy. If you wish to clay, polish, wax, you may but I would go with meguiars; noobie detailers. I started with some crappy stuff and found meg's to be the best out there. Its a little pricey but its one of the best. I have yet to try them all so dont base all opinion on mine lol.

GOOD LUCK

TOPPDAWG

Meguiars products are the way to go all across the board. Take some time and enjoy washing your car. As far as the streaks always rinse your mit off before you go back into your soap bucket and that will help.

BELLER

What's the best way to try and keep your car in decent shape, now that the cold, crappy weather is here.
NBP is great when clean, but like any black car, looks bad, with salt and snow stains on it.

Just rinse down, and dry off as often as possible i guess.

SSTL

iTrader: (1)

You should also put a front bumper cover on during winter. Especially for NBP, it will help keep the paint scratch free since there will be salt and other debris on the roads.

PGSberg

I only wash the back - That's the only part anyone sees!!!

A-SPEC DUDE

OK GUYS here is question bout leather cleaners conditioners, what works to keep leather seat from stretching whre ur butt sits.2 half moon cavities. i got my car car w 52,000mi,
2 1/2 yrs ago and seats looked as they had never been sat in now with 76,000 on it im concerned that they might split eventually. i usually use simonize wipes leather cleaner/
conditioner that leaves a nice satin ( no gloss) finish on everything in the interior. also what can i do to regain my drivers seat?

KeithL

Leather is going to stretch, no stopping it. What you want to do is prevent it from drying out and cracking. It needs to be cleaned and conditioned. I used to be a lexol fan, but it is more laborious with the cleaner then the conditioner and always flet it hard to get all the cleaner residue out. I have since switched to leather CPR, a cleaner condition. It does not leave the film that lexol does and leaves the leather very nice and supple, brings it back to new like feel and look. Of course I use it form the begining, it won;t work miracles on old untreated leather.


http://www.leathercpr.com/products.htm

The local Horse Town store carries it so I get it locally and have been using it exclusively for close to 3 years now.

Jay.Diem

good for long road trips too..

those bugs are a pain to wash off otherwise

jp75

iTrader: (1)

i loooove washing my car..i think i could wash and wax my car every day...a few more tips..always dry from top to bottom..do the rocker panels last cuz that were most of the crap is..you dont want to bring up some crap from the rocker panels up and scratch your car,,dont dry using circular motions,,thats a way to get swirl marks..try to dry in one direction.any spots that are left after you wash get em with detailing spray and a microfiber cloth for a spotless finish...as far as wax,i use new turtle wax ice..probally the best wax i ever used..and i used everything..another tip to removing wax is to spray a light mist of detailer spray over the hardened wax before you remove it..this will aid in removing the hardened wax if you find its hard to take off

vepspatel

I am New to this forum.

Phambam12

i have dirt and it wont come off. i took the mud flap things off and there was an outline of it. i scrubbed and scrubbed but it wont come out. what to do

Bearcat94

Phambam, repost this question in the Wash & Wax section:
https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/

6spd10

A really good source of information on cleaning/detailing cars is Griots Garage. The have some fantastic products and some that are O.K.. I have been very impressed for the most part. Some are a little on the pricey side, but well worth it IMO. I enjoy spending a sunday afternoon cleaning my TL, its very relaxing and rewarding I think.
As far as the interior---all I have ever used is a damp cloth (water only) I detest greasy scented products on the seats and dash.
They have a download you can get that explains all the ins and outs and whys on cleaning cars--a must read if you are serious about keeping your car looking like new, even if you don't use their products it is definitly worth reading.
Can't wait for warmer weather!!!

fst64_v8pwr

sweet, thanks for the tips

Tarv 09 TL

Hey does anybody know how to get rid of hard water stains?? i washed the car 2x and the spots are still there i looked online and read tht i could use dilluted vineger not sure how well thts goin to work but willin to try.. any idea would help

Bearcat94

Repost this question in the Wash & Wax section:
https://acurazine.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=23

TLTodor

when it gets dirty i just rinse with a high pressure hose, ( never go into those self wash machines they leave hella haze marks! ) grab a bucket with some soap and a nice soft preferably microfiber towel, go over the car with that, rinse off with the hose and then dry with microfiber towel again!

brianch

wicked way to revive an old thread.

Optimum Product fan here.

Bruce Banner

iTrader: (2)

I just got rid of them the other day.
My car did have a layer of wax, I used straight distilled and then I wiped it down with a wet towel soon after. Finish with a spray wax or real wax

tenstrum

What's the best way to get rid of small scratches?

tlx82

iTrader: (1)

Cray bar, machine polish (V36 from Chemical guys, middle cut pads, Dewalt buffer @2800) , m-seal, black light wax.... I only use Chemical guys products! Took out a lot of little scratches but took me a whole day!

steel619

iTrader: (2)

just curious..how much do you guys spend on these products?
would it be more cost efficient just to get it detailed every so often?

Tut

paint correction is best done by a buffer, and not a cheap one. So yes, for some it would be better to just pay to get it done. some people do more damage to the car then it is worth by trying to buff it themselves.

ChuckVug

Just picked up a 2010 TL SH-AWD from the dealer on Friday. Did a quick rinse to get rid of bugs from the 150 mile drive home, but need to clean it up good. All I have in the garage right now to clean with is Turtle Wax. Looks like I'll need to get a good multi-level wash done this weekend, with Dawn, Meguires, and then a wax.

Recommendations for cleaning up the dashboard?

Dman00tl

Meguiars is the way to go by far. As far as soap, tire shine, and interior cleaning supply's go, i get those from a detail warehouse near me. Guys got some good stuff.

Tyler Rendon

Some good tips here im gonna have to try

Hondaforlife954

go here for all the info you need....adams car care or detailers domain....

tkeo

thanks for all the info. using meguiars

tony201

thanks for the info on the zaino clay bar, im going to start using that

livitupdan

I've use Dawn like said a hundred times above when it is really dirty. Other than that, my normal trick is to use Armor All car wash soap, and dry it with a terry towel. I get compliments quite often.

DASS

iTrader: (2)

Based on the comments throughout this thread would I would be safe in saying that NO ONE would even consider using a car wash/detailing shop to clean their vehicle?

When I was younger (in my twenties) I always detailed my cars. But I'm 49 now and haven't done so in a long time. All the methods mentioned seem to be so time consuming, but I guess if you want a good clean, based on the suggestions offered, I will need to do it myself.

1black_seven

iTrader: (2)

They are absolutly time consuming. It takes me about 1.5 hours just to clean and detail the car. I use the Turtle Wax Black Box which is a 3-step hour long process.
It sucks but I love my car and it's worth it in the end. Micro fiber is your friend. And leaf blowers.
Source: My cars made the front page of /r/Honda too many times.

PICA

Ack, dish soap? I really get into detailing:


Interior-vacuum, clean/protect leather & dash (Pinnacle brand)

Exterior:

Clean rims w/Wolfgang Wheel & Tire - no noxious smell
Wash w/two buckets & a wool mitt using P215 shampoo - very mild.
Clay bar, if needed.
Apply Klasse AiO Polish using terrycloth, moistened with detailer
Wax with Pinnacle wax!

1fatcrxnem1

Some good naoto in here

TLSGuy15

Great info on this thread.

A novice at washing, I followed the advice of the thread to the T.

But:
1. If you dawn it first, like I did, and strip everything slippery off your paint, and don't have an electric buffer, you're in for a workout. Polishing by hand was exhausting.
2. I was unlucky and it started raining after the polish, before I could wax.The rain ruined it. You really have to wax right after the polish or don't bother.

Silencer_

I always just use Meguiars Gold Class car soap, then dry, clay bar, Meguiars wax, then Meguiars detail spray. Meguiars FTW.

Boosejars

iTrader: (1)

Meguiars Ultimate is all i use - I typically do everything in one day - wash, clay bar, compound, polish, wax, I have the Meguiars DA (drill attachment) and it really makes the compounding/polishing/waxing pay off - i wash using the two bucket method, making sure any debris comes off in one bucket and then suds in another bucket - i stay away from dish soap - too abrasive methinks, i use Eagle A2Z wheel cleaner, or Sonax when i feel like buying it lol...