by practical...i mean stuff u can buy at autozone etc w/o mail ordering from a specialty company.

after going through Rain X, Meguiars Gold, Armor All, Blue Coral....

the best car wash solution i have used is EAGLE ONE Nano Wash & Wax..absolutely spectacular. its cleaning power is tremendous, it sizzles on the rims and brake dust/dirt, has great cleaning properties. Also, when dried, it leaves almost a spray wax like finish on the paint, high gloss, rich and deep. really surprised me for a regular brand wash.

Also, the eagle one all rim/tire cleaner blew away meguiars, armor, etc. I've been buying a bottle of each brand to see what would work the best. BY FAR, the eagle one acted like a degreaser and brought the FRONT WHEELS almost to a clean surface before even laying a sponge to them. also left a polished shine on the rim that no other brand had left behind. After spraying eagle one....only had to do a once over with a sponge...Armor all, meguiars, black magic, not even close.

I also tested out the Eagle One Nano spray wax on a small portion of paint. Not too impressed with this product. it says no buffing etc, but once applied it was hard to get it to a claimed haze free shine. left a small swirl mark....id be reluctant to use this product again. I applied it in the shade even tho it said you can apply in all conditions.

conclusion (for me):
best budget all car and wheel cleaner: Eagle One Nano-tech

 

for waxing I like the ease of Turtle Wax ICE, I use it on my prelude (claybared it last time) and man it was friggin smooth of course you gotta put on with a sponge let it haze then wipe it off with microfibre cloth.

I personally use Meguires Car wash don't really see the difference in quality of car wash, all it is is soap.

I gotta try that rim cleaning one from eagle thoe, rims are the most pain in the ass to clean.

 

they are all soaps, but certainly not all equal. i found meguiars the worst of the bunch, didnt soap up well at all, and didnt clean well...i think what got me about the eagle one is that i actually noticed a difference after using it compared to my last 3 or 4 washes...so im going to stick with that one for now for the basic mid week wash.

 

^ agreed it doesn't sud as much....I was running it through my mr clean car wash thing and it was ok, I used the bucket method last time and I have to put a lot of soap in the bucket.

I guess I will go with eagle next time. Gotta finish the meguires I have left.

 

i used the turtle ice spray polish this weekend..WHOA! ill be sticking with this. went on perfect, no swirl marks...the solution is liquidy enough and spreads very easily. awesome finish. it turned the polished metal into a mirror

also....i did the entire car in about 15 mins...thats how easily this stuff goes on (sun or shade). 2 smaller sized microfiber clothes and DONE.