crajeemonkey

aite fellas, i thought this might be useful especially for me since im tryin to keep my car clean. i was juss wondering if anyone of u can recommend different products after using them, good and bad. for instance
carwax - definitely looks like zaino is winner (specifically for dark colors)
tire cleaner - ?
tire shine - ?
rim cleaner - ?
towels - ?
Mr. Clean AutoDry?
etc
juss want to get sum information so i can use hopefully the best stuff for my car (first car!!! ). i mean our cars deserve the best rii?

Nodoze2004

I have always used Zymol on my cars and have been extremely happy with the results (Not the crap Zymol that you pick up at Discount Auto Parts). Here is what I use:

http://www.zymol.com/crecar2.htm

I have never really been a fan of polish, but to be fair I have never tried Zaino.

Just my 2 cents!

caball88

i dunno if zaino is the best. there are alot of zaino people on this board but if you go to autopia.com and read the message board there are alternatives to it. i dun like to spend 80 bucks on some kit and have to spend 6 hours detailing. NXT is a new product from Meguiar's and alot of detailing enthusiasts like it. one step process and $15.

for tire dressing black magic, its the best stuff around. this will
keep them nice and black.

towels have to be 100% cotton. usually large white bath towels are the best. other fabrics will cause micro-scarring(swirl marks). a better solution is microfiber. check out this site for microfiber products www.autofiber.com. this will not scratch your car when you are drying or detailing.

crajeemonkey

wut do u guys use to clean the insides, especially the leather

Lore

I use Meguiar's Gold Class Conditioner for the leather.

avs007

For the tires, I use Meguiars High Gloss Endurance. Lasts longer than any other products I've used.

Leather, I clean it with Lexol leather cleaner, than I condition it with Lexol leather conditioner. I'm thinking of trying Zaino leather in a bottle, because it smells nicer.

For the vinyl/rubber I use Lexol's Vinylex. Not greasy, not glossy.

I wash the car with sheepskin mitts and Turtle Wax or Meguiars car wash.

I clay the car with claymagic.
And I use Meguiars Crystal Polish paint cleaner on fine scratches if I have any.

I use Meguiars Show Car glaze to gloss up the car, but thinking of switching because I switched waxes. I used to use Gold Class, but now I use NXT. Much less elbow grease required with NXT. I think instead of the glaze, I'm going to use the NXT spray, as it says it can be used anytime as a gloss enhancer.

I buff with Microfiber non-synthetic towels. And I use a leaf blower to dry the car. When I wash the car, when I use the leafblower to dry the tires, the endurance is still glossy

In case you can't tell I'm probably a Meguiars freak, but hey, I get comments all the time about my cars

Lore

I use NXT on my TL and I've noticed that it seems to attract a lot of dust. Do you notice this?

How often do you apply NXT? You don't apply it at the end of every wash, do you?

gregory28

Orange Pledge on rubber and plastic of the interior

Aegir

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lore
[B]I use NXT on my TL and I've noticed that it seems to attract a lot of dust. Do you notice this?

I waxed with NXT a couple weeks ago. Used the spray wax last weekend and there seems to be less dust on the car this week. After 4 days/300 miles still looks pretty good. Same conditions last week and the car was very dusty after four days. Not exactly scientific - could just be a lucky week.

digital_b

tirecleaner: just use soap and water. to make them shine a long time use more-shine less-time. works great. you can get a good rim cleaner from your auto parts store. I have no intention of using a wax. I will use the instant detailer spray on between detailing. I am not going to waste any time trying to make my car blindingly shiny. just want to keep it clean and looking good. dont need another job. silicon spray [automotive, dont recall the brand] seems to keep dust off better than no treatment at all. i think its black magic or something like that. very easy to apply. just spray and wipe.

caball88

i second that Meguiars have always made good products. i used just about every product you listed. i am trying the switch to NXT because its so much less work. from the pictures that i have seen and reviews i have read it's just the same as Zaino with alot less work involved. i am not in college anymore and do not have hours of free time to detail my car. Meguiars Rule!!!

maecrispy

Hi all,

Just wanted to toss in my $0.02 here.

I've seen all the posts about Zaino, Meguire's, etc.. but frankly, I'm too lazy and I have better things to do with my time than apply coat after coat of Zaino so that I can read my neighbor's house numbers upside down and backwards in the reflection.

For those that are looking for a good compromise, I would suggest what I did... Have Ziebart apply a Diamond Gloss coat. You won't get Zaino sick shine but you'll get 70% of it with little to no work.

Had two days straight of rain here. After walking into the parking lot and looking at all the other cars, I noticed that most cars were fairly dry but the water had left streaks and film on the cars. On my TL, water had beaded up, no streaks, no film.

I've had the DG coat for a few weeks now and we've had snow and rain. All I do is hose it down at a rain station, wipe it dry with cotton towels, and it looks showroom shiny.

Ziebart did put it on the wheels but I don't expect it to stick. However, brake dust and grease from mechanics changing my wheels just wiped right off with a cotton towel.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll get flamed but I'm a TL owner who likes having a nice car but doesn't place cars on the top of my priority list. The DG coating is a nice compromise between having the best look and spending the least amount of time and effort.

It's not that expensive ($220 for me) and they say you shouldn't have to do it again although I'm not sure I believe that. I'll give to 6-9 months and re-evaluate. Re-coat is about $100.

Bottomline: have yet to wash the car with anything stronger than rain station soap and water and it still looks as good as when I picked it up from the dealer.

YMMV.

maecrispy

For towels, stick to 100% cotton, no fab softener.

I've tried most synthetics and they all seem to scratch things up.

Nap size might have something to do with it as well. I've noticed that the larger the nap of the towel I use, the better it works. I assume it's because dirt particles get caught up high in the nap and don't get swirled around on your finish like they would if you're using a thinner towel.

I do like Zaino's Z-10 for the leather. Not new car smell....exactly... just more like new leather smell.

automophile

Cleaning Tires - Use WEstley's "Bleche-White" tire cleaner to get them REALLY clean and to get off the greasy stuff that is already on them. This is REALLY inmportant. Then, use a tire treatment that dries hard and dry, like the Zaino product. Then, you only need to wash the tires at the end of your car wash to keep them nice. I only need to re-apply the tire treatment every 3-4 weeks.

Interior - Lemon Pledge for vinyl, wood, plastic, chrome, and even your leather between Lexol treatments. Really - try it! To clean the leather a dilute solution of Woolite is all that's needed.

Towels - The poly in poly/cotton towels makes swirl marks - guaranteed! Use only high-grade 100% USA-made cotton towels for drying if you care about your car's finish.

Silicones - should be kept away from the car.

FYI - Zaino does not take 6 hours - ONLY if you want the ultimate show car finish. If you just want FAST, good, long-lasting shine and great protection, you can wipe it on and off in 20-30 minutes with little effort, and it'll last 3 months or more. There is still nothing that beats it in all categories.

Swat Dude

Zaino on the paint.

Lexol on the leather

Swiffer duster on the dash and all the nooks and crannies

I scotch guarded my carpet floor matts when they were brand new.

Tire Foam on the tires.

Zaino Z6 Gloss enhancer on the wheels

Glass plus on the glass using blue shop towels.

Mr. Clean Autowash filtered water on a cold motor.

Semichrome on the exhuast tips.

Armor all on the portion of the mufflers that show from the rear as wheel as the black under panel on the rear. Armor all inside the wheel wells. Buff off so it doesn't attract dirt.

Lense cloth on the AC screen and carbon accents.

gjm

Everyone has their favourites and it appears that it really just comes down to effort and what you want to use and like. Some people like a glossy dash, others a more flat dash shine. Same goes for waxing the exterior and applying conditioner to the leather.

I have used Meguiars products for years and ahve always been happy with their entire product spread. It is all excellent quality and the results are predictable and long lasting.

I would say if you want to keep it super simple just buy their products and you can't go wrong.

We all obsess about our cars so go with what works but always look for quality product from a well recognized manufacturer. Don't buy anything from some roadside sales guy.

Skeedatl

I used the AutoDry and it left a filmy haze on my NBP car eventhough I was very quick to rinse throughly. I heard that it works great on lighter colors. My other complaint was it took longer to so the final spot free rinse that it would have taken to just dry it with good towels.

I bought all the Zaino stuff, but haven't used it yet (I'm lazy )

avs007

Stay away from Armor-All. Use Vinylex by Lexol, or Meguiars Vinyl/Rubber protectant. Armor-All contains petroleum distillates, which will promote drying and cracking.

dark inspire

hey guyz, a few of us in the 2nd Gen forum use a wax called s100 paste wax, and its off the hook. u can get it at ur local harley-davidson store or order it online. it goes on easy and comes of easy and its only 14.95

Sherlock

I'm with AVS. I like macguiars gold class for the car wash, keeps it shining if you're wax-aversive like me (read: lazy).

I also use the Endurance tire gloss, smells like grapes and boy does it shine and last.

I believe my leather cleaner/conditional is Macguiars as well, spray bottle. I had problems with the creme's as they just sink into the first few perforations and don't spread well.

caball88

s100 rocks, alot of zaino people top off their finishes with this stuff to give it an extra added shine. they claim that the zaino made the car a little more plasticy than they liked. i never used zaino but this is from what i read. but i have used s100 in the past and i think its a great paste wax.

rynpamn21

armor-all leather wipes. i just keep it in my car so when i see something that needs to be wiped i just pull one out. i also like to wipe the leather when i'm in traffic. i also pay more attention to the areas that are exposed to the sun a lot

TLGator

I know we've had plenty of threads on this before, but I don't recall any definitive opinions on the Armor-All wipes.

They certainly sound convenient.

I have friends who say Armor-All products are crap and will eventually ruin whatever they are used on.

Other people use their stuff all the time.

Thoughts? (Maybe this should be a different thread entirely, but oh well.)

caball88

from what i read armor-all has silicone in it and when that dries up it will crack the vinyl/plastic. most detailing enthusiasts will stay away from this product. i have also read that butter is good for the dash and stuff. but then again who the hell wants their car smelling like butter. if you guys really want to find out about cleaning and detailing check out www.autopia.org. its a board dedicated to detailing cars.

TLGator

Great info, caball, thanks.

NsX Pilot

Ok theres alot of product info here but another important factor about taking care of the cars paint is how you wash the car. The improper washing method could result in thousands of swirls on your new clear coat finish. I would do a search to see what method people prefer to use.