little help needed
Thread Starter
i like it dark
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 690
Likes: 2
little help needed
Just picked up an 08 TL NBP on black with navi...i used to own a black montero sport (97-01), but when i was younger i just washed a car and dried it with a towel 
...used to drive a PDG cl so it was a little easier to keep clean than this...i want to keep these blue flakes shining in the NBP as well as possible, i bought some eagle 1 nano car wash and have a few HUGE mf towels...
1. can i wash these towels in my washer/dryer after a few dries
2. what would you guys (excel) recommend for buffing/waxing etc?
3. anything else you guys would like to warn me about how much of a pita it is to keep my new baby clean?
thanks
...used to drive a PDG cl so it was a little easier to keep clean than this...i want to keep these blue flakes shining in the NBP as well as possible, i bought some eagle 1 nano car wash and have a few HUGE mf towels...1. can i wash these towels in my washer/dryer after a few dries
2. what would you guys (excel) recommend for buffing/waxing etc?
3. anything else you guys would like to warn me about how much of a pita it is to keep my new baby clean?
thanks
black is black...good luck...lambs wool washing mit, lots of soapy water, carwash soap that is, never run it through the carwash...polish, and wax or sealant a must....my kbp car stays clean for like 15 minutes...i cant imagine your black being any better at staying clean....
Thread Starter
i like it dark
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 690
Likes: 2
yeah, it's tough...absolutly dreading (sp?) the pollen that's gonna start falling w/in the next couple of months...forgot to mention that i also have a microfiber sponge, dont know if that's as good as the lambs wool...
what type of waxes/polishes/sealants do you guys use?
what type of waxes/polishes/sealants do you guys use?
Suzuka Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 7,424
Likes: 294
From: Trail BC CanaDUH
With the pollen don't start dry wiping the car its pretty abrasive.
Dump the M/F mitt for aa sheepshin one.
First off I’ll start with the car washing .. its not brain surgery but some simple tips can make it so much easier, quicker and more efficient.
Washing and the tools needed
1. Try and pick a shaded area if you can or do it in the morning or evening.
2. Use at least a 2.5 gallon wash pail and make a grit guard for it if you don’t want to buy one. I made mine out of a piece of fluorescent fixture lens called an egg crate. You can do the 2 bucket method but after trying it myself I determined that if the guard is used and the mitt rinsed well there isn’t that much benefit.
3. Get yourself a sheep skin mitt as the chenille ones and the M/F ones tend to mar and a sponge is just a delicate way of wet sanding. If you do have a chenille mitt save it for the wheels, I use my old sheepskin one as my wheels are clear coated and I don’t want to mar them.
4. For a hose nozzle I use what looks like a fire hose nozzle ( do a google on “Ultimate Hose Nozzle “) and I like it because you can adjust it to flood the surface to float the grit away.
5. For drying I recommend the Microfiber Waffle Weave towels as they pick up a lot of water .. make for fast drying and don’t mar. You will need a couple of them and they are 24 x 36” .. can be found on line for less than $10 each. Alternate is the plush blue drying towels found at Wal Mart for around $8.
6. Soap … well everyone will argue for cheap to boutique … I use what’s on sale .. and combined with the proper mitt have never had a problem. Soap serves 2 purposes, one is to lubricate the surface so the grit has less chance to mar and the suds help float away the grit. Keeping it off the paint.
7. This is the point where I use a tire cleaner, I prefer Whesleys Bleech Wite. I try to apply it ONLY to the rubber. Spray all 4 tires then go and give them a bit of a scrub with a brush and rinse each tire at that point. I only use the Bleech Wite every 10th wash etc or when I notice my tires loosing the blackness ( is that a word or did I just make it up?)
8. Also if you have bugs on the front one trick I learned was to place an old wool type blanket over the front of the hood/bumper etc and wet it down and tuck it in all the areas, let it set for 1/ to ½ hour or so to soften the bugs. Maybe do this while your vacuuming the car out . I’m not a fan of bug sprays as some contain Xylene and its not paint friendly. Key to bugs is get them off soon as you can because their innards can be acidic.
9. Wash the grill/bumper area first because if you have to spend time there water is drying on the rest of the car.
10. Wet the car down well and with a stronger spray try and remove as much grit as possible. Then I wash from top down starting with ½ the roof, ½ the windshield and rear window and the windows on one side. Rinse well using a spray of water not a blast. Repeat for the other side.
11. Then I do front fenders and hood etc then rinse.
12. Do 2 doors and rear fender and rinse
13. Do trunk and rear bumper and rinse. Keep the rest of the car wet while doing all this.
14. Do remaining doors and rinse.
15. At this point take the nozzle off the hose and turn the water on to a gentle stream and let it flow all over the car. This does 2 things, A) floods all the grit off the car B) it also pulls about 85% of the remaining water from the car.
16. To dry I take the first M/F WW and fold it in ½ so its 12 x 18 and I hold it by 2 corners and starting at the front edge of the hood on one side I drag it over the hood, windshield, rear window, trunk, rear window, roof on other side, windshield and finally over the other side of the hood. Then I do the same down both sides of the car and across the back bumper.
17. Then I fold the other towel in ¼s and starting with the windows I dry them first then do hood, roof, trunk then finish off the sides and bumpers. In reality I can dry my TL in just a couple minutes.
18. Once the surface is dried I use an old plush towels to dry the wheels and a cheap M/F to do the door edges, trunk edge and under the hood.
19. Now I use a dressing on the tires to make them look nice.
I have been doing this for a while and tho it sounds like a lot once your past the initial cleaning of the engine , door edges etc and in an upkeep mode the wash time is about 40 minutes.
One of the keys to short wash times is to do it often and this way it doesn’t become a daylong chore that never seems to have time to get done.
Dump the M/F mitt for aa sheepshin one.
First off I’ll start with the car washing .. its not brain surgery but some simple tips can make it so much easier, quicker and more efficient.
Washing and the tools needed
1. Try and pick a shaded area if you can or do it in the morning or evening.
2. Use at least a 2.5 gallon wash pail and make a grit guard for it if you don’t want to buy one. I made mine out of a piece of fluorescent fixture lens called an egg crate. You can do the 2 bucket method but after trying it myself I determined that if the guard is used and the mitt rinsed well there isn’t that much benefit.
3. Get yourself a sheep skin mitt as the chenille ones and the M/F ones tend to mar and a sponge is just a delicate way of wet sanding. If you do have a chenille mitt save it for the wheels, I use my old sheepskin one as my wheels are clear coated and I don’t want to mar them.
4. For a hose nozzle I use what looks like a fire hose nozzle ( do a google on “Ultimate Hose Nozzle “) and I like it because you can adjust it to flood the surface to float the grit away.
5. For drying I recommend the Microfiber Waffle Weave towels as they pick up a lot of water .. make for fast drying and don’t mar. You will need a couple of them and they are 24 x 36” .. can be found on line for less than $10 each. Alternate is the plush blue drying towels found at Wal Mart for around $8.
6. Soap … well everyone will argue for cheap to boutique … I use what’s on sale .. and combined with the proper mitt have never had a problem. Soap serves 2 purposes, one is to lubricate the surface so the grit has less chance to mar and the suds help float away the grit. Keeping it off the paint.
7. This is the point where I use a tire cleaner, I prefer Whesleys Bleech Wite. I try to apply it ONLY to the rubber. Spray all 4 tires then go and give them a bit of a scrub with a brush and rinse each tire at that point. I only use the Bleech Wite every 10th wash etc or when I notice my tires loosing the blackness ( is that a word or did I just make it up?)
8. Also if you have bugs on the front one trick I learned was to place an old wool type blanket over the front of the hood/bumper etc and wet it down and tuck it in all the areas, let it set for 1/ to ½ hour or so to soften the bugs. Maybe do this while your vacuuming the car out . I’m not a fan of bug sprays as some contain Xylene and its not paint friendly. Key to bugs is get them off soon as you can because their innards can be acidic.
9. Wash the grill/bumper area first because if you have to spend time there water is drying on the rest of the car.
10. Wet the car down well and with a stronger spray try and remove as much grit as possible. Then I wash from top down starting with ½ the roof, ½ the windshield and rear window and the windows on one side. Rinse well using a spray of water not a blast. Repeat for the other side.
11. Then I do front fenders and hood etc then rinse.
12. Do 2 doors and rear fender and rinse
13. Do trunk and rear bumper and rinse. Keep the rest of the car wet while doing all this.
14. Do remaining doors and rinse.
15. At this point take the nozzle off the hose and turn the water on to a gentle stream and let it flow all over the car. This does 2 things, A) floods all the grit off the car B) it also pulls about 85% of the remaining water from the car.
16. To dry I take the first M/F WW and fold it in ½ so its 12 x 18 and I hold it by 2 corners and starting at the front edge of the hood on one side I drag it over the hood, windshield, rear window, trunk, rear window, roof on other side, windshield and finally over the other side of the hood. Then I do the same down both sides of the car and across the back bumper.
17. Then I fold the other towel in ¼s and starting with the windows I dry them first then do hood, roof, trunk then finish off the sides and bumpers. In reality I can dry my TL in just a couple minutes.
18. Once the surface is dried I use an old plush towels to dry the wheels and a cheap M/F to do the door edges, trunk edge and under the hood.
19. Now I use a dressing on the tires to make them look nice.
I have been doing this for a while and tho it sounds like a lot once your past the initial cleaning of the engine , door edges etc and in an upkeep mode the wash time is about 40 minutes.
One of the keys to short wash times is to do it often and this way it doesn’t become a daylong chore that never seems to have time to get done.
Suzuka Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 7,424
Likes: 294
From: Trail BC CanaDUH
Originally Posted by BackinBlackTL
1. can i wash these towels in my washer/dryer after a few dries
2. what would you guys (excel) recommend for buffing/waxing etc?
3. anything else you guys would like to warn me about how much of a pita it is to keep my new baby clean?
thanks
2. what would you guys (excel) recommend for buffing/waxing etc?
3. anything else you guys would like to warn me about how much of a pita it is to keep my new baby clean?
thanks
I'd suggest picking up a couple of the WW M/F drying towels from Excel.
Thread Starter
i like it dark
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 690
Likes: 2
Originally Posted by Jesstzn
With the pollen don't start dry wiping the car its pretty abrasive.
Dump the M/F mitt for aa sheepshin one.
First off I’ll start with the car washing .. its not brain surgery but some simple tips can make it so much easier, quicker and more efficient.
Washing and the tools needed
1. Try and pick a shaded area if you can or do it in the morning or evening.
2. Use at least a 2.5 gallon wash pail and make a grit guard for it if you don’t want to buy one. I made mine out of a piece of fluorescent fixture lens called an egg crate. You can do the 2 bucket method but after trying it myself I determined that if the guard is used and the mitt rinsed well there isn’t that much benefit.
3. Get yourself a sheep skin mitt as the chenille ones and the M/F ones tend to mar and a sponge is just a delicate way of wet sanding. If you do have a chenille mitt save it for the wheels, I use my old sheepskin one as my wheels are clear coated and I don’t want to mar them.
4. For a hose nozzle I use what looks like a fire hose nozzle ( do a google on “Ultimate Hose Nozzle “) and I like it because you can adjust it to flood the surface to float the grit away.
5. For drying I recommend the Microfiber Waffle Weave towels as they pick up a lot of water .. make for fast drying and don’t mar. You will need a couple of them and they are 24 x 36” .. can be found on line for less than $10 each. Alternate is the plush blue drying towels found at Wal Mart for around $8.
6. Soap … well everyone will argue for cheap to boutique … I use what’s on sale .. and combined with the proper mitt have never had a problem. Soap serves 2 purposes, one is to lubricate the surface so the grit has less chance to mar and the suds help float away the grit. Keeping it off the paint.
7. This is the point where I use a tire cleaner, I prefer Whesleys Bleech Wite. I try to apply it ONLY to the rubber. Spray all 4 tires then go and give them a bit of a scrub with a brush and rinse each tire at that point. I only use the Bleech Wite every 10th wash etc or when I notice my tires loosing the blackness ( is that a word or did I just make it up?)
8. Also if you have bugs on the front one trick I learned was to place an old wool type blanket over the front of the hood/bumper etc and wet it down and tuck it in all the areas, let it set for 1/ to ½ hour or so to soften the bugs. Maybe do this while your vacuuming the car out . I’m not a fan of bug sprays as some contain Xylene and its not paint friendly. Key to bugs is get them off soon as you can because their innards can be acidic.
9. Wash the grill/bumper area first because if you have to spend time there water is drying on the rest of the car.
10. Wet the car down well and with a stronger spray try and remove as much grit as possible. Then I wash from top down starting with ½ the roof, ½ the windshield and rear window and the windows on one side. Rinse well using a spray of water not a blast. Repeat for the other side.
11. Then I do front fenders and hood etc then rinse.
12. Do 2 doors and rear fender and rinse
13. Do trunk and rear bumper and rinse. Keep the rest of the car wet while doing all this.
14. Do remaining doors and rinse.
15. At this point take the nozzle off the hose and turn the water on to a gentle stream and let it flow all over the car. This does 2 things, A) floods all the grit off the car B) it also pulls about 85% of the remaining water from the car.
16. To dry I take the first M/F WW and fold it in ½ so its 12 x 18 and I hold it by 2 corners and starting at the front edge of the hood on one side I drag it over the hood, windshield, rear window, trunk, rear window, roof on other side, windshield and finally over the other side of the hood. Then I do the same down both sides of the car and across the back bumper.
17. Then I fold the other towel in ¼s and starting with the windows I dry them first then do hood, roof, trunk then finish off the sides and bumpers. In reality I can dry my TL in just a couple minutes.
18. Once the surface is dried I use an old plush towels to dry the wheels and a cheap M/F to do the door edges, trunk edge and under the hood.
19. Now I use a dressing on the tires to make them look nice.
I have been doing this for a while and tho it sounds like a lot once your past the initial cleaning of the engine , door edges etc and in an upkeep mode the wash time is about 40 minutes.
One of the keys to short wash times is to do it often and this way it doesn’t become a daylong chore that never seems to have time to get done.
Dump the M/F mitt for aa sheepshin one.
First off I’ll start with the car washing .. its not brain surgery but some simple tips can make it so much easier, quicker and more efficient.
Washing and the tools needed
1. Try and pick a shaded area if you can or do it in the morning or evening.
2. Use at least a 2.5 gallon wash pail and make a grit guard for it if you don’t want to buy one. I made mine out of a piece of fluorescent fixture lens called an egg crate. You can do the 2 bucket method but after trying it myself I determined that if the guard is used and the mitt rinsed well there isn’t that much benefit.
3. Get yourself a sheep skin mitt as the chenille ones and the M/F ones tend to mar and a sponge is just a delicate way of wet sanding. If you do have a chenille mitt save it for the wheels, I use my old sheepskin one as my wheels are clear coated and I don’t want to mar them.
4. For a hose nozzle I use what looks like a fire hose nozzle ( do a google on “Ultimate Hose Nozzle “) and I like it because you can adjust it to flood the surface to float the grit away.
5. For drying I recommend the Microfiber Waffle Weave towels as they pick up a lot of water .. make for fast drying and don’t mar. You will need a couple of them and they are 24 x 36” .. can be found on line for less than $10 each. Alternate is the plush blue drying towels found at Wal Mart for around $8.
6. Soap … well everyone will argue for cheap to boutique … I use what’s on sale .. and combined with the proper mitt have never had a problem. Soap serves 2 purposes, one is to lubricate the surface so the grit has less chance to mar and the suds help float away the grit. Keeping it off the paint.
7. This is the point where I use a tire cleaner, I prefer Whesleys Bleech Wite. I try to apply it ONLY to the rubber. Spray all 4 tires then go and give them a bit of a scrub with a brush and rinse each tire at that point. I only use the Bleech Wite every 10th wash etc or when I notice my tires loosing the blackness ( is that a word or did I just make it up?)
8. Also if you have bugs on the front one trick I learned was to place an old wool type blanket over the front of the hood/bumper etc and wet it down and tuck it in all the areas, let it set for 1/ to ½ hour or so to soften the bugs. Maybe do this while your vacuuming the car out . I’m not a fan of bug sprays as some contain Xylene and its not paint friendly. Key to bugs is get them off soon as you can because their innards can be acidic.
9. Wash the grill/bumper area first because if you have to spend time there water is drying on the rest of the car.
10. Wet the car down well and with a stronger spray try and remove as much grit as possible. Then I wash from top down starting with ½ the roof, ½ the windshield and rear window and the windows on one side. Rinse well using a spray of water not a blast. Repeat for the other side.
11. Then I do front fenders and hood etc then rinse.
12. Do 2 doors and rear fender and rinse
13. Do trunk and rear bumper and rinse. Keep the rest of the car wet while doing all this.
14. Do remaining doors and rinse.
15. At this point take the nozzle off the hose and turn the water on to a gentle stream and let it flow all over the car. This does 2 things, A) floods all the grit off the car B) it also pulls about 85% of the remaining water from the car.
16. To dry I take the first M/F WW and fold it in ½ so its 12 x 18 and I hold it by 2 corners and starting at the front edge of the hood on one side I drag it over the hood, windshield, rear window, trunk, rear window, roof on other side, windshield and finally over the other side of the hood. Then I do the same down both sides of the car and across the back bumper.
17. Then I fold the other towel in ¼s and starting with the windows I dry them first then do hood, roof, trunk then finish off the sides and bumpers. In reality I can dry my TL in just a couple minutes.
18. Once the surface is dried I use an old plush towels to dry the wheels and a cheap M/F to do the door edges, trunk edge and under the hood.
19. Now I use a dressing on the tires to make them look nice.
I have been doing this for a while and tho it sounds like a lot once your past the initial cleaning of the engine , door edges etc and in an upkeep mode the wash time is about 40 minutes.
One of the keys to short wash times is to do it often and this way it doesn’t become a daylong chore that never seems to have time to get done.
go out and pick out your favorite brand of sealant...i am using meguiars nxt next gen....also get yourself some detail clay and use that first and then seal your paint...if you want to do it all correctly, get a udm/pc and polish car with that...i wouldnt skip the clay part, i would do that the very next time you wash your car....brand new and all...
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