I was looking for something to clean some of the black trim on my Pri this afternoon and decided to get TurtleWax F21 Super Protectant. It says it works on leather, vinyl, plastic and rubber. It has a lame narrative on the back about '21st century nanotechnology' but hey. It worked. After a little wiping the trim looked awesome. I had gotten some paste wax on the rear bumper protector and it came right off with a little rubbing. We had previously scrubbed like heck with everything in our house and at his shop to try to get it off. Same with the plastic area where the windshield wipers connect up front. I did all the black trim I could see, including mudflaps and the little SKS lock buttons and they all look really nice. No greasy film either. It also appears to work on the interior of the car, but I don't really feel the need to do that just yet. Maybe another day. However, I think I will try it on my front end cover and see how that goes tomorrow. Just thought I'd spread the word, this stuff is pretty good.
Interesting. Cause I have marks on the black trim at the base of the windshield from the washer fluid that stayed there over the winter and hence left marks of its existence
Quick follow-up: Verdict on front end cover: two thumbs up. Verdict on interior (dash and doors just below window): don't bother. I would just use this stuff on exterior surfaces. I didn't like the way it dried on the interior door trim. But for exterior, it is great.
Well after a little nitpicking I see that it does work OK on interior. Just kind of a pain. You apply, then wait a while, then rub the surface like crazy with a clean cloth. It evens out the application and makes the shine come back. So it is decent but I'm sure there are much better and more convenient interior cleaners out there. I am still very happy with exterior results. That front end cover is unbelievably shiny. Almost makes up for the ding in my door.
I bought ArmourAll wipes at CostCo. Tried the purple 'cleaner' ones today. Did you notice as you cleaned that when the flat plastic surfaces like the doors and glove box are actually bronze with glittery sparkles when they're wet? Now I for one don't mind the shiney ArmourAll protectorant look so I'm going to try the wipes and see what if any changes they make. On the outside I'm using Maguire's. And I must say I like the microfiber cloths I bought at PepBoys.
Tideland: Mask, bra, whatever you like to call it. We've always called it the front end cover. See my avatar. That's an 'after' picture from using the protectant. Godiva: I noticed the color- kinda likened it to near-chocolate tone. Always thought it was just a dull dark gray or something until yesterday. Learn something new every day don't we? I looked at Maguires and it was more expsnsive so I didn't bother. Kind of on a budget and the turtlewax was about $2 cheaper.
Yes, a sparkly chocolate. I rather liked it but understand why they made it mat. Making it shiny like the cup holders would have been so garish. I got the Maguires at CostCo and didn't look to see how much it was. I've been using it since my 1996 Saturn. I asked a friend who had a classic car what he used to wax his car. He said Maguires. Just recently the guy who put the invisible bra on my Prius said the exact same thing, Maguires, without my even asking. I don't know much about Turtlewax products. I'm sure they do the job and they wouldn't still be in business if their products did any harm. The stuff lasts so long I pay the extra bucks. The Maguires came with the liquid wax stuff and a spray bottle of detail stuff for in between washings. I've already used that and really like it. I bought a huge bottle of the Maguires shampoo at CostCo a few days ago. I've decided to forego the car wash at least for now. Let a few years go by and a few more Prii get on the road. I don't want my local wash to do anything because they don't know any better. I think the thing I like the most is the microfiber towels. Never used microfiber before and they are really cool. They soak up a lot of water, you wring them out and then they're practically dry and can soak up more water. Wring them out and they dry really fast. I'll be giving my car a wash this coming week and I'll see if it needs a coat of wax or just the detail stuff.
I agree about the Meguiar's products. I use their wax as you dry product and think it does a good job between regular waxings. All in all I think they are one of the better outfits in their field. I did try the Turtle Wax stuff mentioned at the beginning of this thread and found it not to my taste. I believe it has silicone in it which not only leaves a shinier finish than I care for but in my experience, over time, slowly evaporates and leaves a difficult to remove film on the glass in the car.
Really? I didn't notice the finish was overly shiny at all. Did you wipe it with a soft clean cloth afterward? Because at first I didn't like the finish either but after some wiping it looked much nicer. The flat black trim on my car is still just that- flat black. Not shiny. Or I would have been highly irritated. Maybe it also depends how you apply it? I'm stumped. Well, to each his own I guess. I'll use up this bottle I have and try the Meguiars next time and see what I think. Kind of on a budget right now.
I got some of the Meguiars on the flat black part of my door and it left a white film that I can't get off. Any ideas?
Try the stuff I mentioned above. It removed paste wax from the rear bumper protector, no problem. I'm sure there are similar products out there as well.
