New Car Exterior/Interior Care Confusion

If you want to make your head spin, Google "auto detailing forum" and prepare for religious fervor. That said, here's my regimen which grew out of being a former owner of black and dark blue Corvettes and having developed a preference for Zaino products (www.zainostore.com).

Washing: I use two buckets, one with soapy water and one with clean water to rinse out my microfiber cleaning sponge (Wal-Mart sponge). For soap, I use Zaino Z-7, but any quality auto wash will work. I don't use dish soap because it can be harsh to the paint and strip wax/sealant (except during annual claybar treatments).

Drying: I use an electric leaf blower which blows most of the water off a well-polished car and blows water from mirrors, handles, gas filler door, wheel lugs, etc. to minimize dribbles when done. I finish the job with a couple all-cotton or microfiber towels.

Wax/polish: I use multiple thin coats of Zaino Z-2 or Z-5 (cleaning wax) followed by Z-6 gloss enhancer. I've also heard good things about Meguiars NXT. I found these products to last longer than traditional wax, but others swear by regular wax. I also use the polish on the wheels as it keeps the dirt and brake dust down.

Tire dressing: No particular brand, but I use it very sparingly and keep it off the wheels. If the Lexus dealer mistakenly washes my car after service, they always spray tire dressing on the chrome wheels leaving them milky.

Interior plastic: Aerospace 303. NOT slimy, sticky Armor-All.

Leather: Lexol

Glass: Stoners Invisible Glass in the aerosol can. (Wal-Mart) This stuff really works without streaking. I use it on my windows at home, too.

Bug & tar: Not often necessary when well-waxed / polished. But when necessary, I use whatever brand and then wash and polish the affected area.

Annual spring claybar treatment: Wash with Dawn dishwashing soap to remove all dirt, polish/wax, etc. Claybar per instructions. I prefer the Meguiars claybar v. the Zaino bar because the Zaino product tends to crumble when wet. I use a spray bottle with dilute Z-7 soap as lubricant. I then wash with Z-7 and start the polishing process.

For me, cleaning my cars is like therapy. I try to do it year round if the temperature is above freezing and there's enough sunlight to dry the water from my sloped driveway before it freezes overnight. (I run a hose with warm water out to the driveway from the laundry sink which is just inside the house.)

 

+1 :rockon:

You may be overwhelmed by their site suggestions, but it will all make sense when you finish and the towel glides off the paint. You'll be reassured six months later when the water beads just as well...

It's good stuff.

 

---> Car Compulsive, remember Z1 Polish-Loc? I hated that step. They nailed it with ZFX ;-)

 

Especially here in a colder climate. When the temp would get into the 40s, the polish would take forever to set. I feel like I'm back in high school chemistry adding a few drops of ZFX to the Z-2 or Z-5.

I have to admit that I drank the Zaino Kool-Ade and am addicted to their products. I've weaned myself from being too OCD about my cars (not having a Vette anymore helps), but I still put in a big Zaino order every spring.

 

When I retire in a few years, I'm going to be looking for a '66 nassau blue convertible... I'll take-up your slack with the Zaino brothers, lol

 

I just recently received and applied Zaino Z-2 for my new 2011 Prius 4 (Blue) at 1700 miles. Very easy to apply, dried in 30 minutes, and was buffed in (by hand-cotton towels) about 30 minutes-great shine and I see a difference from Megular's used on other cars I have waxed. I'm a fan of Zaino

 

I love this quote...lol.

 

edit - If the paint 'needed to cure' (actually the finish is clear coat), it would be a minor crime if any dealer didn't sternly warn, or Toyota warn of 'do not wax the car for xx', but I've never seen any warning of that, so I believe there is no such need for 'paint to cure'.
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Bentspace, I going to ask you something, not to pick and pry or put you on the spot, but this question is important ....

>> how good are you, or how good do you think you are at car washing? Not talking about waxing, claying, polishing, etc.. just car washing, getting all the dirt off.

The reason I ask is - your car has and will always get dirty. That dirt could act as an abrasive to marr the finish IF washing is not done carefully/skillfully.

Do you have two 5 gallon buckets preferably with GRIT GUARDS to settle the water while sticking your mitt or sponge in? Measure your soap and water mix, why not? other bucket is for rinse water and don't hesitate to change it mid wash.

Do you have a mitt or sponge where you can easily see ANY dirt in the mitt or sponge before you take that next swipe on your paint?

What do I use? Two 5 gallons buckets, grit guards, and I've been using a Griot's garage genuine sheepskin mitt which I like quite a bit. Dirt shows up really well. Believe me, you want to see what just accumulated in your mitt/sponge right away. Throw that dark sponge that doesn't show dirt in the trash immediately.

continuted...

 

About stripping the dealers wax (or not) off ... I wouldn't worry about that. If there's some layer of something on there, it's probably good, whatever they used. What is not good is the dirt and contaminants that fall from above and bond to the finish.


Clay bar? Absolutely. Why? My 2011 was spankin' new. Not long on the lot and 6 miles when I first test drove it....

when I first washed it thoroughly, there was a red spot on the roof no wash mitt this side of the Rockies could remove. How did I get it off? ....

claybar. Claybar is not harmful if used skillfully. Some here don't like it, don't trust or whatever.

I believe in claying only as much as needed. I clay before every wax. But, if I start claying and very, very little is coming up (like when my 2011 was new), I go over it quickly and lightly. I won't press hard trying to get something up that's not even there.

My 2011 Accord Coupe .... laden with some kind of black dust embedded in the finish. It sat for 3 months before I bought it brand new. I clayed and stuff came up, but not even everything. I couldn't get everything up. So, I got what I could and waxed.

I reclayed a few weeks later and waxed again. More stuff came up. That pretty much took care of it.

see post #2.

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-v...ng-waxing-tips-pics-your-prius-long-read.html

If you like some stuff in above thread, great.

 

I use Meg's interior detailer for most inside.

One thing is don't use even a terry microfiber cloth on 'plastic glass' as that cloth will scratch. Use a glass type cloth with no 'nap' (?) to it.

Wax, sealant, Zaino, etc... I don't use Carnauba wax as it's well known that is more for show type shine but not so big for longevity.

I use synthetic wax, the Meg's 2.0 Tech Wax ... I like the smell too.

In between waxing (after washing, while drying) use a spray type wax ... this will add some wax back onto the finish and help it out.

Also, using a spray wax while drying has just about guaranteed I don't get any type of WATER SPOTS while drying which are a huge PITA. You can spray the wax onto the finish, but sometimes must spray it onto the cloth to avoid overspray on trim, windows.

 

The wash and wax stuff is made for car washing. There is no way it is so much wax that it's going to bond to lenses or whatever. I've been using Meg's wash and wax, the yellow stuff and it's fine.

The manual will probably never mention using claybar, or polishing.

I think the main things with clay bar are:

1) make sure the clay has no grit whatsoever in it. If you drop it, toss it out.

2) I wouldn't clay too much because it's only sold in $18 kits and if you use too much clay, that will get pricey over time

3) use lots of spray lube on area you are going to clay. Some say use Dawn solution. Whateva. I tried that, didn't like it.

4) If I'm going to do a hand wax, I leave some water on the car. I don't even bother completely drying it. I lube and clay a bit, all over, fairly quickly, rinse, rewash a bit, rinse, then dry. For cars that need a lot of claying, that's another story, but yours should not need much

I've heard of people applying a Carnauba wax for shine then applying a synthetic wax or sealant over top.

I use a bit of Westleys white bleach to clean tires. That's the first step before anything for me. I have a soft brush for the wheels which is next step.

The last step is applying some tire shine. I use Meg's 'hot shine' , I think. Have a little foam/plastic handled applicator. Used to rub it on with a rag, don't waste your rags on that.

Last things, then out ....

* Get high quality wash mitt or sponge. Check Griot's garage, cause I think it's worth spending a lot on that. The most important tool, I think is the wash mitt / sponge. don't skimp.

* good waffle weave microfiber car drying towels have worked quite well for over 3 years at this point.

* the polishing type cloths that come in Meg's clay kits are quite nice

* you'll need a stack of regular microfiber cloths for interior wiping, wiping door jams and under your hood. Yes, under your hood

 

I'ma play devil's advocate and ask .... how well can you see ANY dirt in that Wal-Mart sponge? I actually don't remember, but I have a couple I stopped using a couple years ago. I'll use them on the old truck though.

I don't like sponges. I rely on being able to FLIP a wash mitt over to wash a little more before rinsing.

Just my opinion, but I'd skip the $4.99 sponge.

Other than that is sounds pretty good, but I wouldn't have enough patience for applying mulitple coats of anything like wax. Is that Zaino stuff like wax, Z2, Z5??
I find hand applying wax by far the most time consuming process. Don't want to use a machine though. Don't want any more stuff around.

 

I'll have to use Zaino sometime.

.. someone asked if wash and wax coats the glass. I've been having a bit of trouble with glass cleaning. I used Stoner's Invisible, but the bottle is over 3 years old now. It did ok applied with glass cloths, but there's some streaks left.

Windows can be a biyatch.

 

That's good and you have a good attitude about. I thought I was doing a good job on my spanking new 2009 Prius (see thread in link above) until the fine micro scratches started showing up on the dark blue paint. The two big buckets, grits gards, good mitt and checking it often nixed that problem.

I took another car through a touchless wash where they wipe it down afterwards. Who knows what you might get. depends on the place or who's doing your car. If you have a driveway, DIY.

I heard microfiber mitts are also very good for car washing. Griot's also has a merino wool wash mitt, little pricey at $27, but should work well. The sheepskin is a hide, so when it's dry, it's totally stiff until it gets soaked again. Only drawback. I've had it for maybe year and a half.

I've seen a Boar's Hair brush in Griot's catalog, but it's really pricey, like $60. Some love it, but I'm good with a mitt.

I had to order the grit guards. I'm sure they help out. Got them first, then found buckets at Dale Hardware that fit to a T.

Your wax bottle should say 'apply a thin coat' and I've found that good advice. If put on too thick, it's quite a bit harder to buff off.

 

While I'm thinking about it, you ought to call up Griot's Garage and have them just send you a catalog in the mail. Then you can see all the tons of stuff available for car detailing. I'm sure they won't press you to buy anything either.

(800) 345-5789

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In all my days, I've never seen a product that claims to protect the exterior of a car for anything close to 5 years. Some have the nerve to claim a year. I don't like the idea of going a year between using Meg's 2.0 Tech Wax. I'm more comfortable with 6 months.

At Fremont Toyota, they used to advetise some stuff called 'Xzylion' sealant for a bunch of money. This is generally regarded as a big profit for the dealers and pretty much everyone says don't waste your money on interior and exterior 'miracle' protections.

Can you imagine anything protecting your cars exterior for 5 years? I cannot. I hoof it out and do my own waxing couple times a year and some spray wax while drying after a wash.

Paint protection film is a 3M type of film that can be applied to the front of hood to protect from rock chips. I've seen it on a new car before. It's hard to notice, but there's a definite line where the film ends.

I don't get too many rock chips in the local area.

I got a 1/4" chip when going up to Mendocino one time.

Couple things you could do for trips

1) put a low cost front bra on just for the trip

2) Griots sells a temporary film you can apply just for your trip, then take off.

I'm not going to get PPF this time around either. I'm just not going to worry about keeping every little chip off the front of the car.