Proud owner of a 08 TW coupe SI..jus got it 2 weeks ago and the weather in the NE has been depressing with all the rain/snow mixture..well its gonna be 48 degrees tomrrow and its finally time to wash the car...jus got a a quick question though..so far i know ur sopposed to wash it in a cool shaded area and start from top to bottom..the only thing is when i search to "how to properly wash your car" i get mix signals from different articles and forums..do i clean my rims and use meguiars insane tire spray after then start washing the rest of the body or is that reverse order..also any tips/help is very much apperciate

 

Check out http://www.autopia.org - get a nice lambskin wash mitt and two buckets. Put soapy water in one, clean water in the other. Start at the top of the car and rinse the mitt in the clean water after each half-panel. Work your way towards the bottom and use motions that are the same as how air would move over your car to minimize swirls. Use little to no pressure on the mitt. I always do wheels/tires last, and I use a seperate microfiber towel with soapy water to do the wheels. That should give you a start.

 

always me 4 hrs 2 wash my car and vaccum, but was well worth it, jus wash top 2 bottom like u said den dry, and take a damp towl and 1 dry 1, n do wat da karate kid did 2 ur whole car, itll b spotless no watermarks, and u can use dishwashing soap for ur rims, i use a old glove or sock 2 perfectly clean da rims... take ur time and hav fun wid it haha

 

thanks for all the tips guys...yea i went to walmart today and got some supplies..armor all interior cleaning wipes, ice turtle car wash, meguiars hot all wheel rim cleaner and meguiars insane nxt tire shine with of course 2 microtex microfiber mitt and a crap load of microtex microfiber towels and i got a few stuff at home i can use as well...anything else im missing?..cant wait till tomorrow..white car + snow = the dirty nesss

 

dont 4get 2 stay away from birds, they sh** on my car a few hours after i washed it, and 2 spot wash haha n da next day, a swarm unloaded a sh**load on me, gota rewash lol, they jus luv shiny cars

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Soulja5tyl3zSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dont 4get 2 stay away from birds, they sh** on my car a few hours after i washed it, and 2 spot wash haha n da next day, a swarm unloaded a sh**load on me, gota rewash lol, they jus luv shiny cars</TD></TR></TABLE>

wtf did you just type? think i just exploded my mind trying to read this...

op-

i use one bucket, two mitts and a sprayer equipped hose with warm water (i realize not many people have this luxury) and that's about it for normal washing. the soap products i prefer are eagle one. the eagle one wash and wax soap is really nice if you polish and wax often. it really compliments a traditional polish/wax job between jobs. i use full spray for initial rinse, shower for after-wash soap removal, then usually flood for final rinse. i will shoot the wheel wells well with full and also the body panel seam areas with full or stream.

the one mitt i have is from advance autoparts and is some strange tennis ball colored microfiber material that looks like tiny dreads. that is what i use for the primary car washing. occasionally i'll hit the mitt with the hose if i feel it needs it between dips in the bucket. the other mitt is a lambs wool mitt that has a better dexterity to it so i can clean in the finer crevices in the wheels. the order i wash is top and upper sides w/ hood, sides front and rear, and then lower portion. i then do wheels and tires, wheel wells and under car edges. i spray the under side to eliminate any lingering road "salt", tho the next rain storm usually takes care of that. i then dry with an old school absorber. i love that thing!

rarely do i use any add'l chemicals. i dont use tire stuff, spray wax, armor all, etc. if it's a super stubborn bug stain on the front or something, i use goo gone on a paper towel and then wash that area. interior is usually just fine with a vacuum using a small powerful vacuum and small detail fitting set which can be found in the tool corral in home depot. i've been using my set for 10 years. it's selection of fittings works wonders for buttons and small hard to get areas with dust and dirt. i typically will solely wipe down the dash and stuff with a warm damp mfiber towel, or if it's a quicky after a wash, my absorber. i use Stoner cleaner for the inside of my windows and wipe with paper towels, though i need to start using newspaper again. when i'm doing an all out detail, i'll use armor all wipes on the clear parts on the dash and buff completely, and it makes for a really wonderful shine. if you have any scratches on your headlights or interior clear parts, i use Novus plastic polish. i believe i use stage 2 most of the time. it's made for motorcycle plastics. i've found that the Si seats respond well to a warm damp mfiber towel, in a light brushing motion after vacuum.

new hondas have absolutely **** paint due to EPA restrictions (another reason i love my mazda which is 100% made in japan) so be very careful. i prefer a product called 'scratch out' from Kit for scratch and haze removal. this stuff is awesome and cheap! it can be found at walmart in its yellow bottle. the wax i'm using now is meguiars cleaner wax applied with an old school eagle one round pad. really, any wax with a high carnauba content is ideal. the best i've ever used is griot's garage, but it's easier to just get meguiars of any of the mass market stuff. i buff with a microfiber towel.

 

lol my bad, i just type faster that way..

 

i thought i was reading one of my neice's text messages! haha...

 

this may help you: https://honda-tech.com/zero...age=1