What do you guys use to clean the exterior of your cars? I don't want to use a washcloth. Isn't there a good, soft cloth that you use when soaping your car up?

 

p21s

 

One grand blitze car wash w/ 100% cottom mitt. ( http://www.carcareonline.com or http://www.griotsgarage.com ) Then, I dry it w/ Absorber.

 

P21s? What in the world is that?

 

I use the lamb skin mitt from Walmart. I think that's what it's made of. Very soft.

Alan

 

I use a big sponge. Should I be using something else?

 

Shammy to wash the car with mothers or meguires soap. Shammy to dry off the car. Use diff buckets to wash the wheels and the car. Wash from top to buttom and rinse off from top to buttom. Also seperate your car in sections and wash the soap off each body panel at a time
EVIL


[Modified by Evil GS-R, 1:08 PM 8/16/2001]

 

I personally would not recommend using a chamois for washing or drying the car! Not only do they strip the wax, they provide no nap to suspend any residual dirt.

Best bet is to wash your car with Chenille wash mits or sponges (no regular sponges) and then dry with an absorber or other SYNTHETIC chamois, and follow up with a high quality microfiber towel or 100% cotton (fielcrest/cannon brand) towel.

It is a good idea to have one bucket with your soap solution and one bucket with clean water. After cleaning a section of your car, dip the mitt in the clean bucket, wring out the water, then dip back in the soapy bucket and continue. Clean the car from the top down, doing the wheels last. Use a different mitt to clean the wheels/fenderwells.

To cut down your drying time even further, remove the attachment on the end of your hose and just use the nozzle to wash the car down. This will help the water on the car sheet and cut drying time significantly.

 

If anyone in the JDM crowd cares... absorber is made in Japan.

But seriously, the stuff works without scratching your car. Best $10 you'll spend.

 

Same here. I dry it with very old and soft terrycloth towells, don't use new ones. They'll scratch the paint.

 

go to http://www.carcareonline.com and read the faq's...

very good stuff there.

 

Don't use a sponge to wash your car - the pores can trap dirt particles which are then dragged along the surface of the paint.

I always use chamois to dry my car. I have never heard of them stripping wax and every detailing book/site that I have looked at recommends their use.

 

I always just use a washcloth or some diapers (the cheap ones from K-mart and stuff that I used back in the day ). They work good. I normally consider what cleaners/waxes you use more important than what you put it in with. Just don't use anything that's rough is my rule.

 

I use zymöl clear auto bathe. The best soap you'll ever find for a car.

 

Natural chamois contains tannic acid, which strips wax. In addition, its lack of nap is just asking to drag dirty along your paint if you use it to wash or drag it to dry.

As someone mentioned, carcareonline.com has some great tips. They mention natural chamois briefly here: http://www.carcareonline.com/wash_car.html

If you do an internet search, you will find more resources that recommend staying away from natural chamois if you want you wax to last as long as possible.

Your advice on using sponges is very true, except for sea sponges. Those seem to work quite well, but are very expensive and not all that durable.

SeaDawg: The applicators and drying tools you use are probably more important than the actual car cleaning chemicals you use if you want to avoid swirls/scratches! Polyester can FEEL very soft but will marr the hell out of your finish! Be very careful with what products you allow to touch your paint...if you value it that is.


[Modified by Yell00ITR, 2:27 PM 8/16/2001]


[Modified by Yell00ITR, 2:28 PM 8/16/2001]

 

Yeah, somethings can feel softer than they really are. I use 100% cotton clothes.

 

For washing I use meguiers Soap along with a 100% cotton mitt and a small Boars hair brush I got from Griot's. I use 2 buckets and 2 mitts, 1 mitt and Bucket I use for the surface of the car (I also use the boars hair brush on the flat surfaces) while the other I use for fenderwells, wheels and under the rockers and what not.

I dry the car using the water blade to remove the majority of water and than follow up with some lint free cotton towels. Nothing but the Best for my Integra, that is why it look's New with 93 vintage paint.

 

Palmolive and water.

 

 

For cloths, 100 percent cotton towels are softer than anything else. No, you don't need to use a sponge (and it won't be as soft as cotton). Just get a bag of those cheap detailing towels (but make sure they're 100 percent cotton). You can get a bag of 12 for $10 at the auto parts store, or a bag of 36 for $12 at Sam's Club. Don't listen to those silly brand-name recommendations; there's no need to spend more for fancy brands, and besides, those are likely to be dyed (not good). Use one of the detailing towels for the washing part, then a bunch more for drying. Keep a lot of them on hand; if you drop one on the ground, set it aside and take a new one.

For the wash liquid, Zymol Clear is a very good product; it seems to lift the dirt off without harming the finish or any previously-applied wax. Another good product is Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo (look for the orange liquid). It has nice "sheeting action" for the water to sheet off the car. You can get a big big bottle for cheap at Target.

 

what do you guys use/do to clean the engine bay?????

 

Simple Green and a hose.

 

I strongly disagree here. Take a look at those cheap "100% Terry Cotton Towels" and you will see that they have barely any nap compared to a high quality towel and are loaded with polyester thread! If you dont believe me, take one and rub it against a CD. You will see scratches on the CD. Do you want those scratches on your clearcoat? I dont. You can get the VERY BEST towels (fieldcrest charisma) from their wholesale site for MUCH cheaper than you can from a department store. I believe their site is http://www.fieldcrestoutlet.com. You can find deals there..sometimes a full bath towel for $5! White is ideal, although I would worry less about dyes than using material that will scratch your paint. Just wash the towels a couple times before using. If you are really worried, use a little bleach the first wash. I have seen the same Charisma selling at a department store for $20.

I do not see why anyone would recommend a particular brand of car product yet not care (or think it is silly) to recommend a good product to apply and remove the product. Dont forget, technique and good materials are more important than the product you choose to use.


Also, another problem I have with those small towels that you can buy for so cheap is that it is VERY hard to dry anything (other than wheels, engine bay, exhaust pipe, etc.) without hitting the paint with the stitching. The stitching is loaded with polyester. The simple test for this is to take a match and light the thread for a second. If you see black smoke, you have found polyester. Pure cotton will burn like a wick, with no colored smoke.

I, personally, would only use those "100% Cotton" rags for cleaning things like the engine bay, wheels, and exhaust tips, not to mention to use as general shop towels.

For engine detailing, I use simple green maybe once a year diluted 50/50 with water. I let it soak for about 5 minutes in the engine bay and then carefully hose it off. When dry, I like to use a little water-based protectant on the plastic parts and valve cover to really get them to shine! After the engine is cleaned like this once, you only need to go over it with a damp sponge or microfiber cloth every few washes to have a pristine engine bay.


[Modified by Yell00ITR, 6:11 AM 8/17/2001]

 

I use:

Mother's Car Wah Soap
Lamb skin mitt
Chamois to dry

I've NEVER had any problems using the above three products. However, I do notice that my FBP paint forms swirl marks VERY easily. I never had this problem with my white LS.

 

Pretty much all modern day clearcoats swirl easily. It is just much more apparent on black or dark colored cars, especially if non-metallic. I would think you would have good luck if you removed the swirls with a mild abrasive like 3M finesse-it and the top with a milder polish or wax. To avoid future swirls, using the highest quality wash mitt, wash the car ONLY when the surface is cool, dry in the shade, use only REAL 100% cotton towels (or a high quality microfiber) to rub the paint, and avoid automatic car washes like the plague! Also, don't let the dealer or anyone but yourself touch your paint!