Again im new to the board, just to let you on some info. about my teg! Back when i got the new teg, im the 2nd owner about 3 years ago! Treated my car like !@#$%
Since now, receiving funds and just now starting to "fixed" it up; any cleaning tips in mind?
Again, my interior is so full of dust? Any "good" cleaning suggestions on cleaning your teg inside @ out?

Yesterday, i went to Wal-mart and bought some cleaning materials. Im trying to start all over and try to clean/detail my teg!

I've just know to realize that im into my car more than ever!

I heard a while back about cleaning your dashboard? Not to use "black-magic", "ammor-all" ( dont know how to spell ) It tends to crack?

Someone on the board said "simple-green" & water????
also 3-M refresher??? I cant find it ??? Anywhere else?

Any cleaning tips???

If all can post your "cleaning-secrets", I'll be well apprec.!

Thanks for the help!

 

I just spent last Saturday cleaning my R.
Here is what I do (exterior):

I cleaned the engine bay by first covering the electrical components with plastics bags, spraying with water and simple green, rinsing, and then wiping down. I then clean the wheels using dishsoap (removes the grease/dust/grime better) and a cotton towel.

Then I wash the car using a Zymol wash and clean cotton towels. Rinse often. After drying the car well and wiping down the interor with a damp towel I apply 3M hand glaze to the car - let that dry and buff off using several clean cotton towels.

Last step is to apply the wax. I use Mequires Gold Class wax. Easy to apply and it works great. Apply - Dry - Buff. I usually put a second coat on for good measure and to get that extra good softness.... I then usually take another clean cotton towel and go over the car one last time to get any spots I may have missed or not buffed as well as I should have.

The car is so smooth and soft I can't stop touching it...

The cotton towels, the Zymol wash, the Gold Class wax, the applicator pads all can be bought at Walmart. The 3M Hand Glaze can be purchased at Pep Boys.




[Modified by Flux, 10:03 AM 10/30/2001]

 

Just to clarify, Black Magic Semi-Gloss Dash Protectant (it smells like lemon and has a milky-white consistency) works awesome on our matte dashboards. It is water based, contains no silicones/oils, and has loads of UV protectants in it. Just dont use any other Black Magic Dash Protectant...only the Semi-Gloss one I described above. 303 Aerospace Protectant (from your local boating/marine store) works great as well but is a little more expensive and hard to find.

For the outside, use any product you like. Im not making any recommendations because it always ends up becoming a flame war!

 

huh? cleaning?

-Dave, who ponders whether or not he should post pics of his GS-R.....

 

on my R.. i use simple green to clean the motor.. usually wrap the distributor with a plastic bag.. then empty the whole bottle.. let it sit there for a while then hose it down, always clay your car.. makes a world of difference and its much easier to wash it afterwards. I usually wax mine about once a month usually twice.. and use polish on hard to get off crap that wont come out even after i clay the car.
Use that meguiars (dont know if i spelled this right) to wash it, and a separate sponge for cleaning wheels. Then at a local hardware store i bought this window cleaning spray, damn its so easy to clean windows with it, beats windex anyday. On my interior i never use armorall although i should i think.. but dont really dig that glossy look so i just get a wet chammy and clean the inside to remove all the dust... thats it. sounds kinda **** and all.. but all these cleaning products along with carwash soap with in a medium bucket i use when wash my car.. since i cant wash my car at home i always have the bucket in the car and always end up at my friends pad's over the weekend cleaning it hehehe

 

Wash the car with Meguiars car wash. Dry the remaining with the California Water Blade. And use one 1 cotton towel to dry the whole car!

Then:
I use Mothers stage 2 polish, applied with the orbital buffer. Remove the haze with the orbital buffer.

Then apply Meguiars Gold Class wax with the orbital. And remove the haze with the orbital again.

Vacuum the car with the shopvac. And once in awhile if the carpets need cleaned I will take the upright house carpet cleaner out and run them over a few times. The carpets come out just like new.

As for the engine and dash, just a damp cloth. I haven't attempted spraying the engine bay with simple green and the hose. My damn simple green bottle doesn't work well Ravage00, where's my special spray bottles??!

As for Windows == Rain X is applied if needed.

Tires if I feel like it, I'll apply the Meguiars purple tire gel == not so so shiny with one coat.


I wash my car every week now. Used to be every other day, then every 3 days, now it's every week.

Wax done every 3-4 weeks.

Last week instead of the Meguiars car soap, I washed my car with Palmolive dish soap to strip the wax.

 

I've got some food-for-thought for all of you that use a damp cloth to clean their dashes. When water dries it causes shrinkage(yes that kind too, but it has to be cold water for that kind of shrinkage to occur) leading to premature cracking of the dash. Especially if it is left outside in the sun to dry. You need something with some kind of UV protectant and oil to keep the synthetic leather soft and pliable. Again this too has its drawbacks as it tends to be more expensive than water but doesn't need to be done as frequently since the oils don't evaporate and cuase shrinking of the material as quickly as H2O.

 

damn you washed it quite frequently.. if i had my own garage to myself i'd probably be washing it every 3 days.

 

Any cleaning materials for the interior THAT DOES NOT collect "dust-bunnies"??
amor-all, black-magic, 3-M refresher.............do they collect dust after use? also make the vinyl crack after time?

Im just reall concern w/ the interior??(dashboard) Once i've used armor-all and it collect dust afterwards like CRAZY?? Is there anyway to prevent this from happening???

Pls, any sugg.???

Thanks for the help guys!

 

You can supposedly use endust to clean your dash...I have never tried this myself.

 

Watch out what you use.. your dashes and door panels are just dyed, and if you eat through the dye you will have a shiny spot... I have washed my car about 5 times in 8 mos.. just using a commercial car wash soap, and I waxed it once..
with turtle wax... Rains so much out here there is no point being obsessive

 

What do u cover? i usually cover the intake and breather... please help... i dont wanna short circuit anything... and also, ppl SIMPLE GREEN removes almost everything... type R owners, this means that LSD stamp on the transmission!! uuugggghhh!!!

 

Cover up any apparent electrical parts..such as the distributor cap, the harness that sits next to it, and if possible, try and cover the spark plug wire plugs (where they seal against the valve cover.

Also, about dash protectants...guys, try out either the Black Magic Semi-Gloss Stuff (not any other Black Magic dash stuff) or 303 Aerospace Protectant. I mentioned above where you can find them. Both of them will protect your dash, repel dust (to an extent), are NOT greasy, and will produce very little sheen (it will still be matte but slightly darker black. Just spray a good amount on a foam applicator and go over the dash with it. It will take a good 15 minutes to dry completely and may look somewhat streaky until it dries. This is where these products are different than the greasy (aka Armor All) ones.

 

Well, i guess after school, im going to the store and check the Black-magic semi-gloss!

I guess 3M- refresher aint good, since it collects DUST like hell!
Exterior is fine for me, i know what to do, Its just when i drive, i would say 90% of
the time i leave my windows down, I'm thinking since dust, debris gets into my car, dust also accum. Since i've had the car, even though i'll clean every so often, dust....dust....dust... on the dashboard!!!!!!!! The prob. is dust!

You teg owners, wonder..(daymn its a lot of dust to take off)!!

Thanks guys,,, thanks alot....i'll be @ the stores and see what i can find!
Most likely im going to get the black-magic-semi-gloss!
I've bought some simple-green,,,, BUT I GUESS NO ONE mention about there experience w/ simplegreen on there dashboard & panels??

 

Here is my commentary on Simple Green: DO NOT USE IT ON ANY PART OF YOUR CAR EXCEPT FOR YOUR ENGINE BAY, EXHAUST PIPES, OR ON YOUR WHEELS WHEN THEY ARE VERY VERY DIRTY. ALthough they market SG as being safe for the environment and all, it is VERY strong stuff. It is a degreaser and should NOT be used on your dash, at any concentration. The black magic semi-gloss (remember, pop open the bottle...should be milky white and smell like lemon) stuff can be found at pretty much any auto parts store or even walmart now. Apply it like I said (liberally), using a foam applicator. I dont think you need to apply it more than once ever 1 to 2 months. In between applications, I use a Swiffer or Pledge Grab It (can find in any grocery store) to quickly wipe any dust off the dash that may have accumulated. It takes all of 5-10 seconds and really gets the dash clean. I keep one in my ashtray at all times. Good luck!

 

Now that is a good idea a man can use....

 

Yell00ITR> Thanks a lot man, just got through w/ my class! Im going to the store & give you an update!!!

Thanks

& Thanks for all the comments everybody!!

 

when waxing try applying many coats of the Meguires polish and between each coat spray a coat of detailer on the paint. After around 4coats on my hood, I got it to feel like it was gel coated! It was amazing.

 

Well, I dont have a Type-R, but here are some of my cleaning methods:

Clean car with Griots Garage car wash liquid (this stuff is great!!)
Dry with 2 big cotton towels
I always dry out all of the door jambs and under the hood, etc.

1 coat of Meguiar's Cleaner paste wax.....gets rid of all the fine swirl marks the car may have accumulated --- Buff off

1 coat of Meguiar's Gold Glass liquid wax...for that ultimate shine ---Buff off

Fully detail entire car...interior / wheels and tires / wheel wells / muffler / etc.

The result? One clean Rareblue

 

I bring my car to a detailing shop - that's the lazy man way of keeping your car clean.

 

Although everyone's experience is different, I wouldnt recommend this..for a couple reasons.

1. Meguiar's polish (you didnt specify which one) has abrasives and solvents in it which "clean" the paint by removing a small amount of clear or paint. Repeated use (when unecessary) will thin the paint/clear coating on your car.
2. Meguiar's polish has abrasives and solvents which will remove whatever you put on there last. So, if you had a coat of wax or a thin "layer" of quick detailer, consider it gone. If you had meguiar's polish, consider it gone (it will dissolve when subjected to the solvents in the polish again, and basically reapply, but not layer).
3. Meguiar's polish provides no long term protection. While polishes really bring out the shine of the paint, they do not provide a sacrificial layer to protect that look for an extended period, especially with daily driving. For the best and longest lasting results, follow up the polish with a quality wax or sealant.

 

www.carcareonline.com

 

One quick ? How do take out "hard-to-clean" water spots on the windows??

 

White vinegar will do the trick. The spot is usually due to minerals that have crystallized after rainwater/hard water has evaporated. If it is very stubborn, you can try claying it or if that doesnt work you can use an abrasive swirl mark remover. Yes, this applies to the windshield.

Good luck.

 

Yell00ITR You are the car care guru. I learn something new from you every time oyu post on this topic....