[jimrawr]

Ok, here is a list of stuff I got to clean my car.. interior and exterior..

Do you think im missing anything from making my car nice and clean? Should I get some kind of polisher? If so, what kind? This is my first time really trying to clean the car nice, usually I just wash it with soap and water and let it air dry.. Help me out

FOR OUTSIDE:
Chenille wash pad
Plantinum Ultimate Auto Wash Shampoo
Mothers California Gold Liquid Wax
Viking Applicator Pads
Armor All Wheel Cleaner
Turtle Wax Wet&Black Tire Shine
Flanel Cloths
Genuine Chamois Leather

FOR INSIDE:
Lexol Vinylex
Lexol Leather Conditioner
Lexol Leather Cleaner
Pina Colada Air Freshener
Bissel Water Vacumm Cleaner


Ok, so I was going to to the interior first.
First I was going to use the cleaner on the leather, and then the conditioner. Then I was going to take out the carpets and clean them with the Bissel Vacum cleaner, and clean the inside carpets as good as I could.. vacum the inside. Then clean the dash and all that stuff with the vinylex, and then finish up with the mirrors and the plastic covering the gauges..

For the outside, I was going to use the Auto Shampoo and wash the outside nice, then dry it with the chamois leather. Then apply the wax with the applicators, and wipe it off with the flanel cloths. Then I was going to use the tire shine, and lastly clean the wheels with the wheel cleaner.

 

[DjChowFun]

you're not gonna wanna use those flannel cloths...get MF or at lesat 100% cotton

personally i'd throw away that chamois too, i've never had good results with a chamois, but people have had good results with the absorber (screw that too, waterblade + MF towel all the way)

 

[jimrawr]

what would you recommend for a good polish?

 

[OUCH]

what would you recommend for a good polish?

All depends on the color of your car and how much work you're willing to put into it. Your paint's condition also limits your choices... Tell us the condition of your paint and possibly a picture so we could better help you.

 

[godfather16]

Dang, I see that there are no Meguiars products at all?

 

[JoeW]

For the inside, if your dash is pretty dusty you can just wipe it down with a damp cloth to pick up all the dirt/dust/pollen then let it dry and then use your vinyl protectant. That way the cloth you use to apply the protectant will not be covered with dust and you won't be rubbing the dust into the vinly as you apply the protectant. If you are cleaning your windows too, I suggest using a newspaper instead of a cloth. You can either spray glass cleaner on the window and wipe it down, or spray the glass cleaner on the wadded-up newspaper and then buff the window with it until the glass cleaner disappears. This will avoid streaks and spraying the cleaner directly on the newspaper will avoid overspray onto your freshly cleaned vinyl.

I just used a chenille wash pad for the first time yesterday and it was great on my uncle's truck. It scrubbed off dried bug guts much better than microfiber.
Make sure you shake the loose bits of cloth off of the applicators before you use them. I recommend rinsing the applicator that you use for your wax with water, then wring it out well. This will prevent the applicator from drying out quickly and you will use less wax in the long run since the applicator doesn't absorb it as it would if it were dry.
I know flanel is 100% cotton, but are the cloths you have tight woven and flat, or do the fibers hang out like on a towel? 100% cotton towels are good for buffing off wax. I don't like to use microfiber to buff off wax since they cake up quickly, but they are great for alot of other things. I would suggest purchasing some good microfiber cloths (ie. NOT from WalMart) for the future.
The chamois will be fine since it is new. You'll need to take care of it if you want to keep using it though. If it is hot out, the best thing is to keep a separate small bucket/bowl of clean water to let the chamois soak in while you are washing. This way you can wash an area, rinse it off, then wring out the chamois and dry that area off, and return the chamois to the bowl of clean water. This helps keep the chamois in good condition because if it dries out while it is folded over itself, the absorbancy of the chamois will cause it to try to absorb itself and it will deteriorate over time, making it less smooth and more likely to scratch the car. Also, do not use the chamois to dry a dirty area (ie. near the wheel wells - usually unless you wash where the fender wraps around into the wheel well, when you dry the fender with the chamois, some road tar/dirt will get on the chamois). You need to take good care of the chamois, so if it does get dirty, clean it off ASAP before you use it anymore. They usually come clean if you just run it under clean water (sink or hose). However, if you let it dry dirty, chances are you won't be able to get it clean later. If your chamois is dirty and it won't come clean, do not put it in the washing machine; just throw it away and get a new chamois or some other product that will dry the car.

For a good polish I recommend 3M Perfect It Swirl Mark Remover (either for dark or light colored cars, depending on the color of your car). Or if you have a buffer, Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 is my mild polish of choice. You'll have better results if you follow up the polish with a glaze, like 3M Imperial Hand Glaze or Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze (or Meguiar's #3 Machine Polish if you have a buffer). Make sure you follow the directions on the back of the polish/glaze bottles for best results. Good luck!

 

[hustler904]

I use the california water blade to get most of the water off,and then the absorber for any spots the water blade wont get,havent used mf towels yet,but I'm gonna order some soon once I put together a least of what else I need,and I recommend black magic tire foam,so far its been about a month and the tires still look great,just spray it on,other tire sprays will turn your tires brown in less than a week,meguiars endurance tire gel is great also,but the black magic tire foam is just way easier to apply,and if you have base side skirts,I recommend stoners trim shine,I had some spots where I got wax on there and it wouldnt come off,in the last 3 months I've used the trim shine twice on there and the wax has yet to show through,it didnt remove the wax,just covered it up,but it did a good job at that

 

[jimrawr]

I ended up buying the P21S Polish

http://www.properautocare.com/p2paincleanl.html

Im hoping this is a good one