what is your cleaning/detailing routine?

[jimbrewer]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
We are only allowed to wash our cars once a month here, and for four months during the winter, there is no point anyway, so no OCD problems here.

How do they enforce such a thing? I would think that would be very difficult to enforce with respect to washing in one's driveway unless one had serious busybodies as neighbours, and even more difficult to enforce with a self-serve car wash.


Well, to be clear, they only forbid washing in your driveway. Plenty of busy-body neighbors to rat you out, I assume, although I'm happy enough to have an excuse to lay off for a month.

 

[BTLew81]

Pretty much once a week washes for me:
-Washing using Meguiars or Chemical Guys Washes/Sheepskin Mitt
-Use a drying aid like Meg's UQW or UWW+/Waffle Weave Towel
-Pour wash water into wheel bucket, separate mitt, towels, quick wax on wheels.
-Windows with meg's pro glass cleaner
-Wipe down interior, vacuum

Every few months:
-Reapply whatever wax/ sealant I am using at the time

Twice a year:
-DA polish as necessary
-Seal Wheels

I have a HUGE collection of detailing products, towels, etc. I am a detailer on the side, when time permits. It's therapy for me.

 

[Malo83]

Originally Posted By: Scum_Frog
Hey Malo83....how do you compare the Lucas Slick Mist vs the Meg's UQW?

They both give you that excellent shine and slick finish, but the Megs UQW lasts longer

 

[RageOfFury]

I just spent ~5 hours this morning doing the following to my vehicle:

1. Wash with Dawn soap
2. Dry
3. Spray with CarPro Iron X, let soak a few minutes then rub with a wet cloth
4. Spray with water
5. Wash with Dawn soap
6. Dry
7. Clean paint with AutoGlym HD Cleanser
8. Polish and seal paint with AutoGlym Super Resin Polish
9. Wax paint with Collinite 845

and now I'm exhausted! lol

 

[Mykl]

Exterior:
-Wash with Optimum No-Rinse; I aim for once a week, sometimes it happens once a month
-Wax with Optimum Spray Wax; once a month
-Spray polish for headlights; once a month

Interior:
-Swiffers in between cleanings
-Wool-Lite / water mixture 90% of the time
-1Z on occasion
-Interior glass cleaned with ONR; it cuts through windshield film with no effort and is safe for tint

The GTI needs a claybar and a DA polishing, but for a daily driver it's looking very good after three and a half years.

 

[Benzadmiral]

The new regime at my apartment complex says that we're not even allowed to wash our cars on the property, let alone change oil or do work on them. Scrooo 'em; the office is closed on Saturday and Sunday, and they can't watch us every minute.

Once a week, unless it's raining or freezing, I drive to a $1.00 (yes, a dollar to start) self-serve car wash. There I spray the wheels and tires with Simple Green or similar, then hose the car down, and wax while drying with either Meguiar's spray or Turtle's. (Meguiar's smells like popcorn butter, the Turtle like a new plastic model; ever notice?) I dry the glass and the chrome wheels and wipe the tires, too, and vacuum the interior occasionally.

Then I drive back home, park outside the back gate, and use Meguiar's Natural Shine on the tires and rubber air dam. After that, with the heat and humidity here, I usually have to go inside and detail me.

When bird or tree stuff gets on the car, I clean it up right away with Meguiar's Quick Detailer. At random intervals I doll up the interior with the Natural Shine for plastic and vinyl, and with a good leather cleaner/conditioner for the seats.

Twice a year (but those times are getting farther apart as the summer gets longer here), I clean the car, don't wax, clay it with the Blue Magic stuff, then coat with a glaze like Mother's and finally wax with Meguiar's liquid wax. In warm weather, which is usually, I break this into three sessions, doing 1/3 of the car each time.

The big Buick is 10, has 105K miles, and I often get compliments on it. "That car's an '03? Wow, you keep it nice!"