What do you wash your car with?

[M3!]

Hey guys,

So, I've had my car for a few weeks now and its time for its first car wash. Does everybody wash it themselves @ home? if so, what do you use?
Mr. Clean kit good?
Are you waxing the car by hand?

If you are not washing it @ home are you going to toucless?

[JonsMazda]

Hey guys,

So, I've had my car for a few weeks now and its time for its first car wash. Does everybody wash it themselves @ home? if so, what do you use?
Mr. Clean kit good?
Are you waxing the car by hand?

If you are not washing it @ home are you going to toucless?

I wash at home. Currently im using all ICE products, Ice Clay bar, Ice polish and Ice washer. :)

[azn_outlaw]

THis is what i use:

Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine
+
add one cap full of Eagle1 car wash solution

Poorboys wheel cleaner for the rims and to clean the rubber I use EagleOne

nothing to special but this is how I clean my car.

[dr1ft3r]

The coin-op at bathurst and wilson

[Kevin@nextmod]

Simonz wash and wax, great stuff, was on sale for $5 a bottle so i bought 6. Meguiars clay bar, simonz sponge, meguiars gold class for wax, meguiars NXT and makita buffer.

[BLKOUT]

water, soap and a wash mitt....lol

im using a macquires wash with 2 buckets and a microfibre wash mitt.

i am going to be claying mine for the first time sometime this week, hopefully all turns out well.

[Unoriginalusername]

water, soap, micro fiber mitt

[chinsterr]

I wash at home. Currently im using all ICE products, Ice Clay bar, Ice polish and Ice washer. :)

+ 1

For ice products

[Xerox]

The coin-op at bathurst and wilson

A high pressure washer coin-op?
Just be careful if you use high pressure washers. Keep the nozzle a safe distance from the car/paint. It can chip away paint if too close/pressure is too high.

I stay away from high pressure washers. I don't trust myself with it.

[raggs]

Don't waste your time with a Mr. Clean kit...they're crap. I bought one when my wife's Miata was new and was never pleased with it. Nothing beats a wash mitt in warm soapy water (car wash soap only!) lots of rinse water and a clean chamois to dry.
BTW, keep your eyes open for chamois deals at XS Cargo..I bought 3 of them for $6.99 each a couple of months ago. Sure beats CTC's for about $30.

[bubba1983]

erm, wash mitt and soap

klasse all in one + klasse sealant

p21s wax

[M3!]

I wash at home. Currently im using all ICE products, Ice Clay bar, Ice polish and Ice washer. :)

What are ICE products?
What is the Clay bar for?

[dentinger]

just bought some Armorall car wash soap.
mother's wax, armorall interior wipes... just bought glass wipes, gonna see how well they work, and to wash, the sponge dealie i got for my b-day.. it works wonders!!
then a shammy to dry it.
oh, and mequires hot rims for my wheels, and mothers polish for my wheel lip...
i tihnk thats about all....

[majic]

Hey guys,

So, I've had my car for a few weeks now and its time for its first car wash. Does everybody wash it themselves @ home? if so, what do you use?
Mr. Clean kit good?
Are you waxing the car by hand?

If you are not washing it @ home are you going to toucless?


hey n00b.. :chuckle how about you check out the exterior maintenance section here (http://torontomazda3.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=69)

aiiit?

EDIT: moved the thread to the appropriate section

[M3!]

LOL, thanks majic.
I'll make sure I give ya a nice hip check the next time I see ya on the ice, or perhaps Bryan McCabe's infamous Can-Opener.

[MAZDA Kitten]

I wash at home. Currently im using all ICE products, Ice Clay bar, Ice polish and Ice washer. :)

+1

I have all their products too and I just picked up their car soap; COSTCO is having a sale for like a 4L jug for $8!! It says I cant wash it while the car is hot though - never seen that before on other car soap disclaimers. ??

Currently I am finishing my bottle of SIMPLE GREEN (smells amazing)

[Wild Weasel]

I got the Mr. Clean kit just for doing the final rinse, and found it was easier to just dry the car.

The kit works as advertised... if you rinse with it there won't be any spots... but there's so little pressure through the filter that it takes forever just to do that rinse! Faster to just dry the damned thing!

[MAZDA Kitten]

Last year I swore by the Mr Clean kit
Used it all the time till its started to strip my wax and found the car was still actually pretty dirty; and yes the filter was changed :)

[craigrodrigues88]

car wash soap and water :D and now i am starting to use the ice products as well.

[Wild Weasel]

I got some of the TW ICE car wash soap at Costco for a good price. Very happy with it so far. It even smells nice.

[eShine.ca]

While we are on washing, check out a small article we did on proper Vehicle Washing.

http://www.eshine.ca/car_wash.htm

[Skarbro]

I only use Zaino wash as it is best for the Zaino coating.

[eShine.ca]

I only use Zaino wash as it is best for the Zaino coating.

Skarbro, you can wash Zaino with ANY Auto Wash, it will not hurt it. Of coarse Zaino wants you to use their product. Zaino along with many other pure Sealants are very durable and it takes a chemical solvent to remove them, even countless washes with dishsoap (Which is not neutral PH) will not dent a Sealant.

[James_N]

My List of what i use to wash and clean my car.

Simoniz Wash and Wax
Meguires Paint Cleaner
Simoniz Paste Wax
Meguires Endurance Tire shine
Simoniz Rim Cleaner
Skunk Window Foam Cleaner
Armor Wipes for Interior
Febreze Auto Care
Microfibre towels
Microfibre Wash Mitt
Meguires Mist Spray for quick Touch-ups

[Skarbro]

Skarbro, you can wash Zaino with ANY Auto Wash, it will not hurt it. Of coarse Zaino wants you to use their product. Zaino along with many other pure Sealants are very durable and it takes a chemical solvent to remove them, even countless washes with dishsoap (Which is not neutral PH) will not dent a Sealant.
Cool that's good to know. The nice thing about this wash is that it only takes like a cap-full of it in a bucket of water. It's pretty concentrated, so it will last me a long time. Plus sniffing it makes me feel nice. :chuckle

[jaguar]

I bought a huge jug of TurtleWax car wash about a year ago. I dont think its that good though. I use EagleOne Nanowax and buff by hand.

[MidnightSpeed]

Wash:
-Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner
-Microfiber Mitt
-The Absorber (dry)

Wheels/Tires:
-Meguiars Hot Rims
-Eagle One All Wheel & Tire Cleaner
-Armor All Extreme Tire Shine Gel

Wax/Polishes:
-Meguiars Speed Glaze
-Meguairs NXT Paste

[WLS ZMZM]

Washing the car, I use Mother's California Gold Car wash, does a great job and smells nice too... use a microfiber mitt, for drying its all about THE ABSORBER... this thing is incredible and worth the money.. chamois are cool.. but the absorber is amazing!! For wax its all about Meguiars gold class... easy to apply easy to take off... and obviously nice clean cloths and a good buffing cloth to buff the shine.... for the rims its meguiars hot rims.... and for the tires after they are clean its a good coating of Armor All Extreme tire shine Gel.... unless I use the No Spit monkey shine (which is phenomenal but hard to find) and I use the meguiars NXT clay bar. All my washes are done by hand... don't like using a touchless wash as I find it misses areas and i avoid the high power self spray washes all together.... As for the Mr Clean auto dry... its a cool product and it does what it says it will.... however its a pain in the butt.... and if the car is in the sun the mr clean soap dries really quickly... and it does take the car a while to dry if its not sunny. But it does work just very expensive as you'll go through alot of soap cleaning the car. It's meant for people who don't want to take the time to clean their car, for an enthusiast its pretty bootleg.. to a joe schmo it's great! Also use a california duster to dust off the car from all the pollen from the trees by my house....

[M3!]

Looks like I'll be heading to Crappy Tire to pick up some products this weekend.

[1flycdnM3]

Simoniz Car Wash or EagleOne
Stoner Invisible Glass Window Cleaner
Rain-X
EagleOne All-Wheel Cleaner
TurtleWax Tire Shine (Simoniz Foam next time, thanks Freddie)
Microfibre Towels
Maguire Wax/Polish
Armorall Wipes
Simoniz Upholstery Cleaner (use it maybe 4-5 times a year)

just use soap & water for the first wash, then the Simoniz or EagleOne (use less product this way!) and just use a regular wash mitt, need to invest in microfibre mitt soon.

[zoomette]

simoniz with rain-x car wash
simoniz rim cleaner
simoniz foam for tires - makes em clean or armor all - makes them look wet
Mothers clay bar
Mothers detail spray
Mothers california gold wax or zymol
....I don't recommend simoniz wax at all...at least not the gel one, it wouldn't come off good, it got clunky and rubbery

[WhiteSpeed3]

rain-x car was soap with wax beads works pretty good never waxed the car yet but i got a buddy gonna do it for me next week he says Maguires Wax is really good

[Crimson]

Wash:
-Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner
-Microfiber Mitt
-The Absorber (dry)

Wheels/Tires:
-Meguiars Hot Rims
-Eagle One All Wheel & Tire Cleaner

Wax/Polishes:
-Meguiars Speed Glaze
-Meguairs NXT Paste

I use pretty much the same thing, but I often switch the wash shampoo between the Gold Class and the NXT.

For the tires, I'm using the Armor All gel..lasts quite a bit.

I haven't done any waxing yet, but I spent a little money and got the Zymol Carbon Wax (with the HD Cleanse).

Also, the absorber is phenominal...just make sure you dry the car with some microber towels after using the absorber to get all the leftovers.

[Hum]

Does anybody know where i can pick up a microfibre wash mitt? Does it actually make a difference?

I am currently using the sheep skin mitt from Wal-Mart.

[Caz]

Crappy tire carries a mircofibre wash mitt.

[Flagrum_3]

Does anybody know where i can pick up a microfibre wash mitt? Does it actually make a difference?

I am currently using the sheep skin mitt from Wal-Mart.

I picked one up at PartSource, can't remember how much I paid though, but it was on sale...anyways, I personally didn't notice much difference between the two except the sheep skin seems to carry more soap suds longer.


_3


.

[MidnightSpeed]

For the tires, I'm using the Armor All gel..lasts quite a bit.


Yeah I use that stuff too - it's good stuff - makes the tires REALLY shiny. Makes the tires look borderline fake :P

[WhiteSpeed3]

just tried out tutle wax ice the other day it works magic

[whiteomega]

for a simple straightforward wash, i just use the Mr. Clean Auto dry thing. you still need to wash with a mitt, but there's no need to dry it. pretty happy with it. i haven't really had need to wax my car yet, though i probably will soon.

[zoomette]

i like Mr Clean for in the fall, when its to cold to stay outside to clean the car well....it's ok

[MattC]

My mr clean thing must be broken, cause it doesnt work worth a damn.

[whiteomega]

check your filter; chances are good you need to replace it (they say it only lasts for 4-5 washes or something, but i've gotten about 10 or so out of one).

also, make sure after you've rinsed the soap off that you switch to the filtered water, and do another rinse pass.

[Tizmee24]

is it good to wash ur car in car wash? or better do it ur self at home???

[whiteomega]

aside from winter, i prefer to wash my car myself. if you don't want to put the elbow grease in, you can always use the coin-op car washes

[WeatherB]

I saw a bottle of ICE car wash on sale at Costco for around $8 and decided to give the product a try. I've been using some Armour All stuff from Walmart for the last year or so.

I must say, the ICE stuff is just amazing. It nearly dries to a non-waterspot shine by itself. Not to mention that it smells fruity as well.

[kid_icarus]

anyone got a good link or technique on how to wax?

Never waxed my old car ever. Just did the usual wash and dry with a chamois.

Claybars should be used before waxing too then right?

[vortex-5]

Meguire's soap + Synthetic wool mitt
Meguier's quik detailer
Mother's Wax
Mother's Back to black for trim / tires
Stoner's Invisible glass (for glass)

--- searching for that bottle of rainX I lost...

[dredd2099]

non lazy day - mr clean, then a crap load concoction of whatever else i got for wax, polish, etc

lazy day - http://www.dennyscarwash.com/