[Dyoel182]

Originally Posted by Leroy717

Step 5) That's never happened to any of my cars.

You must go to better places than what they have around here with the big dryers that "roll" over the hood, sides and roof.

[adgergewh]

Originally Posted by Dyoel182

You must go to better places than what they have around here with the big dryers that "roll" over the hood, sides and roof.

I work at an automatic car wash as a detailer. It's pretty high class though, the cheapest wash is $20. It's not a powerful "laserwash" type deal, it's got mechanical parts and such, but it's very gentle. 80% of the cars that come through retail at $35k+ and nobody has ever reported damage.

For a basic wash which is $20:

1. Get out of car and give to employee.
2. Have floors/seats vacuumed to remove any loose debris, nothing major.
3. Have wheels soaked in wheel cleaner then powerwashed off.
4. Powerwash wheel wells and tires.
4. Have any bugs on front soaked in bug cleaner.
5. Car goes through wash.
6. Car comes out, hand dried by white towels (white towels for clean things, red for dirty, blue for windows).
7. Door jambs wiped/cleaned with red towels.
8. Inside of windows/windshield cleaned with Stoner's Invisible Glass.
9. Dash, instrument panel, cup holders, center console wiped down and if necessary (spills etc) extra cleaning.
10. Wheels cleaned further by hand, chrome wheels shined.
11. White walls or white letters cleaned with a solution to make them perfectly white.
12. Clean bugs off of side view mirrors and front with soft abrasive pad and bug cleaner.
13. Returned to customer.

Everything from getting out of the car to getting back in the car takes less than 15 minutes. For ~$45 you get everything above plus entire inside cleaned and vacuumed thoroughly including trunk, everything gets Stoner's Trim Shine applied (inside and tires, outside if there is plastic trim), which is MUCH better than Armor-All, and it takes about 30 minutes. It's basically an express full detail.

[Dyoel182]

That sounds like a great deal. They dont seem to take that much time or pride in work down here. The main place here in town is known for cracking headlights when the biggest dryer gently rolls up the front bumper, hood and windshield.

[Xi Troll 13]

The detailing thread. Use it.

[mppaintball]

Does anyone have any exsperience with the turtle wax ice products? The first post said dont use it but it seems like it would work good. I was thinking about getting the kit and was wondering if it works good, and made your car look all nice and stuff, thanks

[Evil_Paintball_freek]

It wears off quickly, waste of money. Go to Wal-Mart>Auto section>Detailing products>Box of mequiars car care **** for 25.00 Which is a steal b/c priced seperate it was over 50 bucks.

Then move over towards the Windowscrapers/sponges and get some Microfiber towels, and a California Waterblade.

Looks like this, find it, use it

[hsilman]

can we please get this thread stickied?

[Matt H]

Maybe

[xAskingForItx]

Originally Posted by Evil_Paintball_freek

It wears off quickly, waste of money. Go to Wal-Mart>Auto section>Detailing products>Box of mequiars car care **** for 25.00 Which is a steal b/c priced seperate it was over 50 bucks.

Then move over towards the Windowscrapers/sponges and get some Microfiber towels, and a California Waterblade.

Looks like this, find it, use it

meh

[Alan777]

For Wal-mart, it's probably some of the best products your can get.

[Matt H]

Shouldn't really be shopping at Walmart if you want quality products.

[Evil_Paintball_freek]

Originally Posted by xAskingForItx

meh

For 25.00 I figure it's good for good up keep once I get it detailed.

I've used all the products before and know one would ever knew I bought them at wal-mart.

[DoomsdayPBF]

I've actually been pretty impressed with Meguiar's stuff lately. Their Ultimate Quick Detailer is amazing, not as glossy as some of the other's, but it repels dust and road dirt noticeably well. I've also been impressed with their aerosol tire shine and Scratch X (especially when used with a rotary). A lot of their consumer products used to be too watered down, but their new stuff has really surprised me. I've even taken a liking to the Tech wax, as long as the surface is properly prepped and it's applied often.

[Evil_Paintball_freek]

Alright so I'm lookin to walk into Autozone/Advance auto get the **** to claybar my car. Any tips, I've never used the **** before.

[Andrewc-c]

Originally Posted by Evil_Paintball_freek

Alright so I'm lookin to walk into Autozone/Advance auto get the **** to claybar my car. Any tips, I've never used the **** before.

I would clay your car while you are using the soap to wash your car. The soap will keep extra lubrication between the bar and the car. Keep molding the clay bar so a new clean surface will be used instead of the stuff you pick up off the car surface. Remember to keep the paint lubricated and the clay bar clean, if not then you can run the risk of scratching your car.

Also if its a big bar cut it in two and store each half in a moist sandwich baggie. Reason for keeping two: if you ever drop the clay bar on the ground say good bye to using it again. Kinda like sticky food or gum or candy, they will pick up everything off the ground.

[Evil_Paintball_freek]

Alright, want brands? Any special techniques. Also will this help with any light scratches, I don't really understand why it's used.

Also should I wash with dish soap to remove previous coats of wax?

I wanna Wash/Wax/Color X/Scratch X and claybar

I want this back

Lost it after winter/storage I had a buffer and 3M Supplies to use. I don't have that anymore.

[Alan777]

Clay bars remove the contaminants in the clearcoat. it wont help scratches in any way.

I have sued mothers and meguiars, and I like meguiars a lot better. Comes in a resealable box, with two smaller claybars, and I like their QD better.

I fold once per panel, and as stated above, it you drop it, throw it away.

[Andrewc-c]

Originally Posted by Evil_Paintball_freek

Alright, want brands? Any special techniques. Also will this help with any light scratches, I don't really understand why it's used.

Also should I wash with dish soap to remove previous coats of wax?

I wanna Wash/Wax/Color X/Scratch X and claybar

Normally I don't buy OTC stuff but this is what I got from autozone.

Here is an indepth look into using clay.
http://www.autopia.org/forum/guide-d...-cleaning.html

A clay bar won't take away ANY light scratches actually MIGHT give you light scratches if not used properly. It isn't a polisher all it is used for is to take surface contamination off of the paint. Examples would be: fallout, tree sap, other kinds of polution in your everyday life.

Oops looks like Alan beat me to it.

As for dishsoap? It's been a few years since I've totally detailed a car so I won't comment on that.

I use to have a black car so if you are looking to spend some money I have some products that will give you that look back without even using a buffer just a few hours of elbow grease.

Here's my old celica back in the day.

[Dyoel182]

Originally Posted by Andrewc-c

I would clay your car while you are using the soap to wash your car. The soap will keep extra lubrication between the bar and the car. Keep molding the clay bar so a new clean surface will be used instead of the stuff you pick up off the car surface. Remember to keep the paint lubricated and the clay bar clean, if not then you can run the risk of scratching your car.

Its best to wash the car and then use the detailing spray that comes with the clay bar rather than rub on paint that might be holding dirty in suspension. You can leave it damp but at least rinse it correctly (without an attachment so the water sheets off rather than spray rinsing).

[Alan777]

I've heard dish soap will remove old wax, but I prefer to use a pre-wax cleaner if I'm doing a full detail.

Dyoel is right as well. I actually just use water to do most of the claying. I;'ll spray a few shots of QD over the car [while it's wet] to help lubricate it, and Ill use QD on bad spots.

[Dyoel182]

I've heard both sides of the dish soap argument and another side that simply polishes away the old wax thats left when they apply the new polish/wax.