General care detailing question (vehicle, brake, tire, buy)

[Ron61]

I’m interested in hearing what products people use to detail their cars. Wheel cleaners, tire shine, car wash products, etc. I primarily use Armor-All products because that’s what’s available, but they are expensive buying them by the bottle. I wash and detail my cars weekly so the costs do add up, but I don’t mind paying for better products.

So what do you use?

[TrapperL]

McKees if you want a glass like shine that lasts at least a year.
https://www.autogeek.net/detailers-pride.html

[kapikap]

armor all really sucks. better of buy mothers or McGuires for your car cleaning needs. buy online or wait for the sales, and stock up.

for dash , hard plastics, wax works just the same, a little goes a long way.
for glass, stick to windex, buy in concentrate form, use newspapers or squeegee for cleaning.
for tires, armor all might still be the king, it works so good.
for wheels, be careful what you use, ultra thin steel wool (0000) and backing soda may be all that is needed.
As for the body, the key is use a wash mitt, top to bottom, only touch the paint with the mitt.

you could delay washes by keeping some quick detailer spray wax and a soft rags in the trunk. I use the product, and it works good. A nice wipe every 2 days will keep you looking clean at all times.

[burdell]

For interior surfaces: 303 Protectant

Lasts for months, great stuff!

[southernnaturelover]

I use Turtle Wax ZipWax for wash soap, it's cheap at Walmart by the gallon. I'm not picky on soap though, if something else is on sale I'll buy it.

For wax/polish, I just used some M-Tech synthetic wax a few days ago and I was impressed, very easy on and easy off. This is basically the same thing as Mothers synthetic wax, just relabeled for Autozone. https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-25712.../dp/B01FB2NICI
I like Megauirs TechWax as well.
https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G127.../dp/B0002UQATS

I'm not really picky on interior plastic protectants either, but I do agree 303 is good stuff.

[marlinfshr]

I'll second the 303 for interior plastics. As well as the zip wax car wash. DO NOT USE DAWN as it will remove wax. I work on and clean boats for a living and DAWN is a big no-no. I'd rather just rinse and chamois. Which is another thing, chamois dry after washing. Keep them clean as well.

As far as wax, I have tried many diffferent and all the top brands are pretty good. Mothers, mequires, etc... One thing to keep in mind is to try to avoid the cleaner waxes and definately compounds, unlesss your vehicle is in need of it. I try to put the first layer on with an orbital buffer, DA (NOT A HIGH SPEED POLISHER) Then the second coat (which comes from my boat detailing as I use colinites insulator wax for the second coat) I apply by hand. That gives a good slick shine which will last as the insulator wax protects the wax under it. That insulator wax is also good for aluminum. I like it as a "second" layer because it is more of a protector and will not remove water spots or clean.

Doing this regularly gives me a 10 year old, rust free Ram which is constantly parked at coastal marinas (salty air) and that is driven quite regularly on the beaches here so this vehicle is always in contact with salty air. I also don't have a garage and live on a wooded lot with lots of pines so it takes a beating but cleans up to looking new when I wax it.

[wamer27]

I use BDP (Brake Dust Professional) on my rims, just spray on and wash off a minute later. Works great, but isn’t very cheap.

[Crashj007]

I use Invisible glass. Remove window crud with #0000 steel wool. Follow up with silicone wipes on the blades and treat all glass with RainX. Helps remove snow and ice,, too.

[unit731]

After using many brands now only use Collinite products.

Collinite 840 Pre-Wax Cleaner & 476S Super Doublecoat Paste Wax.

Plus 303 Protectrant.

[charlygal]

I use a professional detailer twice a year. In between, wash with Meguiars Ultimate Wash & Wax.