[svache]

Originally Posted by bananachipz

ONR is your friend my friend check out autopia.org, people rave about it. I've used it a lot in the last little while. You basically fill one bucket with 2oz of ONR and 2 gal of water. A second bucket filled with just rinse water for the wash mitt.

You wash your car with the mitt & the ONR solution a panel at a time. drop your mitt in the rinse bucket, and dry that pannel with a waffle weave or MF towel. no need to rinse. it's much better than the spray on waterless washes.

That sounds pretty awesome actually.. I'm going to check it out and buy me some of that stuff, it sounds pretty cool

Originally Posted by RPM90

But when you live in an all seasons area, that kind of obsession will take up all your free time.

Even not living in an all-seasons area could be terrible for your car. The air over here is very salt and this shows especially after a small shower when you have a darker car (like my Mojave lol). And not to forget the sun, of course, that one does some damage too.

I can see it on many of the older cars here in Hawaii, the paint is often terribly damaged because of the weather, and obvious lack of care (stuff like this: http://www.maaco.com/FranchiseMedia/...g&maxwidth=495 ).

[mfear]

Originally Posted by bananachipz

Get some Optimum no Rinse.... It's great. All the Detailtards on Autopia use it... good stuff..

Good?

It's like the milk from the breast of the Virgin Mary.

[mfear]

Originally Posted by svache

That sounds pretty awesome actually.. I'm going to check it out and buy me some of that stuff, it sounds pretty cool





Even not living in an all-seasons area could be terrible for your car. The air over here is very salt and this shows especially after a small shower when you have a darker car (like my Mojave lol). And not to forget the sun, of course, that one does some damage too.

I can see it on many of the older cars here in Hawaii, the paint is often terribly damaged because of the weather, and obvious lack of care (stuff like this: http://www.maaco.com/FranchiseMedia/...g&maxwidth=495 ).

autogeek.net ..i think it's .net? use code "FREESHIP" it's GREAT stuff.

[jddssc121]

Originally Posted by mfear

You WAX your car more than once a week?

You're doing something wrong.

Forget wax.... you POLISH more than once a week???

My heart bleeds for your clear coat

[txnewbie]

Been reading this post, have not had a car worth caring for. Just ordered and will have the car on lease in 8 weeks (328i sport line etc..). I would like to be a person who gets the best results but with reasonable time invested(i.e. not gonna fully detail all the time). I think it would be good to do it on my own and avoid the costs of the pros who are worth paying for. I guess I am asking for as much detail as possible from A to Z. So is the general consensus wash(is this with soap, if so what kind) clay, polish then wax, twice a year or so. Or go the low water route mentioned with Optimum no Rinse. So what are the products including sponges towels etc... that you guys recommend. Also what is the difference in the results between wash, clay, polish, wax vs. ONR.

[mfear]

txnewbie... Optimum No Rinse + Optimum Spray Wax.. you can't find an easier method of cleaning and you won't get better results. Trust me and trust all the guys at autopia and the other detailing forums.. it works.

The phrase "if it sounds too good to be true.." well, ONR + OSW are the exception.

[Feanor]

Originally Posted by carconvert

So i've had it for 2 months now... and i've just been washing it weekly via touchless car washes. What do you folks recommend?

You don't HAVE to get your car detailed or clayed. Not doing it won't be the end of the world. Whether you WANT to depends entirely on what you want to achieve and/or whether you have OCD.

Waxing is highly recommended though and I try to wax mine every few months by hand. Life is too short for hand cleaning my car ever other day though, or even every month. I used to hand clean my cars and it'd take me at least half a day and leave me in no mood to do other more useful jobs around the place afterwards. So my car goes through auto carwashes for its maintenance cleans. It'll get swirls but I don't care - noone I know will notice, and if anyone I know is sad enough to look that closely at someone else's car then I won't want to know them any more.

If I keep a car for long enough for the built-up weathering and car wash swirls to affect the paintwork without having to look closely then I'll detail and clay it then.

Originally Posted by Elk

On the other hand, it is a car, not artwork. Drive it and stop obsessing.

Precisely .

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by mfear

Good?

It's like the milk from the breast of the Virgin Mary.

LOL!

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by mfear

Good?

It's like the milk from the breast of the Virgin Mary.

Originally Posted by mfear

txnewbie... Optimum No Rinse + Optimum Spray Wax.. you can't find an easier method of cleaning and you won't get better results. Trust me and trust all the guys at autopia and the other detailing forums.. it works.

The phrase "if it sounds too good to be true.." well, ONR + OSW are the exception.

+1. Optimum makes some good shizzle..

[Mardio]

As you can see lots of different opinions here, depends on how far you want to go. I myself love to detail so Zaino is for me. They have all the products you need. Twice a year you apply two coats... and once a month (or more) you hand wash. The car looks better than show room all year. Car washes will leave swirls which would drive me crazy.

[txnewbie]

Originally Posted by mfear

txnewbie... Optimum No Rinse + Optimum Spray Wax.. you can't find an easier method of cleaning and you won't get better results. Trust me and trust all the guys at autopia and the other detailing forums.. it works.

The phrase "if it sounds too good to be true.." well, ONR + OSW are the exception.

Thanks! I will check into that more. Sounds to good to be true, looking forward to that working out, kind of feel that way about getting this car

[carconvert]

Originally Posted by Feanor

You don't HAVE to get your car detailed or clayed. Not doing it won't be the end of the world. Whether you WANT to depends entirely on what you want to achieve and/or whether you have OCD.

Waxing is highly recommended though and I try to wax mine every few months by hand. Life is too short for hand cleaning my car ever other day though, or even every month. I used to hand clean my cars and it'd take me at least half a day and leave me in no mood to do other more useful jobs around the place afterwards. So my car goes through auto carwashes for its maintenance cleans. It'll get swirls but I don't care - noone I know will notice, and if anyone I know is sad enough to look that closely at someone else's car then I won't want to know them any more.

If I keep a car for long enough for the built-up weathering and car wash swirls to affect the paintwork without having to look closely then I'll detail and clay it then.



Precisely .

Thanks -- I agree with your points. I used some spray wax today... 20 minutes to handwash and 20 minutes to spray-wax and buff. The car came out looking like it did on day one... Now thats time I can spare -- got my lil one to help too. Only thing I noticed after driving for a bit was that there was some fine dust on the sheen (on the hood)... but I only noticed it when I went up extremely close to look at the hood

I'll check out the Optimum No Rinse + Optimum Spray Wax.

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by carconvert

Thanks -- I agree with your points. I used some spray wax today... 20 minutes to handwash and 20 minutes to spray-wax and buff. The car came out looking like it did on day one... Now thats time I can spare -- got my lil one to help too. Only thing I noticed after driving for a bit was that there was some fine dust on the sheen (on the hood)... but I only noticed it when I went up extremely close to look at the hood

I'll check out the Optimum No Rinse + Optimum Spray Wax.

www.eshine.ca sells it

[Feanor]

Originally Posted by carconvert

Thanks -- I agree with your points. I used some spray wax today... 20 minutes to handwash and 20 minutes to spray-wax and buff. The car came out looking like it did on day one... Now thats time I can spare -- got my lil one to help too.

One thing I should have said though is that I avoid auto car washes with the hard spinny brushes like the plague. They can make a MESS of your car paintwork, especially if there's dirt in them. I've even had them leave nasty, permenant scratches in my windscreen which were very annoying at night.

So I only use those auto car washes with soft fabric-looking brushes and have never had a problem with them. Or I take it to a cheap hand car wash place, they'll usually do a basic wash for £5.

[BonanzaNLD]

Originally Posted by gnosis8

Just reading that makes my back hurt.

Just pick out a nice day and see it as a workout. It's worth the effort..

[JoeyO]

Originally Posted by carconvert

handwash only!?!?! what about in the winter when there's salt on the road?

Yup, I've hand washed my car many times below freezing. There are certain tricks like using luke warm bucket water and using rubber gloves (and doing it very fast, before the water freezes). I'm a car fanatic. A car fanatic never lets anyone else (man or machine) touch his car's exterior, no matter what time of the year.

[Shuttlegoose]

How many people have tackled the opti coat themselves?

[justinnum1]

Originally Posted by carconvert

Thanks -- I agree with your points. I used some spray wax today... 20 minutes to handwash and 20 minutes to spray-wax and buff. The car came out looking like it did on day one... Now thats time I can spare -- got my lil one to help too. Only thing I noticed after driving for a bit was that there was some fine dust on the sheen (on the hood)... but I only noticed it when I went up extremely close to look at the hood

I'll check out the Optimum No Rinse + Optimum Spray Wax.

Your car can look a lot better then it did on day one tho.

[Red Bread]

Just another vote for ONR, from someone who keeps a Jet Black car nearly swirl free year round and hasn't washed his car outdoors in over a year.

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by Shuttlegoose

How many people have tackled the opti coat themselves?

I thought of it, but ended up getting someone to do it. The reason is because whatever you are opti-coating gets sealed in. If your paint has holograms (mine did straight from the dealer), swirls, or other imperfections then they are now sealed in pretty much permanently (unless you completely remove the opti-coat which is a massive job).

The guy that did mine was borderline rain-main when it came to making the paint perfect prior to opti-coat. He spent almost 5 hours polishing first. The actual Opti-Coat application itself isn't that difficult.

I like detailing, but this is one time I'm glad I had a real pro do it. Well worth the money IMHO....

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Shuttlegoose

How many people have tackled the opti coat themselves?

Been debating it, but to be honest, I get about six months of protection with Blackfire Wet Diamond and tend to toss a fresh coat of Dodo Juice wax on every month or two, so can stretch things to nearly a year before a full clay/polish/sealant treatment. But it still interests me, I may try it out. I used Zaino for years, so can't see it being much more trouble.

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Been debating it, but to be honest, I get about six months of protection with Blackfire Wet Diamond and tend to toss a fresh coat of Dodo Juice wax on every month or two, so can stretch things to nearly a year before a full clay/polish/sealant treatment. But it still interests me, I may try it out. I used Zaino for years, so can't see it being much more trouble.

Keep in mind "trying it out" is difficult because once it's on... It's on! Only a full course compounding will remove it, as it's like a second clear coat.

The guy on autopia.org dumped muriatic acid on it two years after applying, and it didn't dent it..