Don't use car washes
How I clean my car and the Products I use to take care of my car:
First I clean the inside:
I remove the front (2) floor mats and I wash those when I wash the car. The rear seats don't get used much in my car so those matts I leave in. I take a microfiber cloth and dust off all (dash, steering
wheel, NAV system etc...) the interior (non-leather) surfaces. If I see anything that it doesn't take off, I clean those areas with soap/water terry cloth rag then dry immediately.
Next I run the shop vac and vacuum the seats & floors. I then put on the brush attachment and lightly go over all the knobs (NAV & Console) and shifter and hit the seats again. I then pop the trunk and hood and vacuum them completely. I use the brush attachment for under the hood.
Next I inspect the leather. If I see any spots I use LEXOL Leather Cleaner (Orange bottle at Walmart) to spot clean only those spots that I see. Next I take LEXOL Leather Conditioner (Brown bottle). using a wax applicator, spray it on the applicator and hit all the interior leather (doors, seats etc.) I don't do the dash as the Microfiber dusting noted above works best for that area. I only do this step about once every 3 months.
I still haven't found anything for the aluminum that works better than just the microfiber cloth. I don't want to use chemicals as I have the wood dash and don't want to get chemicals on the wood. I just dust off the wood.
Washing the outside:
I use the two bucket system and use Zipwax
Turtle Wax (large white jug) car wash. One bucket to rinse off the wash mitt and the other with a couple inches of water for the suds. Zipwax is the best and most economical car wash I have found. Believe me, I have tried them all. For the first step below (tires, tailpipes etc...) I use a couple of cap fulls. I use a lot more than just a few cap fulls, probably about a cup full at least when I wash the rest of the car. It is cheap enough and I find the extra suds helps. You can also use Nevr-Dull to brighten up the pipes if required. It's a great product
I live is south Florida so I wash my car in the morning at first light before the sun peeks over the horizon. I wash all my tires and wheels first. I use a small brush and one of those scrub pads you use to get the bugs off the grill. I also clean the tail pipes and use the scrub pad to hit any bugs on the mirrors or grill area. I rinse off those areas and then rinse out that bucket then add two more inches of water and Zipwax Carwash as noted above (extra amount).
Rinse off all grime with strong pressure from regular garden hose from top down. I then wash the car from the top down then rinse off all the suds. The next might sound stupid but it works like a dream. I use my shop vac on blower setting and blow off all the water from the car from the top down. It really works well for getting the water out of all the nooks and crannies. I then back my car into my garage.
The first thing I do is open all doors, trunk and hood. I take a regular terry cloth dish towel and I dry off all door jabs, trunk jam and under the hood. I also wax these same areas once every 4-6 months. This helps make the drying process after the car washes really easy. Make sure you also dry off the bottoms of the doors.
For the Tire I found using nothing is the best. I use to use Outlast by Armorall but it left a build-up on the wheels if I wasn't carefull. Now I use nothing.
Now it is time for the rest of the car. I use Zymol Deep Gloss Detailer (light blue bottle). This stuff is amazing. Easy on and easy off. I insure I use clean microfiber cloths. I use one as the applicator and one or two to buff off. Shake the bottle first then spray the Zymol on a car panel then take a folded cloth and rub it in, in a circular motion. I then to a clean cloth and buff it off, each panel at a time including the roof (glass). Comes off as easy as it went on. I use this on the entire car except the windshield. I simply use windex on the windshield. Wax on a windshield over time creates a build up. I use this Zymol after every car was. Last about 4-6 car washes.
Car is now done. Let me know if you have any questions. Sorry for the length but I felt it would be most helpful to explain how I use the products. Notice that I never dry the car with a towel. This is key to help keep the swirl marks off the car. Also if you ever drop any of the items (applicator, wash mitt, microfiber cloth etc...) that come into contact with the car, I toss them in a pile and wash them before using them again. All it takes is one spec of sand to ruin your cars finish. Also I never use Armorall on my dash or inside my car. I have found this stuff to be the worst stuff to use. It creates a sticky surface that allows the dust to adhere too. Just dusting off those areas is best.
I would get an XPel Ultimate clear bra on at least the front bumper, the side-mirros, and the rear bumper. This car's front bumper gets really beat-up.
