Whats in your Arsenal?

[DBordello]

I got my beautiful Space Gray M3 last Friday. I want to keep this thing as pristine as when I got it. I have never really detailed myself, and have a tendency to make things worse when I try. But what products do you guys use? Below is the list of things that I believe I need to buy. I would like to keep things as "stock" as possible, ie, I would love the leather to stay the same as it is now, not greasy, etc.

Washing
Dual Buckets:
Car Shampoo:
Wheel Cleaner:
Tire Dressing:

Wash Mitt:
Microfiber Drying Towel:

Interior
Leather Cleaner:
Leather Conditioner:
Vinyl:
Plastic etc:
Microfiber towels:

Wax/Polish
Clay:
Polish:
Wax:

Please add additional supplies that you think are necessary. Any insight is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

[NYSPEM3]

Washing
Dual Buckets: Home Depot buckets or whatever I have lying in the house. I don't have gritguards.
Car Shampoo: Dawn dish detergent for full detailing, Zaino for maintenance
Wheel Cleaner: P21
Tire Dressing: Zaino

Wash Mitt: Sheepskin mitts from AutoZone
Drying Towel: Electric leaf blower, followed by chamois (but will switch to MF towels when the chamois gets old. I HATE chamois.

Interior
Leather Cleaner: Zaino
Leather Conditioner: Zaino
Vinyl: Just a damp towel. Add mild soap as required
Plastic etc: None
Microfiber towels: Autopia towels are great!

Wax/Polish
Clay: Autopia
Polish: Zaino Z-AIO or Z-CS if need be
Wax: Zaino Z2 or Z-CS

[Suprane]

Originally Posted by DBordello

I got my beautiful Space Gray M3 last Friday. I want to keep this thing as pristine as when I got it. I have never really detailed myself, and have a tendency to make things worse when I try. But what products do you guys use? Below is the list of things that I believe I need to buy. I would like to keep things as "stock" as possible, ie, I would love the leather to stay the same as it is now, not greasy, etc.

Washing
Dual Buckets:
Car Shampoo:
Wheel Cleaner:
Tire Dressing:

Wash Mitt:
Microfiber Drying Towel:

Interior
Leather Cleaner:
Leather Conditioner:
Vinyl:
Plastic etc:
Microfiber towels:

Wax/Polish
Clay:
Polish:
Wax:

Please add additional supplies that you think are necessary. Any insight is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

Mine is similar to NYSPEM3 (Love Zaino too)


Wash: Home Depot 2, 5 gallon buckets, Grit Guards in each (Detailed Image)
Shampoo: Dawn to strip dealer wax off ; Weekly wash with : P21S Shampoo (also have Meg's Gold Class)
Sheep skin mitts (one for top half, one for bottom half) (Detailed Image or Autogeek)
Clay Bar : Clear Kote
Drying: 3 Waffle Weave Large Towels
Wheels : Wash : Better: Chemical Guys Wheel/Rim Cleaner (good cause can dilute five fold ), Best : P21 Gel Wheel Cleaner, Wheel Sealant : Leftover Zaino Z2, Wheel Wax (smells great) after Zaino dry
Polish: Zaino ZFX added to Z2 (I have lighter M3) if darker go with Z5
With ZFX can put three coats at a time (30-45 min dry time in between)
For LSP you can just leave the Zaino and repeat coats monthly after washes if you want OR top with waxes from Swiss Vax (awesome but expensive), Nattys Paste Wax (cheap and looks good) another good product is Petes 53 Caurnaba Wax (reasonable price and great results)
For Leather : Z9/Z10 (Zaino)
Tires : Z16
Trim and Vinyl : Chemical Guys VRP DressAll (don't use Armor All)
Dawn Power Dissolver to clean wax, polish from pads

If you don't want to spend $$ on Zaino, (which I did not want to do with my wife's car, an 08 black 528) I use the same method but instead of Zaino, I polish with Sonus SFX3 Final Finish and top it with Nattys.

Lastly, (you may already know this ) wash the microfiber towels separately:
Dry the sheepskin mitts thoroughly after use (flip them inside out to dry inside too).
Hope this helps.