Cleaning Car

[Dice13]

I will not be bringing this M3 to a car wash had swirls on last car. I would like to know if I can clean the car without soap and water. Can I just use those detailing sprays and some Terri cloth towels to clean car and rims. Is it best to clean back and forth or in circles or does it not matter. I want this car to look like it did the day I picked it up for a long time.

I am looking for ways to keep my baby as sparkling and shiny and clean as I can . Any advice from the guys that never use car washes . I loved my 135 i and kept it nice but there's a different feeling with this M and want to learn best ways to go about it. So if you can give me product names,cloths to use, waxes, rim cleaners. I hope you don't find this silly but I want start to finish steps, I am also interested in doing this without water if their is a way that's just as good or better. The only way I washed cars were soap and water by hand or car wash in winter. Thanks in advance.

[askjeeves]

the detailing section is the right place to be.. but it sounds like you should get some ONR (optimum no rinse). It is a car wash that you can apply to the car and wipe off safely with less chance of creating swirls in the paint.

[Dice13]

Thanks my fault for not realizing we had detail section. I was to tied up in getting the car.

[quality_sound]

ONR is kinda like QD sprays meaning you can't use it if you have any kind of accumulated dirt on the car.

Dice - There is NO reason you can't wash the car on your own and using nothing but QDs and wiping it down instead of washing will guarantee you swirls. Swirls are going to happen eventually. It's inevitable no matter how careful you are. But if you take some care in your wash process you can minimize them. That will also make your detailing much simpler and faster since you'll not have to do any major paint correction.

[Templar]

Also, is it just me or would terri cloth towels be a horrible choice? I mean I would think a good microfiber towel would be the best choice for almost anything on the car... Get a pack of them from pretty much anywhere and you can use them. I think they are your best bet. Plus you can buy the large ones for drying the car too instead of using something what will definitely cause damage.

[quality_sound]

A good, REALLY plush terry cloth towel will work just fine. As with microfibers, the taller tha knap the better. All your towel needs to be is soft enough to not mar the paint on its own and deep enough to pull dirt away from the paint. Meguiar's has (had?) some REALLY good QD applicators and they were terry cloth.

[ES_TRADER]

egyption cotton worked wonders on my black car...but now that ive got white, should be even better...

i do wonder, however, if shamwow would do the trick

[quality_sound]

Originally Posted by richpuer

egyption cotton worked wonders on my black car...but now that ive got white, should be even better...

i do wonder, however, if shamwow would do the trick

Not even a little bit.

[Hawk Lax]

Originally Posted by Dice13

I will not be bringing this M3 to a car wash had swirls on last car. I would like to know if I can clean the car without soap and water. Can I just use those detailing sprays and some Terri cloth towels to clean car and rims. Is it best to clean back and forth or in circles or does it not matter. I want this car to look like it did the day I picked it up for a long time.

I am looking for ways to keep my baby as sparkling and shiny and clean as I can . Any advice from the guys that never use car washes . I loved my 135 i and kept it nice but there's a different feeling with this M and want to learn best ways to go about it. So if you can give me product names,cloths to use, waxes, rim cleaners. I hope you don't find this silly but I want start to finish steps, I am also interested in doing this without water if their is a way that's just as good or better. The only way I washed cars were soap and water by hand or car wash in winter. Thanks in advance.

checkout www.autopia.org forums and then look at the definitive ONR thread for rinseless wash methods.

[Dice13]

Originally Posted by askjeeves

the detailing section is the right place to be.. but it sounds like you should get some ONR (optimum no rinse). It is a car wash that you can apply to the car and wipe off safely with less chance of creating swirls in the paint.

Is ONR a detailing spray that can just sprayed from a bottle

[Dice13]

Originally Posted by quality_sound

ONR is kinda like QD sprays meaning you can't use it if you have any kind of accumulated dirt on the car.

Dice - There is NO reason you can't wash the car on your own and using nothing but QDs and wiping it down instead of washing will guarantee you swirls. Swirls are going to happen eventually. It's inevitable no matter how careful you are. But if you take some care in your wash process you can minimize them. That will also make your detailing much simpler and faster since you'll not have to do any major paint correction.

When you say accumulated dirt you mean a filthy car. Not just a dusty black type dirt ,the car us 2days old and I want my white car sparkling but in the winter it's hard to water wash a car and I am done with car washes, this car is to damn expensive and beautiful to give it anything less then super great care. I am not sure how the dealer prepared the cars paint I would guess they waxed it. Can I use QD sprays year round and wax it afterwards. DO you need to really do the clay bar thing. My auto store had clay bar with QD spray.

What do you guys use for rim cleaning ? Can the same QD spray be used or is there a Polish or wax you guys use. I assume armor all is as good as anything for the tires. I want to start off right being car is two days old.If I stay on top of it it will always look its best.

Any opinions in way to go about washing without water for winter cleanings(I may soap her in the summer ) to waxing and to QD then waxing to rim polishing and what to use to tires. I never asked anyone how to wash a car as silly as it sounds but this will be one clean bit$h,and I wanna do her right. :-). Thanks for your patience ,guidance and help.

[quality_sound]

Originally Posted by Dice13

When you say accumulated dirt you mean a filthy car. Not just a dusty black type dirt ,the car us 2days old and I want my white car sparkling but in the winter it's hard to water wash a car and I am done with car washes, this car is to damn expensive and beautiful to give it anything less then super great care. I am not sure how the dealer prepared the cars paint I would guess they waxed it. Can I use QD sprays year round and wax it afterwards. DO you need to really do the clay bar thing. My auto store had clay bar with QD spray.

What do you guys use for rim cleaning ? Can the same QD spray be used or is there a Polish or wax you guys use. I assume armor all is as good as anything for the tires. I want to start off right being car is two days old.If I stay on top of it it will always look its best.

Any opinions in way to go about washing without water for winter cleanings(I may soap her in the summer ) to waxing and to QD then waxing to rim polishing and what to use to tires. I never asked anyone how to wash a car as silly as it sounds but this will be one clean bit$h,and I wanna do her right. :-). Thanks for your patience ,guidance and help.

Not necessarily. If you drive and hit even a little water, or through the fog and the ground is damp, or you roll over a worm, you can't use ONR. You'll scratch the paint. If your car is dusty then it's a fabulous product but it was not designed to take the place of an actual wash.

In the winter, don't wash it. I'm one of those SUPER anal guys so I'll wash mine in the dark, in the rain, etc. but if you're not as bad as I am then really all you need to do is hit up a local car wash with high pressure washers (don't use the brush) and use the pressurized rinse water to get the really nasty stuff off. When the weather gets better wash and detail and you're good.

You can absolutely use QD year-round. I do. Just don't use it when it's below freezing. Too much risk of the QD freezing and then your rubbing ice on the paint. You do not need to wax after QDing. You only need to clay when you do a full detail. It's not something you'll do very often since it'll pull your LSP off and then you'll have to rewax/reseal every time you use it.

I wash my wheels with regular old car soap. Most wheel specific cleaners can damage the finish. There are some VERY good dedicated wheel cleaners but you're already going to have car soap for washing, might as well use it. I use Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze and Meguiar's #21 sealant on my wheels.

I like Eagle 1 Tire Wet but really, they're all pretty good and every one I can think of is water-based so you don't have to worry about drying the tires out like with older silicone-based products.

Autopia and Autogeek both have some fantastic forums and they break down the entire washing process and what products work well for different things. I really like their forums.

[Dice13]

I will check out those sites. It seems like soap and water is best not to scratch or swirl car. Maybe some warm soapy water in garage and damp sponge then QD spray and wax it once every 2 months. Wow I did not think this was gonna be a ordeal but I want that sparkling white beauty to look as It did the day I picked her up.

[quality_sound]

Not any soap, but car soap. Stuff like Dawn will strip the wax off. QD when it's dusty, and ONLY when it's dusty, and if you use a carnuba you're going to need to do it every month or so during the summer. A synthetic sealant will last a LOT longer.

[SonnyJack]

Originally Posted by quality_sound

A synthetic sealant will last a LOT longer.

+1 on the sealant. Makes cleaning and QD'ing a lot easier.

[Hawk Lax]

I have an Alpine White M3 my detailing consists of weekly wash using two bucket method with grit guard in both and a sea sponge on paint, and a separate dedicated bucket and brushes for the wheels, using car soap for both. I also use a foam cannon after the initial rinse but before washing. ONR is much more than a QD and some people have had great results washing their car with same (check out autopia.org) and I actually add a little of it in to my car wash soap bucket. Dry using electric leaf blower and waffle weave microfiber towel. I usually do two full details a year, one in the Spring and one right before Winter which include, clay, polish and/or glaze followed by a sealant. I'm really impressed with Chemical Guys EZ Glaze II followed by Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant on white. I highly recomend going to www.autopia.org and checking out their forums, you will learn more about detailing there then anywhere else.

[Hawk Lax]

Originally Posted by Dice13

Is ONR a detailing spray that can just sprayed from a bottle

ONR comes undiluted you can use various dilution levels to make it into a QD, clay lube, or wash medium. Very versitile product.

[Dice13]

Thanks guys I figure if I start off right being car is only a couple days old things will be easier in the long run and my car will always have that wet glossy look.