Car care - what do you use?

[niceguy]

I just bought a new SE and I want to take care it. Can anyone give me some advises what to use for the car care?

- wash
- clean
- dry
- tire & rim
- leather surface
- glass (in & out)

Do I need to clean the engine compartment regularly? If yes, how?

[lammydi]

Originally Posted by niceguy

I just bought a new SE and I want to take care it. Can anyone give me some advises what to use for the car care?

- wash
- clean
- dry
- tire & rim
- leather surface
- glass (in & out)

Do I need to clean the engine compartment regularly? If yes, how?

- Wash/Clean


Dry




- tire
I use Stoner More Shine


- Rims
I use to wipe off and keep the rims shine.



- leather surface



- glass (in & out)

I also use this product as the Polish sealant.

[TRD VVTi]

I use Mequire's for wash soap, waxes, polishes, and leather. I use two clean cotton towels to dry it, and Windex to clean the windows.

I occasionally hose of the engine compartment with low pressure water and usually wipe it down after I wash and dry the car.

There is a specific forum for this type of general information: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/f101

[niceguy]

Someone suggests to use microfiber cloth to dry the car, so it will not make spider-web on the paint. I was using the dish washer detergant to wash my car. No damage to the paint, but seem nobody use it in this forum.

[ELL]

Originally Posted by niceguy

Someone suggests to use microfiber cloth to dry the car, so it will not make spider-web on the paint. I was using the dish washer detergant to wash my car. No damage to the paint, but seem nobody use it in this forum.

Dish washer detergent strips wax off cars.
The only time I use it is when I am prepping to polish my vehicle or before claybarring.

Get a quality microfiber towel with edges that won't scratch the clearcoat on the car (should be rounded)

[kkyser]

As far as washing down the engine, I use a pump up spray bottle (Lowes or Home Depot sells them) with all hot water and a mild engine degreaser. Whatever you do make sure that your engine is stone cold when you wash it down. You are putting water, no matter if it is hot, on a HOT engine - possiblity of cracking block or other damage. i know this sounds onld school but better to be safe than sorry. Just make sure to keep it off of the fenders if you use engine degreaser because it will spot. I normally do this 2 - 3 times a year.

[touringcamry]

- wash/clean
I use Meguiars Gold Class or Mothers car wash with a sheep fur wash mit. If it's really dirty, I use two bucket system.

- dry
I use waffle cloths. I forgot where I bought them, but the weave looks like waffles.

- tire & rim
For the rims, I use an old wash mit and the same soapy water I used to wash the car. I use a sponge and brush with that same water after I wash the rims.

I apply Meguiars Gold Class tire gel to the tires. This stuff comes out of a bottle and needs a sponge or foam applicator to apply.

- glass (in & out)
For glass, I like Stoners Invisible Glass.

For waxing/sealing, I use Klasse and Meguiars #26 Hi-tech wax or Mother's California Gold pure wax.

[touringcamry]

Originally Posted by kkyser

As far as washing down the engine, I use a pump up spray bottle (Lowes or Home Depot sells them) with all hot water and a mild engine degreaser. Whatever you do make sure that your engine is stone cold when you wash it down. You are putting water, no matter if it is hot, on a HOT engine - possiblity of cracking block or other damage. i know this sounds onld school but better to be safe than sorry. Just make sure to keep it off of the fenders if you use engine degreaser because it will spot. I normally do this 2 - 3 times a year.

Temperature gradients can cause metal fractures like you said.

A good way to check is to squeeze the upper radiator hose. If the hose is squishy, you should be ok to spray water. That hose gets hard as the temperature increases.

[CharmCityES]

wash/clean -
cold hose water, warm water & soap mix
i use the two bucket method, and i use a simple soft meguiar's premuim sponge or sheepskin wash mitt that i swap out for a new one every few months
soap wise, i use meguiars gold class soap

dry -
meguiar's waffle cloths or premium chamois

tire & rim -
for my wheels, i use an old soft cloth and the remainder of the carwash soap and water to wash the wheels and tires...i then dry off them with an old towel and apply tire shine
i simply use black magic tire wet spray and a tire swipe

glass - (in & out)
Stoners invisible glass foam spray

wax -
poorboys natty blue paste wax, klasse all in one and sealent glaze
touch up every so often with some meguiar's ultimate quick detailer and microfibers

[TRD VVTi]

Using a Chamois to dry the car also strips off wax.

[thoots]

I'm long past the heavy-duty stuff, though I do manage to keep my cars clean and shiny. Mostly stuff you can get at Wal-Mart:

- wash: Meguiars of some sort -- Gold Class car wash is really nice stuff.

- clean: Not sure why that's different than "wash" -- I use a microfiber cloth for washing.

- dry: California Water Blade -- actually the "jelly" blade. Then a waffle-weave microfiber cloth. Then, especially if I'm going to wax it or detail the tires, I get out my Shopvac, switch it into "blower" mode, and use that to get every drop out of all of the nooks and crannies.

- tire & rim: Usually Meguiars of some sort -- I've probably used them all over time.

- leather surface: Armor All Leather Care gel. Neat stuff. I really HATE icky / gooey / hard to use stuff like Lexol. The Armor All gel is easy to apply, does a fine cleaning and conditioning job, and wipes off fine. It leaves the leather a little "slick," which I prefer to other stuff that leaves it "grippy." Part of why I like leather is so I can "scoosh around" in the seat. I usually do the seats about twice a week.

- glass (in & out) In -- nothing but water and a wipe-off with a microfiber cloth. I have never, ever found anything that didn't make a worse mess than whatever I was trying to clean up. Out -- Invisible Glass is OK. I usually use Toyota's brand of glass cleaner, which I like the best.

- Do I need to clean the engine compartment regularly? If yes, how?

I just wipe everything down with a damp cloth at the end of every wash -- everything I can get a cloth onto. Not as thorough as you could get, but that keeps it looking pretty nice, overall.

[militello]

works about 90% as good as advertized even on black. I havent dried a car in over two years..

[skyxliner]

does washing the tire make it the slick black like it was brand new?

and does it actually increase traction?

[Kidd07]

I love meguiar's products, but since a friend introduced me to Zaino Brothers, I would never use anything else!!! This stuff is great!!

http://www.zainostore.com/

[geoff5093]

Originally Posted by skyxliner

does washing the tire make it the slick black like it was brand new?

and does it actually increase traction?

If anything the tire shine decreases traction if you make very sharp turns.