Thread: Input on these products? SUGGESTIONS PLEASE

Originally Posted by 2dee11

okay i am planning what im going to use to clean my car... as i just turned 16 my mom got me an armor all cleaning kit for christmas (yes i know armor all is terrible but im going to finish using it for now) but it didnt include clay bar polish or wax.
ANY BETTER OR CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE OR SUGGESTIONS FOR ANYTHING IS APPRECIATED
so from start to finish
OUTSIDE
1. wash it off with a microfiber wash mitt using Armor All Ultra Shine Wash & Wax (smaller bottle of this Walmart.com: Armor All Car Wash Concentrate, 64oz: Automotive)
2. Dry with regular microfiber towels (these exactly Walmart.com: Microtex Microfiber Cleaning Towels, 15pk: Automotive)
3. clean the rims with armor all wheel and tire shine and a sponge (Walmart.com: Armor All Triple Action Wheel Cleaner, 24oz: Automotive)
4. clean the tires with armor all tire shine spray (Walmart.com: Armor All Extreme Tire Shine Spray, 22oz: Automotive)
5. armor all glass wipes for the windows (Walmart.com: Armor All Glass Wipes Canister, 25ct: Automotive)
havent gotten the rest yet but products i am looking to get
6. meguiars clay bar kit (Walmart.com: Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit: Automotive)
7. im between liquid ice polish kit (not sure if this is even a polish (Walmart.com: Ice Liquid Wax: Automotive) or nu finish polish and buying simple applicator pads (NU FINISH 20 OZ CAR POLISH : Target) im really at a loss for what polish to use maybe meguiars polish?
8. meguiars ultimate liquid wax (Walmart.com: Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax: Automotive)

any better suggestions that are cheap and available at your local target walmart or auto zone is preffered, im not looking to spend a lot but still make my car look nice.

INTERIOR
1. Armor All Interior Spray (Walmart.com: Armor All Original Protectant, Trigger, 16oz: Automotive) with the interior wipes to touch up (Walmart.com: Armor All Cleaning Wipes, 50pk: Automotive) but i do not like the oily feeling it leaves behing so alternative on this would be greatly appreciated
2. TUFF STUFF for the carpet stains
3. inside windows i use the same as outside (any thoughts on this? it looks nice. INV GLASS REACH AND CLEAN TOOL : Target)

but yes any other products you think i should use (when armor all is gone) or think i should switch for would be greatly appreciated

Armor all really isn't all that bad. There tire shine isn't the greatest, but there interior stuff is pretty good.

For the wash on the outside, I like to use a degreaser on the whole car especially the rims, and usually let the rims sit with the degreaser on them for about a minute, I also usually spray the degreaser on the inside of the door sills and if you have a pressure washer, you can get a lot of the hard to reach areas when you go to wipe them down later. Then ill wash off all the degreaser ( which basically gets rid of most of the dirt and bugs, so that you don't scratch your paint when using the mitt).

I will then get the mit and make sure to get every part of the car, I usually start at the top and work my way down in sections. Make sure to constantly keep rinsing the cloth so you don't carry rocks and dirt with it for obvious reasons. Once its all covered, rinse off and dry with a shammy. Then use the microfibre towels to get any spots you missed.

If your going to wax, do that before you clean your windows as you will probably get wax on your windows and it saves you from having to clean them again. For best results, a clay bar is reccomended, it will make the car look really good.

For the inside get a vinyl protectant if you have leather this will really make it shine and look new again.(You can use it on your dash trim aswell.)
Use whatever cleaner you have and wipe everything down really good. Put your shifter in 1st and get all the dirt out that you can't see when it is in park.

All mcguires products are very good, just take your time, set a few hours aside and you will be happy with the results.

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Also If your going to clean your engine bay, make sure you cover up your air filter and your coil packs and fuse block. Some say to leave the car running, I personally don't, I like to dry everything off real good before I start it up. Get a quality engine cleaner from autozone or whereever else that sells it. Follow the instructions on the back.

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Originally Posted by SlowNA06

...new one on me.

There's no substitute for machine polishing and waxing. Get down with that instead of wearing your arms out on doing it by hand.
There's no need for a separate chemical to clean your wheels - they're painted just like the rest of the car.
Those armorall glass wipes will leave streaks everywhere. They're good for when you don't have a bottle of glass cleaner and paper towels handy, but that's it. A can of any wipe will dry out within a week of being in the car.

I guess the idea of leaving it running is to evaporate the water, but I have only done it once, and probably won't do it again.

IMO the best way to clean windows is just windex and use the microfibre towels instead of paper towel. That way the paper towel doesn't rip on you.

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alright thanks for the input guys, but i dont have the money for machine polishing and waxing. so what are the best hand polish and wax? also any preferred clay bar or just get the cheapest?

also if a mod sees this im sorry i meant to put this in the detailing section

Walmart.com: Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax: Automotive
I use this and have had good luck with it.
I use Rain X window cleaner on the outside windows and I love it. It applies rain x and cleans the windows.

danielle - thanks ill check them out and im from decatur illinois
TCO- do you use this with no other wax?

Originally Posted by cameron92

IMO the best way to clean windows is just windex and use the microfibre towels instead of paper towel. That way the paper towel doesn't rip on you.

I use newspaper on my windows, they dont leave all the marks you get from paper towels. Haven't tried microfiber towels. I use the armor all window spray, got it for a gift.

Originally Posted by millerlite64

I use newspaper on my windows, they dont leave all the marks you get from paper towels. Haven't tried microfiber towels. I use the armor all window spray, got it for a gift.

newspaper, really lol?

Originally Posted by 2dee11

TCO- do you use this with no other wax?

I use it on my pickup which is no show vehicle but I usually try to wax it every 6 months or so. The wash gives it a pretty good shine in the mean time. I have been pretty impressed with it over the other 3/4 soaps I have used.

I would use Turtle wax zip wax to clean the car. Armor all wipes for the inside. Armor all tire shine for the tires. Windex for the windows. Turtle wax all tire cleaner for the rims (I think thats what its called it comes in a green spray bottle anyways). Alot of people are very high on using glass cleaner for their windows but IMO nothing works better then just windex. As for wax by using the Turtle wax zip wax it from what I know has a little bit of wax in it and is very cheap to buy and I get an unbelievable shine just from that so i would go with the Turtle wax products there very good IMO. Also meguires tire shine works great and they have great products too so either of those I would recommend.

Originally Posted by danielle15

Be careful when using Windex if you have tinted windows. It will turn them purple.
So if you have tint, make sure you look for a cleaner that is tint safe!

Thanks for the heads up. I had no clue.

Originally Posted by danielle15

Be careful when using Windex if you have tinted windows. It will turn them purple.
So if you have tint, make sure you look for a cleaner that is tint safe!

A lot of people believe that its just faded by the sun, but ive asked people whose tint has faded and they all use windex or the off brand version on their windows