Basic cleaner here

[Matsweeper]

Hey guys, I like to think i take care of my car. I don't like food in my car or dirty interior, exterior. I'm trying to come up with a plan of attack to maintain my car looking good for the exterior. i don't want to go overboard and start buffing polishes and clay bar (i will perhaps once a year), etc..

My plan is.

Every 2 weeks
Meguiars Ultimate wash and wax
Sealant (any you recommend? perhaps wolf i think it's called)***
Meguiars Ultimate quick wax right after sealant dries. (SPRAY)

Between washes
Meguiars Quick Detailer (SPRAY)

Interior:
Meguiars interior detailer
Zaino shampoo (for my seats)
Zaino Conditioner (for my seats)
Invisable glass (windows)


***I have zaino sealant spray that i bought 3 years ago and used once... I have 98% of the bottle full. Can I just use that? I ask because someone said that might be used in combination with another zaino issue.

Does this sound good?

Let me know what you think about this set up. I want to keep it basic. I plan to wash my car about every 2 weeks.

 

[Nix]

Not a bad plan. I will say that the meguiars wash n wax is not that good. it smells nice, like cake, but it definitely does not remove road grime and dirt that well. Also the wax that is in it can interfere with the sealant or wax that you want to use next. A good sealant should last you a long time also. I would say to get at least 2 different soaps. One that is very strong that can really strip old wax and dirt and another one for maintenance washes so you are not removing sealant that is still doing its job. It'll save you time and money. The spray wax you listed is actually pretty decent.

I'll try to list some stuff that I have used and that is also very user friendly.

1) Strong soap: Chemical Guys Citrus Wash
http://www.detailedimage.com/Chemical-Guys-M31/Citrus-Wash-P410/16-oz-S1/


2) Maintenance Soap: Anything that says it will not remove wax. I like this particular stuff.
Chemical Guys GlossWorks
http://www.detailedimage.com/Chemical-Guys-M31/GlossWorkz-Paintwork-Cleanser-P446/16-oz-S1/

They are both cheap enough to pick up one of each and see how you like them. I definitely use the glossworks a lot.


Sealant depends on what you like. Blackfire is pretty user friendly. I sent @Dar-Dar a sample of it. I don't know if he ever got around to using it.
http://www.detailedimage.com/Blackfire-M32/Wet-Diamond-P205/16-oz-S1/


I use Collinite 845 a lot since it is a hybrid wax/sealant, looks great, last a long time, and is very inexpensive.
http://www.detailedimage.com/Collinite-M55/845-Insulator-Wax-P668/16-oz-S1/


Once you have a good coat of sealant or wax on your car, just a quick maintenance wash once a week and a quick spray down with any spray sealant or spray wax should keep you looking good. The meguairs quick wax spray is actually pretty decent for upkeep after a wash. I would not recommend wiping down the whole car with a QD spray if it's been a week between washes. It will probably be too dirty and the risk of scratching is pretty high.

The best and easiest maintenance wash if you don't feel like getting out the hose is Optimum No Rinse. Just mix a couple ounces into a 5 gal bucket and gently wipe the car down with a grout sponge. Dry it carefully and work section by section. I was very hesitant to try this stuff but let me tell you. It is awesome. It removes road grime very very well. It's ridiculous how good it works.
http://www.detailedimage.com/Optimum-OPT-M36/No-Rinse-Wash-Shine-2010-Formula-P444/32oz-S1/


A great maintenance sealant/QD/spray wax replacement once you're out of the Meguiars stuff is Chemical Guys Hybrid V7. It's a spray sealant that you can use on pretty much everything on the exterior safely.
http://www.detailedimage.com/Chemic...h-Gloss-Spray-Sealant-Detailer-P530/16-oz-S1/


Let me know if you have more questions. There are tons of products out there but these ones are generally very effective and easy to use. Yes, I post a lot of Chemical Guys stuff but for the reasons listed they are a great company to try stuff from. Same with Optimum.

 

[Dar-Dar]

I have not had a chance to detail my car before winter. I'm already late and will end up detailing the car when spring comes.

 

[Nix]

After the NE winter, grab a big bottle of IRON X. Wash your car first with a really strong soap and then liberally wet all the paint with IRON X, wait 5 min, then rinse it off. It'll dissolve all the iron filings and contaminants in the paint. You will pick up a ton in the winter just from the plows and salt eroding all sorts of metal stuff. My white paint shows orange spots so bad from it in the spring. I'll take a pic the next time it gets bad. All around the rear license plate is a bad area on these cars for some reason. The trunk area and obv behind the wheels.

 

[Matsweeper]

@Nix thanks a lot for all that info. I actually have them opened as tabs and going to be reading into them. This was GREAT help. Can't wait to wash my baby and my wife's! Everyone in this forum is extremely helpful. Thanks again!!! I'll be posting pics as soon as the weather gets better here in nj. Tomorrow I have all morning free and I will be doing a simple wipe down of the Interior dash and area where passengers kick when they get I a mad out of the car.