Re: Car washing--

[Miki Haraguchi <ikim@xxxxxx>]

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In reply to:
David Beatty <dbeatty@domain.elided>
Subject: car wash stuff

I have a new //m roadster (imola red) and would like to keep the paint,
etc in good condition as long as possible. <snip>
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David : FWIW, my regimen below. It works really well for me.

Soap: Not too picky, been using Armor All for a while. Also, I get a lot of 
ribbing for having bought this--but I don't use a sponge or a wash mitt, I 
use a very soft boar's hair wash brush that I ordered from Griot's Garage 
(very pricey). I think it works beautifully.

Polish/Wax--I don't think a new car needs to be polished, but waxed, yes. 
For my 1.75 yr old coupe, I have three steps about 2-3x/yr:
1) detailing clay used with Final Inspection
2) Polish with Meguiar's #7 (glaze)
3) Wax with Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Wax

I may wax the top surfaces of the car in summer and the sides in the winter 
more frequently for extra protection. If I don't have time for washing, and 
the car needs to be "presentable" for some special event (and is not too 
dirty), I will use Final Inspection to clean it off (I am very leery about 
doing this however & will only do it when desperate).

Leather care: Lexol only for me! I think it's fantastic. Vacuum first, then 
clean. I have to keep after my leather *all* the time because it's lt. 
gray. For dash/vinyl trim, I swear by Vinylex (also by Lexol). It lifts a 
*lot* of dirt and cleans very well w/o looking too shiny.

The other thing is that the more you keep your car waxed, the less dirt 
you'll have to "scrub" off of it when you do wash it. A good wax job will 
do a way better job at shrugging dirt and other contaminants off.

Maybe if someone convinces me that Zymol Creame Wax is worth the money, 
I'll go for it, but for now, I think Meguiar's pdts. are just fine.

Miki H.
1997 328is/Arctic Silver

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