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NCD! and Hamer(s) of car cleaning product(s) and wax(es)

Jeff R

Asked by Jeff R,

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Jeff R Veteran HFCer

Jeff R

Posted
Posted

As the title simply states ... my incredible wife surprised me last night with a.) my first-ever new car (had 2 miles on it when she test-drove it), and b.) the modern version of the car I've dreamed of driving since I was around seven or eight years old.

I have never kept up with good car wash solutions, waxes, aluminum wheel cleaners, leather and interior cleaners and conditioners, etc.

Throw some tips at me so I can sustain the unbridled visual badassery this righteous ride possesses.

Color: Billet silver metallic

Interior: Slate gray and bad ass motherfucker red

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30 answers to this question

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G Man Veteran HFCer

G Man

Posted
Posted

I saw one in kermit the frog green the other day, definitely a head turner of a car. Looks fun, keep the rubber side down and enjoy that bad boy.

hamerhead Veteran HFCer

hamerhead

Posted
Posted

Nice ride. Silver looks great with a deep shine.

"Driven" makes a great line of polishes and finish restorers. I use it on everything.

http://www.driventoperfection.com/

It goes on and comes off easy, and looks good even after it rains. Not exactly cheap, but a bottle will last quite a while.

JES1680 Veteran HFCer

JES1680

Posted
Posted

Clay bar Mequires to get it clean

3M Imperial hand glaze for any minor scratches and swirl marks

when the inevitable scratch occurs use 3M stuff they wrote the book and if you ever look at the shelves in a body shop that's what you see.

Then you can get really nuts depending on how many days you want to spend with polish, wax, etc.....

Personally I just hit mine with a good synthetic wax. I'm using FX mothers or meguires can't remember, but it works well on black cars. Some syn waxes leave oil like smears on dark cars.

I know carnuba paste is best, but it is a massive pain to apply / remove.

the syn stuff is easy on easy off leaves a great shine and since it is so easy I do it several times a year.

For wheels there are several good cleaners, but I use a good quality car wash soap and may follow up with a rag with WD-40 great wheel cleaner and it helps prevent brake dust buildup.... well makes it easy to wipe off next time.

Interior. Mequires #40 vinyl and rubber care - smells GREAT too

Lexol Leather cleaner and conditioner

thats about it for me.

Sweet car. The Challenger was my favorite of the pony / muscle cars. Congrats. Oh and you have great wife!

gtone Veteran HFCer

gtone

Posted
Posted

Clay bar Mequires to get it clean

3M Imperial hand glaze for any minor scratches and swirl marks

when the inevitable scratch occurs use 3M stuff they wrote the book and if you ever look at the shelves in a body shop that's what you see.

Then you can get really nuts depending on how many days you want to spend with polish, wax, etc.....

Personally I just hit mine with a good synthetic wax. I'm using FX mothers or meguires can't remember, but it works well on black cars. Some syn waxes leave oil like smears on dark cars.

^^^

This, but save yourself on the clay bars. Don't buy name brand, they're like 3 small hotel-soap sized bars for $20 or some other crazy shit. Go to the dollar store and clean them out of yellow modelling clay. It's the EXACT same stuff and about $1-2 for 4 oversized bars.

IMO, the Mother's Carnauba wax is only a bit more work (40%?) than the the synthetics but lasts at least twice as long (beads water like a mofo for months!).

JES1680 Veteran HFCer

JES1680

Posted
Posted

Clay bar Mequires to get it clean

3M Imperial hand glaze for any minor scratches and swirl marks

when the inevitable scratch occurs use 3M stuff they wrote the book and if you ever look at the shelves in a body shop that's what you see.

Then you can get really nuts depending on how many days you want to spend with polish, wax, etc.....

Personally I just hit mine with a good synthetic wax. I'm using FX mothers or meguires can't remember, but it works well on black cars. Some syn waxes leave oil like smears on dark cars.

^^^

This, but save yourself on the clay bars. Don't buy name brand, they're like 3 small hotel-soap sized bars for $20 or some other crazy shit. Go to the dollar store and clean them out of yellow modelling clay. It's the EXACT same stuff and about $1-2 for 4 oversized bars.

IMO, the Mother's Carnauba wax is only a bit more work (40%?) than the the synthetics but lasts at least twice as long (beads water like a mofo for months!).

Yes good point on the modling clay, but the quick detailer is what I use with it.

RichF Inner Circle

RichF

Posted
Posted

JES1680 is right on with the recommendations.

On the wheels though I usually use Meguiar's wheel cleaner followed by washing with car soap at the end of the wash. The wheel cleaner breaks up the brake dust and the hand wash makes sure that it's all gone. Follow that up with a coat of wax to keep down the brake dust accumulation.

I'm also old school and stick with the carnauba wax. If I ever use up the supply that I have I should really give the synthetic stuff a try.

Jeff R Veteran HFCer

Jeff R

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sweet ride, Thundersteel! And I'm writing all this stuff down, keep it coming!

Thundersteel Veteran HFCer

Thundersteel

Posted
Posted

Thundersteel - Is that the Mike Campbell signature Challenger?

Not quite--just a Challenger SRT in Blue Streak Pearl!

Armitage Veteran HFCer

Armitage

Posted
Posted

The last car I actually got out and waxed, I used NuFinish... When I bought my 2010 I figured I should put a nice coat of wax on it so I started googling car waxes. Lots of people recommended all kinds of complex stuff that has to be done a couple times a year then some guy always says "I use NuFinish... lasts a year and I'm really happy on my show car 'Vett". Everybody pounces on the poor guy. "You can't be happy! It can't work" yet he's happy, and so was I when I last waxed a car... say 1980... It's like saying you like a new Les Paul on a vintage forum, people just jump on you. You can't like it, it's not allowed!

So while there may be a newer version of it... if you want a long lasting protecting polish that's really easy to put on and lasts a year... NuFinish, works great for many people.

Hamerica Veteran HFCer

Hamerica

Posted
Posted

Clay bar Mequires to get it clean

3M Imperial hand glaze for any minor scratches and swirl marks

when the inevitable scratch occurs use 3M stuff they wrote the book and if you ever look at the shelves in a body shop that's what you see.

Then you can get really nuts depending on how many days you want to spend with polish, wax, etc.....

Personally I just hit mine with a good synthetic wax. I'm using FX mothers or meguires can't remember, but it works well on black cars. Some syn waxes leave oil like smears on dark cars.

^^^

This, but save yourself on the clay bars. Don't buy name brand, they're like 3 small hotel-soap sized bars for $20 or some other crazy shit. Go to the dollar store and clean them out of yellow modelling clay. It's the EXACT same stuff and about $1-2 for 4 oversized bars.

IMO, the Mother's Carnauba wax is only a bit more work (40%?) than the the synthetics but lasts at least twice as long (beads water like a mofo for months!).

Clay Bar System -

Can't speak highly enough of them. Correct yellow modeling clay is exactly the same type of product and will work just fine.

I use Mequiar's unless Mothers is on sale. Quick Detailer Mist and Wipe with the clay bar. Dust off with Microfiber towels and a litle Quick Detailer. The Mothers product is Showtime. Both are excellent.

Wax - Unless you want to develop your forearms toss the old formulation carnauba pastes.

Meguier's Cleaner Wax is excellent product for those that are lousy at ensuring your car is clean.

I use Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax on my wife's car as well as higher custom paint jobs. Meguiars Gold is a nice wax as well.

I generally use Mequiers however Mothers is an excellent product.

3M products are outstanding and yes, you will find them in use at Car Dealers and Automotive Detail shops. Some of the products are more expensive than other brand names and depending on the car and the quality of the paint job they may not acheive any superior results.

Wheel Cleaner - I use Eagle One A -Z.

Tire Cleaner - Ajax or Comet (do not leave on wheels or put on paint). That an some elbow grease.

Tire Shine - Black Magic Tire Wet - use sparingly.

Plastic Cleaner - Novus products exclusively .

Window Cleaner - Vinager and water. I use the two towel system one to apply and one to wipe off.

Chrome Cleaner - Turtle wax with newspaper. Since the news is worth reading for decades might as well have it for something useful like a bumper cleaning aid.

Jeff is a very, very lucky man.

best wishes,

Hamerica

ARM OF HAMER Veteran HFCer

ARM OF HAMER

Posted
Posted

Great ride and.............goes w/o saying great wife.....................ZYMOL Cleaner/Wax have used it on my 86 Toyota Supra and also all my guitars with incredible results,in a word................ SUPERB! :) THIS! 1zdbtpj.jpg

rj2858 Veteran HFCer

rj2858

Posted
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+2 on the Zymol

Not a bad suggestion on here, but if you don't mind putting in a bit of elbow grease, (but a lot less than my days of using a can of Blue Coral, many years ago), Zymol is it.

First used it when I bought an old Porsche Speedster in '02, and I'd have bought anything for that car. Still using it now.

TBP Inner Circle

TBP

Posted
Posted

Great car, even if the lack of a clutch pedal hurts me a little bit. Most of my thoughts have already been stated, so I'll just say to learn to use the clay bar, get good soap/wax/cleaners (I also typically use Maguire's or Mother's) and just enjoy spending a couple days a month or so giving it a good clean.

Oh, if you live/drive in a place that salts roads in the winter, make sure it has a good coat of wax soon.

Edit: You shouldn't do what they decide they shouldn't do at 8:20:

TBP Inner Circle

TBP

Posted
Posted

British guys whining about American cars--what a concept!

Well, I shared that for the ability to set off car alarms by revving a V8.

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