I wanted to wash my car, but wanted to know what products are best to wash with. Also, for a wax, what's a lazyman's best alternative?

 

I don't really know if you can be lazy about it if you're trying to give it a decent wash. I guess you can just clean it with plain water and clean towels, then dry it off, wax if needed.

Heh, on my car when I don't feel like doing a full wash, I just spray it down with water then go driving up and down the street and let the wind blow dry it.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....&threadid=5609

 

Here is my la-z-man's car wash technique.

1. Rinse car off with hose.
2. Rub thorougly with sponge and "good" car wax/soap. (can get this at Auto part's store)
3. Rinse.
4. Shammy dry.

 

I had a bad day...

I washed my car and vaccumed it.
The door swung a lil far and lightly bumped into this concrete block where the vaccum cleaner was. I checke and noticed a paint chip. Boy was i pissed... i noticed the paint on this car is paper thin!

So I went to my dealer, and he was in passenger seat as he pointed out to the parts department. The small street was cramped with cars parked around it, so he pointed out to turn into a driveway and back out. I checked and it didn't look steep at all.

I was wrong.... fawking bottom of my bumper scraped.

I'm really mad... i had to touch up the bottom of the bumper and door edge chip. Thanks to paper thin paint...

 

I wash all my cars at the coin-op carwash. I even use the brush.

I wax w/ Meguiar's about once/month or if water doesn't bead.

Michael.

 

I hope you're talking about the tires.

 

Nope. Skidazzle, Droidekaus, and PhoenixINX have all seen of my Z's (Skid & Droid even saw me use the brush on 350). They're immaculate, but not concours showcar immaculate.

You can get scratches from using the brush, but, personally, I tend to notice rockchips and dings more easily. The key is to spray down the brush thoroughly before using and not apply too much pressure on the brush.

Michael.

 

But it can't possibly be dirty enough to warrant a brush, can it?

 

just testing. . . .

 

I only use a brush on some of my cars (example - my 2 rabbit's don't deserve anything better, heh) but I only opt for one car wash in the area that has horse hair brushes. Horse hair brushes are super soft and won't damage your finish assuming you clean them thoroughly before using (people think I'm sick worring about a 18 year old finish). I garuntee though the Z won't be seeing any brushes at a car wash though.

 

I've had very little success w/ completely removing dirt film w/o using a brush (or sponge) in the past. Sometimes it works, but most of the time, I can't completely spray it off.

I try to wash the cars on a weekly basis (if driven), but sometimes the opportunity isn't there (i.e. it's been rainy/misty the past couple of weeks).

Michael.

 

My quick wash:

1. Wash car with Zaino's soap (even if you dont use their polish, this is the best car soap I've ever used)
2. Wash brake dust from wheels. An exercise in futility but required none-the-less.
3. remove 90% of the water on the car with a california water blade (15$ or so at walmart). takes literally 2 minutes, and saves you from getting water spots.
4. Dry what water is left with a white 100% cotton towel

Shouldnt take you more than 30 minutes if you work fast.

disclaimer: I've had one guy in the past who told me the california water blade scratched his car. Personally I dont see how it could happen, but maybe it had grit on it, or he was pressing really really hard. Anyway, buyer beware. I always rinse it off first, and wipe it off with a towel after each swipe (a towel could scratch your car too if it has dirt or grit in it). Also you dont need to use much if any pressure, just let it glide over the surface and pull the water away.

 

BTW... today was lazy car wash. We haven't had much sun these days. Only for few hours on Sunday, but I had to work that day.

I couldn't take it anymore so I had to wash the car despite cold weather... today was a very bad day. I had to put up with standing water filled with gravel and mud as I drove home.

 

Interesting you brought this up with the California Blade as I just bought it yesterday and used it on my Navigator.. not my Z yet. It cut down my towel usage from 4 to 5 to just 1!

One thing I'm wondering about is if it removes wax or not..

Any idea?

 

Not that I can tell - seems to be just fine. Just remember to be gentle with it.

 

u want it to be fast and quick here is wat i do:
leave it out in the rain
den drive it in the garage if u have one..or wait till it stopz raining, then u take a cloth and dry the car off.. lookz good and eazy..

basically nature is doin all the work..

 

You're kiddin', right? Won't that grind all of the dirt right into the wax/paint? You talkin' about a Z or a Datsun B210?

 

of course...i was kiddin

 

You got me there. OK, I knew you left out the bar of Ivory Soap step.....

WayneTN