Detailing Tricks of the Trade

[seeking]

I thought this would be a good addition to this section. I'll start with a few really simple basics. Any trick/tip is welcome!


-Wash your microfibers with other microfibers only.

-Pressure wash chammys and mits regularly.

-Do wheels and wells first and while you do it, keep wetting up the car to cool the paint before washing.

-Adding a little wax to you wash bucket can keep a freshly waxed look, as well as help your wax job from getting stripped by the wash.

-Folding window rags, and MF's into squares and then flipping to clean/dry sections makes a better finished result and makes the rag useful longer.

-Apply wax with a damp MF or applicator, putting the wax on IT, don't squirt wax directly onto the car.

-Use a detail brush to get wax residue out of cracks.

-Waxing headlights makes bug removal easier, and helps protect them from etching.

-Waxing glass helps prevent water spots and wiper etching, helps water bead off in the rain. And of course, makes your glass fucking shiny.

Now add your .02!

[Mr. Spooky]

:nod:

good thread

[C-Note]

Good stuff

[Mr Burns]

I actually I use to be a detailer for a saturn dealership.
Here are a few more tricks.

-To get water spots off of your windows use steel wool. Just spray the window with windex, rub the glass with the steel wool and they disapear. This is also a good trick for getting dead bugs off the window and any chrome on the car(it won't scratch). I think it probably goes without saying, but don't use rub the cars finish with steel wool. It will scratch it.

-The easiest way to detail your engine is with the engine running simply hose it down with water(don't spray it into the intake). Then spray some engine degreaser over every thing. If the engine is really dirty scrub the dirt with a brush(watch out for the fan and belts though). Then rinse the degreaser off and spray the whole thing down with armor all. Leave the car running for a bit and the armor all will dry and the engine will look new.

-Theres a product called clay magic that is great to make the cars finish smooth again. You just hose down the car with water, than rub the car with the clay bar. After rinse it off and the car will be as smooth as glass. Works even better if you wax it afterward. Clay magic is kind of expensive(like 20 or 25 dollars for a single bar), but it is reusable and it last for a very long time.

-Don't use dish soap or other strong detergents when you wash your car. It will remove any wax that your car has on it. Your better off buying a soap that is made for car finishes.

-To keep your cars finish looking new, give it a coat of wax at least twice a year. More if you live in anywhere that is really hot or has a lot of rain.

-To remove old or bubbling window tint. Spray the tint you want to remove with amonia(sp)(wipe any that gets on interior panels quickly it can stain it if left there too long). Let it soak in for a while. Then scrape the tint off with a razor blade. The window won't scratch if you hold the blade at an angle and keep the window moist with amonia. If your still having trouble try using a hair dryer to heat up and melt the adhesive. Be very careful if you are removing tint from the rear window. Cause if you cut one of those defroster strips your defrosters will stop working. It will still take awhile to get the tint off. But as far as I know this is the easiest way.
These are just a few, I'll add more as I think of them.

[Krayzie7th]

nice thread.

[seeking]

hey BigCl...i thought clay bar removes the wax off the finish too...dont you have to wax your car after claybarring? :???:

[Mr Burns]

^Maybe, it removes some of the wax. But after I've used it the water would still bead up on the finish. As for me, if I'm going to take the time to go over the whole car with a clay bar, than I'm also going to take the time to wax anyway.

[seeking]

^Maybe, it removes some of the wax. But after I've used it the water would still bead up on the finish. As for me, if I'm going to take the time to go over the whole car with a clay bar, than I'm also going to take the time to wax anyway.


yea i feel you on that, i need to claybar and wax mycar again :(

[Hell-Sent]

Use newspaper to dry windows -- leaves no streaks

Mother's Back to Black is awesome at keeping your black trim looking new... I always recommend doing it with every wax, faded trim is an easy way to make a car in great condition look neglected

Y'all probably know this already... but avoid direct sunlight, and make sure the car is cool to the touch... most people start washing/waxing their car on the hottest day of the summer -- bad idea

[seeking]

why is it so bad to do it on hot days anyways? i never knew why just heard you shouldnt


also, does that newspaper thing really work?

[Mr Burns]

^ It really won't damage your cars finish if you wax it in direct sunlight. I've done it many times. The only reason why I wouldn't suggest that anyone try is because when the cars finish is hot it takes twice as much effort to wipe the wax off.

[Mr Burns]

Use newspaper to dry windows -- leaves no streaks

Mother's Back to Black is awesome at keeping your black trim looking new... I always recommend doing it with every wax, faded trim is an easy way to make a car in great condition look neglected

Y'all probably know this already... but avoid direct sunlight, and make sure the car is cool to the touch... most people start washing/waxing their car on the hottest day of the summer -- bad idea

Back to Black does make the trim pieces look good. The only thing I don't like about it is that because it is silicon based it attracts a lot of dirt to it.

[seeking]

thanks

[Hell-Sent]

Back to Black does make the trim pieces look good. The only thing I don't like about it is that because it is silicon based it attracts a lot of dirt to it.For real? Man, never really noticed anything like that... but my car is black so its pretty much turns green after the pollen gets to it 5 minutes after I wash it... probably just never paid attention

Oh and the thing about washing it in direct sunlight is that it bakes the soap, wax, or whatever you're doing onto the car and makes it really tough to come off... a lot of people end up doing damage to the paint job trying to clean it up if it gets cooked on enough.

The newspaper thing definitely works -- huge time saver for me

[seeking]

i washed my car today..skipped the windows and the black trim till tomorrow (it was getting dark)

i have been using back to black for some time and dirt does stick :(