With spring here I know most of us are planing a good detail of our X's. What are some of your favorite products to use? Any tricks with the X-type you have found when it comes to cleaning?

One more thing, I saw a thread about how to fix a scratched windshield. I have searched and can't find it, does anyone know how to fix this? I know most of you have the fine scratches like I do in the windshield.

 

soap and water to wash, wax afterward on the paint.

I like to keep my car clean all the time, so it is never a big job to make it almost perfect.

 

Clay bar is a must after harsh salts and sand layed out on the roads by the city. Also a good rub on the rims. I always use mothers for rims, meguires for rubber and turtle wax for wax but i like the mothers clay bar due to its easy molding abilities.

 

I got my car in the middle of winter, and am looking forward to the nicer weather. It's in great condition overall, and the only detailing I need to do relates to the paint:

1. Clay bar to remove surface contaminants
2. Polish/glaze the paint with my Porter Cable random orbit polisher (fantastic tool for this purpose)
3. Wax with a high quality carnauba wax (I usually use Meguiars)

It takes about 4 to 6 hours to do this the first time, and a couple of hours once a year after that to maintain the wet look gloss. Based on past experience, the transformation is pretty amazing by the time it's done.

Oh, and while I remember, I need to apply leather conditioner to the interior.

 

Nice part about living in the south is not having to worry about salt! LOL

I'll never miss rust! I'll have to get an undercarriage pic of my mounty and show you guys what it's like. I couldn't believe what it looked like when I bought the car, it looked brand new and nobody even cleaned it as the car was a mess and definitely hadn't been touched by the deal.

Some stuff I used before was stuff from eagle or eagle one called wax-as-u-dry and the stuff worked really good. Nothing beats a good wax, Zymol is a good inexpensive wax.

 

Working in a lexus dealership is always good, specially when i can get a professional 300$ inside and out detailing for...free. But the clay bar works great and also they use some stuff called simonize which works great . They also have some kind of "acid" that they put on the wheels that makes it look brand new its amazing that reminds me its time for a waxin'

 

I just had the X repainted last summer (professionally - due to a wreck) so the paint still looks good.

I'll start off with a good hand wash and I also use the Eagle 1 Wax As You Dry stuff - it helps the chamois soak up the water and avoid spotting. I'll skip if I have do any paint touch ups.

Then bug and tar to get all the crap off the sills and bumper. Eagle 1 metal polish on the exhaust tips and all brightwork. Polishing compound on the winshield.

Claybar on the horizontal surfaces. 3M Perfect it Glaze on the whole car (machine - random orbit). McGuire's polish then carnuba to finish it off.

Swap out winter wheels for summer (that was easy).

Degrease engine and mechanicals with Simple Green solution and low pressure hot water.

Leather care with Lexol cleaner and Zymol leather conditioner.

Spray wax all the interior wood.

Pay careful attention to cleaning door sills, jambs, trunk sills, ect.

 

Well the weather was nice yesterday so I did a nice wash and mini detail.

I use a good car soap like maguires or turtle wax. Along with a good wheel cleaner to preclean the wheels.

Nice micro fiber towels to dry off the car.

And I did a quick detail with some spray wax like Nano wax or equivilent. And Armorall tire shine.

I always use Armorall leather wipes for the interior. Keeps the Ivory interior clean and looking perfect.

Armorall orange wipes for the dash and plastics. And I use them to wipe the rims down if there is dirt left over on them.

Armorall glass wipes for all the glass.

When it comes down to wax I use Maguires NXT wax, gold class wax or Mothers wax. And the car comes out like a mirror.

Once the weather gets warner I am gonna clay bar the entire car and do a full wax detail. And from then on I will wax the car 4/5 times over the course of the summer.

 

jvegas, try to find some stuff called "3M perfect It II". You will most likely have to run to a car paint store to find it (I know I can only find it there). Then, using some 0000 steel wool, polish up your windshield. I know what you are thinking, steel wool on my windshield, NO F'IN WAY!!!! Trust me, it doesn't scratch the windshield and should get rid of a lot of the fine scratches. The nice thing about the 3M stuff is you can also use it on the paint and chrome too. Works great. It is effectively 1500 grit polishing compound in a liquid form. It will make the paint sparkle again. Restored my truck after 10 years of neglect back to show room shine. Chrome, oh wow. The only thing you have to watch out for with this stuff is if you are using a power buffer, don't hold it on a corner of the car using this stuff for an extended period of time (ie, 10 seconds or more). It could eat through the clear coat. Keep the buffer moving and all is good.

 

3M Perfect-It is good stuff. Been using it for years. Yep, usually only auto body supply stores have it, or the occasional Napa or Carquest if you get lucky. Probably can get it online just as easy.

Note that they make Perfect-IT in a couple of blends depending on your paint color. So buy appropriate to your car's color for best results. It will take out most clear coat scratches with just elbow grease.

Steel wool on the windshield is an old detailers trick - works great. Even if just used with windex. So does a razor blade scraper.

I like McGuire's tire shine spray with the nozzle that controls the width of the spray. Reduces overspray on the wheels/body.

 

and that 3M perfect It II, will work on the windshield? what do i do after i polish it?

 

yes.

wipe it down with a microfiber towel.

 

Lookin forward to some decent weather to really get stuck into the Audi....She's just had new alloys too so I'm dying to get back into the calipers etc.

First of all a really good pre soak and then a wash using a wash mitt followed by a pat dry with micro fibre towels. This includes lifting the bonnet ( hood ) and the boot ( trunk ) and opening all doors to do the door shuts and sills etc etc.
Re the wheels...They will be cleaned thoroughly, although I will be taking them off to repaint the calipers as well as the hubs. Using heat resistant silver Hammerite and when finished they look as good as new. While the wheels are off I'll be thoroughly cleaning the inside of them too I only ever use soap n water but do them regularly so that no brake dust n grime get the chance to stick.....no harsh chemical to ruin the finish.
The wheels are usually finished off with Wet n Black spray but applied using a sponge applicator. This makes the product go further but crucially eliminates over spray onto the paintwork.
The engine compartment is always kept in great order so a quick wipe down, followed by the use of a 1" paint brush to remove any dust particles etc from oil filler cap and surrounding areas before finishing off with Sonus detailer and tyre gel to really make it look great.
Back to the paintwork - I intend to clay the car although she's not too bad but it certainly won't hurt followed by a wash and then a paint cleanser.
I have some very light swirl marks, barely noticeable and not really enough to warrant any correction. Instead I bought some Poorboys Black hole show glaze that has fillers. This will help to mask any slight swirls that are about. I'm not sure yet but probably finish off with Poorboys Nattys Blue wax on top of the black hole to finish with a nice slick glossy lookin finish.
Needless to say the windows will get the full treatment inside n out as well as a complete detail of the interior, using Autoglym water based on the dash etc to leave a lovely fresh matt finish and a great smell...NO shiny dashboards here!
1" paintbrush again to clear the vents and hard to accesss areas of dust etc etc, followed by a vaccuum. After the mats have been cleaned I usually rub them with a perfume based product that leaves a beautiful scent throughout the whole car for weeks to come.

Not neccessarily in that order, but that about covers it.....Hard work but it'll be worth it

 

For the interior i find that Mcguires is the best. It's doesn't have a very high gloss, just a nice clean look to it. Also it is safe to use any time without having to worry about smearing your windows. Plus it works on all interior surfaces.
The Jag will get it details this weekend.

 

I like the McGuires interior shine stuff as well. Low gloss is good - really just need something with some UV protection and not greasy.

Boar's hair detailing brushes work great for nooks, Mini-California Car duster for the dash and larger surfaces.

 

Anyone notice how hard it is for the dash plastics to get shiny if you wanted them that way? I remember my car wouldn't shine for anything no matter how much I used or how often it was used. My mountaineer is much worse though, the thing never shines whether I put armor all or any other product on it. I remember my f150 could get so shiny you'd be blinded when you cleaned it up!

 

I am looking forward to the first nice day i have off. I will wash the car using P21s Car Wash, then I am going to clay bar the car with the mothers clay bar system. I will follow that up with the P21s pre wax paint cleaner, then I will apply P21s 100% Pure Carnauba wax. The wheels I will use P21s wheel gel cleaner. I used this same process minus the clay bar last summer when I got the car. I am looking forward to seeing the results of adding the clay bar. I hear it does wonders for the paint and shine.

 

Yep, noticed the same. I think it is due to the X actually having higher quality plastics than other vehicles. I think perhaps if you used straight Armor All you might get some luster - but not much (I have the ivory interior with beige top dash). I like a low to no gloss so you don't get that windshield reflection.

I tried some new stuff - RainX glass polish - it is like a cream paste. Works well on that stubborn silicone haze and also shines up the headlights pretty well.

alarsen77 - how do you like the P21 products?

 

I spent 3 hours today on my X. Washed, claybared, carnuba, removed swirls and scrathes, hand waxed/removed wax, machine waxed/removed, buffed and then waxed again and buffed to a showroom finish. Some might say that 4 coats of wax is way toooo much but hey it looks good!

 

Here on the left coast of Canada, close to the 49th, "Spring" has yet to sprung. Hose may freeze overnight; salt-trucks traverse the by-ways on an irregular basis.

You are truly fortunate.

Cheers,

Bruce