Your car maintenance regimen

[ArrJay0712]

Guys, please help! I would like to know your regimen for the exterior of your car. I'd like to come out with the best possible regimen for my car. If possible, please include the brand you are using and also the price.

For me, this is my present regimen:
1. Wash using Turtle Wax zip wax(180 at Ace) using 3M high performance cloth.
2. Rinse using water.
3. Dry using Microtex chamois(250 at Ace).
4. Wipe to dry using Microtex terry cloth. (I'm presently not using wax/sealant to bring out the gloss. Can you suggest?)
5. Clean glass using Polyglaze invisible glass.

Problems:
1. I can't remove hardened bugs and bird droppings.
2. I can't remove dried cement.
3. I can't get rid of minor scratches. I'm using 3m scratch remover.

Thank you for sharing yours, I really appreciate your help!

[madkatz]

Well i use 2 different regimens depending on the car condition and if its mine or not hehehe.

But for my own cars and for the brand new cars this is my monthly regimen which doesn't include paint correction and paint sealing.

Interior and Glass (what i do first)

1. Vacuum car

2. Wipe all interior windows and instrument panels

Microtex Suede 199/pc

3. Apply Protectant

Microtex Ultra 189/pc
Mothers Protectant 420/24oz

Exterior

1. Wash the wheels and wheel wells

Bigberts shampoo 400/gallon
Old toothbrush ???
Wheels and Tires Soft Bristle brush 420/pc

2. Wash the car

Microtex Washmitt 330/pc
NXT Car Wash 750/2 liters

3. Dry the car

Microtex Elite 799/pc
or
Cobra Guzzler 20$/pc
or
California Water Blade 1350/pc with Microtex Chamois 250/pc

4. Remove Asphalt

Kerosene 49/liter
I-clean MF cloth 150/2pcs

5. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to remove kerosene.

6. Apply protectant on rubber and plastics

Mothers Protectant 420/24oz
Microtex Ultra 189/pc

7. Apply tire dressing

Red Carpet Tire Cream 150/tub
Zip Sponge 30/pc

8. Apply Wax

Now with this one it depends, i have more than 50 waxes hehehe

but here are my standard favorites thats available OTC

Mothers Reflections Advance Car Wax + Top Coat
985+985 both 16oz

Turtle Wax Platinum Ultra Gloss Paste

560/tub

Megs NXT

1650/16oz

EO Nano Wax

1200/16oz.

for application

Microtex Wax pad 70/pc
or
Meguiars Foam pad applicator 80/pc

for removal

Microtex Ultra plush 250/pc
or
Microtex Plush 199/pc

or you could get

Zwipes kit 150/2 MF covered applicators and 1 large MF cloth


9. Clean windows and apply repellant

Glass Science Kit 700/kit

[ArrJay0712]

Thanks madkatz! Wow you really love your cars, you've invested a lot of money/materials for them.

[ArrJay0712]

By the way Madkatz, the color of my car is Thermalite silver. Is it safe to follow your regimen?
I also have some follow-up questions:
1. Where to buy the following:
a. Glass Science kit
b. kerosene. Is this the regular kerosene?
c. Meguiars Nxt car wash & Nxt wax 2.0
2. Kindly specify step by step on how you use wax or anything that improves the looks of your car. What wax do you use daily/weekly/monthly? Do you apply something before & after waxing?
3. What product can you suggest to remove scratches? I'm using 3m but not effective.
4. What product can you suggest to remove dried bugs & bird droppings?

Thanks again!

[1D4LV]

ako weekly carwash lang sa suking car wash.
tapos paguwi, liquid wax.

yun lang, medyo busy eh. kaya di ko na din mahimas oto ko ng maayos.

[madkatz]

*ArrJay0712: for the glass science i get the kit with glass scrub from blade.
As for the NXT wax and shampoo, i buy them from a friend thats also my detailing supplies supplier and if he doesn't have any stock i get it from Megs Simex since i have 5% discount there, if you want pm me and i can give you the contact of the supplier that or i could tell Simex you are buying in my account so you can also avail of the 5% in my name since NXT is expensive. As for the kerosene yup its just normal kerosene.

with regards to the next question i'll answer it tomorrow, my laptop batt is running low.

[nelz]

*madkatz - mam what products do you use for leather seats? And where do you buy Microtex and Mother's products locally? TIA

[ArrJay0712]

* madkatz: how do you use the kerosene? do you pour it directly on the target area or you pour it on a cloth then wipe? how much do you apply?

Kindly answer also my earlier questions.

Thanks again for the help!

[madkatz]

*ArrJay0712:

1. Dry the whole car
2. Apply the wax using a Foam applicator, better if you have a MF covered applicator, and apply it to the whole car, also apply a thin layer of wax on your car.
3. Avoid getting waxes on non paint area's like plastics and trims
4. Do the finger swipe test, if you swipe your finger gently and it swipes clear, the wax is ready to be removed.
5. Remove the wax with a clean MF towel.

With regards to the wax i use, like i said it depends on my mood since i have a lot of waxes on hand, for most parts i apply the waxes that i've mentioned once or twice a month. I apply spray waxes every after wash. And i apply Sealants every 3 to 6 months depending on which i use. There are also some waxes that i only apply every 3 months since they're extra durable.

Sometimes i apply glazes and sealants before i wax the car. With sealants its pretty much the same with waxes but you have to leave the sealant on after you buff it off for about 24 hours to cure properly. For glazes its pretty much like waxes but you don't buff it dry, you just buff it to remove the hazing.

With regards to removing scratches, it depends on how deep the scratches are, some scratches can't be removed by any kind of product, like they say if you could feel the scratch by running your fingernail across its already too deep to buff off. If these are light scratches like very light scratches and swirls, i use SwirlX and Mothers Scratch Remover to remove them. For some of the deeper scratches i use Megs UC. And for Spot removals i use Megs ScratchX. The 3m scratch remover isn't really that good IMO not because it cannot polish off the scratch but rather it doesn't give you a glossy finish after.

You could use any Quick Detailer to remove any dried bugs or bird droppings as long as its fresh or up to 4 hours. Some Bugs splatters and Bird Droppings actually eat through your paint in less than 2 hours. Once these bug splatters and bird droppings stay longer, its pretty much, wash it and remove it with a solvent like Mark V Citrus solv or Megs Body Solvent, these would remove the contaminants but not the stains, after that i would have to buff it off using either a rotary or a PC polisher to remove the visual appearance.

[madkatz]

*Nelz: I used Megs Leather cleaner and condition, the cream type, its good for gently removing stains off from your leather and making the leather soft. It even made a 10 year old Pajero's crunchy leather flexible again and at some instances even removed ballpen marks. But that would be a bit expensive, around 1.4K+ if i remember for a 32oz. You could also use Mothers Reflections Leather Care and Quik Interior Detailer are also great in removing stains and making leather softer, these are spray types, you just spray it on the leather seat or part and use a soft sponge to clean the area and wipe off with a MG towel. I've used a Megs Gold Glass Leather Cleaner and Conditioner and its pretty much like the first one i mentioned but im not sure if its available here locally. One other thing i do, which depends on the leather if its old or treated would be to use baby oil hehe some of the older model cars with leather seats were originally cleaned with baby oil so im sticking with this on my dad's old car.

As for my products, i get my Mothers consumer products and gallon sizes directly from the distributor since i already have 5% discount there. But you could get these in blade stores near you. As for Microtex i also go directly to the distributor, you could get their products also at blade but you might want to check from time to time Ace hardware since they sometimes offer Microtex products at a discount.