A Few Detailing Questions.

Hey guys,

I got a few questions. First, what do you use to dry your cars? And what do you suggest? Right now, i use the Absorber and 100 percent cotton towels. Any other method you suggest besides a leaf blower (ill look strange :)). And what do you suggest for leather cleaner? Thanks.

By the way, i use Zaino for my car. Anyone else use it? Its defenitly the best wax ive used.

At my carwash I use their spot free rinse and let it air dry. I bring my own bucket and add some turtle wax car wash detergent and fill it with their spray guns. After hand washing I will hose it down with the rinse cycle and then go over it good with their spot free rince. Leaves minimal water spots once dried. If there is an area that needs touch up after drying I will go over it with Meguires or Mothers (I prefer) spray detailer.

As far as towels I have about 12 Microfiber towels on hand as they seem to work the best for me.

With my leather I got a cleaner and a conditioner. I want to say they are Eagle One products that I got at a local store. I think the cleaner came in a black spray bottle and the conditioner came in a clear spray bottle of the same size. It could be vice versa I'm trying to go from memory as I havent done my interior in a while. Either way I was very happy with its results. I have also used an all-in-one conditioner and cleaner that was made by Armour All (in a little light brown squeeze bottle) It seemed to work just fine. I stopped using it as I remember reading somewhere after I bought it that it can speed up the process of cracking your leather.

As far as wax goes I have a paint sealant on my vehical right now. Been on there since I bought the vehical a few months ago so I havent waxed it since. But will prolly need to go back and do it again when spring comes around.

I'm sure there are alot of others on here that have different routines and stuff they use to get their happy results. Just thought I'd share my ideas as well. :)

Bah, carwash. I do it myself at my house any time possible. Start with the tires and wheels and then move onto the rest of the car working down from the roof. Several rinses and dry with real chamois and microfiber towels (if needed). Turtle wax (used it forever, even when I used to wax my dad's car...stick with what works). And Meguires spary detailer, etc, etc. I'm a fan of Meguir's and use almost all their products. Don't have any leather so I can't help there. I use Armor All on the dash, etc. Oh and by the way, leaf blower may look weird but works really well and is fun lol. :iceslolan

-Jeff

P.S. Just thought I'd add that when I'm just doing an exterior wash it takes me about 2ish hours depending on how hard I'm working. Exterior and interior, tack on another hour or so. And a FULL detail, takes me anywhere from 5-6ish hours. I'm a perfectionist about this car. :biggrin:

Although I've found more effective ways of drying my car, I agree with the leaf blower comments! It's way more fun drying your car with a leaf blower than any type of towel!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who enjoys this process!

Waffle-weave microfiber is most absorbent and is safe on your paint. You have to be careful with "100% cotton" towels. Only in the USA does this statement actually have to be true in order to print it on the towels. Also, I found out that in the USA it can say "100% cotton" as long as most of it is 100% cotton- this usually means that the nylon threads don't count. After I found this out I researched several towel manufacturers... the only one I could find that has 100% cotton towels with 100% cotton threads is Fieldcrest Cannon's Royal Velvet towels. Of course, I realize that not everyone is as picky as I am! :smile:

As for leather care, Lexol is the safest for your leather and also does a very good job of cleaning and conditioning. For very dry leather (which usually means that the pores are too filled with grime to be able to absorb conditioners) the only cure is Leatherique or Connelly Hide Food. I prefer Leatherique because it truly gets the grime out of the pores before it conditions, but Hide Food is also very good. The leather pros will tell you to use only these two but I disagree. I think once you've got your leather in good shape you can simply use Lexol (regularly) and it'll stay in good shape. Lexol's much easier and less expensive than the other two.

Try parking your car on an incline, this will assist in water runoff, also with your last rinse, take off any nozzel and let the water run naturally out of the hose. Use a sweeping motion with the hose, start from top, and let the water sheet off. This will get at least 75% of the water off without even touching the surface by hand. Then i would suggest getting a large waffle weave microfiber, for your final wipedown. Take high pressure air, such as from a compressor, and blow out mirrows, seems, and emblems....
I also use microfibers religously, and I have microfibers available at my web site, on sale until the 1st of the year!