[BlenderWizard]

Originally Posted by HandCrank

For the very best car wax one can't beat "Bowling Alley paste wax" or "Johnson's Paste Floor Wax". Both are very high in carnuba.Be sure to follow the instructions. A lot of work, sure, but wow! What a hard glossy finish.

To protect and preserve those plastic bug shields and window shades use a good liquid car polish.

Forget those fancy spray cleaners...at Wal-Mart, in the automotive section, look in the display of car waxes and polish for a one gallon container of "Purple Power" About $2.40. This stuff will do all the cleaning for everything on your vehicle. Refill that empty sprayer and you'll have a lot of cleaning refills for a lot less green backs. Used full strength it's an excellent degreaser....Speaking of which, to remove real serious engine compartment gunk, spray on some oven cleaner, the cheap stuff works just as good as the expensive brand name can..

While at Wally World pick up some "Micro Fibre" clothes, again in the automotive section,with them, you will never need the "blue" stuff to clean glass....just a spritz of water is all that's needed.

When it's time to dry your truck, blow off the excess water with your leaf blower. Don't have one? Get a cheap electric one, You can also blow out the inside of your cab for a "quickie" dust job. After you have degreased that engine bay use the blower to dry every thing off.

The best finishing tool I've found for applaying tire gloss is a good quailty 3 inch paint brush..

For road tar removal I use kerosene..if not readily available, paint thinner works well and hey, don't be alarmed, it won't hurt your vehicle finsh. Why? well, its not a liquid oil based paint. Get a qt. cheap at WM.

For removing bug splatters on your vehicle front end, a wad of dress making "Nylon Netting" is the best tool, it won't stratch the finish and 50 cents worth at any fabric shop (check the WM fabric section) will get you about a half a yard of material. Which will outlast several vehicles...Also netting dipped into a little kerosene quickly scrubs away those tar spots..

Again at WM, check into the home decor section. I recently scored 36 washcloths for less than $3.00. Why waste money on those fancy wax appliacator sponge gizmos? Also found some hand towels really cheap...great for detailing work...

And last but not least..wash and wax only when your vehicle is cool to the touch...and never ever in full sun light.

As an aside,I have been detailng my vehicles before GM built a V8......

Yeah... Purple Cleaner is REALLLY harmful for any painted surface. On my 1st car, when I was 17, I decided I wanted to make it really clean, so I got at some diluted purple cleaner solution my dad had... It cleaned it alright, right down to the metal! That crap took the paint off the top of my fenders on my car. If you're going to wash with that, you may as well use carburetor cleaner on your wheels