[MINI_Mol]

I know this type of thing is asked all the time, so I am sorry if this particular post is a little redundant; I just need your help. I spent many hours pouring over this forum and various information and pretty much all that has happened is I have become confused and totally unsure of what to get to care for my new MINI.

My new MINI was produced the first week of May and I will be picking it up in a couple days. I am extremely inexperienced when it comes to caring for and washing/waxing cars. My husband has minimally cared for our JEEP truck these past 14 years (washing and waxing once a year, on his birthday). I want to care well for my new MINI and plan to wash it every one or two weeks. I also want of wax/polish it so it will stay nice for many years to come.

So, having NO experience, I would like to put together a Beginner Car Wash/Wax/Polish "Kit". I bought three different car washing cloths at Target over the weekend, but now do not even know it they were the "right" thing to get. I need your help and advice to put this Kit together. I know everyone out there has their own favorite products, so please tell me what you would get if you were just starting out like me. Please be specific as to exactly what particular products I should get, not just recommend a general brand. Mixing and matching different brand is OK if that would make the best Kit. This MINI is brand new (one month old), so should be fairly clean to start with.

[obehave]

www.autopia.com
www.properautocare.com

Proper chenille mitt or sponge
100% cotton towels
Microfiber towels of different thread density
bucket
water blade or Absorber
Brush used ONLY for wheels
303 Aerospace for plastics
Wax?? that's a big can o' worms. I use Liquid Glass
I'm sure I've forgotten something

[Trophy160]

Hi,


Don't get a sponge these are really bad when looking after your paintwork.
Get a sheepskin wash mitt it loads better.

Always use the two bucket method when washing the car.
1 bucket with water and car wash liquid and 1 bucket with clean water.
Take the mitt and use with the car wash liquid bucket and then rinse the mitt
in the clean water before returning to the soapy bucket and back on to the car.
ie Soapy Water->Car->Clean Water->Soapy Water repeat.

Other things are down to personal preference and opinion as posted earlier
if you realy wan to get into things have a look at autopia.org.


Have Fun

Paul;

[RallyMINI]

Proper chenille mitt or sponge - A microfiber mitt is easier to clean with...

100% cotton towels - Lots of them

bucket - Get two good buckets, and there is also a special car washing bucket I have seen somewhere that has a dirt trap built into the bottom. It keeps you from rubbing dirt all over the car.

Soap - DON"T use dishwashing liquid! Waaay too harsh. Any number of auto-specific soaps are fine. They tend not to strip the wax off, preserving the waxing job for a few washings.

water blade - California water blade works pretty darn well.

Brush used ONLY for wheels - I have also found that the Dupont Teflon wheel cleaning product works wonders. It dissolves the brake dust and washes right off.. I'd recommend it. But also an entirely seperate brush/bucket/towels for the wheels is good.

303 Aerospace for plastics - My first time waxing my MINI, I got some wax onto the black plastic fenders, and thought I could just wipe it off... WRONG! Wax on plastic looks REALLY bad when it dries, and its VERY hard to get off. The service tech (Brian) at MINI of Peabody recommended Mother's "Back to Black" product, and I am completely AMAZED! It took off the wax, and returned the fenders and black trim to a deep lustrous black. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!

Wax - Again, everybody has an opinion, so here's mine. Meguirs NXT wax. So far, it looks great, is easy to apply, and is pretty durable. I hear that Turtle wax is suppose to be the best, but I have not tried it, so I couldn't tell ya.

Some other helpful items...
- 2" Wide masking tape ( makes waxing around the fenders less stressful.)
- RainX for the windows (and the wraparound glass on the backside) - you don't need wipers! Almost...
- Meguirs Leather wipes if you have leather - they condition and clean at the same time.

Hope this helps...
RM

[William Courant]

I second the Mc Guires NXT recommendation I"ve used a lot of waxes over the years and NXT is by far the best as to ease of application, removal, durability And the shine and depth of color is tops!

[obehave]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trophy160

Hi,


Don't get a sponge these are really bad when looking after your paintwork.
Get a sheepskin wash mitt it loads better.

Always use the two bucket method when washing the car.
1 bucket with water and car wash liquid and 1 bucket with clean water.
Take the mitt and use with the car wash liquid bucket and then rinse the mitt
in the clean water before returning to the soapy bucket and back on to the car.
ie Soapy Water->Car->Clean Water->Soapy Water repeat.

Other things are down to personal preference and opinion as posted earlier
if you realy wan to get into things have a look at autopia.org.


Have Fun

Paul;

RallyMINI and I both meant chenille sponges not cellulose sponges.
Don't dismiss all sponges since natural sponges are acceptable to most finicky detailers.

[MINI_Mol]

I REALLY do appreciate all your input on this.

I understand the Zaino products are very popular, but they do confuse me a little. I need simple at this point in my learning to care for my new MINI. I think I will go with "Natural" instead of "Synthetic". I do like the high shine, but I think I prefer the "deepness" that is sounds like only carnuba can provide.

Questions:

I have a lot of old 100% cotton towels. If I have these, do I really need these mirofiber towels? Can I use the cotton towels for drying and buffing the wax? In this case, I would just need to get a washing mitt or sponge?

How is the Zymol wax? Would you recommend MINI "kit" they offer? or is there a really good carnuba wax that I may be able to find locally?

THANKS!

[obehave]

Quote: Originally Posted by fiasco

I REALLY do appreciate all your input on this.

I understand the Zaino products are very popular, but they do confuse me a little. I need simple at this point in my learning to care for my new MINI. I think I will go with "Natural" instead of "Synthetic". I do like the high shine, but I think I prefer the "deepness" that is sounds like only carnuba can provide.

Questions:

I have a lot of old 100% cotton towels. If I have these, do I really need these mirofiber towels? Can I use the cotton towels for drying and buffing the wax? In this case, I would just need to get a washing mitt or sponge?

How is the Zymol wax? Would you recommend MINI "kit" they offer? or is there a really good carnuba wax that I may be able to find locally?

THANKS!

If they're clean and werren't used for harsh chemicals they will be OK. If you used fabric softener on them then you want to bleach them at least one wash before use and don't use the softener.

I don't use microfiber on my paint at all. I use them for detailing and windows.
The small washcloth size are great for windows. I only use cotton on my paint.

Zymöl is good. I use it on my Minivan but it doesn't last or protect as well as a synthetic like Liquid Glass, Zaino or Autoglym.
That holds true for any carnauba. It shines better but doesn't last as well.
Mothers is a good carnauba wax.

[MINI_Mol]

Hi everybody, Well, I picked up my new MINI on Thursday and gave him his first washing today (it has rained for days and the MINI had to drive 230
miles to get home, so he needed and good bath.)

My first cleaning "Kit" included the following (no wax yet, just cleaning supplies):

Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash
Eagle One Allwheel & Tire Cleaner
Black Magic Pro Shire Protectant - recommended by the guy at AutoZone; they didn't have the 303 stuff
Rain*X
Glass Cleaner (generic)
Mother's Black-to-Black
The Absorber
Mircofiber towels from Target
100% cotton towels - nice and fluffy, variety of sizes I found at the back of the closet.
100% cotton towels - small, cheap, I had a bunch in the barn from drying off baby goats (but now use bounty paper towels)
Chenille wash mitt from AutoZone
two 4 gallon buckets

Things I learned and more questions.....

The Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash worked well, though I have nothing to compare it to, I was happy with it.

The Eagle One Allwheel & Tire Cleaner worked well. I cleaned the wheels & tires first, using this and a cheap cotton towel, then hosed off. It worked well

I used a chenille mitt worked real well. I will stick with this. I used the two bucket method. I made up 2 gallons of wash water and had 3 gallons of rise water, which I changes once mid wash. It works great, I wouldn't do it any other way. When I emptied the buckets out after washing, there was grit in the bottom of the rise bucket, but NONE in the bottom of the wash bucket.

Black Magic Pro Shire Protectant works well. I used it on the tires and black outside trim. The black outside trim looks much better than when I picked up my MINI. I did not do any inside detailing at this point, except cleaning the windows. I couldn't get the 303, but think I will order it and will wait to do inside detailing until I get it since everyone seems to think the 303 is the best stuff to use.

Rain*X made the windows looks great. It takes a bit of work buffing it off, but I think it was worth it. (buffed with cotton wash cloth)

Mother's Black-to-Black: I got this because it was recommended, but ended up not using it during this washing session.

"Vroom" microfiber towels from Target suck. I thought you weren't supposed to have lint with microfiber? Well, I bagged these towels real quick. I like the 100% cotton towels much better, but they left a bit of lint as well (though they were better than the Target towels). I don't want to deal with lint so I need suggestions on very good quality microfiber. I was thinking about getting the Sonus Complete Detailing Towel Kit from Autopia Car Care, though I think it may have more than I need. I like the idea of a "kit" because there are so many different kinds of MF towels and I get confused what I need to get singlely. What do you think? Any other recommendations?

The Absorber... very odd "towel" . I am not totally sure how I feel about it. I didn't like it at first, but kept trying to use it and got better at it. I'm not totally sure if I like it or not. I ended up finishing drying with my cotton towels.

After one washing I have a better idea of what I am doing.
So far all the products except the Target towels I like. What I learned: if you want to buy locally, go to AutoZone and not to Target or Wal-Mart. I think I will order harder to find products on-line instead of "making due" with what I can find locally (but I wanted to wash my car yesterday, so I didn't want to wait to order).

I am still trying to decide on a wax.

question: After my MINI was nice and clean to took him out for a spin up and down the mountain. Now there are dead bugs all over his nice clean front. Is there any type of product that is spray on, wipe off, that I can use for quick cleanups like this as opposed to having to wait and wash the whole car?

[liz_huss]

Hi,

Has anyone ever used Back to Black on the interior of their car?

I had my car valeted and they left white smeary marks on the black interior on the doors so my partner has just cleaned it and used back to black on the inside.

I am really worried that this shouldn't be used on the interior and is completly the wrong thing to use.

Please someone put my mind at rest and tell me that it won't do any long term harm.

Liz

MOC owner

[Exlotusboy]

Your "kit" sounds fine. As you're discovering, unless trying new detailing products is your hobby, stick with the tried-and-true cleaning products. Others may disagree, but the newer product isn't always better.

A high-quality CAR soap is fine - use a brand you know and trust. It doesn't need to cost a ton, nor does it have to be hard to find. Your wheel/tire cleaner is fine (I've used it); again it's effective/easy to find/reasonably priced. If you want to try other wheel cleaners, just be sure they are gentle (I assume you're not going to let your wheels get too dirty anyways...)

As you've probably gathered, I agree with your impressions of The Absorber as well as the microfiber cloths. There will be adamant supporters of these products, and they do work... but if you don't like something, just dump it and find what you're comfortable using. Nice, clean 100% cotton terry towels always work, are easy to clean, don't cost a fortune, and can be easily replaced.

Approach waxes as you would anything else -- I look at 'em the same way as I've mentioned above. You can always spend a ton of money and buy from boutique sellers, but a good quality wax is not hard to come by.

Sorry -- I'll shut up now. I just love detailing. Let me know if you want me to drone on...

[Exlotusboy]

Sorry, I just noticed your bug question.

There are lots of bug & tar removers. Auto Zone will have several to choose from -- I prefer Meguiar's products, but most any will do. Be advised that such products can strip wax, so you may want to re-apply in these areas if you feel the need. There are specialty sources that sell "Bug Pam" that supposedly makes it easier to remove this kind of gunk. Not sure about their effectivness.

Don't bear down on the paint when removing bugs. Let the solvents in the bug cleaner do the work - this will minimize the chance of scratches.

[MINI_Mol]

Whoops....

I am not sure if it was such a good idea to put my nice new chenille wash mitt in the drier.
It's a bit smaller now. How many of you put yours in the drier?

[obehave]

Quote: Originally Posted by fiasco

Whoops....

I am not sure if it was such a good idea to put my nice new chenille wash mitt in the drier.
It's a bit smaller now. How many of you put yours in the drier?

My wife has done it


No harm really