Just wondering if anyone out there has any cleaning tips or secrets to make you car look that much better..

I've heard of waxing your wheels after cleaning them, and a few other things.
Recently I used some tire shine on my headlight inlets because they seemed to be slightly faded.. I also sprayed some on my grille. So far I'm satisfied with the results, it looks a lot better than it did before IMO.

Anyone have anything else that isnt obvious?

when you clean your car, scrub your car moving from east to west, not north to south, also when you wax, try doing what i do........... once again move from east to west NO CIRCLES!!! take the wax (paste) put some in your hands, and get it nice and warm then apply with your hands flat going against your panels. that should give you better results. just keep in mind not to do it in direct sunlight, unless you using that ICE stuff, i use it in the direct light with no problems.

yo bill, i use a meguires cleaner wax on my rims( same ones as you) well, u see the results....

I wash and wax my car at night..No sun to dry to fast and no kids to piss me off. There is this product out there called "Bar Keepers Friend"it takes off rust and is great for your windshield.Its a powder that wont scratch yourglass, it cleans all the crapout of the pits in your windshield.
Here is another one.Use two buckets and two sponges. Both containing the same cleaner, but one for thecar from thebotom of the car to half way up the door/fenders. The botom half of the car contains most grease, dirt, crap that will scratch your paint if caught in your sponge. Then use a differnt sponge from the roof down to middle of the car.
Heres another one. I drive my car up on 2x6 blocks (all 4 tires) so that when you clean your tires and apply the shine to them, you get the bottom of the tire.

And ALWAYSWASH YOUR WHEELS AND TIRES FIRST....because if you are using any chemicals on them that splash on your paint, when you do wash the car, you wash any harsh chemicals off that will damage your finish.

ORIGINAL: bill12690
I've heard of waxing your wheels after cleaning them, and a few other things.
Recently I used some tire shine on my headlight inlets because they seemed to be slightly faded.. I also sprayed some on my grille. So far I'm satisfied with the results, it looks a lot better than it did before IMO.
you should keep away from the tireshine on body parts. most of the time it is too tacky and a lot of stuff will stick to it and also when it rains, it can run down your paint.

there are now specific products on the market just for that application and they are widely available wherever cleaning supplies are sold

mothers metal polish for exhaust tips, rims, grilles i dont know what else it could be used for but it give a beautiful shine.

for those black body parts, mothers makes a product called back to black. apply is same as you would wax. let it haze up and wipe off. I used it on my louvers and the front grille. made them look like new.

as for the waxing. its like anything, the more time you spend on it, the better it comes out. BE PATIENT.

interior. id stay away from armour all at all costs. sure, it looks shiney and all. But that stuff dries out your interior and WILL cause cracks. dust and leave it at that IMO. maybe some kind of cleaner, and im sure there is a conditioner out there that is better than amour all, i just dont know what it is

I like using Lexol for my interior. It's so good I even use it on my hand bags :)

ORIGINAL: 350rs

for those black body parts, mothers makes a product called back to black. apply is same as you would wax. let it haze up and wipe off. I used it on my louvers and the front grille. made them look like new.



Back to black is the best. I use it on all plastic and exterior trim pieces. Last time I claybarred my car I washed it with dish suds to take off the old wax. Then I claybarred it and used Nu Finish Scratch Doctor, then sealed it with Nu Finish. Looks great. I use wax on chrome wheels, not necessarily mine all the time. For the interior I use Armor All, but it is a cleaner/protector, and has a "natural new car look." Long term I'm not too sure. I've been using it for about 2 months though and haven't had any problems. I also saw this one thing on TV today. One of those infomecrials it was called something like Auto Scratch Remover. It came with some paste thing and an automatic hand held applicator. Don't know how good it is, but it looked cool and was only $19.95!!! :D

yeah, i've used back to black (i should actually find mine, i seemed to have lost it) The tire shine gives it a nice shine and brings back some of the black, but later I washed it off anyway. I use too much on the tires to use it on the headlights anyway. But, i've got the famous LT1 front bumper paint problems.. lol

you wanna talk about paint problems? my car is loaded with them! lol

does anyone else have a problem with their front rims getting like black stuff all over them? i have to scrub mine everyweek or their filthy

local://upfiles/10227/A1F083990B144513B39489E85AAFBA88.jpg

you and every single car in the world that has front disc brakes..

its brake dust. be sure to get it off before it sits to long or it WILL pit your wheels making them impossible to clean untill they are machined smooth again, and thats not cheap

well good thing you told me and now im off to go clean em

dont get me wrong, it could be on there awhile without causeing visable damage. but leave it on to long, and they are scrap untill machined. it breaks my heart to see some wheels (BMW's are the worst by far) covered so much they are completly black. cause i know that chances are... they are done for

ORIGINAL: bonedeth631

does anyone else have a problem with their front rims getting like black stuff all over them? i have to scrub mine everyweek or their filthy

local://upfiles/10227/A1F083990B144513B39489E85AAFBA88.jpg


If you buy carbon or ceramic metallic or semi metallic brake pads, the dust will be virtually gone. I had white salad shooters on my old LT1 and this was a nasty problem. Changed the brake pads......and it was a problem no more. Plus performance wise the Metallics or Semi-metallics are better anyway. Check Ebay they are not that costly.

For stubborn BUG spots that even stay stuck and seem that are now part of your paint even after you are done washing, there are a few steps I do:

First I ordered this:
http://www.topoftheline.com/bugtarsponge1.html

Then I bought turtle wax bug and tar remover. Sold at any auto store or Walmart:
http://www.turtlewax.com/main.taf?p=2,1,4,11 I got the black spray bottle.

*Follow the instructions on the sponge, cut it into 6 pieces so it lasts a while.
*Soak a piece of sponge for 15 mins in warm water along with a terry towel.
*After, grab the towel and fully soak and wipe the area you are doing. Keep the area down to about the size of a basketball at a time.
*now use the sponge to wipe and scrub that same area.
*completely dry area and repeat again if you want
*After area is dry, spray the Bug remover and make sure you use your fingers to spread it around that area thoroughly. let stand for a minute
*wipe down the area with a dry soft lint free cloth like if you were waxing.....and watch it shine! the Bug remover waxes at the same time it removes!

I used to detail cars at a dealership for a couple years, so I will pass along a few easy tips that will save you time and effort. I saw that someone already mentioned that it is best to clean your wheels/tires before the rest of the car, and that is definitely a must. I always start out by cleaning the inside of the car first(vaccuming, shampoo carpets, clean dash, etc.). After you wash the car and shammy it dry, drive it for a 1/4 mile or so todry off the tires/wheels. This should make it a lot easier to apply a tire shine. On that note, I would reccomend using a sponge to apply your tire dressing rather than spraying it directly on the tire. This should greatly reduce the amount of shine that splatters on your wheel-well and/or paint. Another thing that a lot of people don't do when cleaning their cars is cleaning the door jams(including the trunk). There's nothing worse than opening up a perfectly clean car and seeing a door jam that hasn't been cleaned since the car was originally purchased. I reccomend an older shammy to do this because theypick updirt and grease well,anddon't leave a streak likea rag or towel will. Obviously you never want to use this shammy on your paint again! Make sure you clean the door jams on boththe body and the actual door. The last bit of advice that I can think of is to clean your windows last. Many interior cleaning products and tire dressings can easily be blown onto your windows with the slightest gust of wind.