My Road Trip Car Cleaning Kit!

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Hey all, I'm leaving on a journey tomorrow from hot and humid New York to hotter and humider Florida. After almost 1100 miles, the car is sure to need a little love once we get to Daytona so I made a kit of all my favorite stuff that should be able to take care of any car cleaning and detailing need.

First off is my carrying device, the venerable 5 gallon bucket with a gamma seal lid. This will also be my rinse less wash bucket for the trip:

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I'm going to fill it with my favorites. First up in Blackfire Rinseless Wash and a premixed spray bottle of Blackfire Waterless Wash:

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Both of these products should allow me a complete exterior wash included wheels / tires / doorjambs. The waterless wash should work well for loosening up any bug guts we collect along the journey. I can also use it to wipe down anything in the interior should a mess occur.

I may throw a small 1:1 bottle of McKees bug and tar remover in there, might not just to save space.

Next up we have Meguiars D120 glass cleaner:

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This is my favorite glass cleaner for inside and out. I'll pair it with a couple of purple waffle weave glass towels.

Blackfire Midnight Sun Carnauba Spray Wax:

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I've been using this every wash as a drying aid. Since I got my new (used) Durango I have not had a chance to do a proper decon / polish / seal on it and this is doing a great job filling the protection void. It smells great, is easy to use and provides a nice shine. I like to dry a majority of the water or rinse less solution from my paint with a damp microfiber, then spray this on and use a clean dry towel to spread and buff it off.

Next is Poorboys World Bold N' Bright tire gel:

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I put some in a squeeze bottle for easy transport. This stuff works great on tires that are not 100% clean because it has some cleaning agents in it. This is great for rinse less washing because I usually can't get tires fully cleaned without high strength cleaner and running water. The gel dries to the touch, does not sling and has good durability and it smells like delicious coconut, I bring an applicator in a zip loc baggie too.

6 Shine n' Buff Waterless wash towels:

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I'll put these inside of a plastic grocery bag and put them in the bucket. I use the Garry Dean wash method with these with great results. It helps that I have access to laundry where I'm going so I can get these clean and ready for the next wash. I love these for rinse less washing because they hold a lot of solution and have a ton of nap to pick up the dirt so you don't rub it all over the paint.

Everything fits in the bucket nicely:

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I usually keep the glass cleaner in a trunk bag with Midnight Sun instant detailer and some microfibers, and I couldn't fit all of this into just one bucket (even though that was my goal) so I'll just keep it like that:

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All packed up and ready to go:

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I also throw in some "degraded" microfibers for wheels/tires/jambs.


Please let me know if you have any suggestions on making this kit any better.
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[WaxMaster1]

Looks like a good travel kit. One piece of advice........stay in NY. It is miserable down here right now with the heat.

[ducksfan]

Ha. Different priorities for different people.

I would never take the time to work on my tires while on vacation. And, a separate glass cleaner? I've taken it and never used it.

What works for me is:
Rinseless wash concentrate and a gallon container to mix it in. A hand pump sprayer to apply it with.
A spray wax (or BSD)
A bug cleaner and Sonax bug sponge.
Tarminator
Poorboys Natural Look Dressing and a application sponge for the interior.
Microfibers (enough for how long I'll be gone)

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Ha. Different priorities for different people.

I would never take the time to work on my tires while on vacation. And, a separate glass cleaner? I've taken it and never used it.

What works for me is:
Rinseless wash concentrate and a gallon container to mix it in. A hand pump sprayer to apply it with.
A spray wax (or BSD)
A bug cleaner and Sonax bug sponge.
Tarminator
Poorboys Natural Look Dressing and a application sponge for the interior.
Microfibers (enough for how long I'll be gone)

That's a good point about the glass cleaner, the rinsleless could easily handle that job and save me some bucket space.

[ducksfan]

That's a good point about the glass cleaner, the rinsleless could easily handle that job and save me some bucket space.

Yeah. You can also use the rinseless to wipe down the interior. I bring the Poorboys. But, it's probably the least used of what I bring.

Number 1 priority for me are the bugs. I've had too much damage in the past from letting them sit. The Tarminator is for pitch. We tend to end up near conifers a lot. These both strip. So, that's why I bring the spray wax.