New car - need new car cleaning tools

[dbizzle22]

I've been a drive through car washer for awhile now but have now bought a new 2012 GTI that I want to take care of. The car had been sitting outside with the dealer for a year so I can feel some roughness in the paint. I will Iron X and Clay it for sure.

It'll be parked outside 50/50 as I share garage spaces currently. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area so no snow to deal with. At worst some rain, sun, and maybe some ocean breezes now and then.

I had bought a Zaino kit ( AIO All in One cleaner/polish/protectant and Z5 swirl remover ) to use on my previous car but ended up trading it in for this new one. Is that good enough since my car is new? I'm open to any brands and systems as I can always use the Zaino on my Mom's car if anything.

Also, I'm looking into using a machine to help out so if I were to buy the Griots 6in random orbital what pads would I need to buy along with it?


I tried reading around but honestly I'm at work and the amount of threads and products is mind boggling! :) Appreciate the replies!

[Jim B]

Hi, I bought a 2012 Volvo and after reading countless good ideas, chose the following products, virtually all from AG. There's many good products & approaches. As for me, who works 50+ hrs/wk, I wanted preservation of the new paint look more than the best deepest wax shine. I keep my car for 10 - 15 years. In other words, a great shine was enough; I just don't have the time for a showcar look.

To Wash car exc wheels-- Optimum No Rinse. I use ONR for windows & interior chrome, too!
Dual bucket system w/ gritguard in rinse bucket, and w/wheels (great for sitting on for lower car detailing).
Micro-chanel wash mitt (I rinse section with hose first, then wipe with mitt w lots of water)
Microfiber (MF) weave cloth from Adams Polishing (to wipe off excess water and to scrub spots). maybe overkill, but it comes out great!
Very large MF weave drying towel (28 x 44) -- dry by section.
Medium microweave drying towel (20 x 40) -- one towel is not enough for one car; and to avoid contaminating the upper parts of the car, I use this smaller towel around the bottom of the car and to dry windows -- but not to dry wheels.
Takes me about 90 min to wash the car.

Wheel care -- find out if they are clear coat wheels.
P21S wheel gel to clean wheels. I like that P21S is supposedly safe for all types of wheels, clear or nonclear.
Woolie brush set WBMF-CKIT to clean wheels -can reach far in!
3 Modest priced MF--to dry wheels. Use one color set to keep separate from other towels. brake dust is the worst for paint and wheels. wash these towels often!
Lugnut brush (B-15W)
Takes about 30 - 60 min to do the wheel depending on how far back I'm cleaning & how good a job I want to do.

My approach to perserve new car paint - keep in mind I chose relatively mild products because my paint was in good shape. Also, I went with the "I can always get more aggressive, but it can be hard to go milder after a product rips up the paint.
1. Washed car.
2. Clayed car - chose mild clay and sister product PIN-550-K. Should help with the roughness you feel.
3. Polish - Optimum's Finish Polish - chose because A) my paint was in very good shape, & this was one polish that said I could polish by hand. I ran out of $$ for an orbiter DA B) if you use this sister product, you don't need to mix and use an IPA solution per Optimum. I like to stay with the same product line if possible...figure the chemicals are made to work with each other.
3A. Polishing pal from Wolfgang - very comfortable for hand polishing, and white pad worked well on my paint job.
4. Groit's pre-wax cleaner to make sure no polish residue.
5. Optimum's Opticoat 2.0 (OC2) - my understanding is this is a more permanent coat than a sealer or wax, almost like a clear coat. search for OC 2.0 for threads to review, esp Raskeys and Old Tigers. I wanted that permanent coating on my paint job. APPLY THIN if you use it -- and invest in a small 3 - 4 oz spray bottle for each syringe of opticoat you use. I used up about 1/2 syringe when it gummed up and I pressed on the syringe -- out came about 1/2 syringe on my pad :( OC2 comes with a foam pad, I liked using MF pad better, although I think it uses more OC2. With MF I felt I created less high spots. I used 2 syringes on 1 car -- most people say they can do more than 1 car with one. I figured if my car could wear two syringes with no high spots, I wouldn't complain. btw, the disadvantage of OC2 is any wax or sealant you put on it won't last as long because OC2 stops it from bonding to the car.So you'll probably have to choose preservation or showcar looks. Although search for reload and pergamum over OC2, they might bond better on OC2.

I applied OC2 on my clear coat wheels, the plastic trim and the plastic headlights and tailights. OC2 says NOT to use on glass.

The helpful and knowledgable forum member Bobby G gave me this sage advice for my hand polishing...divide the car into sections, don't try to do the above all at once if by hand. That worked well, as I could finish each of 4 sections in about 8 hrs. I spent the most time polishing, because I knew anything I didn't get polishing would be "frozen" under the Opticoat 2.0 unless I repolished and re-applied.
PS - I'm starting to understand that Opticoat 2 is like another clear coat -- meaning it might get rough feeling when brake dust etc digs into it like it does clear coat. So, I'm prepared to do the above every 2 - 3 years.

Tires -- haven't decided this product yet. I am going to try the DP and Optium tire products. The tool someone said works best to apply on the tire is a short bristle paintbrush.

Paint enhancement -- I use Optimum's car wax over opticoat every 5 - 6 weeks. Literally takes less than an hour to apply -- Spray on, wipe until dry. Neither this or any other wax really bonds to opticoat, so it does not stay as long as if you applied the wax directly...but I wanted protection of the new paint and some convenience over working on the wax look constantly. The wax seems to give it a little more "deeper" look than Opticoat 2 alone, which is more shiny like a mirror. I use a thicker plush MF for applying the wax.

The proof that the paint job is good enough for me (v showcar) is people often compliment me on having the shiniest car in the lot!:dblthumb2:
Now that I have OC2 on the new car, getting that great car look is easy. I simply wash and spray wax the exterior weekly!

The boring stuff - get soap to clean MF towels. Get soap for any foam pads. I got DP products. Also, have another set of modest MF cloths. They come in handy in the middle of jobs when you need another towel to wipe something off, etc. Plus the "short nap" towels sometimes shed less lint than the plush ones do.

Hope this wasn't too long, and at least some of this helps. Whatever you do, take your time and enjoy your detailing!:cheers:

[dbizzle22]

Wow. That was a TON of info :) Thanks very much! Let me read and digest it and I'll come back with some further questions I'm sure.

One that comes to mind right off the bat. If I'm just going to do some hand polish/wax/etc will I need to tape off my trim? If so, what tape do I use?

[Jim B]

Hi, I didn't need to tape. Optimum products are generally safe on all but glass. Since I hand polished, coated and waxed, I could take my time around the glass. One of the benefits of hand work is no slinging from spinning wheels (which is why I wanted to get the car clayed, polished and coated quickly). remember to have fun!
Jim