New to the Community

[delta one]

Hey Guys,

I'm new here. To be honest, new to taking care of my car the right way. Until now I've had used cars, throughout college I never really knew how to take care of them properly. I would go to local car-washes and clean my car, then after I got an SUV and a lot less free time I would run it through laser-washes. I noticed I hadn't been taking the best care of my last car when I saw swirls in the paint.

Recently I got a new Honda Pilot. My beautiful wife was generous enough to get me a membership at our local WashTub. Well, the membership ran out. Now I'm going to start maintaining my car the right way, but I have no idea where to start. Looking around online, everyone claims to have the best product. I don't want to get suckered, so I looked until I found this place.

Along with that, I realized I don't even know the best way to clean an SUV like the Honda Pilot. I will need something to reach the top to scrub it well, but I don't know what is good for the paint and what is bad for it. I see a bunch of "flow-thru" brushes on extension poles, but don't know how to choose one (or if I'm not even supposed to be using it).

Basically, the last time I washed my car by hand regularly it was a 93 Honda Accord that I could reach over the top of it no problem without having to stretch. When it comes to good car-care I'm uneducated and inexperienced. I'm just admitting it. But now I need help. Any pushes in the right direction are greatly appreciated.

I'm looking to buy a few things soon, but I have a toddler and not a lot of money to spend, so I'm not looking to get top of the line. At least not all at once. I want to get a bunch of essentials so that I can maintain properly, and then collect the high-quality stuff later. If anyone wants to link me to some good affordable products and/or threads that can guide me I would be extremely grateful!

Here is the new car

[jamesboyy]

Welcome to autogeek to reach the roof area you will want a boars hair brush its safe on the paint just soak it in warm water for 30 mins before useing though..happy detailing

[trekkeruss]

Welcome to AGO.

Here is the basic info you need: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-phillips.html

While everyone has their own favorites, great results can be had many different ways, even with over-the-counter products you find at big box stores. So you can definitely keep your Pilot looking great without spending a ton of money. It's only when you become obsessed with detailing that you start spending more and more money because you always want to try the next-best-thing. LOL.

I'd say the basics you need are:

Two buckets w/ grit guards
Two or three wash mitts
Shampoo
Waterless wash solution
Wheel and tire cleaner
Wheel brushes
Iron-X
Clay or clay substitute
Polish and wax, or all-in-one product
Glass cleaner
Tire dressing
Vacuum
Interior/exterior cleaner/dressing for plastics and vinyls
Cleaner/conditioner if there is leather seating
Foam applicators for dressings, polishes, and waxes
A few different types of microfiber towels for drying, polishing, glass, etc.
A folding platform (for reaching the top of the SUV)

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Hi, welcome to AutoGeekOnline.

[EVOlved]

Welcome, to the forum, and the addiction.

[Pats300zx]

Welcome to AGO !!

[delta one]

Wow you guys are quick with the advice! All day long I had been wanting to check in on this but today was crazy at work!

Also, a heads up, I commute about 70 miles a day (35 each way), so bugs are another issue I need to battle. And do any of you guys also recommend something to prevent getting chips on my front end?

I'm not interested in a bra, but I've seen some clear sort of decals I think? Do those work well? If so do any of you recommend any particular brands?

Welcome to autogeek to reach the roof area you will want a boars hair brush its safe on the paint just soak it in warm water for 30 mins before useing though..happy detailing

Thanks! I think that was one of the first things I noticed when I looked at the store here. I will have to invest in one of those!

Welcome to AGO.

Here is the basic info you need: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-phillips.html

While everyone has their own favorites, great results can be had many different ways, even with over-the-counter products you find at big box stores. So you can definitely keep your Pilot looking great without spending a ton of money. It's only when you become obsessed with detailing that you start spending more and more money because you always want to try the next-best-thing. LOL.

I'd say the basics you need are:

Two buckets w/ grit guards
Two or three wash mitts
Shampoo
Waterless wash solution
Wheel and tire cleaner
Wheel brushes
Iron-X
Clay or clay substitute
Polish and wax, or all-in-one product
Glass cleaner
Tire dressing
Vacuum
Interior/exterior cleaner/dressing for plastics and vinyls
Cleaner/conditioner if there is leather seating
Foam applicators for dressings, polishes, and waxes
A few different types of microfiber towels for drying, polishing, glass, etc.
A folding platform (for reaching the top of the SUV)

That is a lot of good advice! Do you recommend any particular brands on some of these? Like I feel I'd probably sound a bit amateur telling you I have ArmorAll and Invisible Glass as my "go-to" products in my garage. Also I've been thinking about getting a shop-vac to use for my car, but when you say vacuum are you talking about one of those small ones to keep in my car that plugs into a cigarette lighter?

I'd really like to hear what your favorite brands are for some of these products, especially things like the towels and other products that I might not consider I've bought a terrible but popular brand of.

Thanks again, you guys! This place is pretty awesome! I'm gonna go through some of the links and "how-to's" here for a while, so I'll be on for a couple more hours.

[cshamilton]

This is the Gorilla/Werner platform. This is your new best friend. You really get much more use out of this than a boars hair brush, in my opinion. Sure, you can wash the top of an SUV with a boars hair brush, but can you clay, compound, polish, seal, wax, etc. the roof with a boars hair brush? You can with (among other things) the platform.

Plus I use it around the house for tons of things.

Home Depot had it for $17 on Black friday, but I think they're like 30-100 depending on the brand and features, etc that you choose.

[cshamilton]

Wow you guys are quick with the advice! All day long I had been wanting to check in on this but today was crazy at work!

Also, a heads up, I commute about 70 miles a day (35 each way), so bugs are another issue I need to battle. And do any of you guys also recommend something to prevent getting chips on my front end?

I'm not interested in a bra, but I've seen some clear sort of decals I think? Do those work well? If so do any of you recommend any particular brands?



Thanks! I think that was one of the first things I noticed when I looked at the store here. I will have to invest in one of those!



That is a lot of good advice! Do you recommend any particular brands on some of these? Like I feel I'd probably sound a bit amateur telling you I have ArmorAll and Invisible Glass as my "go-to" products in my garage. Also I've been thinking about getting a shop-vac to use for my car, but when you say vacuum are you talking about one of those small ones to keep in my car that plugs into a cigarette lighter?

I'd really like to hear what your favorite brands are for some of these products, especially things like the towels and other products that I might not consider I've bought a terrible but popular brand of.

Thanks again, you guys! This place is pretty awesome! I'm gonna go through some of the links and "how-to's" here for a while, so I'll be on for a couple more hours.

Invisible Glass is fine for cleaning glass in my opinion, but I wanted to comment on the vacuum. Shop vac is what you're looking for.

When I first started, I tried to go cheap on some stuff. So, I got a cheap vacuum. ($29 shop vac at lowes) and then ended up getting the larger 5 or 6 HP rigid later. That happened on a few purchases, and that renders the first "cheaper" item useless, and thus more expensive!

[delta one]

When I first started, I tried to go cheap on some stuff. So, I got a cheap vacuum. ($29 shop vac at lowes) and then ended up getting the larger 5 or 6 HP rigid later. That happened on a few purchases, and that renders the first "cheaper" item useless, and thus more expensive!

Thanks for both of those replies! I hadn't thought at all about that type of ladder, but I'm all over it now! Hopefully I find a good deal and don't have to wait until Black Friday! I also think I'm in agreement about the shop-vac. I don't want to spend a ton of money, but I don't want trying to save money turning into spending a ton of money either! So I'll make sure to try to invest properly.

This one is listed as a top seller on Amazon, what are your thoughts on this one?
Vacmaster VBV1210 Detachable Blower Wet/Dry Vacuum, 12 Gallon, 5 Peak HP - Shop Wet Dry Vacuums - Amazon.com