How clean is your stang??

So I am curious what you guys are all using out there to clean your pony... Inside and out....

I own a Black stang - and its a nightmare to keep the exterior clean while it is a daily driver. I plan on getting a full detail in the spring and will wax it afterward to keep the shine (I have quite a few swirel marks)

Soaps?
Sponges?
Drying Clothes (Having a hard time to find one that makes my car water spot free)
Interior Cleaner?
Tire Shining Spray?

You guys get the drill! Post away!

Exterior:

I use meguiars gold car wash with a wash mit thing. Sponge will leave swirls.

On the tires, I use MoreShine by Stoner. By far works the best for me. I don't like a super glossy finish.

Wheels I use a spray bottle with water and a soft cloth.

Haven't really used anything on the interior yet, just a wet cloth to wipe down the dusty spots. I have used the armorall interior cleaner with oxiclean and it works real good for dirty floormats.

Exterior: that's why I got Satin Silver.

Try Zaino brothers

I use Meguiars Gold to wash, and I use their wax as well. In between full waxes, I use Eagle One Wax-As-U-Dry. It does a good job, and makes it much easier to dry the car in my opinion. I tend to use all the Armorall products on the interior.

Armor All soap, fixin to try the Ice soap.
Ice synthetic polish (roughly every two weeks)

Wash: Poor Boys Super Slick Suds & DP Extreme Foam Gun Wash
(use foam gun first, use two bucket method with grit guards, and use wool mits)
Wax: Its not wax, its better (I think) Ultima PGP
Trim & Wheels: Ultima T&TGP, & Black Wow for the front grille
Glass: Stoner's Invisible Glass
Quick Detail Spray: Ultima Detail Spray
Dual Action Machine: Ulitmate Detailing Machine w/ Optimum polishes
Clay: Sonus green clay
I am still learning how to used the UDM on my wife's old car, and I haven't kept my ride that clean this winter (it is the rainy season in Seattle, its hard to find a good and warm day to wash it)

if your looking for a towel that leaves no water spots and can do your whole car with it, you've got to check out the Cobra Guzzler waffle weave towel. you can get them on autogeek.com they are incredible, as for wax i would go with Poorboy's Natty's Blue. it prob the best you can get for under around $20 and look great on black also can get it on autogeek.com

Capt. Simiain i can tell you are very fond of autogeek as well (judging by your suggestions) haha

If you want an absolutely true waterspot free dry, use an electric blower that is rated for 200+mph. It is honestly the way to dry your car, period. Once you try it you will always wonder why you took so long to dry with towels.

For removing dust--KozaK cloth.

For spray detailing--Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 135 Professional Synthetic Spray Detailer and Meguiar's M9910 Ultimate Wipe microfiber cloth. I like this better than the other Meguiar's cloths. As of the last time I spoke with Meguiar's, the M9910 was on back order. If you find one in a store, make sure it is "edgeless." This same product number was used for an earlier cloth that has a black border. The latest version is much better.

For waxing--Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax. I use the paste. It is also available in liquid. I tend to get liquid all over myself. I apply the wax with a Meguiar's Even Coat Microfiber Applicator Pad. I remove the excess wax with an M9910 cloth.

For claying--Griot's Garage Paint Cleaning Clay. I use either Griot's Garage Speed Shine or Meguiar's Quik Detailer as the lubricant. I remove the excess with a microfiber cloth. Note: Do not use the Meguiar's 135 as a lubricant for the clay. Meguiar's says that this has too much lubricity for use with clay, and can keep the clay from doing its job properly.

For interior--Griot's Garage Leather Care for the leather and a damp towel for the vinyl.

For windows--I'm not pleased with my window cleaning. Part of the problem is that I can not see any streaks that I might have left because of lack of good lighting in my garage. I use a professional type 12" squeegee on the outside, and wipe off the streaks that I do see with a microfiber cloth or lint free towel. I often use Griot's Garage Window Cleaner, which I like a bit better than Stoner Invisible Glass, but it's pretty much a tossup. For the inside, I don't use the squeegee and just use a microfiber cloth or lint free towel with the cleaner. For the interior of the backlight, I use one of those triangular shaped tools with a microfiber bonnet with the cleaner. The tool makes it somewhat more convenient to reach the window.

For wheels--Just a spray bottle of distilled water and a cloth, with an occasional wax job. My wheels are painted, with clear coat.

For tires--The latest product I used was Armor All Original. I have used products specifically designed for tires, but found that the excess tended to get thrown off the tires and onto the paint when I drove. Since my car is white, that doesn't look good. I'm still looking for a product that I like a lot.

I do not have a power buffer.

I have not felt the need to use any polish or cleaner/wax on my Mustang yet. On previous cars, I had excellent results with Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 7 Professional ShowCar Glaze if I wanted a non-abrasive polish. For a slightly abrasive polish, I used Griot's Garage Fine Hand Polish. I don't rate this as great, but I haven't found anything I really like. If you want to use a cleaner/wax, I recommend Meguiar's Gold Class Wax. It is available in liquid and paste. I used the liquid, even though I made a mess, because it is supposedly better. I read that Meguiar's Cleaner Wax can cause hazing, particularly on dark colors.

I can't help you with washing suggestions. I've had my car for a year and a half and it has never been washed. I don't have the facilities at home for washing it, and I'm not going to take it to a commercial car wash.

At least insofar as hand cleaning goes, foam pads are OUT for pure waxing of the painted surfaces of the body. Foam pads are good for applying a slightly abrasive product. Terry cloth towels are OUT for use on the painted surfaces of the body. They can be used on the wheels and for wiping down the interior. Microfiber is IN.

If you want to try any of these products on my car before you use them on yours, please let me know. lol

Let's discuss those swirl marks. There are two basic ways to deal with swirl marks. Which way to go depends on the thickness of your paint and the depth of the swirl marks. You need competent evaluation of the paint.

One method gets rid of the swirl marks permanently. That is to say, it removes the swirl marks you have now--you could still get additional swirl marks later. This involves removing a very thin layer of the clear coat so that the level of the rest of the clear coat is at the same level as the swirl marks.

The second method fills the swirl marks with polish or wax. This looks fine for a short period of time, but as soon as the filler washes away, you are back where you started.

Actually, there is a third way to deal with swirl marks. Just live with them.

Swirl marks are my pet peeve. Hate 'em. I had my car perma-plated when I bought it. Its holding up really well and shines as of new. Let's say you have your car carefullybuffed. I would suggest such a process although I'm not sure what is involved.

I dry my car with bath towels. Throw the towel flat on the flat surfaces such as the hood and gently pull. Ball up the bath towel and gently pad the sides dry.

To avoid more swirl marks, wash or rinse often. If there is lots of accumulated dirt on the car, the bigger the chance of digging this dirt into the paint. If I notice a film of dust on the hood, the car gets a pressure rinse with the garden hose. Dry on freeway till the next complete wash.

Before dressing tires, I get a stiff brush and soap to take off the brake dust. Then I'll apply the tire dressing. (I don't know what brand I'm using - doesn't seem to make a big difference to me.) Between tire dressings, the stiff brush and soap procedure still looks acceptable for me.

What about the engine bay? I haven't cleaned mine since owning the car and it looks horrible. What's the best way to do it without knocking something loose?

Is this what you do? Link !

I use meguiars inside and out. I wouldn't suggest armorall, heard bad things about it like it causes cracking ext. To wash I use the Mr. Clean car wash deal with a microfiber mitt, the filtered water helps a lot with drying. I use a large microfiber towel to dry. Wheels I use soap and a sponge.
Dan

I use just plain ol dish washing soap and a wash mit on the exterior and wheels...never really liked anything else...inside i use maguires leather cleaner and use the leather wipes for the dash, doors, etc....tires just plain armorall

I dont use armorall on the tires... cracks the tires over time...

zaino bros ftw

Ive always had people tell me armorall is bad for my tires, even had 1 shop tell it would void my road hazard warranty but Ive been doing it for over 8 years and never had a problem. I got a set of bfgs on my truck that have about 60k miles on them and have used armorall on them from day 1 and they dont have any cracks watsoever....

It's nice to read something from someone who has actually used Armor All over a rather long period of time and has had good results. I'm amazed by the number of myths and misconceptions floating around about Armor All. There is a myth that surfaces from time to time that Armor All Original contains petroleum distillates; it does NOT. Some say they have had bad results using Armor All Original on leather; neither the Armor All Web site nor the container says that you should use it on leather. Armor All has other products designed for leather. If you have had bad results using Armor All Original on leather, that's because you ignored the usage information from the manufacturer.