What is the best way to maintain the car after a full detail job?

Derek Short

Derek Short

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After a full detail is done to help keep it looking top notch and keep those tiny scratches and swirls out and keep it looking top notch longer, what is the best way to keep it looking great?

I am asking for a few reasons...

I have a car that only gets driven on the weekends and sits in the garage with a car cover during the week. After I fully detail it what is the best way to keep it looking great! I was thinking about may using some quick detailer spray and a nice purple micro fiber cobra towel? Any other suggestions?


Also what about a daily driver car that sits outside?
Should i just wash it once a week and use a particular soap? and a nice micro fiber scrubber?

Any ideas, thoughts, and suggestions would be great!
Thanks!
 
Proper weekly washes and quick wax for the DD. And your plan for the garage queen should work great.

As long as you practice good wash technique you should be fine. Grit guards in both buckets, and a nice soft wash media.
 
AeroCleanse said:
Best advice, stop using the car cover
Click to expand...

:iagree: Ditch the cover, all it takes is a little bit of dust under the cover to cause marring.

To maintain a full detail, I would just use a weekly ONR wash and be done with it. Use quality towels that are perfectly clean with 2 bucket method and you'll be very happy.
 
Here's a few articles on keeping your car clean...



Spray Detailers

Tips & Techniques for using a Spray Detailer to Remove Light Dust, Fingerprints and Smudges



Car Washing

How to maintain a freshly waxed car

Scratch your car for $5.00

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

Washing Cars Inside of Your Garage

How dirty is too dirty to safely use a rinseless wash?

The difference between a Normal Car Wash, a Waterless Car Wash, a Rinseless Car Wash and a Spray Detailer



The big picture is everything that touches the paint needs to be of the highest quality you can obtain and then used with care. It won't help to have the best wash mitt or microfiber towel if you use it haphazzardly...

I touch on this in my book to on pages 12 and 13... probably other places too...

One of the curses of a flawless show car finish is trying to keep it that way. Tommy showed me a scratch he put in the hood of his Camaro by accident at the John Staluppi Car show I attended a few weeks ago. It was on the black stripe on the hood and stood out like a sore thumb.

Of course he knows how to machine buff paint now so he took it out using his new Flex 3401 but the point is he's very much aware of the condition of each square inch of paint on his car and understands to keep it the way it looks, winning prizes at car shows, he needs to be on top of his game all the time when it comes to maintaining the show car results.

1970 1/2 Camaro - Show Car Finish by Pinnacle - Modeled by Amy

1970Camaro061.jpg



He'll be here tomorrow with his car, I'll take a look and see how he's doing...


:)
 
I touch on this in my book to on pages 12 and 13... probably other places too...


Ordered the book yesterday! Can't wait to read it bc as a newb whose PC has been sitting in the box since summer, I have so many questions. This thread was one of them. I've been reading all the "how to" articles too.
 
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice!
I didn't realize that the car cover would really or could really actually mess up the paint.
I got the cover when i purchased the car.

Thanks mike ill have to look into that.
you got a link to where i can purchase your book?

I also saw some of the videos on the site that can be purchased that im assuming you give a full walk threw step by step on each thing. I tend to be a more of a visual and hands on kinda person vs a book person.
 
good washing techniques and, based on others' opinion, Master Blaster
 
JonMiles said:
:iagree: Ditch the cover, all it takes is a little bit of dust under the cover to cause marring.
Click to expand...


Before I put the car away for the week and cover it up I always use a spray detailer to clean it off so next week or when ever the next time i take it back out it will be ready to go.

Would i be OK if i were to get a nicer higher end car cover and make sure to keep detailing it before the cover goes on and it sit for the week or so...?

OR

Would i be better off just not using a car cover all together?
I have a 2 car garage and i am pretty active in the garage with working on stuff and i don't want to bump up against it or have it get dinged or something. I feel i have a little more peace of mine when the cover is on protecting the car. Do they make a nice car cover thats like super soft on the inside so it will help protect the car?
 
what i do for my dd(i try to keep it looking nice and clean) is every day or every other day use a waterless wash product,if i get lazy and wait 3 days or something i will do a rinseless wash then use some wipe on wipe off spray wax and keeps it looking freshly waxed and nice and slick on a constant basis.i agree with others ditch the cover, the dirt could be inside the cover itself, if you're washing the cover as much as your bed sheets it might be safe to use i just never trusted them unless car was outside. use a quick detailer for light dust, think being at a car show. waterless wash is better for say a days worth of normal driving (say 30-50 miles) rinseless wash is not for caked on mud but a weeks worth of normal dry driving i would say is fine depending on filth level though. a great product to have is optimum no rinse or some detailer's pro rinseless wash and gloss/waterless wash. both great products to keep your car looking awesome. but a quick wax once a week really keeps it looking good.a longer nap microfiber is best for waterless washes/quick detailers as the dirt will go into the fibers and keep away from paint.spray wax i prefer ag's new chinchilla microfiber towel thing is just awesome for some xmt spray wax!.i would get mike phillips book(i still need to get one) and read through the book, will give you some great info. same goes with reading the tips/techniques,hot topics, and how to sub-forums to gain some knowledge :)
 
For a car cover, this is something I did/do.

Picked up a few 'flannel sheets' from the local thrift store, stitched them together to just make a 'bigger sheet'. I just lay it over the trucks horizontal surfaces (hood, cab, etc). I use some small (kinda weak) magnets that hold it down.

Disclaimer: My truck sits (sleeps) during the winter in the garage, so this is strictly NOT a form fitting true car cover, just a nice SOFT cover-up.
Using well worn flannel, they are about as soft a fabric as one can find.

Just my $.02...

Bill
 
opie 7afe,

Thanks for that info!


As far as spray waxes go what would you guys all recommend?
What seems to be the best?
 
Hi Derek,

Garage Queen

These are the gems that are taken out only on sunny days where there's little sign of anything coming in contact with the finish other than sunshine, a warm breeze, and an errant bird dropping....:laughing:

For the most part a rinseless wash is all that's needed to clean the exterior and an occasional vacuuming for interior touch-ups.

Most of the micro damage to the exterior comes from direct contact.

When I wash my Z06 I mix up a pail of DP Rinseless Wash & Gloss and put it in my garden sprayer. I coat the exterior several times so that the solution dissolves and floats away any surface contaminates.

Once everything's thoroughly soaked I use an electric leaf blower to dry the exterior and again not touching the finish.

Now, this may sound extreme but the fewer things that contact the finish the less likely you are to impart scratches and other defects.

I don't believe in car covers..

Daily Driver

Normal care through general washing using a recommended car wash and suitable wash mitt will keep the exterior clean.

Drying can be accomplished using the leaf blower method mentioned above or a Microfiber drying towel.

Using a detail spray, rinseless, or waterless wash is another approach to exterior cleaning, all using a Microfiber towel with caution. I use DP Rinseless Wash & Gloss during the winter months here in New England but also use it in the summer as a quick wash.

Another suggestion after the finish is clean is to use a spray wax like Optimum Spray Car Wax. I've found this to be once of the nicest, easy to use spray waxes on the market. It's as easy to use as detail spray and leaves behind a gorgeous shine with 4 to 5 months of added protection.

All of this is nothing more than care and routine maintenance.
 
thanks for the info.

When i was the car would u guys suggest i fill my bucks with warm water to help clean it?
I remember when i was younger my friends dad would always wash his cars with warm water.
 
Derek Short said:
Would i be OK if i were to get a nicer higher end car cover and make sure to keep detailing it before the cover goes on and it sit for the week or so...?
Click to expand...

Thats what I do - I never put the cover on my Vette unless Ive sprayed it with detailer. I dont have any marring ( yet ) but Corvettes have super hard clear coats.

My feeling is I will definitely incur more paint damage doing it this way than letting it sit dirty and/or uncovered, but I would rather have a super clean shiny car every time I drive, and I dont mind polishing it every year or two to get the paint back to near perfect.
 
I thought I'd post a message here rather than starting a new thread.

My car was detailed at the end of November. I've had it washed once at a hand-wash place. However, I'm not sure how often they change their mitts and towels.

I'll wash the car once a week with ONR and wipe it with a QD mid-week if it's not too dirty. I'd say it's outside about 12 hours a day M-F and a few hours on the weekends. At other times it's in a garage. During the Spring, Summer and Fall I go kayaking and camping and it gets very dirty as I go through some muddy and gravely roads. I went up to Bear Rocks in WV and the car was filthy afterwards.

At the end of February a Meguiars trained detailer will to teach me how to use a bi-directional buffer with cleaner wax. I'd like to wax the car on my own 3-4 times a year.

Assuming I don't cause lots of swirls or marring while washing or waxing the car, what factors/issues would require a 4-step process? Is this something detailers recommend once a year? I'm not sure if I'm up for doing the entire 4-step on my own. Do any of the detailers here have customers who wash weekly, wax 4 times a year and then bring the car in for a professional job too? If so, what do you see that would require a complete detail. I realize that if I follow through with my plan I'll be doing more than most people but at some point washing and waxing won't be enough, right? Anyway, maybe I can just answer my own question by saying it depends how I want the car to look.

Btw: It's a Subaru. A large number of people on various Subaru forums complain about the paint quality.

I just want to keep the car looking new. I can't justify spending spending hundreds a year on pro-details though.
 
I don't know how to edit my post but I meant using a dual-action buffer and something along the lines of a meguiar's smooth surface kit 3-4x a year.

Thanks.
 
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