Just curious if anyone here takes interest in keeping their cars clean and detailed.
I personally detail my car once a year and maintain it with car washes weekly.
Here are some of the steps I take for maintenance of the paint.
Things I try NOT to do:
-Cloth (Non Touchless) Drive Through Car Washes
-Washing your car with a regular cloth or towel
-Drying your car with a regular cloth and towel
-Using a cloth on your paint that is used for rims or other parts of the car
-Touching or sitting on the paint
-No strong chemicals on the paint surface
-Don't let bird droppings sit on your car. Remove it ASAP. Keep a bottle of premixed car wash in your car and a microfiber cloth for on-the-spot removal.
Things you SHOULD do:
-Use quality microfiber cloths for everything car related. Have dedicated cloths for certain applications.
-Use the two bucket wash method for washing your car - having a grit guard is important too as it keeps the dirt away from your wash mitt.
-Use high quality wash mitts and car soaps. High quality microfiber or sheepskin wash mitts are the way to go.
-Wash your car often, try not to get it filthy. You are creating more work for yourself.
-Try to keep some sort of sealant or wax on the paint surface. This adds an extra layer of protection ontop of the clearcoat and makes maintenance easier as it repels dirt and contamination. Opti-Coat is a relatively new product that many BRZ and FR-S owners are raving about. It's almost like permanent wax. Here is some info on it on our forum.
My yearly DIY detail
My detailing steps:
Misc.
So what sort of products does everyone here prefer? Also curious if anyone else takes the time to do this or they just pay someone to do it. It takes a full day to do something like this for me.
I use products from Meguiars, Menzerna, Poorboys, Chemical Guys, Autoglym, Optimum, Collinite, and much more.
Also since this is a sticky now. If you guys and gals have any questions about detailing feel free to ask here. I'll check it often and try my best to reply and if others want to jump in and help that would be awesome.
If you are looking for someone in your area to detail your car, remove scratches and imperfections, wax your car, apply Opti-Coat, or just wash your car. Here is the place to ask. I'll try to find you someone and I'm sure others will too. Just say where you are from and what you are looking for.
Brian C
Alpha Auto Spa
I personally detail my car once a year and maintain it with car washes weekly.
Here are some of the steps I take for maintenance of the paint.
Things I try NOT to do:
-Cloth (Non Touchless) Drive Through Car Washes
-Washing your car with a regular cloth or towel
-Drying your car with a regular cloth and towel
-Using a cloth on your paint that is used for rims or other parts of the car
-Touching or sitting on the paint
-No strong chemicals on the paint surface
-Don't let bird droppings sit on your car. Remove it ASAP. Keep a bottle of premixed car wash in your car and a microfiber cloth for on-the-spot removal.
Things you SHOULD do:
-Use quality microfiber cloths for everything car related. Have dedicated cloths for certain applications.
-Use the two bucket wash method for washing your car - having a grit guard is important too as it keeps the dirt away from your wash mitt.
-Use high quality wash mitts and car soaps. High quality microfiber or sheepskin wash mitts are the way to go.
-Wash your car often, try not to get it filthy. You are creating more work for yourself.
-Try to keep some sort of sealant or wax on the paint surface. This adds an extra layer of protection ontop of the clearcoat and makes maintenance easier as it repels dirt and contamination. Opti-Coat is a relatively new product that many BRZ and FR-S owners are raving about. It's almost like permanent wax. Here is some info on it on our forum.
My yearly DIY detail
My detailing steps:
- Wash the car with a 2 bucket + grit guard method (One for wash - one for rinse). I use sheepskin wash mitts and quality car wash detergent/soap.
![Image]()
- Dry with microfiber drying towel
![Image]()
- Clean rims with dedicated rim cleaner
![Image]()
- Clean fender liners with all purpose cleaner
![Image]()
- Clean engine bay with light degreaser, rinse off lightly.
![Image]()
- Ultrafine Claybar w/ lubricant on all paint surfaces
![Image]()
- Polish with a cutting compound followed by a finishing compound using a random orbital buffer
![Image]()
- Finish by using sealant or wax, applied using applicator pad and buffed off using microfiber buffing towels.
![Image]()
![Image]()
Misc.
- I redress the wheels, engine bay, fender liner with dedicated tire dressing and plastic protectant
![Image]()
- Interior vacuum and wipedown with microfiber - redress with interior vinyl and rubber protectant
![Image]()
- Exhaust tip clean with 0000 steel wool
![Image]()
- Invisible glass the windows and follow up with an application of Rain-X (or any glass sealant)
- Throw in my favorite air freshener
![Image]()
So what sort of products does everyone here prefer? Also curious if anyone else takes the time to do this or they just pay someone to do it. It takes a full day to do something like this for me.
I use products from Meguiars, Menzerna, Poorboys, Chemical Guys, Autoglym, Optimum, Collinite, and much more.
Also since this is a sticky now. If you guys and gals have any questions about detailing feel free to ask here. I'll check it often and try my best to reply and if others want to jump in and help that would be awesome.
If you are looking for someone in your area to detail your car, remove scratches and imperfections, wax your car, apply Opti-Coat, or just wash your car. Here is the place to ask. I'll try to find you someone and I'm sure others will too. Just say where you are from and what you are looking for.
Brian C
Alpha Auto Spa
