Doug H

Being lazy, I have usually gotten away with using the Mequiars spray on hose off wheel cleaners (lazy and not to mention how long it takes to wash 4 cars).

I accidentally picked up the kind you do not use for almuminum or polished wheels. It only says this on the back in the finer print. Worked fine on the frist three.

I did my 964 last and it looked like milk in the shinny finish. I almost got excoited thinking I had the perfect excuse to buy the new light weight Kinese or those new BBS 18s that weigh in at only 15 pounds. I, however, applied some mothers aluminum mag polish and walaah. The milky finish went away. Pretty scarey though.

tierraman

Doug, You have too many cars to wash, Give me that Ruff and I promise to hand wash those wheels.

Doug H

The sad part about it is they were not that dirty. I usually wipe them down at least every other day to keep them clean looking. I just figured the spray might get in real good around the rivets. Bad move. It looks really bad. I could not scrub the milky finish off with sopa and water. I though it had some how gotten under the finish. Very scarey.

tierraman

It's good that it all came out OK. That's one of the most beautiful cars I've seen on this site.....

Hockey Mad

Hi guys. I've been searching the forums for some information on recommended car cleaning materials/techniques, and your exchange on wheel cleaners is as close as it comes.

I've just bought a new-to-me 1990 964 C2, in very nice shape (cosmetically and mechanically). While I've got a great mechanic to keep the mechanics going, I like to do some of my own detailing (ie, I'm cheap).

Any recommendations for interior cleaners/protectors - both the seats and the dash and door panels? Armour All was great for my MGs, Triumphs, Alfas, Miatas, etc., but this is more sports car than I've ever owned so I don't just want to splash something on. Similarly, any recommendations for paint cleaners/wax and wheel cleaners?

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks - Mike

Kahdmus

Mike congrats on the new car!

Cheap, becuase you want to detail your Porsche? If I had to pay to detail my 964 I would happily do so!! Didn't 'Car' magazine say specifically that the 964 was the "most erotic car to wash"?

A search should bring up plenty on this topic plus there is a whole host of opinions on clay bars, wheel cleaners, chamois vs. artificial leathers etc, etc.

In addition you may find some great related articles on Pelican parts and John Miles site (www.porsche964.co.uk).

Happy detailing and welcome!

Jay H

Mike:

Here's my $.02 on car care...

Keep the Armour All for your tires only. That stuff is silicone based and breaks down the vinyl and rubber. It's greasy and attracts dust.

For interior vinyl, plastics and rubber, I use only Vinylex by Lexol. Same with leather care - Lexol products. There are many other good leather cleaners and conditioners. I do tend to clean nice leather with minimal dirt with just mild soap and a damp sponge. Condition leather every 3-4 months, more if the leather is in the sun a lot.

Exterior rubber and vinyl can be treated with Vinylex as well, though it does not last as long on exterior trim. One Grand Exterior Rubber and Vinyl is a product I like for exterior trim.

I use citrus based cleaners for difficult areas on the interior that need something more than just soap and water clean up. A soapy bucket of Dawn with some warm water does pretty well for a lot of stuff (how's that for cheap??).

For paint care, you'll get a bunch of opinions on this. I use 3M Hand Glaze to cover minor swirl marks and follow that up with P21S concours wax. Works pretty well on my metallic paint. I've always liked 3M Hand Glaze followed by Blitz Wax combo on Guards Red paint.

I've used P21S Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser and really like this product. It's more mild than 3M Hand Glaze and seems to have nice fill properties. Really easy to use. I just finished a customer's beat up Audi A6 this past weekend and the paint really shined up well with P21S Cleanser followed up by P21S concours wax.

Others have had good success with clay bars and such. Again, these are just my experiences. There are so many good products on the market and many people have had good success with different stuff. Buy good stuff right off the bat and skip the junk that is sold at Wal-Mart and such. The good stuff lasts quite a bit longer and the quality is so much better than the over the counter junk.

Griots Garage seems to be well liked on these boards and I always get my stuff from Car Care Online.

Best,

Jay
My 964

Doug H

Thanks for the compliment tierreman.

Unfortunately, I still have some residue on my wheels particularly around the bolt heads on the three piece wheels. I will only use soap and water from now on out. I am afraid that my wheels will need to be refinished soon because of my choice to cut corners or save some time with the spray stuff.

buckdr1

Doug, hope you don't need to re-finish your wheels.
FWIW- Tried "Turtle Wax's Wheel Brite" over Easter for the first time( wanted to try something new- to me,anyway). Worked very well on my 993 hollow spoke's (Track Wheels) And on my new GT3 wheels( yes I got 'em dirty) Spray on- wipe a bit, and hose off, even left a nice wax shine.
Just a happy HWFM"Turtle"
Bill

McJohn

I am dubious about all these "snake oil" products, but at last I seem to have found one that actually does do what it says on the tin.

Autoglym Alloy Wheel Sealer.

About £5 for a large aerosol, you spray it on, work it into all the nooks and crannies (I use a paintbrush) and then buff it off. It is I gather just a polish, but with the formula tweaked for the purpose, presumably with a higher silicone content, at the expense of a high shine finish. It really does seem to make the muck fall off the wheels much more easily come cleaning time, and if it avoids having to use those fiercely acidic cleaners, so much the better.

Usual disclaimer, just a satisfied customer, etc.

John H

andrew911

Armor all is crap - the stuff splashes up onto the body of the car when driving, the "wet look" looks cheap to me, and I've even seen cases of tires turning a yellowish hue after the stuff wears off. I'd use Vinlyx (spelling?) which is made by the same people as Lexoil- bottle looks the same, but blue not light/dark brown bottle.

I used Vinylx on the dash of my VW and it gave a very nice finish without excess oily/artificial shine that armor all leaves. I haven't used it yet on the Porsche- just got the stuff the other day Someone who restores porsches told me to use it on the tires as well to give them a clean non-oily look, and I believe the bottle says it can be used on plastic, rubber, etc. in addition to vinyl. I prefer to not use anything on my tires, but if I were to put something on it would be the vinylx.

Jay H

Vinylex (by Lexol) is great on tires. Again, not that long lasting, but it gives a good look with just a bit of shine. Buff it out with a rag if you want a more flat black look.

I use Vinylex on the visible plastic and rubber parts in the engine compartment and all other rubber, vinyl and plastic on the car.

andrew911

Lexoil products- quality stuff!

BGLeduc

This site http://www.carcareonline.com/ has lots of good, forst hand info on the various products and nethods out there.

Like all things Porsche, his views may not agree with what others may say, but I found there to be some very good, solid advice at the site.

No affiliation, although I have purchsed a few things. I also like Griots Garage stuff at www.griotsgarage.com.

BGL

JBH

There is a great forum on Roadfly with a large following dedicated to cleaning, polishing, waxing, and detailing Porsches and BMWs.
Detailing Forum