Peter 642

Howdy,

I have a new-to-me 996. Had a 944 and kept it well as I could.
I know that I could do very well on materials for car care and that there are several posters/sponsors that have excellent products on this board.

At this moment, here's what's in my garage for products: it's basic and I want to know if these will "harm" the car in any way. Not saying I won't upgrade, but right now, is there a good reason why I should stop using any of these:

Wash/Soap: Meguiar's G7164 Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo and Conditioner
Wax: Zymol Z503 Car Cleaner Wax
Tires: Eagle One 1020626 A To Z Wheel Cleaner
Glass: Home-made alcohol/ammonia-based from this board

Wool wash mitt with microfiber towels, some waffle-weave, but low-cost/low-quality. I do not use a water blade, and I have a standard hose/nozzle from a home supply store. I have a microfiber wheel brush as well.

I have no leather cleaner/conditioner; I was using a rubber/vinyl conditioner in the last car and need a leather product. Was going to start with either Mother's leather care, or the Lexol products were recommended by last owner. I do wonder whether these can be used on the seats and the dash/consoles, or only seats plus leather console items specifically, but avoided for example on the ashtray or stereo housing.

Clay kit is Meguiar's; yet to need it.

Curious if (a) any of these should be avoided; (b) these will do a "bad job," (c) these will do, "just fine." Also want to know if you recommend a few other basic upgrades, for example water blade/hose and nozzle, specifically, or if there are items I'm missing that I should think about stocking (small vacuum for car; carpet cleaner).

Thanks for the basics in advance; I know they've been asked before and I appreciate it.

Peter 642

No suggestions?

MoeMistry

1. Soap - Gold class is OK. Once it runs out you could do better using P21S Bodywork Shampoo

2. Wax - Zymol Cleaner Wax should be replaced with a proper wax like P21S Concours Wax or Sonax Liquid Nano Wax. Reason being, cleaner waxes don't protect as well as a designated wax since the cleaner wax has some polishing abilities to it. You're better off using a paint cleanser then waxing

3. Tires/Wheels - Eagle One wheel Cleaner has very caustic ingredients and can damage the wheels in the long run. Use a high quality wheel cleaner like P21S

4. Glass - If it's working for you, keep using it

5. Make sure you're using REAL lambs wool mitt. Upgrade to higher quality mf towels as they will be better on the car and last longer. Use an EZ Detail brush to clean the wheels. Makes you're life a lot easier

6. Skip the OTC stuff. Get leatherique for your leather and 303 Aerospace Protectant for plastic and vinyl

7. Get a better clay and you should have used it by now. If your car hasn't been clayed in the last 6 months, it needs to be done. To test, just put a ziplok sandwich bag on our hand, spray some water or quick detailer on the clean paint, and see if you feel anything. It should be perfectly smooth. Get Lumiere Medium clay

8. Get a CR Spotless DI system and an inexpensive pressure washer from lowes or home depot. Will make washing your car easy since the filter takes out the hard minerals and gives you pure water without spotting

Hope this helps. Please post any questions you have and all these products can be found on our site.

Peter 642

Excellent; thanks much. I'll take a look at your site!

MoeMistry

You're welcome. Glad I could help. Feel free to call us if you need further assistance or want to place an order. We're happy to help.

BLUE_S

Wash/Soap: I like to use DODO born to be mild for maintenance washes or Chemical guys Citrus wash for stripping the previous coats of wax before polishing.
Wax: If you don't mind applying carnuba wax frequently, I like to get P21S or blackfire sun fire. They are in the 50$ range. If you want to get some expensive waxes, then I will recommend, Swissvax waxes or DODO supernatural wax or Chemical guys Ezyme natura. These are in the 200 - 300 $ range.

If you want a long term protection on the paint, then go with sealants like Blackfire wet diamond(my favorite) or Menzerna power lock. These last up to 6 months.
Tires: I like to use Optimum power clean or P21S TAW to clean the tires/wheel wells and then apply optimum opti bond tire gel for mate finish or blackfire tire gel for little gloss. On the wheel wells, I will go with Chemical guys barebones or chemical guys back to black.

For cleaning wheels, I like Sonax or P21S wheel gel. Both are safe on all kinds of wheels and you can use wheel sealants like poorboy's wheel sealant or blackfire metal sealant or optimum opti seal.

Glass: You can use stoner's / 1Z windscreen cleaner to clean the glass. Both are very cheap and safe to use on tints.

Wool wash mitt with microfiber towels look up on detailedimage.com. You can find some nice sheep skin mitts and waffle weave towels.

I have no leather cleaner/conditioner; I like to use leatherique (both rejuvenator/pristine clean). You only need to use rejuvenator once a year(unless your car is convertible, then twice a year) and you can use pristine clean to maintain it once every other month.. For vinyl/plasic/nav screen controls, I like 1Z cockpit. 303 is little shiny for my taste and like to use on the exterior trim. The other product, I like is optimum leather protectant.

Clay kit: I like to use clay magic with DOD clay lube or optimium ONR at clay lube dilution.


Let me know if you need additional information.

Peter 642

Moe,

Order placed. 10% plus free shipping, perfect products and good prices. You've got my business!

Thanks again.

MoeMistry

Thank you sir...it'll ship out tomorrow. You may have it on Saturday. Not promising anything

TOGWT

I usually rail on vendors for providing biased advise, but Moe provides great guidance on the use of his products and also a great service (both before and after the sale)

MoeMistry

Thanks for the feedback Jon.

I started out as a technician being a detailer, and it's still my day job. Through years of detailing high-end vehicles, our clients requested to buy products from us; that helped my sales skills and understanding what my market needs. I'm finally in a position to be blessed enough to create Lumiere, my own product line. Lumiere products aren't made for the masses, but for the purist that shares the same philosophy about detailing as I do.

That simple. I have no investors, board members, shareholders, etc. to answer to. This allows me to create what I feel are products I'm proud to use on the cars we work on and fortunate enough to share with those demanding the most scrutinizing level of performance.

So, you can see why, unless a Lumiere product is something that outperforms anything I've used in the last 16 years, I'll be recommending unbiased advice based on facts and real-world performance.

Thankfully, you, and those that follow me on the boards, know this

larry47us

I'm not a professional, like the others that have responded to your post. But, I want to give you some "advice" that comes from an interested amateur. You can listen to it, or totally ignore it since I am just an amatuer.

I have never worried about the type of car wash that I use. I am specific about what the shampoo entails. You want a car wash that is NOT a detergent. Look specifically for a shampoo that will NOT strip the wax that is on the car. First thing in the spring, I wash my car with Dawn, it's a heavy detergent that will likely strip off the wax and I can get down to the paint, for a fresh start each spring. Also, don't buy a product that is a wash/wax type of product. Beyond that, I don't have a lot of recommendations. I use a Turtle Wax brand car wash. Bought a big bottle, and I've been using it for the past 5 years.

For a wax, there are a lot of different ideas and products out there. There are a lot of high tech sealants and nano-technology waxes that do a polymer bond to the paint's surface. My problem with them is that I have a clear bra on my full hood, full front fenders and complete front and rear bumpers. Many of these high tech products will not work on a plastic skin that is my clear bra. So, aside from the fact that I don't understand, some of the manufacturers have told me to NOT use it on my clear bra.

You can honestly spend $50 or more on a tin of wax that won't last any longer on your car than a tin of $25 carnuba. My recommendation is that you should definitely avoid a cleaner wax. If you have scratches, holograms or swirl marks, use a polish to remove them. The polish that I use is 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. I just use it to touch up the finish on a spot basis. I have the car detailed in the spring to bring it up to quality standards. Don't get a cleaner wax, because it will adjust the finish of the car while you're spreading on the wax. Plus, if you have any wax on your car, the cleaner wax will remove it. Polish with a polish, wax with a wax.

There are a lot of waxes, and a lot of different types of waxes out there. When I had my 73 Targa, it was a single stage paint, and I used a carnuba wax that only lasted a month, but it looked rich when I did it.

Currently, I have used a liquid wax for a few years, Black Magic - Liquid Wet Shine. This past week, I used a new wax. It's 3M, Perfect It Show Car Paste Wax The tin was $18. The wax is really hard in the tin. It takes some effort to get it on the wax applicator (I used a microfiber wax applicator). Spread it on thin, waited an hour to make sure it hazed up (the directions gave special emphasis to the fully hazing of the wax), and wiped it off. I am VERY impressed with the quality of the shine. This wax is an acrylic silicone flouropolymer, or A.S.F. The grafting of these substances has developed a new scientific breed of flouropolymers—extreme slickness, protectiveness, and water-repellancy! It is deep and very mirror-like. My only complaint is that it builds up on the edge of the plastic bra, and also on rubber trim. I have been told to use a q-tip with Isopropyl alcohol to wipe it off. I am not sure how long it will last, but another website said that it lasted for 4 months.

For my wheels, I just wipe the wheels with a microfiber cloth and soapy water. Since I wash my car weekly, the brake dust hasn't had a chance to fuse to the wheel, so I don't use anything harsh on them.

I spent some money buying a number of different kinds of microfiber towels. Got them on autogeek.net. They sell all different kinds. I bought three, a 16" square (gold colored) towel for general wiping and cleaning, a thick 16" purple towel for wiping wax off the car, and a larger waffle woven towel to dry the car with. I think that I spent $95 on the towels and two grit guards. I already had a lambswool mitt to wash the car with.

I think that there's a bit of enjoyment in trying different products on my car. I am careful to not use anything that is overly harsh, but paint is a pretty tough surface. My car is a DD, and I wash it weekly and wax it every month or so. Honestly, I wipe my finger tips across the surface of the fender. If they slide smoothly across the fender, I don't need to wax the car. If they feel like they are rubbing on the fender -- it's time for more wax.

Hope this gives you some helpful information.

larry

TOGWT

^^^ like you I'm not a professional detailer (although I get paid for providing detailing services part-time) I am a Chemical Engineer by profession so my detailing advice is based upon five decades of detailing experience and four decades as a ChemE.

larry47us

Peter:

Be careful with these leather products. Remember that the leather inside your car is like your skin. It will react the same way to sun, heat, alcohol, hand cream, etc. Products like Armourall use the same blend of products for leather that they use for vinyl. Leather and Vinyl are not the same, and require different products. A number of years ago, I found an Eagle One leather care product. It had lanolin in it, and the directions were to spread it on your hands, and rub your hands all over the seats, kind of like rubbing the hand cream all over your dry skin.

The result for me was wonderful. The very hard leather of my Lexus, which was 10 years old started to soften up after the second application. Would it have done that if I had used an alcohol based cleaner surfacant? No, I doubt it.

To me, the best leather products on the market are Leatherique Browse around their website for information, there's a lot of reading there. They also say that you should apply their product with your bare hands. Hey, if it's good for your hands, it should be OK for your leather seats, right?

But remember, the time to get the leather in your interior in shape is while it still looks good and feels OK. If it dries out and cracks, you're in a world of hurt, and there is little that any product can do to make you feel better.

All the best.

larry

TOGWT

Some useful automotive finished leather info here - http://togwt1980.blogspot.com/2010/1...-in-i-art.html