Car just got back from shop, really dirty.

[Bender]

I washed it at the car wash place and did everything I normaly do and it usually comes out great but this time there was a film all over it and spots I could not get off like sap and some greese marks. Whats some good products to get everything off? And whats a good wax I can buy at the store thats not to hard to put on that will make it shine.

 

[JonM]

Use a clay bar...as far as wax...use a glaze such as http://www.meguiars.com/Showroom Glaze...You will also get 100 different opinions...I, and many others use http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

 

[Bender]

Thanks, but what about soap? I use armorall but I need something to get the wax and everything off.

 

[magred01]

Try using Dawn dish washing liquid. It is known for striping wax. It is also a good cleaner for removing the film that you speak of. Afterwards, you will have to re-wax the car and go back to a mild car wash liquid for normal cleaning.

 

[BarryK]

Thanks, but what about soap? I use armorall but I need something to get the wax and everything off.

I wash mine with Maguires car wash. Do NOT use most common dish cleaner soaps like Dawn.
I than follow with Maguires glaze #7 and than maguires wax #26

The glaze will is like a ploish and will remove old wax, spot, and other stuff like sap, etc. After the glaze the car is nice and clean and smooth and ready for the wax.
I've found that the Maguires liquid #26 wax is real easy to put on and comes off very easy also. Nothing worst than wax that is hard to remove!
One of the keys to waxing though is not to use too much. Only a light coating on the paint is needed. Too much wax just makes it harder to remove and makes more dust as your working. Only a little of the wax stays on the paint anyway.

JonM suggested a claybar and if your car is really bad that should definately take all contamiants off your paint. i've never used a claybar but plan on getting one and trying it as i've heard great results from that.

I don't know what you are using the armorall on, but personally I won't touch that stuff anymore!
On the tires I use Maguires Endurance High Gloss AFTER washing them throughly and cleaning them with Simple Green. With the Endurance you can adjust how much gloss you want by the application but it doesn't sling off onto the car while you are driving like Amorall does, and it doesn't turn the black of the tires to a faded brown like I used to get with Amorall.
In the interior I use a good leather cleaner/conditioner on the seats and than just a good basic cleaner such as Orange Cleaner on the door panels, dash, consel, etc. Again, no Amorall for me on the interior either - I didn't like the "fake" glossyness it created or the greasy residue it left.

You may also want to check out the detailingdude website.
http://www.thedetailingbible.com/

 

[BarryK]

As Magred01 mentioned, Dawn will strip off wax which is why you don't want to use it for regular washing and why I mentioned not to use it.
In this case it might help you a bit but using a glaze or claybar is better anyway.
I suggest not using the Dawn this time around simply so you don't get into the habit of grabbing for it next time either and you should get a proper car=wash cleaner anyway. Maguire's, mother's and a few other companies all offer good product for this.

 

[Bender]

Also I have well water and it sucks, I was thinking about picking up the Mr.Clean Auto Dry thing because it has a filter to filter the water out.

 

[BarryK]

i don't think the well water should cause much of a problem as long as you don't let the water dry on the car. be sure to use soft 100% cotton towels made in the USA (non-USA towels are not usually true 100% cotton). I use a squeezgee and large bath towels to wipe the car down first than use microfiber clothes to finish the drying. the MF cloths are great for obsorbing the water and drying without and lint remaining.
If you did let the water dry on the car and you got water spots than the glaze would remove them anyway.

 

[Bender]

Where do I buy microfiber clothes and are they as hard as a chimon to maintain?

 

[BarryK]

I got mine at Pepboys but my neighbor just told me Costgo has them in a 12-pack at around $12-$15
I just use them and throw them in the washer to clean them along with all the other rags and towels.
One thing though, DO NOT use any fabric softener or dryer sheets on the towels you use for your car. It leaves a residue on the fabric that causes streaks and smears on the finish of the car.

 

[corvettecrazy]

First off any decent car wash will do, I've used The meguiars NXT, Eagle one(smells realy nice) and Meguiars gold class car wash. I like them all.

If I were you I would then clay you whole car. When I did my dad's vette I used the Meguiars clay bar,worked wonders on his unmaintained paint.

What I would reccomend next is either stripping hte wax using adhesive remover (3M makes it) and then using a paint cleaning, polishing and then wax product. As for the company of those, I've used meguiars with great results. (you might want to add scratch X into that line up if you have a lot of small scratches.

The costco micro fiber towels are 8 bucks for 12, they are 16" by 16" and YELLOW. They are 80% of some sort of polyester and 20% of another. Great for tires, trim, dashes, and engine bays, but I would not reccomend them for paint.

P.S. throw awar all of your armor all stuff, but then again thats just my opinion about their products.

 

[Roadfrog]

Er, uh, I would just learn to take care of a car....period. Hang around the forum.

I washed it at the car wash place and did everything I normaly do and it usually comes out great but this time there was a film all over it and spots I could not get off like sap and some greese marks. Whats some good products to get everything off? And whats a good wax I can buy at the store thats not to hard to put on that will make it shine.