I love detailing my car!

[TexasRat]

Just had another great week with the car and spent a few hours cleaning up the car today. I figure I'd share what I've been using in case anyone is looking for ideas. These are products that I've either researched myself or that came recommended by my detailer. Some of it came with experimentation in mixing products together, but everything has been working amazingly well.

I am definitely happy that I went with the full wrap + ceramic coating. Everything is just so easy to clean. Dust never sticks, it just wipes off with your finger. Even bird droppings and bug guts mostly slide off like a fried egg off a non-stick pan.

Here's a list of what I've been using on the inside and outside.



ONR is definitely amazing as a go-to for the actual car wash. I wouldn't have believed it until I used it myself. If the car doesn't need a heavy soaking and I have a spray bottle or two of ONR premixed, I only make 1 gallon of wash for the entire car. If I need to make more premixed ONR in a bottle, I make 2 gallons and fill up 2 25-oz spray bottles with the extra mix. I use distilled water to increase effectiveness of the ONR and then I leave whatever mixture is left in the spray bottles for next time. When the car has a lot of junk to get off, I spray the car with the ONR for a few seconds before I wash it with the wash mitt and dry it off.

I haven't figured out how often to do this next part, but I'm thinking every other time ...

I mixed a quick-detail spray of 20 oz distilled water, 1 oz carpro ech2o and 1 oz carpro reload. Not only does it work as a quick-detail spray, but it is just amazing and "reloading" your ceramic coating. I'm sure you can use it without the coating as well. Spray on, wipe off and then buff off. It feels so amazing, like you want to just keep petting your car
I use it for all paint, trim, chrome and glass on the exterior. I keep that quick-detail spray in the car in case I notice something that I want to clean off right away like a bird bomb or bug splatter.

On the interior, I'm using this stuff my detailer gave me to try called washmist. It's pretty amazing. Smells great and cleans well. It makes for easy, streak-free windows. I will probably start using it to clean my vegan leather as well, but only once I'm done w/ this bottle of inner clean from chemical guys. I bought it first as I was experimenting with stuff and I wanted something that cleaned fairly well for non-heavy duty stains. I don't know how well it cleans super heavy stains, but I never let the car get that dirty, so I may never know Inner clean has been working well for the leather seats, the console and everything else non-glass. I could probably use it for glass too, but I have a system at this point I guess

I love working on my car with these products and my choice of PPF and coat. I keep it garaged the entire time, turn on the fan and some music and have a great time w/ the kids. I let them "buff" off the quick-detail spray after I do 99% of the work because they love helping (I need to reinforce this behavior because I swear it's not going to last ...)

Loving this car to death. It's far from perfect, the imperfections pop up when you detail it for sure. But the drive is so amazing and it's such a beautiful car. The only regret I have is not splurging for a P100D, but I value my life and my wife. She'd kill me and I need to be a father for my kids

What is everyone else using? Hope you're all having as much fun working on the car as I am!

P.S. I love blue!

P.P.S. I love cream interior! Best interior and I guess a valid reason why going P100D kinda sucks. They really should let you get whatever interior you want.

 

[P85_DA]

The only regret I have is not splurging for a P100D,

 

[xyeahtony]

last time i used ONR it scratched by glass, but probably cuz i did it wrong. haha

 

[Anzir]

The Model X inspired me to up my car washing game, so I consulted my best friend (who is well-versed in these things) and he pointed me to look at what was recommended by Obsessed Garage. So in the past couple of weeks I’ve procured the following:

1) Adam’s Car Shampoo - pH neutral so it can actually dry on the car before rinsing (super hot here in Florida right now so have to wash in segments or use something like this) and not leave residue.

2) MTM Hydro Magnum 28 foam cannon

3) Microfiber madness Incredipad XL to remove any dirt

4) CR Spotless rinse (deionizer that eliminates spots)

5) Ego electric leaf blower to remove deionized water instead of just letting it air dry.

Obsessed Garage has some pretty fancy pressure washers but I haven’t made the jump yet and am still using our electric Sunjoe that we got off Amazon for $150. I had to purchase $10-20 worth of attachments to make the Sunjoe work with the MTM and CR systems.

 

[K3Man]

I just washed mine this weekend using ONR, the wash and shine formula and a few micro-fiber detailing pads. My X had splattering on the side from the original detailing that Tesla, Costa Mesa did on the tires. I'm sure it was the tire-shine material they put on the tires to make them look nice. I mixed it with distilled water and sprayed it onto each of the panels I worked on. As mentioned, it allowed the dirt and splatter to wipe away, almost effortlessly. I followed suggestion I read here to focus on panels and wipe them down in a single direction.

Car looked beautiful afterward.

 

[TexasRat]

The Model X inspired me to up my car washing game, so I consulted my best friend (who is well-versed in these things) and he pointed me to look at what was recommended by Obsessed Garage. So in the past couple of weeks I’ve procured the following:

1) Adam’s Car Shampoo - pH neutral so it can actually dry on the car before rinsing (super hot here in Florida right now so have to wash in segments or use something like this) and not leave residue.

2) MTM Hydro Magnum 28 foam cannon

3) Microfiber madness Incredipad XL to remove any dirt

4) CR Spotless rinse (deionizer that eliminates spots)

5) Ego electric leaf blower to remove deionized water instead of just letting it air dry.

Obsessed Garage has some pretty fancy pressure washers but I haven’t made the jump yet and am still using our electric Sunjoe that we got off Amazon for $150. I had to purchase $10-20 worth of attachments to make the Sunjoe work with the MTM and CR systems.

Yeah it gets super hot here in Texas too, so I do like the fact that ONR lets you wash the car one panel at a time. I never have to worry about drying because I can do as small of a section of the car as I want.

Foam cannons seem fun I just wanted to wash it in my garage because my driveway has trees and I don't want to get tree crap on my car as I'm washing it. Your courtyard should solve that problem pretty easily, so you could have fun with either option

 

[P85_DA]

That’s the nice thing with ONR don’t really need a foam cannon ..I do like washing in garage ..but when lazy just use the double chuck deionizer spray down and let dry in sun

 

[TexasRat]

That’s the nice thing with ONR don’t really need a foam cannon ..I do like washing in garage ..but when lazy just use the double chuck deionizer spray down and let dry in sun

 

[TexasRat]

last time i used ONR it scratched by glass, but probably cuz i did it wrong. haha

I'm sure ONR didn't scratch your glass, but perhaps there was a rock or something on your wash medium? Bummer about that scratch. Definitely wasn't ONR though. Not sure how you can use it wrong. Even adding too much won't make it bad, just will be a waste of product. Too little I suppose could have caused a rock or something to not get suspended in its funky molecule(or whatever) structure. Definitely don't give up on it!

 

[K3Man]

LOL. His car is white! No one will notice!

Well, except for maybe you, TR!

 

[TexasRat]

LOL. His car is white! No one will notice!

Well, except for maybe you, TR!

I would notice

 

[Anzir]

The Model X inspired me to up my car washing game, so I consulted my best friend (who is well-versed in these things) and he pointed me to look at what was recommended by Obsessed Garage. So in the past couple of weeks I’ve procured the following:

1) Adam’s Car Shampoo - pH neutral so it can actually dry on the car before rinsing (super hot here in Florida right now so have to wash in segments or use something like this) and not leave residue.

2) MTM Hydro Magnum 28 foam cannon

3) Microfiber madness Incredipad XL to remove any dirt

4) CR Spotless rinse (deionizer that eliminates spots)

5) Ego electric leaf blower to remove deionized water instead of just letting it air dry.

Obsessed Garage has some pretty fancy pressure washers but I haven’t made the jump yet and am still using our electric Sunjoe that we got off Amazon for $150. I had to purchase $10-20 worth of attachments to make the Sunjoe work with the MTM and CR systems.

Foamed up!

You can see the deionizer and the pressure washer system in line. Pretty easy so far, but I haven't had to take off any caked off dirt yet. It is basically touch free if you don't have to take off a lot of dirt.

 

[Butka]

Funny, I've also regained my interest in detailing since buying my X. Here's what I've used (mostly based on auto-detailing forum recommendations).

- ONR. The key here, is to use a lot of microfiber towels. Fold them into quarters and as soon as you get some visible dirt marks, flip the towel. You will not get a scratch this way. Also filling a spray bottle with your mixed solution and spraying beforehand helps.

- Since you're using a lot of microfiber towels, I wash with the ones they sell at Costco. You get 36 for $17 at the one I go to. They're a medium grade towel. I dry with a higher grade towel. For higher grade, I bought the chemical guys towels and am happy with those, but whatever looks good to you.

- I bought clay bars from Amazon and WOW, I didn't realize how easy it would be and what a difference they would make. I purchased generic ones with good ratings. I plan to clay bar only periodically... Once every 3-6 months and one bar did the X and my wife's SUV.

- I use opti-seal instead of wax on the ppf. It seems to work well. Applies fast and you barely use any for the entire car.

- I noticed the exterior plastic trim slightly fading already in spots on my X (around the wheels). I bought 303 UV protectant and it looks fantastic and has held well for 3 weeks so far since I first applied it.

The real test will come in the Chicago winter, doing no rinse washes in the garage (when the temp inside the garage is above freezing).

I'm open to recommendations on cleaning and maintaining the vegan leather. Using straight water (per the owner's manual) hasn't quite cut it in some spots.

 

[TexasRat]

Funny, I've also regained my interest in detailing since buying my X. Here's what I've used (mostly based on auto-detailing forum recommendations).

- ONR. The key here, is to use a lot of microfiber towels. Fold them into quarters and as soon as you get some visible dirt marks, flip the towel. You will not get a scratch this way. Also filling a spray bottle with your mixed solution and spraying beforehand helps.

- Since you're using a lot of microfiber towels, I wash with the ones they sell at Costco. You get 36 for $17 at the one I go to. They're a medium grade towel. I dry with a higher grade towel. For higher grade, I bought the chemical guys towels and am happy with those, but whatever looks good to you.

- I bought clay bars from Amazon and WOW, I didn't realize how easy it would be and what a difference they would make. I purchased generic ones with good ratings. I plan to clay bar only periodically... Once every 3-6 months and one bar did the X and my wife's SUV.

- I use opti-seal instead of wax on the ppf. It seems to work well. Applies fast and you barely use any for the entire car.

- I noticed the exterior plastic trim slightly fading already in spots on my X. I bought 303 UV protectant and it looks fantastic and has held well for 3 weeks so far since I first applied it.

The real test will come in the Chicago winter, doing no rinse washes in the garage (when the temp inside the garage is above freezing).

I'm open to recommendations on cleaning and maintaining the vegan leather. Using straight water (per the owner's manual) hasn't quite cut it in some spots.

What parts of the car are you using the 303 on? All of the trim around the car?

 

[Butka]

What parts of the car are you using the 303 on? All of the trim around the car?

So far I've done all the black plastic (or whatever the material is) that runs along the bottom of the car... Around the wheels and in the wheel wells, the rocker panels, below the bumper, etc.

I noticed the fading mostly above the wheels, and washing didn't solve the problem.

It all looked brand new after using the 303 and has since.

Edit: just to add, I do plan to apply 303 on the rubber seals in the doors, windows etc. But I think I may need some precision in applying there (like with a q-tip or something smaller than finger width) and didn't spend the time to do that yet... Haha.