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Basic questions, I know, but . . .
--I have protective film on the front of my M3, and ceramic coating all over. Any tips on the best way to wash these and remove road grime? What kind of detergent? Cloths? Brushes?
--Also, what's the best way to clean the rear window without damaging the defrost strips?
Thanks!
 
There are numerous posts that speak to your question such as:

Your preferred method of washing your model 3?

If your car is super dirty with heavy dirt or road grime, then a traditional "2-bucket" car wash is the only safe way to go. If your car has light to moderate dirt or grime, then a rinseless wash using something like Optimum No Rinse would do the trick and not induce any scratches or swrils. And if your car is lightly dirty, then a waterless wash would be fine.

Since you have a ceramic coating, it would be beneficial to use a wash medium that is ceramic infused such as:

Traditional Wash: The Last Soap - Wash, Detox, and Seal All in One

Rinsless Wash: Mckees37 SiO2 Rinseless Wash
or
Wolfgang Uber SiO2 Rinseless Wash

You could also use a regular, non-ceramic wash medium and then follow up the wash with an ceramic-infused drying aid or topper such as:

TOPPER™ – TOP COAT LUBRICANT & PROTECTANT | Xtreme Solutions

Hope that helps,
joebruin77
 
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I have some Wash Wax All that I'm trying to finish. It's worked well, but left the car a little tacky. I don't have PPF or ceramic coat, so I was looking for something to add a slippery gloss and tried the TOPPER recommended by joebruin77. It's worked really well. You can't go wrong with his recommendations! I also got some Jersey Devil and Poly-Seal from the same company, I'm looking forward to trying them. These pictures are from last week, my first time using TOPPER.

Joe, can I ask what your recommendation would be in my situation? No PPF, no ceramic coat, I enjoy weekly cleaning my car (it's like therapy to me, haha), but I'm not obsessive about it. Any thought? Thanks!

TOPPER™ – TOP COAT LUBRICANT & PROTECTANT | Xtreme Solutions

IMG_4282.jpeg IMG_4298.jpeg
 
Joe, can I ask what your recommendation would be in my situation? No PPF, no ceramic coat, I enjoy weekly cleaning my car (it's like therapy to me, haha), but I'm not obsessive about it. Any thought? Thanks!

Hey, AC2DC. Glad Topper worked out for you!

From the pics, it looks like your paint is in great condition. Here are two options for you:

The "Simple" option:
I think if you just keep washing it regularly (whether it is with Jersey Devil waterless wash, Wash Wax All, or other mediums) and then maintanining it with Topper either as a drying aid or on its own, you should be good. What's great about both Jersey Devil and Topper is that both products are ceramic-infused, so they actually offer a bit of protection all on their own. PolySeal offers more protection than either JD or Topper. So I would apply PolySeal at least once every 3 months as my main protection, esp on paint that has no PPF or ceramic coating. Then use Jersey Devil for weekly washes and Topper every 2-3 washes. Some people have actually mixed Jersey Devil and Topper 50/50 and used that as a waterless wash, which might save you a step.

The "Not Quite as Simple Option":
Because sealants bond best to clean, bare, unprotected paint, the other option is to wash your car with a wash medium that leaves no waxes, gloss enhancers, or anything else on the paint. My favorite for this is Mckees37 N-914 Rinseless Wash. You can even use N-914 at a "Paint prep" strong dilution strength, which will not only clean the paint but strip any old waxes or sealants. After this wash, you can check your paint to see if you need to clay the paint to remove embedded contaminants. The risk of claying paint is that even with a lot of lubrication, you can often easily marr the paint. Some people say if you are going to clay, you should always follow up with a polish to remove any marring. Some people also use an iron remover such as Iron-X to further decontaminate the paint.

Once your paint is squeaky clean and all contaminants are removed, you can then apply PolySeal as your base level of protection.

The three products of PolySeal, JD, and Topper work really well together.

One last thought. The only negative about Jersey Devil is the cost. It comes in a ready to use solution in a gallon for about $65. It is more cost effective to use a rinseless or waterless wash solution that comes in a concentrate. For example, ONR or ONRWW. Since you are using PolySeal, which is ceramic-infused, you could go for a ceramic-infused rinseless wash such as those offered by Mckees37 or Wolfgang. I actually emailed Xtreme Solutions and suggested that they consider offering Jersey Devil in a concetrate form to make it more cost effective.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions and hope that helps,
Joebruin77
 
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Joebruin77, thank you! Your information is so helpful to a novice like me. I really appreciate it!

Absolutely, happy to help. Feel fee to PM if you have any questions.

Since you have no PPF or ceramic, it is especially important to keep the paint both clean AND protected. It is also important to use good judgment and good technique to prevent and minimize inducing scratches and swirls. For example, if you have a lot of dirt, road grime, or salt on the paint, it is best to use a hose or pressure washer and do a traditional wash. Or in another example, with light dirt, if you do a waterless wash, make sure you use clean microfiber towels and "roll" them so that you only touch the paint with a clean part of the towel as you wash.

One last point. Whenver you use a ceramic-infused product of any kind, you want to wash your microfiber towels immediately after use. It is possible that the ceramic particles could harden in your towel if not washed right away. If this happens, the next time you use the towel you could induce scratches all over the car. When I use ceramic infused products, I keep a bucket of water mixed with either some APC (All Purpose Cleaner) or ONR and I dunk the used towels in that bucket. Then when I am done, I immediately wash the towels. When you dry your microfiber towels in the dryer, make sure to dry on the lowest heat setting and do not use any fabric softeners. Ironically, fabric softeners ruin MF towels and will make them hard.
 
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