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What car care products do you use?


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Just curious as to what everyone else uses to keep their Spark all nice and shiny.

I have only used Autoglym products and I'm really happy with the results :) I have never got into the really long detailed cleans and I was wondering since the car is so new (has paint protection from GM) when should I wax or clay bar the vehicle?

-Brit

Edited by Riverspark
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I use all Mothers products. I don't know what protectant GM uses but I would not trust it. I'm a firm believer in good hand detailing and waxing. As for clay bar you need to see if the paint has contaminants in it first. If its baby smooth no clay and straight to a good wax.

Also practice good washing and drying techniques. I always say you get out what you put in.

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I use all Mothers products. I don't know what protectant GM uses but I would not trust it. I'm a firm believer in good hand detailing and waxing. As for clay bar you need to see if the paint has contaminants in it first. If its baby smooth no clay and straight to a good wax.

Also practice good washing and drying techniques. I always say you get out what you put in.

I wash my Spark once a week to keep the road grim and dirt down, plus I love the shiny look :D Before the summer heat I will give it a good wax and then regularly wash it :)

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I'm crazy enough that I sometimes wash in the rain too. I just don't like any dirt or contaminants on my vehicles if I can help it. Besides it helps living in sunny Florida.

If we go on a road trip I have to wash what vehicle we take when we get to our destination or at least wipe the front down to remove bugs.

My hobbies are my vehicles and electronics. I would be rather fiddling around than watching tv, thankfully I have a family that understands and gets involved.

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  • 4 weeks later...

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="bluer101" data-cid="3987" data-time="1364735256"><p>

I'm crazy enough that I sometimes wash in the rain too. I just don't like any dirt or contaminants on my vehicles if I can help it. Besides it helps living in sunny Florida. If we go on a road trip I have to wash what vehicle we take when we get to our destination or at least wipe the front down to remove bugs. My hobbies are my vehicles and electronics. I would be rather fiddling around than watching tv, thankfully I have a family that understands and gets involved.</p></blockquote>

Those love bugs are just as bad as bird droppings, like they're acidic. Those really eat into the paint, and often require clay bars or high speed compound to get the stains out.

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  • 2 months later...

i use an armour all soap

about 2 (usually 4 but this thing is tiny) microfiber towels to wash.

an a big Absorbies drying towel. This thing is great it works like a charm WAY better then Shamwow.

i still haven't picked a wheel cleaner. Dipyourcar.com sells this new product called BDP (break dust pro) that cleans the crap off of wheels. Video is very convincing ... $20 price tag is not lol

Meticulous Matte Auto Wash is another product i want to dry for my spoiler.

as for glass i use this foam cleaner.

20130701_022239_zpsced96b53.jpg

WORKS LIKE A CHARM ! sold at the 99 cent store lol love it.

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  • 2 months later...

I'm crazy enough that I sometimes wash in the rain too. I just don't like any dirt or contaminants on my vehicles if I can help it. Besides it helps living in sunny Florida. If we go on a road trip I have to wash what vehicle we take when we get to our destination or at least wipe the front down to remove bugs. My hobbies are my vehicles and electronics. I would be rather fiddling around than watching tv, thankfully I have a family that understands and gets involved.

I can attest, FL sun is crazy BRUTAL on cars down here, I washed my caddy once a week and the paint literally shone while others with the same car didn't maintain it and the paint went to fade/bubble/clearcoat gone. I demanded dealer installed tint because I know just how much the sun can destroy the inside as well.

I'm getting ready for my first wash here later this week, I want to keep in the habit of every 1-2 weeks like I did with my eldo, and since this car is so much smaller I won't have sore arms when I'm done :)

I'm def interested in getting a good wax coating on it, the dealer did it but IDK that just doesn't feel right....although the last time I waxed I missed a spot and had wax on the black ><

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I've done pernament coat to my spark that is called Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0, search for it online,

it should lasts atleast 2 years with a very nice shine and protection on the paint

the problem that it needed very high prepartion before applying this stuff because after it dry's you can't remove it, only with aggresive polish

so it needs to be put in a clean room so dust won't attach to it, This is how she looks after the process:

post-956-0-61096700-1381481337_thumb.jpg

Edited by ValorHeart
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  • 1 year later...

From time to time (about once a month or so) I go to a little garage in Miami Beach that does detailing among other custom work and for $17 ( + tip for a good job) they hand wash and wax, vacuum the interior and apply a very glossy, long lasting tire shine product they buy in bulk. Only thing I do in between is clean the windows and spray a cheap tire shine product on the engine and engine bay area that keeps the aluminum from oxidizing, the plastic and rubber shiny and other components rust free. Cheap and fast and the 'tire shine' refills for the spray bottle are cheap at about $4 for a half gallon so I use that on brake calipers and drums & rust prone areas on the car underside as well. Calipers and drums look like new.

We have a lot of salty wind where I live, 150ft from the ocean and with prevailing winds blowing directly at us, everything on my deck and inside the garage that is bare metal develops surface rust very quickly and we find the cars with salty 'haze' on the windows some cooler mornings.

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  • 8 months later...

I know this is an old thread, but I'm a fan of Adams polishes, and Chemical Guys, depending on specifically what type of cleaning supplies I am getting. I also have Mothers, Meguiars, Turtle Wax, and Croftgate stuff. I tend to prefer Adams and Chemical Guys. Although I will admit I don't use any of it on my Spark. I've only washed the Spark like twice in the year I've owned it. Intentionally got white so it doesn't look that dirty. All my detailing goes to my Mustang instead, which has a Metallic Green paint.

Edited by Ajstolz
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I like Eagle One gel wax. Can use it on the black plastic trim, lenses, windows, basically everything on the exterior other than the tires.For those I use Armor All Extreme tire shine. I like original Armor All protectant for the interior plastic. 

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