Car
Care Section
by
Adirondack Corvettes Member
John
Lewczyk
Hello and welcome to the Adirondack Corvette Club’s car care section. After 3 years of detailing neglect, I’ve conquered my laziness and gone on a total car-detailing spree that has seen me detail a large portion of my Arctic White 2000 C5 Coupe.
Over the past few years I’ve picked up a lot of
pretty good detailing procedures that I wanted to share with club members, and
anyone else who might come across this page. I know the procedures and products
I use are not the only way to detail your car, but I have had great success with
them and that’s why I wanted to share them.
I
also want to add that many of the following procedures and product ideas were
collected from the indispensable
Corvette Forum in the
C5 General
Discussion
section and the
Care
Car Products
I’ve broken the car care procedure down into the following sections, and in each section you will find details along with manufacturer's links to the products I have talked about in this article:
The
first rule of washing your car is don’t wash it in the sun!!! The obvious
reason is that the sun will dry the water causing
water spots before you can
even come close to finishing the car. Water spots are the enemy and are to be
avoided at all costs!!
My
first step is to thoroughly rinse the car top to bottom using a Sunmate
7 Pattern Pistol Nozzle that I got from Home Depot. Lowes and other places have similar nozzles, but I’ve always
liked this
one because of the spray patterns it has.
The most important
car-washing tool is that which you use to apply the soap with. I personally
prefer wash mitts. I originally used one of those tan coloredvwash mitts from Target. After reading many recommendations I switched to
I’m sure any similar wash mitt would work just fine, but if you get a cotton wash mitt be sure it says 100% cotton on the packaging. The word on 100% cotton mitts is that they will not scratch, and from what I’ve seen so far they don’t.
As
far as washing liquid is concerned I’m sure any car washing formula that is
marked safe for clear coated paints would be just fine. I personally have used
Turtle Wax Zip Wax Car Wash for years. It’s available at Wal-Mart and places like that.
I have been seriously considering giving Zaino Z-7car wash, (link to ) a try. Why? Because I like Zaino products. Kris Riddervold uses it if you are curious about it.
I
keep a wash mitt for my Vette and use a separate one for our other vehicles. Be
sure not to drop the mitt on the ground
(if you do give it a good rinsing before
using again), and give it a thorough rinsing after each car washing session.
Something
I consider a must is to use a sponge (or even another wash mitt if you want) to
do the lower and wheel well areas of the car, especially if there is a lot of
dirt and stuff in those areas. This will keep your mitt cleaner, and keep all
that stuff out of your wash water and away from your paint.
If
your car is super dirty it would be a good idea to change the bucket water
halfway through. Washing with dirty, grit filled water is just asking for those
tiny clear coat scratches.
Some people
also use 2 wash buckets, one filled with soapy water for washing and the other
filled with plain water for rinsing your sponge or mitt. This way your wash water stays clear of dirt and
grit.
With
having a white car I consider the use of a clay bar as a must every time I wash.
I find at least a few spots of road gunk every time. I use
Zaino's Clay Bar ,
but I think most of the major wax companies make them. These bars are excellent for removing bug splatters, grease, road tar and those weird little black and
orange dots I occasionally find on my paint.
Another
way I’ve read about but never tried to deal with road tar and grease is to use
WD-40 Spray. I recently found out that Westley’s
Bleche-White Whitewall/Blackwall Tire Cleaner works surprisingly well
to get off the gunky stuff that you can find on the bodywork behind your
tires. I have only done this once though, so I don’t know what the long-term
affect would be on your paint. Whatever you do don’t let it dry there!!
As I go along washing section by section I like to periodically go back and rinse the areas I previously washed. This will keep them from drying and spotting up.
Here’s a tip for keeping water out of your rear view mirrors. I don’t know about anyone else but this drives me crazy!! Instead of blasting water in there (like do every time), spray from the front of the mirror housing only. This will allow you to clean the painted area and keep the water out of the inside. If the mirror itself is dirty use a sponge or wet cloth to wipe it off with.
“Wash the car from the top down” is a phrase I’ve read often, but I prefer to wash the body of the car first then do the windows last. This way I can immediately grab my drying towels after washing the windows and I never end up with spots.
Now that the car is freshly washed its time for the part I personally hate: DRYING
Drying is the part of car washing that will make or break the job you just did. You could have done the greatest car washing job in the history of Corvette ownership, but miss a bunch of those water spots during drying and the end result will be disappointing. Working fast is the way to go, so with this in mind it’s a good idea to have everything at hand before you start.
I
recently decided to change the way I was doing things when it came to drying. I
was previously using the California Water Blade to dry the car, and using those blue supposedly cotton towels like you get in
Wal-Mart to kind of blot up the remaining water.
I never really liked that Water Blade. Although it got must of the water off it could be difficult to use on curvy areas, and that horrendous rubber scraping sound was really getting to me. The main reason why I dumped it though was that I was starting to find marks in my clear coat that I am convinced are from that blade.
I
now use the Absorber
to dry the body of the car. This very easy to use Chamois like towel gets up the
majority of the water without fear of scratching.
As I mentioned, I start with the windows immediately after washing. I use the Water Blade followed up immediately with a final polishing from a micro fiber cloth. This ensures crystal clear windows that don’t have to be touched again.
Once
the windows are all done I start on the body using the Absorber. As great as the
Absorber is, it does leave a trail of pinpoint sized water drops (unless you
stop after every swipe and wring every drop of water out of it). To get these up
for final drying I use 100% cotton polishing cloths
that I ordered online from a great car supply shop called Griot’s
Garage I go along section by section, first wiping with the Absorber then gently wiping
with the cotton towel.
Another
type of towel that has been gaining popularity is the micro fiber towel. I
ordered a six piece micro fiber towel set from Griot’s garage. Another online place to get these towels from is Pakshak.com I have
not used these but a lot of people online have been recommending them. Micro
fiber towels absorb like you wouldn’t believe and could be used in place of
the cotton polishing cloths for drying. I use these to blot up water from places
like the tail light recesses and around the license plate frame.
The last things I do are the tires and wheels. You can use anything to dry them with. I use the old blue Wal-Mart blue towels I mentioned earlier.
Another way of car drying that is practiced is with the use of a leaf blower. I know it sounds crazy but if you think about it it makes sense. I tried this once using a new 160MPH electric blower. I was disappointed with the results and returned the blower. I am planning on trying again soon with a 200MPH model. If you want to try this go out and buy a new blower, especially if you own a blower/vacuum like I do.
For getting water out from around the rear brake lights, out of the mirrors or elsewhere, some out there use compressors with a blow gun. I think this is a great idea but haven’t tried it yet.
And last but not least there are comedians out there who claim to dry their cars by taking them out on the highway and doing 100MPH. I’ll pass on this one; my car would need washing again long before I reached the Northway.
Before I move on, a word about towels. Some might
be wondering, why order more expensive towels when Wal-Mart has the same kind of
towels
cheaper? I did a lot of research before I ordered the towels I did. One
of the things that everyone who recommended towels had to say was “Don’t
buy
the cheaper towels from Wal-Mart (or similar stores) because they scratch”
Is this true? Beats me. I look at it this way though. I spent a hell of a lot of money for my car; I can afford to spend $50-75 on towels to keep it looking new. After all the work it takes to keep up the car why take a chance on scratching it up?
Next
up; those expensive black round things
This
is probably the most neglected area on a motor vehicle. How many times have you
seen some guy driving a $70,000 BMW or Mercedes with front wheels so black from
brake dust that they looked like they were in a fire?
The
best way to keep those wheels looking like new is to clean them once a week.
Even if you can’t do the whole car do the wheels. If you’ve just driven the
car it’s best to wait a few hours so the brake rotors can cool down before
cleaning.
I
clean the tires first. For regular cleaning I use the same stuff I wash the car
with and a stiff bristled brush. If I want to remove the tire shine, I use Westley’s
Bleche-White Whitewall/Black Wall Tire Cleaner
. This is available
just about everywhere. I spray it on, let it sit a few minutes then scrub the
tires with the brush. I’ve seen this stuff clean even seriously browned tires.
For
the wheels I use Turtle Wax Formula 2000 Foaming
Wheel Cleaner. I’ve never had a problem with serious brake
dust staining on my wheels so I really don’t know how this stuff would work on
heavily stained wheels. It works great on mine, but so would anything that is
safe for clear coated aluminum wheels. If your wheels are heavily stained I have
read people recommending Simple Green.
Kris
Riddervold used
Armor
All Multi Purpose Cleaner on
I
just spray the Turtle Wax stuff on, scrub the wheels lightly then hose them off.
I have a couple different scrubbing type cleaning tools bought from Target.
Another use I’ve found for the Zaino clay bar is to get off stubborn brake
dust deposits. Sometimes this works great, sometimes it doesn’t.
I’ve
also read that many people use Zaino Brother’s Z-2
Show Car Polish to shine and protect against brake dust staining. I haven’t tried this yet, but it makes sense. The Z2 is supposed to create a barrier between the dust and the wheels. I
have used Zaino Z-6 Gloss Enhancer Spray
and this stuff gives the wheels a great shine. The brake dust also seems to
slide off the wheel easier.
If
you are inclined to do stuff like this, removing your wheels to give them a good
cleaning once a year is not a bad idea. Doing this will also give you access to
the wheel wells for a thorough cleaning. Many people ignore their wheel wells,
which is unfortunate on a Vette because of the huge space between the tires and
fenders.
I
pulled my tires this spring. My wheel wells actually looked pretty good so I was
able to clean them using the same stuff I wash the car with. I used a sponge and
small scrub brush for the hard to reach places.
I
also went a step farther since I was down there and gave the wheel wells a
coating of 303 Aerospace Protectant
on this great stuff in the interior section). I don’t know how long it will
last but I figured what the hell? All it cost me was a little Protectant and a
few minutes of time
I
loved using the 303 Protectant so much I went a little nuts and shined up not
only the wheel well plastic but also the shocks, sway bars and the plastic
monospring. It still looks great too!!!
Last
but not least is tire shining. There are tons of tire shine products out there,
so the first thing you need to do is decide on how shiny you want your tires. I
personally am not into the real shiny stuff, I like the more natural new tire
like sheen. I’ve tried a lot of products over the years and I’ve settled on
Meguire’s
Gold Class Endurance Gel Natural Finish This stuff gives a really nice like new sheen, holds up well and more
importantly slings off very little. I use a foam applicator to apply the gel,
let it sit overnight the
Next up; add a better than new shine to your car
I
did my first wax job back when I was 17 or 18, and I hated doing it so much that
I never did it again until last summer on my C5. My attitude changed though once
I saw how it improved paint that I had thought was almost perfect before waxing.
I am the farthest thing from a wax expert so I once again turned to the Corvette Forum for help. Based on the many people there who recommended it I chose Zaino Brothers products. They’re easy to use and provide an awesome almost liquid looking shine. I know there are loads of waxing systems out there, and I honestly don’t know if Zaino Products are actually better than any of the others, but the number of people out there who swear by Zaino was enough to get me to try it. And the results have been so good that I have no reason to bother trying anything else.
Instead of going into the whole waxing procedure I’m going to refer you to the Zaino’s Show Car Finish section, which does a better job then I will ever do explaining how to get the best results with Zaino products. I will however give a quick rundown on their products I used, and what I thought of them.
The first thing I started out with was Z-5 Show Car Polish For Swirl Marks and Fine Scratches . I combined this with ZFX Flash Cure Accelerator Additive , which allows the Z-5 to dry quickly. I applied the Z-5 using Zaino Custom Polishing Applicator Pad
Z-5 is supposed to make swirl marks and fine scratches
disappear with use. I have about 3 ½ coats of Z-5
on now and although I actually saw some fine scratches disappear, there are
others that have not. Others have suggested using 3M
Swirl Mark Remover
instead of Z-5, but I think I’m going to do a few more coats of Z-5 before
making a change. Removing EVERY fine scratch is my ul
It’s
advised to wait about 30 minutes for the Z-5 to
dry, but you can leave it on as long as you like (I did 30 minutes). I then used
a 100% cotton full size bath towel to wipe the dried polish off with. Cannon or
Fieldcrest towels are recommended by Zaino Bros.
The polish came off pretty quickly and I was amazed at the wet looking shine the
Z-5 produced!!
If you don’t have a problem with fine scratches, or you have used Z-5 and removed scratches to your satisfaction, then it’s time for Z-2 Show Car Polish For Clear Coat Finishes . Z-2 is the base of the Zaino polishing system. As with Z-5, Z-2 is mixed with ZFX Flash Cure Accelerator Additive for quicker drying. The Z-2 was also applied using the Zaino Custom Polishing Applicator Pad. As with the Z-5, I waited 30 minutes and wiped the Z-2 off with the bath towel. As before I was amazed at the wet looking shine the Z-2 produced!! Z-2 can be used over Z-5 and vise versa, they are made to be interchangeable.
The final step is to spray the car with Z-6 Ultra Clean Gloss Enhancer Spray . Z-6 is used to help buff out any remaining spots of Z-2/Z-5 and to really bring out the gloss. I sprayed Z-6 on in about 2’ by 2’ sections and immediately wiped it off with one of my cotton polishing cloths from Griot’s Garage You can also use a bath towel. You know you have it right when the towel glides super smooth over the surface. As with the Z-2 I was amazed at the results using Z-6. The combination of Z-2/Z-6 brought a deep wet gloss like I had never seen before.
As
I mentioned before, you can use Z-6 on your
wheels and I even used it on all my windows. On the windows it makes bug
splatters come off easier.
After
Wash/Wax Maintenance
One of the greatest
benefits to polishing your car with a top product like Zaino
is the way it helps your paint resist dirt and everything else you pick up from
driving.
As the car gets dusty I
once again use my trusty 100% cotton polishing cloths to keep my car looking
freshly washed without washing it. I use two cloths, one wet and one dry. Use
the wet one to gently wipe a section of the car at a time, and then use the dry
one to gently dry that section off.
Zaino
makes the paint surface so slippery smooth that you can do this without fear of
scratching. Many people like to use the California Car
Duster
to dust their cars off, but I am not a big fan of this product. This duster uses
paraffin wax to trap the dust in the cotton strands and I have seen this wax come off on my paint.
Next up is an area many people have problems with:
Washing the windows last and drying them first will give you crystal clear glass, but eventually they will end up dirty
again.
I care for my exterior glass in two ways. If the glass is dusty or
lightly dirty I use a clean wet sponge to wipe down the glass, then I use a
micro fiber towel for a final polishing. You can also use any 100% cotton towel,
but I like the micro fiber because it absorbs so well. It also leaves the glass
totally streak free.
For glass that is bug
splattered my favorite cleaner is Armor All Auto Glass
Cleaner.
I just spray it on and use the scrubber side of a window squeegee to rub down
the glass. I then use one side of a micro fiber towel to dry the glass, and the
other side to buff it. You will know your glass is nice and clean when the cloth
glides across the glass without hanging up. If it does that means the glass is
not totally clean. That Armor All really cuts through those bug guts!!
One place many people
have real problems is with interior glass. I used to as well but not anymore. I
use either a damp sponge or Armor All Glass Cleaner
just like I did on the exterior glass. Keep polishing with your cloth until you
can’t see any haze when you look into the windows from outside. When
using
window cleaner on interior glass it is best to spray it directly on your cloth,
not on the window. This will save you from cleaning up over spray.
One last topic is removing hard almost etched in water spots. Two tips I read about and tried where white vinegar (didn’t work) and clay bar (didn’t work). I’ve also read of people using toothpaste, and using newspapers with various window cleaners. I finally found a product that did work very well, Zaino Z-12 Clear View Glass Polish . If you have a water spot problem this is the stuff for you!!
If you want you can
follow this up with a coat of Z-6. Z-6
is perfectly safe for windows and leaves them slippery smooth and easier to
clean.
Next up is another favorite cleaning spot for me
(not!!):
The first thing I did to detail my interior was
give it a thorough vacuuming. I have a Shop*Vac Hang Up
Pro
wall mountable vacuum that I use for car vacuuming and garage cleaning. This is
one of the best vacuums I’ve ever used, it’s powerful and it has a 17’
hose. An indispensable accessory for this or any vacuum is a 1
¼ Micro Cleaning Kit .
These little attachments are perfect for vacuuming all the hard to reach places
in an interior.
I’m not into that super shiny greasy looking interior finish and I looked for a long time to find something that would return my interior panels to looking like new. I found what I was looking for with 303 Aerospace Protectant.
This liquid spray is easy to apply (it’s similar to Armor All) and gives a really nice sheen to your interior parts. It holds up very well too. I just sprayed it on a red shop rag (you can use anything for applying it) and started wiping away. I let it sit for a few minutes and wiped it up with one of my blue cloths. I applied it to every square inch of my interior that was not rug or glass.
I’m not a big fan of getting chemicals all over my hands, so I started using disposable latex gloves (like the kind health care professionals use). You can get these things anywhere. I use them when I apply 303 Protectant, tire shine and any type of grease.
For the leather seats I used the 303 Aerospace Protectant and it worked well, but this stuff is a protectant not a leather conditioner, so I am going to try something else. I’ve heard a lot of good things said about Zaino Z-10 Leather In A Bottle Conditioner so I think I will try this next. I will update this section when I try it.
The last topic in this section is caring for your weather stripping. GM recommends using silicone grease and that’s what I used. I got it from Auto Zone under the name Dielectric Silicone Grease. I did every inch of weather stripping on the car and it was time consuming, but it’s the best way to keep your stripping supple and free of dry rot. Just wipe it on, let it sit for a few minutes (though I left mine on over night) and wipe it off with a clean cloth. Be sure to wipe it down thoroughly or the stripping will be greasy and attract dirt, or worse yet rub off on your clothes. I have read of people wiping the stripping down with 303 Aerospace Protectant after using the grease.
Now onto the final car care section:
Engine
Compartment Cleaning
I recently did something I’ve wanted to do for the past year, cleaning and detailing my engine compartment. I accomplished this using two steps over two evenings. Although I make some specific reference to the C5, these cleaning instructions will work just fine on any year Corvette.
Before I go any farther I wanted to talk about water and your engine compartment. When hosing down your engine compartment it’s best to use a light or misting spray of water. Don’t go in there shooting around a strong jet of water. Go easy around the alternator, any exposed electrical connections and the battery compartment. The CPU on the C5 is located under the battery; so filling that area with water is not a good idea!! I did my wife’s Grand Prix and my Corvette using the following procedures without any type of problem, and I used a good amount of water. This doesn’t mean that you won’t have problems though if you aren’t careful.
The first step is cleaning. Although my engine compartment was pretty clean to start with I first gave it a pretty thorough hosing down to remove any dust. The next thing I did was to give it a coating of Zep Citrus Cleaner that I got from Home Depot. I did this to remove any grease or oils. Many people also use Simple Green for degreasing but I was curious how the citrus cleaner would works and it did just fine. If your engine is heavily soiled you may want to do some light scrubbing to remove the grease and oil.
After letting the citrus cleaner sit for a few minutes I once again hosed everything off. The last thing I did was use my air compressor with a blower attachment to remove as much water as I could. You could also use a leaf blower, and some people use cans of compressed air for this. Once I was satisfied with the water removal I let the car sit over night.
Now comes the fun part: detailing your engine with what I call the Windex treatment. This treatment allows you to shine up every exposed area of your engine compartment without touching a thing. Be sure to start this treatment on a DRY engine compartment. I started it while our Grand Prix’s compartment was still wet and it didn’t work right. This is why I let the car sit overnight after the initial cleaning
Start the car and let it idle
for 5 minutes to warm it up and then shut it off.
Using a vinegar-based glass
cleaner like Windex, amply spritz the beauty covers, radiator shroud, hoses,
etc. The more the better.
Close the hood and take a
break (I waited 15 minutes).
Take your garden hose and
wash off the glass cleaner. Don’t drench the engine, just spray lightly. Go
easy around the alternator, the battery and any exposed electrical connections.
Spray Armor-all or equivalent
(I use 303 Aerospace Protectant) over those same surfaces. Avoid the belts and
go easy around anything electrical. Use a lot on the fender covers.
Close the hood and keep it
closed for at least 10 minutes (I kept it closed for around 20-30 minutes while
I washed the rest of the car).
When you open up the hood it
will look brand new.
That’s all there is
to it. The only thing I had to do was blot up some 303 Protectant that had
puddled up here and there. Take a look around and make sure everything is shined
to your satisfaction. If anything was missed you can always touch it up with a
rag and whatever shine product you are using. I did my compartment about a month
ago and it’s held up great. For follow up maintenance I will probably just
blow some air in there periodically to remove any dust.
Well that wraps up the car care section. I hope you found something useful here, and if you have any questions or concerns you can email me at jl@nycap.rr.com. Thanks for looking!