Starter car care kit

Rook · 02-25-02, 08:13

Hello all!

I've searched through the forums, and I couldn't quite find an answer to my question. I've recently purchased my first car, a new Nissan Sentra. Nothing super fancy, but it's brand new nonetheless.

As I've never owned a car before, and my parents' idea of car care was hosing the thing off every couple of months, I am as much of a newbie as one can be.

I'd like to put together a basic kit of stuff to take care of my new car. Here's some of the provisos, though:

1) I live in an apartment. I don't have access to a hose, unless I go to a DIY car wash. It's also damned cold here for 6 months of the year, making outdoor car care a bit of a challenge.

2) I'm in Canada. Products not readily available here don't help me. I'd prefer stuff that I can get easily (i.e. from Canadian Tire, Walmart, etc) rather than something I'll have to drive to the next province to buy in some obscure shop.

3) I'm a newbie, and I don't want any products that are extremely difficult to use or will cause problems in my inept hands.

So, do any of the experts here have recommendations for the best products to keep my car in good shape? Thanks!

DCopp · 02-25-02, 08:24

I had a 2001 Sentra SE 2.0 last year and it was black...used eagle one on it and it sucked...used meguiar's on it and it held up very well and provided a sweet shine...the interior door panels scuff easy and the carpet is deep pile and must be vaccumed frequently...You will need a good car wash product like Meg's gold class or suds...a Quick Detailer by meguiars will be sufficient too...for the interior the dash is a very sensitive suede and doesn't take shine well at all so use a satin finish product on a foam applicator not sprayed on the surface or you will regret it...nissan sentra's have thin paint so be careful with the buffer if you use one...and be sure to visit b15sentra.net/UBB.html frequently!!! you're welcome and lots of luck...P.S. I hope you bought a stick but if not, oh well, they are excellent cars and rated very highly...be proud of your purchase!!!=)

Jngrbrdman · 02-25-02, 08:30

In my opinon you can get a pretty good car care bucket put together from a visit to Kmart or Target. This is what I recommend...

California Water Blade and Absorber towel for drying.
Dash protectant of your choice
Prestone foaming carpet cleaner (accept no substitutes)
Glass cleaner
Shop towels
Tire gel or foam and wheel cleaner

If you get really lucky and find some CD2 Engine Detailer (I can only find it in Kmarts) then you can shine your engine up really good too.

Those are just some ideas. Obviously not everything you need. I didn't mention anything about waxes or soap for washing because I know what its like to live in the cold and I know you don't get to do that very often. The kit that I suggest will do you just fine on those days where it is warm enough to do a more detailed job.

Deemo · 02-25-02, 08:32

As a fellow Canadian I feel for you. But hey we got the gold so that helps!
Forget about waxing or doing a bang up job until spring - just keep it clean at the local wash bay as much as possible.
When I got my first bimmer I really got serious about detailing.
I ordered some stuff from the states based on comments from people here and on bimmer.org. Blitz wax, Black Again, P21S for wheels etc..
Most of the Best stuff is hard to get in Canada.
You can order from CMA www.carcareonline.com and www.autosupermart.com (my usual source).
I found myself using more and more Meguiars products which can be had at Canadian Tire but the Meguiars pro stuff is at Automotive Village (in Calgary - not sure about Edmonton).
Napa carries 3M products.
Regular Purchases (not a polymer guy - just a waxer):
Wash - Eagle one from Canadain Tire
Cleaner- Meguiars Gold Class (US order)
Glaze - 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (Napa) is good but tough to remove
somtimes. For less problem jobs I use One Grand Omega Glaze (US order)
Wax - Blitz but Meguiars #26 is awesome too. Sometimes I layer them.
Glass - Stoners Invisible Glass (US order)
Tires - Meguiars the absolute best hands down
Dash - Used Vinylex (US order) but going to try 303 Areospace (Automotive Village)Hope that helps - whew!

Rook · 02-25-02, 09:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Jngrbrdman
In my opinon you can get a pretty good car care bucket put together from a visit to Kmart or Target.

Not to be picky here, but neither of the above stores exist north of the 49th parallel. Kmart used to be up here, but disappeared soon after Walmart opened up.

Jngrbrdman · 02-25-02, 09:58

Walmart is a good source too. I didn't know about Target or Kmart but any of those type stores with a car care aisle will have those supplies.