I've been wanting to post this thread for a long time... i know everyone has little tricks and things that they use when they are detailing... tricks that seem obvious, but might not be to everyone. for instance...

recently on my black car it's been hard to keep water spots off when...

Use a tack rag to wipe down interior, really picks up the dust.

Credit vwlarry from vwVortex for this one: Tack cloth for glass -- to set a clear, slick, streak-free finish on window glass, give them a quick buff with the same cloth that you used to buff wax from your paint.

Also from vwVortex (unfortunately I can't remember who posted it): You can release a lot of the trapped water from window seals and gaskets by inserting a toothpick between seal and paint at the lowest or likeliest drain point.

Now a strange but true. One of the products used in firearm cleaning and maintenance is called Ballistol; gunshops will stock it with the cleaning supplies if they have it. My SO, John, collects wwII militaria and for wood and metal swears by this stuff. All I can say is, it smells horrible but it's truly a remarkable product. Last fall I had restorative detailing work to do on a 72 mercedes benz 280 sel 4.5 that hadn't seen a kind hand in forever. The wood veneer on the dash was thick with a dirty sludge and even though I cleaned it with a solution of murphy's and water it still had a dull appearance and a filmy, sticky surface texture. John thought Ballistol might help. So I applied a thick layer of the Ballistol and let it sit overnight. The next morning I wiped it down and the difference was amazing. The Ballistol brought a great deal of embedded dirt to the surface and it conditioned the wood beautifully. After buffing, the wood just glowed. It was not greasy at all. It was gorgeous. While I was working with the Ballistol on the wood veneer pieces of the console I rubbed it into the surrounding vinyl trim pieces, and it cleaned and restored a nice even color to them that was permanent. This I thought was truly a godsend because neither 303 nor vinylex had the whatis, the penetration or staying power or whatever, that the interior trim of this car seemed to need. I rarely have the opportunity to do work on cars of this age so I don't expect to be borrowing John's Ballistol very often, but I'm really thankful to have it here for when I do.

My contribution to this thread:

After applying tire dressing, let the vehicle roll a few feet so you can apply dressing to the spot that was facing the ground. Otherwise you will have a very noticeable 'dry' spot on your tires that can be seen going down the road.

This one sound a little corny, but it's very true..Take your time & do it right the first time. Why is there never enough time to do it right the first time, but ALWAYS enough time to do it right the second time? Do it right or don't do it at all.

Hmm, that sounds like the ex-profile of one of our ex-members. I completely agree!

Spray your QD in the air above the panel you are working on, It settles on the finish in a finer mist. Can't always have the good Meguiar's sprayer at hand.

Charles

I 'm surprised no one else does this. I have a dedicated leaf blower to blow dry the car. It blows off most of the water, but best of all, I can blast off all the water that can't be seen, like in the crevices of the window sills, the grill, body seams, mirror cavities, around the hood and trunk. You know, the water that shows up as soon as you move the dang car and leaves spots all over when it dries.

Of course, you got to be careful with an electric one. I usually move the car to a dry spot before doing this. Of course, your neighbors don't get to excited about this at 6:00 in the morning... so be reasonable. P.S. wear a ear muff, so you don't go deaf.

Guess My Name thought us long time ago.
It's a good one though,
some use a hair-dryer(I sometimes do)
some use those cans with compressed air(build for computers)

After drying of the body is finished, rinse the chamois and wipe the dashboard,centre console and gauge area, thus removes dust and no need for protectants.
Plastic mirror backings - valvoline tyre shine, fast wax, wd40,meguiars tyre gel,omikron klearview blue or my own mixture
Boiled beeswax,citranella oil,liquid furniture polish,white spirits
Really shines up plastic mirror backings and can also be used on outside of windows to make glass feel as smooth and look as shiny as buffed paintwork
Apply my special mix to windows, wipe and then clean windows with regular cleaner. Smooth as a baby's bum.

Exterior door seals - lubricate faded seals with a dab of meguiars tyre gel on a clean cloth and wipe entire seal, do not use too much as it will go all over the paintwork during driving.
Use just enough to cover the seal, do not buff dry or will not be enough product to lubricate the seals
Windows stick a bit when hand or electronic winding up/down.
Valvoline tyre shine on the window seal will fix that
Just spray directly on seal from top to bottom.

Bird and insect poo - 1 non alcoholic baby wipe, wipe affected area gently.
Then wipe clean with 3M Gloss enhancer. Guaranteed no left over stains.

Windscreen wiper free rainy day driving
3M Perfect It Gloss enhancer - use instead of window cleaner
Windscreen will bead (tiny little beads) and vision will be as good or better than if you used Rain X

Why are you here ???
You just want to get other detailers ideas
and not contribute yours?
This is about giving and receiveing.

Somthing like Christmas....remember?

W

Dude, lighten up a little; he was joking. Geeze, RCG is one of the more prolific and helpful posters around here . . . and the original post was made over seven months ago!

Tort

Ouch.............I didn't know he was kidding. Sorry for that error.
Next time I'll also note the date.
All you folks are so giving of information and have been a great help to me.
I thought that we had a bad apple.