New Jeep Grand Cherokee - Now What?

[luaufish]

Hello. I just purchased a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It is Steel Blue, which looks like a dark grey with some blueish tent....depending on the lighting.



I`m curious what most use for washing their cars. I`ve always just washed and scrubbed with a terry cloth towel. They probably weren`t 100% cotton if I were to guess. I also have used Meguiar`s Gold Class Shampoo on my previous jeep. I dry it with another terry cloth towel or two.



I`ve read a little about Cobra towels, but there seems to be a dozen or so different towels.



I did a little bit of searching but didn`t find quite what I was looking for, and I was hoping to get a quick answer so that I can pick up what I need and wash the new one this weekend.



Thanks for any advice on what to use (towels, shampoo, etc).



Thanks,

Mark

[howareb]

Gold Class shampoo, and NXT Car wash are both respectable products. If you are looking to immediatly get your towels you can pick up some Viking towels from Kmart or Sears. They are the best quaility OTC towels that you can get IMO. Get yourself a 2 drying towels, 2 polishing towels and 2 green detailing towels to get you started. Also welcome to Autopia!!!!

[citizen arcane]

Welcome to Autopia!



I would add two 5 gal. buckets, a grit guard for each and at least two quality wool wash mitts to your shopping list. Also perfect your washing routine by reading the "how tos" here.

[luaufish]

Thanks for the quick replies. I`ll definately be getting the Home Depot buckets.



Is a mitt a must for washing, or could I use one of the above mentioned towels? I`ve always found the mitts to be cumbersome and way too big for my hand. Is there an alternative?



Not sure what a grit guard is yet....I`ll keep searching. I just want to make sure I don`t do anything stupid on day 1. I seemed to have the tiny swirls/scratches in my previous jeep and want to do what I cna to avoid that this time.



Thanks again,

Mark

[howareb]

A wool mitt is a must have but, only use it with the grit guard. You could also use a grout sponge which is a cheaper altenative but you have to get the right kind of grout sponge. Stick with the wool mitt at first, then try the grout sponge later.



Also educate yourself with the two bucket method of washing. It is a priceless technique to learn. I will see if I can find some links to some vids to help you out.

[BlueLibby04]

A grit guard goes in the bottom of a bucket to help trap all the grit and dirt in the bottom of the bucket. This helps reduce those swirls you were talking about.



Grit Guard



I use a Meguiars MicroFiber Mitt but a sheep skin mitt works good too. Many people have started using a grout sponge but I dont think Ill be doing that anytime soon.



Auto Detailing Wash Mitts



Auto Detailing Solutions is a great site to get Meguiars Products along with a few other products from. Rick is also a great guy to deal with. :up

[luaufish]

Thanks for all the replies. I`ll be doing some reading this weekend.



Just caught a rock in my windshield on the way to work this morning, so not I`ll be looking to get that fixed. Only 8 days old.... : ( At least it hit the windshield and not the hood.



Thanks again!



Mark