I'm overwhelmed

C

csj0952

New member
Alright, I'm a newbie, I just bought a 2006 Acura TSX and I'm trying to prepare it for Winter in the salty Rochester, NY area. There's wayyyyy too much to read here and I don't know where to begin.



Like most of us, I don't really have the time to sift through to get the relevant information I need. I'd like to find a list of products I should buy so that I can wash, wax and protect my car from damage as it is currently new. Especially against road salt.



Thanks for your help,

Chris



P.S. What is "PC"?
 
csj0952 said:
Alright, I'm a newbie, I just bought a 2006 Acura TSX and I'm trying to prepare it for Winter in the salty Rochester, NY area. There's wayyyyy too much to read here and I don't know where to begin.



Like most of us, I don't really have the time to sift through to get the relevant information I need. I'd like to find a list of products I should buy so that I can wash, wax and protect my car from damage as it is currently new. Especially against road salt.



Thanks for your help,

Chris



P.S. What is "PC"?
Click to expand...



The PC is the Porter Cable. Look at the "magic decoder ring thread" pinned at the top of with forum. Check the "Guide to detailing" forum at the top. Great basic information to get you started. Its overwhelming at first but spend some time around here and you will get the hang of it.
 
is there a place out there i can get all the basic detailing products in a "kit" so that it would be cheaper?



Thanks,

Chris
 
csj0952- Welcome to Autopia!



This stuff *can* be overwhelming, especially as many of us here take it to extremes.



*IMO* (and I might've missed something that'd contradict this) you can do well by choosing known-to-work products and making up your own "kit". The problems I have with the kits offered by vendors along the lines of a) they usually have the wrong quantities of some products (e.g. you'll run out of shampoo months before you use half the wax), b) they often have stuff you really don't need, and c) at the risk of being cynical they put the kits together for their benefit (i.e. profit margin, not that I disapprove of that) rather than *your* benefit.



Short, simple, minimalist, Over-The-Counter answer to what to get (and I'll point out that everyone has their favorites/opinions on this stuff, this is just what comes to *my* mind right now):



Wash supplies- two buckets, a few sheepskin washmitts (or a Boar's Hair Brush AKA "BHB" though those aren't available OTC), something (maybe another BHB, one made for wheels) to clean wheels, shampoo (Meguiar's Gold Class isn't bad and it's both affordable and easily found OTC), wheel cleaner. Sorry, couldn't resist mentioning the BHBs even though they're a little on the exotic side :o



Drying supplies- Waffle-Weave Microfiber towels (WWMFs). Second-best might be the Absorber but it's not a particular favorite of mine.



Clay- Claying a new car is always a good idea, it'll clean off contamination (e.g., rail dust) that could lead to unsightly rust-blooms. ClayMagic and Mother's are commonly available OTC. I'm a *BIG* proponent of claying, but OK, you can consider it optional if you want to *really* keep this simple (insert admonition to clay anyhow here).



Paint Cleaner/Polish- You shouldn't need anything exotic as a) your car is new, b) it doesn't sound like you're looking for a new way to spend your time and money, c) I'm trying to keep this simple. So I'd look for something like Meguiar's Color-X. It's a decent cleaner-wax that oughta prep your car for the "real" wax (which will provide the true protection). Another choice would be Meguiar's Deep Crystal Step #1 (I don't recommend the Deep Crystal Step #2 "polish" and those quotes around polish are intentional ;) ).



Wax- Collinite. User-friendly and long lasting, it'll provide good winter protection (I'm using it on my winter vehicle). Many autoparts stores have their 845 Insulator Wax on the shelf and you can also check with marine supply places. It's also available direct from http://www.collinite.com/auto.htm.



A good website to check out might be Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories, though I sorta dislike recommending vendors as there are plenty of good ones that I'm not mentioning (including sponsors of these forums).



You can get a lot more involved that the above and I could reommend countless different approaches, but IMO that'd be a good way to get started with this stuff in a fairly manageable way. You could call a few autoparts places and see what they have on the shelves and then decide what to do from there. And don't hesitate to post back with ideas, or for further options; there isn't much out there that one of us hasn't tried ;)
 
This stuff *can* be overwhelming, especially as many of us here take it to extremes.



*IMO* (and I might've missed something that'd contradict this) you can do well by choosing known-to-work products and making up your own "kit". The problems I have with the kits offered by vendors along the lines of a) they usually have the wrong quantities of some products (e.g. you'll run out of shampoo months before you use half the wax), b) they often have stuff you really don't need, and c) at the risk of being cynical they put the kits together for their benefit (i.e. profit margin, not that I disapprove of that) rather than *your* benefit.



Short, simple, minimalist, Over-The-Counter answer to what to get (and I'll point out that everyone has their favorites/opinions on this stuff, this is just what comes to *my* mind right now):



Wash supplies- two buckets, a few sheepskin washmitts (or a Boar's Hair Brush AKA "BHB" though they aren't really available OTC), something (like a BHB made for wheels) to clean wheels, shampoo (Meguiar's Gold Class isn't bad and it's both affordable and easily found OTC), wheel cleaner. Sorry, the BHBs are a bit on the exotic side, but I like them enough that I decided to mention them.



Drying supplies- Waffle-Weave Microfiber towels (WWMFs).



Clay- Claying a new car is always a good idea, it'll clean off contamination that could lead to unsightly rust-blooms. ClayMagic and Mother's are commonly available OTC.



Paint Cleaner/Polish- You shouldn't need anything exotic as a) your car is new, b) it doesn't sound like you're looking for a new way to spend your time and money, c) I'm trying to keep this simple. So I'd look for something like Meguiar's Color-X. It's a decent cleaner-wax that oughta prep your car for the wax. Another choice would be Meguiar's Deep Crystal Step #1 (I don't recommend the Deep Crystal Step #2 "polish" and those quotes around polish are intentional ;) ).



Wax- Collinite. User-friendly and long lasting, it'll provide good winter protection. Many autoparts stores have their 845 Insulator Wax on the shelf and you can also check with marine supply places. It's also available direct from http://www.collinite.com/auto.htm.



A good website to check out might be Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories, though I sorta dislike recommending vendors as there are plenty of good ones that I'm not mentioning (including sponsors of these forums).



You can get a lot more involved that the above and I could reommend countless different approaches, but IMO that'd be a good way to get started with this stuff in a fairly manageable way.
 
It is easy to get overwhelmed here. Accumulator posted some good advice. Since you said your focus is protection and the car is new, a simple three step process is in order. All the products should be available locally. Don't fall for the boutique hype just yet, save that for when you get bored.:xyxthumbs



1. Wash Use a decent quality brand car wash like Meguiars, Mothers, or even Turtle wax platinum.

2. Clay Use a good automotive clay, Clay Magic, Meguiars and Mothers make great products.

3. Wax Collinite 845 IW will probably be the best thing you can find locally. Many Advance Auto Part stores have it. There are others, but they may not make it through winter as well as 845.



Use only high quality microfiber towels and (real) sheepskin mits, both can be had at Walmart
 
If all you want to do is clean and protect your vehicle go to a good auto parts store and pick up the Reflection Line by Mother's. It is a very good over the counter product. Easy to use and durability is quite good. There are other products that may last longer but non are easier to purchase.



If you want boutique products any vendor on this site can get you the products that you need. Just follow Accumulator's advice as far as process is concerned. He has given you a good solid regimen for your vehicle.
 
In addition to the advice offered so far, you're also going to want to get some good towels so as to not marr your car's paint while you're working on it. Assuming you're working OTC, try and find some Meguiars Supreme Shine towels (available at most auto parts stores). The Water Magnet is a microfiber waffle weave as Accumulator recommended (get a couple of those for drying). I'd also pick up 4 or 5 of the Supreme Shine Microfibers for wax/polish removal - definitely the best OTC towels I've found so far. Also, if you're willing to order online, Pakshak (the link Accumulator posted) has some of the best microfiber toweling available anywhere.
 
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