My Current 'Newb' Routine for my '93 'Vert 240SX

[Niko Molina]

My 240 is in pretty great condition and it's my daily driver. I paid a pretty penny for it considering most 240's go for around 2-3grand. A lot of them around are beat up. They've been used for drifting, racing, basically modding just about everything you can from an engine swap to what the car lighter looks like. 


 


Anyways... Because mine is in such good shape, I like to keep it looking very nice. So every Sunday I go to a car wash and do the following:


 


1. INTERIOR


1. I vacuum the car out with the vacuums at the car wash. I pull the floor mats out and suck what I can out and of course get the seats and all of the carpet on the floor.


 


 


2. I then use Meguiar's "Quik Interior Detailer CLEANER' wipes on the plastic. I get every inch of plastic I can. The doors, the dash, under the dash, around the console, the glovebox, around the steering wheel, the panels in the back seats, the plastic around the driver & passenger seats, and the plastic bordering the carpet along the door.

 


 


3. I then use Meguiar's 'Supreme Shine Hi-Gloss PROTECTANT' wipes on all of the plastic as well. So first I 'clean' it, then I 'shine' it. 

 


 


2. RIMS


 


1. I do the rims/tires first. I spray my tires with Meguiar's 'Hot Shine' Foam which cleans & 'shines' the tire. Works pretty good. 


 

 


 


2. I then go to my rims. They are aluminum so I got Meguiar's "Aluminum Wheel Cleaner'. I go ahead and spray them and wipe them down with MF towels. I'm sure to get in all the corners, holes and crevasses. 

 


3. THE WASH


 I then roll my 240 into the car-port at the carwash and go through their settings.


--1. Bug Remover/Preventor (spray on the front of the car)


--2. Pre-Soak (don't know what this does but it says to do it...)


--3. High-Pressure soap (same as above)


--4. Tri-Foam Brush (the brush that spits out soap)

--5. Power Rinse 


--6. Rain Shield (don't know if it actually works but whatever, might as well)


--7. Spot free rinse 


 


5. DRYING


1. Then I get in it and drive around for about 2 minutes to let most of the water come off and I drive back to the car wash and find a nice spot of SHADE for me to park the car in.


 


2. I then take a towel thats not MF... I'm not sure what it's called . It's more 'sturdy'. It's brown/tannish and has a 'rough' feel to it. But it sucks the water right up better than a MF towel. I use this one towel all around the car and dry it all up. No spots are left whatsoever. Looks good at this point.


 


6. WINDOWS


1. The best window cleaner I have found is the 'Invisible Glass' foam. I used to use Armor All (Harmer All..) and a buddy that tints windows said for me tot try out Invisible Glass. It's awesome. So I use this on the outsides & insides of my windows and the glass that protects my gauges in my dash.

 


7. WAXING


1. I use Meguiar's "Ultimate Quik WAX' and spray it on the car and wipe it down with MF towels in a circular motion all around the entire car. Every inch of it.

 


 


 


 


I would like to know if this is a good newbie/beginner routine for detailing. I'm new to it and wouldn't know how to buffer or use actual paste/wax and use the bars & stuff like that. So I'm trying to take it 'slow' and get the basics down, so to speak, before I 'advance' into using other techniques.


 


Is there anything I should or shouldn't do? Any recommendations you could make on my 'routine'?

 

[dfoxengr]

Sorry for the complete quote, but see comments in <span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">red.


 


 

My 240 is in pretty great condition and it's my daily driver. I paid a pretty penny for it considering most 240's go for around 2-3grand. A lot of them around are beat up. They've been used for drifting, racing, basically modding just about everything you can from an engine swap to what the car lighter looks like. 


 


Anyways... Because mine is in such good shape, I like to keep it looking very nice. So every Sunday I go to a car wash and do the following:


 


1. INTERIOR


1. I vacuum the car out with the vacuums at the car wash. I pull the floor mats out and suck what I can out and of course get the seats and all of the carpet on the floor.


 


 


2. I then use Meguiar's "Quik Interior Detailer CLEANER' wipes on the plastic. I get every inch of plastic I can. The doors, the dash, under the dash, around the console, the glovebox, around the steering wheel, the panels in the back seats, the plastic around the driver & passenger seats, and the plastic bordering the carpet along the door.


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">This is a decent, OTC interior cleaner. But you'll save a lot of money if you buy it in a spray bottle and use MF towels instead of these wipes. Plus these dry out over time.

 


 


3. I then use Meguiar's 'Supreme Shine Hi-Gloss PROTECTANT' wipes on all of the plastic as well. So first I 'clean' it, then I 'shine' it. 


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">Not a big fan of these greasy, hi shine interior chemicals. Try 303 aerospace protectant instead and buff with MF towel until a matte finish.

 


 


2. RIMS


 


1. I do the rims/tires first. I spray my tires with Meguiar's 'Hot Shine' Foam which cleans & 'shines' the tire. Works pretty good. 


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">Go get some Eagle One A2Z wheel cleaner and use that on both wheels and tires. Will save you time and money. Plus its a great cleaner and safe on just about anything.


 

 


 


2. I then go to my rims. They are aluminum so I got Meguiar's "Aluminum Wheel Cleaner'. I go ahead and spray them and wipe them down with MF towels. I'm sure to get in all the corners, holes and crevasses. 


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">I didnt look into this product but if you continue using. Make sure that it's safe for the wheel coating. Sure your wheel is aluminum but is is painted? clear coated? bare?

 


3. THE WASH


 I then roll my 240 into the car-port at the carwash and go through their settings.


--1. Bug Remover/Preventor (spray on the front of the car)


--2. Pre-Soak (don't know what this does but it says to do it...)


--3. High-Pressure soap (same as above)


--4. Tri-Foam Brush (the brush that spits out soap)

--5. Power Rinse 


--6. Rain Shield (don't know if it actually works but whatever, might as well)


--7. Spot free rinse 


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">I would never use these DIY car wash places brush. You've surely seen people leave that brush on the ground. Plus the brush is coarse plastic bristles that have already probably swirled your paint. Look into the Garry Dean ONR wash method. It's so cheap you'll save money and tons of time (complete wash takes 30 minutes) over the drive up place. Basically, get 12 good MF towels (rated in towel weight, I'd get 350 gsm or higher), a 5 gal bucket, and a bottle of ONR with wax. That'll last you almost a year and total cost will be about $50. Probably cheaper than this spray away place. Also, will not scratch, and will save a lot of water in the process (using only 1 gallon of water per wash). You can pre-spray bugs with a good bug remover before the ONR wash.


 


5. DRYING


1. Then I get in it and drive around for about 2 minutes to let most of the water come off and I drive back to the car wash and find a nice spot of SHADE for me to park the car in.


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">Driving it just collects dirt and dust particles on the car that you're about to rub with a course towel. Adding more scratches/swirls.


 


2. I then take a towel thats not MF... I'm not sure what it's called . It's more 'sturdy'. It's brown/tannish and has a 'rough' feel to it. But it sucks the water right up better than a MF towel. I use this one towel all around the car and dry it all up. No spots are left whatsoever. Looks good at this point.


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">Get a waffle weave towel and blot it dry, don't wipe, as soon as you're done rinsing (unless you go with Garry Dean methos, as this is all covered as a step in there)


 


6. WINDOWS


1. The best window cleaner I have found is the 'Invisible Glass' foam. I used to use Armor All (Harmer All..) and a buddy that tints windows said for me tot try out Invisible Glass. It's awesome. So I use this on the outsides & insides of my windows and the glass that protects my gauges in my dash.


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">Buy this too in the spray bottle as a liquid and use with MF towels. will save you from overspray.

 


7. WAXING


1. I use Meguiar's "Ultimate Quik WAX' and spray it on the car and wipe it down with MF towels in a circular motion all around the entire car. Every inch of it.


<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">This is probably ok until you want to try a liquid wax. This on top of ONR with wax will be a little more protection but I'd only expect these quik waxes to last the week that you're waiting to wash. Liquid waxes or sealants can go for 2-6 months.

 


 


 


 


I would like to know if this is a good newbie/beginner routine for detailing. I'm new to it and wouldn't know how to buffer or use actual paste/wax and use the bars & stuff like that. So I'm trying to take it 'slow' and get the basics down, so to speak, before I 'advance' into using other techniques.


 


Is there anything I should or shouldn't do? Any recommendations you could make on my 'routine'?

 

[Scottwax]

I agree with the above post, it's excellent advice. Honestly, I'd just get a bottle of Meguiars Interior QD and just use that. It has UV protection and leaves the interior looking new, not greasy. If your interior is showing some fading, something like Meguiars #40, Optimum Protectant Plus or 303 will make it look rich and new, not excessively shiny, which screams car lot detail.


 


Work on your washing technique first, its the most important part of keeping your car looking good. Doesn't matter how well you can polish a car, what expensive wax you use, etc if your washing technique puts you right back where you started. Do a search on ONR or Optimum No Rinse if you want an easy, quick and very safe way to wash your car. I'm assuming you go to the car wash since you live in an apartment and using ONR solves the issue of a hose hook-up. 


 


Get a DA polisher. Guarantee after using the brush at a coin-op your car needs a lot of polishing. Read through the machine polishing forum to help decide on what machine to get and what pads and polishes that will get you started. And stay away from any type of brush on the paint.