When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'm looking for complete lists of what people use for their car care, exterior and interior (mostly exterior). I picked up my 2005 off the show room floor, GM dealer said it was the only used car they have ever had on the show room floor. I can't find one ding, scratch, swirl, or anything wrong with the paint so I want to keep it this way.
Background of exterior maintenance. With the boat I use a Meguiars DA seen in picture below. I usually get comments at the boat launch "is that boat brand new? it looks so nice" No it was in '07 when I got. I have a system for cleaning when pulled from the river/lake and wax twice a year plus wash.
For the C6 this is my game plan and please share yours so I can best adjust for long term results.
Interior:
- Short term = mini California dusters and brushes
- Long term = mild soap and water. (our interior is not "real" leather and it's my understanding the lines that develop in the seats are only from wear and cannot be prevented from leather moisturizer?
Exterior: ( I use Meguiars on the boat so I am looking at their entire product line for the car)
- Their standard car soap
- Clay bar
- tape all non waxed components
- DA apply wax
- Micro fiber excess wax removal
Wheels: (The boats tow vehicle is a Tahoe with polished wheels and I use Eagle One Never Dull wadding polish. The wadding is a PIA and this is where I'm really looking for suggestions on the C6 because I would like to apply with a drill.)
- Mothers aluminum polish with drill attachment
- Micro fiber excess polish
Tires: I have used tire wet from Meguiars on my other vehicles with great results after application but a few wheels later it seems the tires turn a hint of brown from contaminants. My theory is the oil helps brake dust to adhere to the tire. Due to this idea I plan on not using anything for the tires except soap and water to help maintain the factory look for long term.
Just to let you know.....You just opened a big-*** can of worms. You shall see exactly what I mean as soon as the Rejex and Zaino crowd start chiming in!
Like you I have a Meguiars DA Polisher ( Such a Nice Tool )
For Carwash I would use the compliment of whatever polish/sealant/wax that you use.
Claybar I personally Love Meguiars with their quick wax spray being the lubricant.
I was a Meguiars fan and still am but for polish and shine I have discovered products by Wolfgang.
I use Wolfgang Paintwork Polish Enhancer...it cleans up any little imperfections and gets you ready for the good stuff.
Then I use Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint sealant 3.0...I swear this stuff leaves the deepest wet look on my Jet Stream Blue than any other product I have tried....that includes Zaino and Rejex
Maintenance I use Wolfgang Instant Detail Spritz
Now for tires, again I was surprised when someone told me to try the as seen on tv stuff call Wipe New....The stuff is awesome. I first used it on black trim and weatherstripping....unbelievable shine and lasts forever.....so i ventured out and tried the Wipe New for Tires.....again, Unbelievable Shine that lasts and has no residue or wet feeling after application.
The Polishing products are compatible with the DA Polisher and YouTube has how to videos to help you out.
You are going to get a million opinions on this subject....Que the Rejex/Zaino crowd but Like you I am a big Meguiars fan until I came across the products I listed....Give em a try I am pretty sure that Velocity Yellow will be quite receptive and the look will be outstanding!!
Let the war begin!
Last edited by TarHeelDon; 03-22-2015 at 12:41 AM.
Just to let you know.....You just opened a big-*** can of worms. You shall see exactly what I mean as soon as the Rejex and Zaino crowd start chiming in!
Like you I have a Meguiars DA Polisher ( Such a Nice Tool )
For Carwash I would use the compliment of whatever polish/sealant/wax that you use.
Claybar I personally Love Meguiars with their quick wax spray being the lubricant.
I was a Meguiars fan and still am but for polish and shine I have discovered products by Wolfgang.
I use Wolfgang Paintwork Polish Enhancer...it cleans up any little imperfections and gets you ready for the good stuff.
Then I use Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint sealant 3.0...I swear this stuff leaves the deepest wet look on my Jet Stream Blue than any other product I have tried....that includes Zaino and Rejex
Maintenance I use Wolfgang Instant Detail Spritz
Now for tires, again I was surprised when someone told me to try the as seen on tv stuff call Wipe New....The stuff is awesome. I first used it on black trim and weatherstripping....unbelievable shine and lasts forever.....so i ventured out and tried the Wipe New for Tires.....again, Unbelievable Shine that lasts and has no residue or wet feeling after application.
The Polishing products are compatible with the DA Polisher and YouTube has how to videos to help you out.
You are going to get a million opinions on this subject....Que the Rejex/Zaino crowd but Like you I am a big Meguiars fan until I came across the products I listed....Give em a try I am pretty sure that Velocity Yellow will be quite receptive and the look will be outstanding!!
Let the war begin!
No war....just whole bunch of personal opinions.....and what a good thing that is or a whole bunch of car care companies would be out of business! Essentially....every one of us uses what we use because we like the results and somebody has said "your car looks amazing!" For me .... it'g gotta be relatively easy, gotta look good when done, gotta provide some degree of protection.....there are many good products that meet that criteria. I started with Zaino 10yrs ago on my 2005....still using it on my 12 GS and have no complaints. Try something and if you like it....there ya go!
I use Surf City Garage products almost exclusively for the interior and exterior of all of my cars. I have used Zaino, Mothers, Meguiers, Turtle Wax, and others product lines and have found that Surf City has some really good stuff. For the interior their Dash Away and Voodoo leather cleaner and treatment are great. The dash away cleans everything inside and leaves no residue.
I suggest watching some of his videos. He is not a regular "youtube" guy. He works specifically on high end cars and travels across the world just to detail cars. His videos are extremely high quality as far as editing, video quality and how in depth he is during the process of each detailing step. Even for a person who is not even into detailing and just washes and cleans their car normally will find themselves WANTING to detail their car just like this guy after you watch a couple of videos lol. It's really addicting. I suggest watching some videos to see for yourself.
As far as products, any off the shelf product will do really. Mothers, meg, zaino, zymol etc. I use mothers or chemical guys.
It seems to me where you live, how you drive, where you drive, and how you store your car, is a huge factor in the products folks use.
For instance, I couldn't care less about the high priced esoteric brands.
I use what ever is on sale at Target, or Wal-Mart.
Why? because, my 'vette is not a daily driver, it's a fun extra vehicle. It's driven about 3,000 miles per year.
I live in south Florida, so it never sees freezing weather, snow ice, sand, salt, etc., and, it's always kept garaged.
So for me, a thorough detailing every 6 months, with products from Mother's, Turtle, Meguiar's, Blue Coral, Armorall, it's all good.
In fact, I just finished detailing my car a few days ago with the products below, and I'm certain I'm getting the same compliments I would have gotten with the high end expensive brands.
LIQUID GLASS. for the interior and exterior i use liquid glass connoisseur's choice with mink oil.very good for, leather, vinyl, rubber and wood. has a very pleasant scent. i also read somewhere that applying 8 to 10 coats of liquid glass it would prevent small chips on the cars paint. i don't know of any other product that makes such a claim. goes on very easy whether in sun or shade and comes off just as easily. the directions say to leave car in sun for a few hours after applying liquid glass to help cure into the paint. i used it on my other vette and it sure did look like a "mirror on wheels." their detail spray is very good also for a quick shine. i've used so many other products that guys post here on the forum but my final decision was liquid glass. and besides, it's the only polish/wax with a vette on the bottle.
First---best of luck with your new car. Drive it and enjoy it. Great color too. I know many will disagree, but here it goes anyway...........go to any car show or corvette club get-together where the cars are parked side-by-side and all lined up. I bet you won't be able to tell the difference in shine and polish between any of the cars-----they will all look great---- and if you asked the owners you would find that a wide variety of products were used.
My suggestion----read the owner's manual (I believe mine suggests not using sealants, etc.), and then go with the products that are the easiest to use. Keep in mind I am very biased----I hate spending time waxing and polishing my car (can't do it in the sun; can't do it when our weather finally breaks here in NE because then we have all the tree pollen falling like rain for a month or so; etc., etc.------I rather be driving the car). So after hearing all the zealots praising Zaino and Rejex, I tried them the summer before last. I use the Zaino on the car; Rejex on the rims; and a Zaino tire product for the tires. I am very happy with the results-------but I also feel most any reputable product would give the same results----and I found these products extremely easy to apply, and when used properly (sparingly), they are also very cost efficient. Again, I am lazy and hate the waxing and polishing----I am not one of those owners that find it relaxing, etc. Until I saw a car in front of me get scratched at a car wash, I use to take my vettes to one of the local car washes.....and get it hand waxed for $25 with whatever product they used.......heresy, I know.
Lucky for you that Mink's don't use Billyboy47 to condition their coats.
And I guess I should stop eating burgers and chicken and on and on and on. hammy, I don't make the product, I just buy it. I'll tell the wife that hammy wants us to become vegetarians and I can no longer use liquid glass.
It seems to me where you live, how you drive, where you drive, and how you store your car, is a huge factor in the products folks use.
For instance, I couldn't care less about the high priced esoteric brands.
I use what ever is on sale at Target, or Wal-Mart.
Why? because, my 'vette is not a daily driver, it's a fun extra vehicle. It's driven about 3,000 miles per year.
I live in south Florida, so it never sees freezing weather, snow ice, sand, salt, etc., and, it's always kept garaged.
So for me, a thorough detailing every 6 months, with products from Mother's, Turtle, Meguiar's, Blue Coral, Armorall, it's all good.
In fact, I just finished detailing my car a few days ago with the products below, and I'm certain I'm getting the same compliments I would have gotten with the high end expensive brands.
And just a thought............with the car looking so good, maybe look into the 3m or Xpel clear covering options. I know if I ever got a new corvette i would look into getting just about the entire car done-----current car has the front bumper, lower part of the hood, back of mirrors, side below the doors, front splitter, and side skirts done. I have the 3M, but I didn't know about Xpel at the time, and I have heard that is excellent (self-healing product is offered). And from I understand both products now offer a one piece solution that can do the entire hood---which I highly recommend.
And just a thought............with the car looking so good, maybe look into the 3m or Xpel clear covering options. I know if I ever got a new corvette i would look into getting just about the entire car done-----current car has the front bumper, lower part of the hood, back of mirrors, side below the doors, front splitter, and side skirts done. I have the 3M, but I didn't know about Xpel at the time, and I have heard that is excellent (self-healing product is offered). And from I understand both products now offer a one piece solution that can do the entire hood---which I highly recommend.
It's amazing on how those area's take a beating from sand, stones and road debris. I hardly even drive mine and the bottom part of the nose, the fog lights and the back of the front and rear wheels, yikes I wax it often, but damn it's tough to stop. I don't take mine on gravel roads or drive in the winter nor the rain, but I'm up here in this $hit hole they call Wisconsin and these roads suck. I cant wait to move back to FL where the roads are near perfect.
And I guess I should stop eating burgers and chicken and on and on and on. hammy, I don't make the product, I just buy it. I'll tell the wife that hammy wants us to become vegetarians and I can no longer use liquid glass.
Good idea, the world needs vegetarians more than Mink killers!
Good idea, the world needs vegetarians more than Mink killers!
Since mink coats are out of fashion (or PC in the US) the mink population is nearly out of control. If it wasn't for the car care manufacturers need for mink oil, we'd be over run with minks, because they don't taste good and the fur gets stuck in your teeth.
03-21-2015, 11:33 PM
Exterior/Interior Maintenance
Essentially....every one of us uses what we use because we like the results and somebody has said "your car looks amazing!" For me .... it'g gotta be relatively easy, gotta look good when done, gotta provide some degree of protection.....there are many good products that meet that criteria. I started with Zaino 10yrs ago on my 2005....still using it on my 12 GS and have no complaints. Try something and if you like it....there ya go!
hammy, I don't make the product, I just buy it. I'll tell the wife that hammy wants us to become vegetarians and I can no longer use liquid glass.
