itsMikey

not with water and a towel i hope...
personally..i:
1. wet it with a light stream
2. soap and scrub it
3. windex all the glass (t-tops also)
4. dry the car with my leather chamois (awsome!)
5. spray each rim with all rim cleaner
6. scrub the lips of the rims and dry (dam GTA wheels are hard to clean)
7. spray armor all tire cleaner on all tires and walk away (awsome product)
8. open the doors and hatch and vaccum the whole car
9. use leather cleaning wipes
10. stand back and smile
Mikey

ThePain

?

itsMikey

what? lol.. spelling?
fine..
Chamois

lmao

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

I usually wait for it to rain then I run outside with some soap and a rag and wash the car.

t-top havoc

iTrader: (3)

Early A.M. or in the evening. Stays in the garage til the soap bucket is full, & water hose is ready. Vaccumn b4 pulling outside.
Wet down top & windshield, then wash with a wool mit.
Rinse til ALL soap is gone.
Hood, fenders, front end next, then hatch & rear quarters, & bumper.

Scrub tires with medium brush, rinse, apply tire shine.
Put back in garage for awhile to cool.
Clean all the glass, then plastics.
Wax using terry towel. Go over 1 more time with a clean terry towel for a decent buff & glassy shine!!

Cruise in a shiney, sparkly clean Camaro!!!...

itsMikey

thats one way to do it i guess..

CaliChevyLover

havent waxed it in almost 3 years.

scrub the whole car with a soap brush, rinse, california water blade dry spray tire shine in the wheel wells while i do the tires

Firebat

iTrader: (7)

I wash the daily driver every once a while at the non-drive-thru car wash. Use the brush that all the hicks use to take the mud off of their awesome oversize trucks. Looks like someone took sandpaper to the paint. Don't recommend it if you got a nice thirdgen.

This is what I do recommend if you got nice paint and want to really clean it. In my darkest days when I worked at a car detailing shop for next to nothing, this is about how I detailed cars and its how I plan on washing my good car if I ever finish it:

1) Took all the junk out of the interior
2) Took out the placemats and powerwashed them
3) Used an air compressor with an air spray gun thing and tried to get all the dust out of the seats, all the little specs of sand/dirt out of any cracks. Vacuumed the interior.
4) Cleaned the interior side of all glass
5) Cleaned the plastics and sometimes put some kind of protectant on them
6) Washed the carpet and seats
7) Started washing the outside of the car including opening up the doors and washing the door jams
8) After washed, dried the car with shamy or towel, towels usually for the inside of doors
9) Used an air compressor with a nozzle thing using forced air to spray out any water. Water in mirrors, emblems, moldings, etc
10) Used claybar and then buffed the exterior paint
11) Wiped down the windows on the exterior side
12) Cleaned the tires - rubber and rims, being sure to not get any cleaner on the body
13) Open all the doors. Inspected glass on both sides and cleaned again if needed.
14) Left doors open until carpet/seats dried

That's kind of the process from what I remember and a maybe a couple steps might be switched around. The big thing was always to start with interior first just probably because using forced air in it and for the carpet to start drying sooner. Always used a different rag/towel for paint, for glass, for plastics, and for rubber/weatherstripping because didn't want chemicals/cleaners to get mixed.

sparkplug619

I wash mine with spit and razor blades and dry it with sand paper.

I wish my car had a nice paint job so I can tell all about the exoic waxes and imported clothes I use to clean my car :-(

itsMikey

wow firebat..very nice methods!
lol..sandpaper??

Dartht33bagger

I wash mine every 2-3 weeks, it's my daily driver to school.

1. Wet the car down.
2. Soap up sections and rinse as I go.
3. Dry with bath towels.
4. Use steel wool to make the exhaust tips nice and shiny.

And it's usually done. If there is spots on the window then the spots get some windex.

Every 2-3 months I vacuum the whole thing, armor all the dash and leather, clean glass and armor all the tires.

collegekid92

iTrader: (1)

I used to work at a car wash also and would like to reinforce what was said above about the forced air and doing the interior first. I helped in the detail shop and am proud to say that I helped turn out some shiny rides that were filthy when they came in. I personally wash my camaro about once a week if its nice outside. Im down at college and i bought my own rain-x car wash solution and got a bucket and some little detail stuff like wheel cleaner and tire black and stuff like that. I pull it behind the athletic building where there is a hose, and i prep the bucket of wash, then wet down the hole car and with a bug sponge i get all the bugs off and scrub the rockers. After that i respray the car down and take the wash mitt and soap the whole car down rinsing as i go. I spray cleaner on the rims, and scub them with a brillo pad since brake dust loves to hang out of my front wheels. I dry the whole car with an Absorber. It might be the best thing to dry your car/boat ever. The school doesnt really like me washing my car there but i figure im paying for the water so why not? after i was it, i put tire black on and wipe down the inside of the windows, dash, etc then apply rain-x to the outside of the windows, windshield, back glass. After that I sit back and admire my first car ever, a 92 camaro.

Blind Driver

We have thing thing called a "car wash". They are really cool. they supply the brush, soap, pressure washer, and even a spray wax.

Great concept

itsMikey

thing thing?
anyway...i care way to much about my bird to let someone else wash it...and i enjoy washing it
annnnnnnnnnnd the t-tops would prolly leak

CamaroHawke

Unless I've seen some serious dust or mud, I usually do the following:

1.) Rinse the entire car to wet it
2.) Go over the entire car by hand with a mitt and a bucket of water n' Meguiar's Gold Class
3.) Rinse by hand as needed
4.) Dry with microfiber towels
5.) Go over the weatherstripping with Meguiar's.
6.) Give some special rinsing and washing attention to the tires
7.) Tire black

*8.) Sometimes ending with a wax job

I used to take it to a car wash before I put thousands into new paint; I will never do so again. I've seen so many friends and family get scratches in their paint from the debris and crap that gets tossed around in car washes. Plus, I've got a cowl hood and don't want high-pressure anything getting sprayed at my car.

GTA1990

iTrader: (1)

Start by hosing the car (incl. underbody)

Then get a big old sponge and some budget car wash and do the wheels, wheel wells, sills and exhaust tips - basically rough areas - starting with the most visible. - A bit **** about keeping the underbody free of any mud/ salt etc. - Also makes it easier to spot any underseal which needs touching up

Then I get a microfibre mitt and some half decent carwash and do the car
from top to bottom - go over the wheels and exhaust tips again.

Oh yeah - pop the lights (T/A) and give the lenses a scrub>

Rinse everything, again using the mitt to make sure I've caught everything.

Dry it with a microfibre cloth

Optional wax - every other month and mothers polish on the GTA wheel rim lips.


Leather conditioner and interior clean (mats out vacuum, cleaner for the plastics etc.) every month or so.

Yeah cleaning the jabs is a great idea - I always seem to remember halfway through soaping the car - I'm sure you guys have opened the boot when the car is soaking - not a pretty outcome!

as per a post above - I enjoy washing my car also. Does take a good 3-4 hours but love taking it out that same evening when its all polished up

ThePain

Not so much for us convertible owners

Kevman

Rinse off with the hose, use some Simoniz Wash and wax (got it for 40% off at canadian tire) wash down the whole car, rinse, then go for a blast around the block, usually get up to 120 km/h to air dry, then I wash the wheels with Murphy's oil soap. Done!

Spikeophant

Mine's a DD, so sometimes it goes through touch free washes, sometimes I wash it in self serve car washes, especially in the winter when it's too cold to bother at home, and sometimes I hose wash it, I always just use a towel to dry it, my clear is peeling already anyways, and it has a ton of rock chips now, almost time for a repaint.

DJP87Z28

I guess this new generation can not do anything without a detail list of instructions. Instructions for waxing car....WAX ON & WAX OFF

itsMikey

i can detail my car just fine sir...lol..do it twice a month

blue85305

i pay and spray. its not a show car and doesnt live like one

stroker_SS

Soap, rinse at car wash

Bring home, polish and wax with meguiars, wheels get turtle wax chrome polish.

iroc stangs

well since she stays in the garage i just pull her out and do a quick dusting with a microfiber cloth, but i just found out compressed air is a great way to get rid of dust! anyhow if its a really warm day and in somewhat of a hurry the mr clean auto dry system works pretty dang good but i DO NOT reccomend if you have new paint and you really have to soak the car down with soap which its not the best at and if its been a while since she's been washed. anyhow when i'll start DD her it'll be wash with decent quality soap, rinse and everything, and then if i do feel like a quick wax job, and spray wax quicky. and then vaccum the mats/carpet, clean windows, and clean door jambs/underhood/underbody if needed. but if it is still fairly clean when i get back for the day i'll just use some spray detailer to clean her up. and it'll be every other month or so a quick cleaning on the underbody and engine bay. and whenever i feel like it a wax job along with wheel polishing, glass polishing, interior clean, etc. lucky us we get alot of rain her so it really depends if i got ALOT of dirt on her then i'll just have to wash but if not just a quick detail. i'm going try to keep her clean everyday for school.
i'll edit later.

1986 iroc z28

with water

karr1988

The 88 can go through the car wash which I do when I stop for gas, the 83 is a T-Top and it was niagra falls inside the one and only time I took it through the car wash, the rain is the only thing that cleans it the past 6 months.
I really should do more for both but I get so lazy sometimes

BigBadGTA

I only wash the car in the late PM
Rinse car
use microfiber sponge and meguires gold class soap to wash
rinse again
use microfiber towels to dry everything including door jambs
Tire shine if needed

This happens once a week, black is a hard color

itsMikey

yeah..dam t-top cars :P make me actually have to do some work..

KCobain147

Car gets cleaned when it's dirty. I use a california duster when pollen gets attached, but not really dirty. If I can, I wash late afternoon so it doesn't get as water spotty. Separate sponge for paint and rims. Keep the car wet to avoid water spots, and dry as fast as possible. Separate towels for drying, motor, wheels, wax on, and wax off. Polish my rims 2x / season minimum, wax 2x / season minimum with collinites insulator wax.

itsMikey

wish i could wax my car :P doesent really shine tho

Psycho139

No matter what car i own I pay the neighbors 21yr old daughter to wash it best way to get the car clean and enjoy watching it get washed. She never misses a spot . Tight jean shorts and a halter top. God i love being a dirty old man...


hey can I have that as my title??? LOL

itsMikey

uhm...creeper?? lmao..nice method tho :P

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

1. As someone else mentioned, wash in the early morning or evening.
2. Rinse lightly for a few minutes to remove all of the dust/dirt that you can before scrubbing.
3. Use TWO buckets. One bucket for the water and soap, another to rinse whatever you clean with, so not that much dirt will get into the soap.
4. Wash from the top down. Not many people do this, but it's common sense. If you wash from the bottom on up, you'll be letting debris rinse all over the freshly washed lower half of the car.
5. Rinse for a few more minutes, very lightly this time. Low pressure water will stop water spotting.
6. Dry very lightly. Get what the towel will soak up, and let it dry by it's self. The low pressure water from before promotes sheeting of the water, and will make sure that you have practically 0 spots.
7. Wax, or whatever you do afterwards.
8. Watch it get dirty again.

I hardly ever follow these steps except for number 8, because my paint is crap right now. Once I have it repainted, it will be very important that I follow those steps however. Why? Because it'll be black.

itsMikey

lol..yeah...my mom had a black monte carlo ss that i had to wash each month and its a pain in the ***

DrummerDad

Same as everyone else. but.....

Never goes to a carwash. The brushes scratch the paint.

Never use high pressure. The t-tops leak, and even a little water makes it in. Im working on getting seals to fix this.

Always dry it, and always wash/armorall the interior.

Im rather **** over the car anyway. No trash in the car, kids keep their feet down, etc...

itsMikey

as am i...no eating and no dirty anything aloud :P haha..dam those t-tops but yah gotta love em!

iroc stangs

NO BLUE MY FRIEND BLUE!!!

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

LOL. Black just looks too good on them. I never really liked black, but seeing Shawn's (Sickness91Z28) car has really made me fall in love with the look of black Third Gens.

It's a work of art man..

iroc stangs

i 100% agree that black does look nice but just dont suspect you car will pop out around other thirdgens like a rarer color will. also i think black looks better on 91/92 z's though.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

There were never any major body changes to any 82-92 Camaro, so I don't see how it'd look much different on a 92, compared to my 86. I believe the owner's name of this Camaro is "Mr. IROC-Z"

If not as good, I believe black looks better on the IROC style ground effects.



It's just an opinion though, so oh well.

iroc stangs

well on the 91/92 z they got the diffrent ground effects, hood blisters, and the wing. i just think they look more ferrari right and the black is more sportier like that, its just my opinion. btw if you do go with black are you going add any chrome? i think chrome stuff like tips, lugs, valve caps, tag frames, polished iroc's, etc. stuff like that on a black car look absolutely beautiful.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

Nope, no chrome for me. Polished aluminum if I want any product that's show & no go. I think those billet Z28 and IROC-Z badges look nice. I also love AR Torque Thrust 2's, the wheels on that old picture of Shawn's Z28.

They would have to wait though. I'm really going to be financially strapped for the next year and a half.

I'm going to need to buy a new daily driver by the end of this year, and I want something that I will really enjoy. So, I'm going to dump $6,000-$7,000 into a 99-04 GT. Then start saving all over again for an Eagle 383 stroker kit, since I was an idiot, and bent a few of my rods, it's the perfect time to go for more cubes.

The kit I want is a pretty basic 383 stroker. Mahle forged flat tops, -5cc's, 10.52:1 with a 64cc head, 4340 steel crankshaft rated up to 1,500 HP, 4340 steel 6.0" H beams rated up to 1,400 HP. Should be around $1,900 with the upgraded rods. That's pretty much buying me an insurance policy, so I will be able to mod for a VERY long time until I reach my internal's limits. My block will fail first. It's a wise decision to me, a good platform to start with so I do not have to buy cheap crap, but it also won't produce too much more power than my 700R4 can handle. They're rated at 350 HP/300 FT.-LBS. of Torque, but that's one of GM's good ol' underratings. Similar to what they did with the Buick GN's..

I'm also buying an insurance policy with the heads that I want. Dart Pro 1 230's. They will flow much more than what I will need for an N/A 383, but it will give me room to mod in the future when I can afford to make my drivetrain handle it. They run about $1,600 a set, so I should have the cash for my rebuild around late spring 2011, after I get my new daily driver ordeal taken care of.

I've only got two grand put away. LOL. Roughly $8,500 more of saving to do, and my IROC will be in the shop. Should be interesting next year when my build will finally get going. Wow, I'm rambling.

iroc stangs

polished aluminum and chrome arent they pratically the same? lol ok maybe not with wheels. anyhow the billet badges look really good but you gotta go with the magnaflow 3.5in chrome tips.

if your looking for a mustang and dont mind drivin to oregon there is a early 90's soft edge 5.0 cobra R for 9k i belive. its not my style though it has some bodykit a HUGE wing, yellow paint with white stripes and white interior. not sure if its all stock or what but all that crap is defintly not my style.

wow that isnt much to spend is it? i cant even get an 100 for an new altenator! and you can blow 9k! lol

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

I'm not into Fox Body Mustangs. They're junk in my opinion. Like most Third Gens that haven't been cared for, just a LOT worse.

I'm not rich or anything, it's just when I have a goal to meet, I don't spend a single penny on unnecessary things. It's taken me months to gather the 2 grand I have put aside now. I started really saving around February, so you figure it's been three months for that small amount of money. You figure an average of 30 days per month, so 90 days, I've only been putting about $22 aside each day.

I want something nice, not another 80's or 90's car. What I'm looking for is a 2001-2004 GT K code car with the TR-3650 5 speed, in satin silver, and less than 100,000 miles. I'm not picky about interior color, so that at least gives me a few more options. That's why I'm not expecting to pick up a Mustang until maybe as late as December. Most that I like are going for $8,500 since it's summer, basically car season. So maybe by winter their prices will fall down to the $7,000 range, and I can get lucky and pick one up for $6,500-$7000 depending on how bad they need the cash, or the car gone.

This is exactly what I want:



They're beautiful, and I'd hate to admit it, but Ford's OHC 4.6's sound better than nearly any OHV Chevy engine. But, I'll always love GM's over Fords, just because GM focuses on function, not fashion. The Mustang retained it's classic "pony" car look from the start of the SN95's, up until the redesigned 2010's, and they'll keep it that way, because it keeps sales up.

The sad thing is, most people don't care if a car weighs 3,900 pounds, or has a drag coefficient as high as most mid sized trucks. If it looks good, they'll buy it. I'm in the same boat, but when I want a light car with a low drag coefficient, I'll get the IROC out.

kaotik

iTrader: (1)

We all have different methods for different cars in different lifestyles and sceanrios... Here is mine.

1. Lightly Wet down car. (Hose or no trigger on car wash gun)
2. Once car is wet, I use a lamb wash mit and apply a car wash solution soap to the entire car. I never have any amount of dirt on my car at anytime anyways, so I dont need to use 2 buckets.
3. Once car is thouroughly wiped down and soaped up, I high pressure the soap off or change the setting on my hose sprayer at home to high.
4. Once all soap is off, I use the spot free rinse, or if your at home, take the sprayer off the hose and let it come out normal... same thing.
5. After spot free rinse is applied, wipe car down with "absorber" chamios.

I have a $4000+ paint job on my car and that works good for me. Directly following the car wash I proceed to apply Wizards polish on the paint and detail the rest of the car as needed.

Hope this helps...

iroc stangs

i hate not being able in anyway to save money since i cant get an job yet until summer when i'll detail a few cars including a thirdgen or two. theres a pic of it sorry not the best pic but there ya go.
i also really like the new edge mustangs like pictured. make sure to grab one with the shaker hood scoop not the regular one that everyone has. i think the red/black mach 1's look really really nice and the lighter blue/ black, i just dont care for the cobras to much to them or something.
theres a fox body gt by my place and this thing looks so sad i'll post a few. this thing i think got keyed 2times on each side by something like a stone, all tires are flat, huge rust spot on hood, cheap car cover for convert top, no fogs, busted tailight, and some other stuff. i really want to see if the owner would give her up because iv seen all they do is push it into diffrent spots because they live in apartments. i really dont know why but i just feel so bad for the ol girl. she would either be blue like the IROC with polished 5 spokes with black top or black with black top with black an polished accents on rims, and some other chrome/polished stuff. Good luck on the search and sorry bout the rambiling lol.

Shadow Z

iTrader: (2)

That yellow Mustang you posted isn't a New Edge, it's a SN95 (1994-1998).

I hope you know that Mach 1's are more than a special hood, and decals. The Mach 1 is basically a naturally aspirated terminator Cobra. They have a nearly identical 4V DOHC 4.6 out of the Cobra, just with higher compression. They are very, very pricey. I'd be lucky to get one in halfway decent shape for $15,000.

I really love the stock GT hood scoop. The only thing I'd change from the stock GT look is the Mach 1 chin spoiler, which is a whole 79 dollars. They completely change the look of the front end. That GT hood scoop is the main reason why I want a 2001-2004. The TR-3650 5 speed is nice too, but their T-45 for the 99 to mid year 01's was just as strong.

I mean, look at this thing. It's beautiful just the way it is. A shaker hood would mess that look up. I'm never really going to mod a Mustang when I buy one, besides the typical cold air intake, exhaust, maybe some head porting. Cheap stuff, just to make it a bit more fun to drive.

But, when you look at the specs of each car, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to put more of my money into the IROC.

Mustang drag coefficient: .36.
Third Gen Camaro drag coefficient: .34.

Weight of my IROC: Just over 3,000 with only a couple gallons of fuel, and no driver. I've never weighed it, but I know the weight of the options I've taken off.

Weight of a 2001-2004 Mustang GT: About 3,450 with no fuel or no driver.

iroc stangs

i know i belive when i first said something about it i mentioned it was a soft edge. partly my fault though didnt really describe what pic i was talkin about sorry. i dont know an BUNCH but i know a bit about them other then just apperance but i havent really research much on them for a while. sorry i always reffered the hood scoop like on the silver gt pictured was also called the shaker scoop i just dont like the basic style sunk in scoop pretty much every v6 stang has. They are defintly beautiful cars but they just are so common you gotta have a mean exhuast and some other additions to not look like its a v6er. if your lookin for a big project maybe you can pick up the new edge saleen mustang that rear ended us at 60mph and tore the front end off? lol i got pics. also the 05-09 saleen's in blue and white stripes are bad azz looking and they have a mean azz exhuast unless which i hear arent stockers. every seen a really good job of a 4th gen new edge mustang with the front end of a 5th gen? got pics of all that to lol. good luck keeping up with the ls1 boys j/k.

iroc stangs

this is the hood i dont care for

david068513

iTrader: (2)

water and a towel??........