Car cleaning

[Mr Toyoda]

Hi

I usually wash my car every week. I use a spray polish every week, and a wax every 2-3 months. I also Armor-all all interior trim and rubber door & boat seals (even the seals in the engine bay). I then clean the glass inside and out, clean & condition the leather, Mr Sheen all interior & exterior chrome, and vacuum and deodorise. The tyres are then conditioned and the alloy wheels cleaned. Finally, I Mr Sheen the car badges and spray inside with some Pine-O-Cleen and Mortein.

How often do you clean your car like this?

[lateralus]

never.

[Silver-Aurion]

never.

I actually loled

The OP's cleaning sounds familiar to mine. It's not davo hardcore but its more so of a wash, wax as needed basis, clean inside.

Sounds easy enough on paper but I spend at least 5 hours because it is a fairly detailed clean inside and out then everything goes into the washing machine and hung up to dry only to repeat 1-2 weeks later.

Edited July 7, 2010 by unique

[Rolla & Sao Boy]

never.

Part of this club , my answer is Never as well ..

Some ppl have too much time while others not enough ..

"Finally, I Mr Sheen the car badges and spray inside with some Pine-O-Cleen and Mortein. " , this is Overkill !!

Sounds like Detective Monk (Channel 10 show Monk)

[Family Guy]

I wouldn't use ArmourAll on anything - it's no good.

I find a wet chamois the best thing to wipe down the interior, a good vacuum and a handwash with a quality car wash once a month is all that is required (more often if your car is parked outside all the time).

I read somewhere that the 02-06 Camry was voted the quickest and easiest car to wash by the USA Car Wash Association -

[Mr Toyoda]

You mean you put the floor mats into a washing machine? Won't wreck them? I just use that spray foam carpet cleaner/deodoriser.

[Tash]

Pine O'Clean and Mortein?? Dunno that that would result in the best smelling car... I just use a great product called No Vac for deodorising the carpets, it works wonders. As for putting car mats in the wash I've done this with great success, just use the gentler cycle designed for wool/delicate clothing.

As for my routine I'm pretty pedantic, I like to wash the car every 2-3 weeks, and I'll wax it again when it gets a bit warmer - too cold here at the moment!! (I don't have a garage) But yeah I vacuum, do the glass, dress the wheels, clean the interior etc etc About once a month I do the really pedantic clean which is to re-blacken all the trims and clean out my air vents etc My car's pretty clean so its generally fairly easy for me but yeah, every so often there are those days when I will spend hours cleaning!!

And as someone's already suggested, please get rid of the Armour-all.

[Ronnyboy]

I take it to the carwash as i usually have Vouchers.

I need to start washing the car myself. But im usually super Busy :(

I havent used Mortein, but if you live in the Jungle, i guess it's ok.

This is my Breakdown

2-3 Weeks

Vacuum vehicle interior including all mats, footwalls, seats and boot.

Dust & wipe dashboard & centre console

Clean interior glass to remove smears and streaks.

An active foam bath covers the entire vehicle to dissolve built up dirt and grime.

Wheel Wash process effectively cleans away grime & brake dust leaving sparkling clean rims.

All over Exterior Wash using quality mitts and shampoos that effectively and safely cleans the entire vehicle.

Apply an all over application of gloss "Hot Wax" which seals your paintwork and provides a protective coating which repels rainwater & dirt.

Hands free contour drying process which closely contours your vehicles surface for a safe & completely dry finish.

Exterior Glass clean which effectively removes bugs and dirt.

Wipe door & boot jambs.

Apply Tyre Shine for a long lasting protective shine for the Tyres.

2-3 Months

Paint Protection

Scratch and swirl mark reduction treatment.

Revitalises and restores colour and shine.

Apply Paint Protection treatment to exterior duco.

Conditioning of external trims.

Edited July 8, 2010 by Ronnyboy

[peregrine]

I wouldn't use ArmourAll on anything - it's no good.

I used Amourall on a Nissan Skyline over 16 year period 1988 from new till 2004 and all surfaces were still like new when I sold it. So I still use it and have no complaints!

[Mr Toyoda]

Armorall is a good product which prevents cracking of plastic, restores 'blackness', and wipes away dust. For some reason it is beset by myths such as if you use it once, you must continue using it or the plastic will break down. Why pick on Armorall? There are a number of similar products out there, including good ol' Mr Sheen.

If you get in a 10 year old car that has been Armorall-ed even only occassionally a year and compare it to a 2 year old car that hasn't, you will see a marked difference in the quality of the interior.

[Family Guy]

Armorall is a good product which prevents cracking of plastic, restores 'blackness', and wipes away dust. For some reason it is beset by myths such as if you use it once, you must continue using it or the plastic will break down. Why pick on Armorall? There are a number of similar products out there, including good ol' Mr Sheen.

If you get in a 10 year old car that has been Armorall-ed even only occassionally a year and compare it to a 2 year old car that hasn't, you will see a marked difference in the quality of the interior.

99% of car enthusiasts will disagree with you ..... and Mr. Sheen is worse.

[redracer]

Armorall is a good product which prevents cracking of plastic, restores 'blackness', and wipes away dust. For some reason it is beset by myths such as if you use it once, you must continue using it or the plastic will break down. Why pick on Armorall? There are a number of similar products out there, including good ol' Mr Sheen.

If you get in a 10 year old car that has been Armorall-ed even only occassionally a year and compare it to a 2 year old car that hasn't, you will see a marked difference in the quality of the interior.

I've been using armorall on my 96 Vienta for years and the dash looks great, no cracking whatsoever. Mind you, I dont like using it on our new camry, I use Meguiars for that...I'd say it just down to the finish and materials used.

[Silver-Aurion]

Armorall is a good product which prevents cracking of plastic, restores 'blackness', and wipes away dust. For some reason it is beset by myths such as if you use it once, you must continue using it or the plastic will break down. Why pick on Armorall? There are a number of similar products out there, including good ol' Mr Sheen.

If you get in a 10 year old car that has been Armorall-ed even only occassionally a year and compare it to a 2 year old car that hasn't, you will see a marked difference in the quality of the interior.

99% of car enthusiasts will disagree with you ..... and Mr. Sheen is worse.

I've been using the amorall dash spray for four years now and probably will for ever. I've never had any problems with it. Sometimes if I want that extra shine I'll use a tiny bit of meguiars tyre shine gel on the dash with an applicator pad.

[Mr Toyoda]

I've been using the amorall dash spray for four years now and probably will for ever. I've never had any problems with it. Sometimes if I want that extra shine I'll use a tiny bit of meguiars tyre shine gel on the dash with an applicator pad.

Won't that make the dashboard create an unbearable reflection in the windscreen? I have always used dashmats to prevent that problem, cool the interior and prevent dashboard cracks. Very few manufacturers offer them as options, but you can get them at any auto parts store. They are fully compatible with passenger side airbags.

When I first got the Camry I found the dash reflection literally unsafe during the first week prior to the dashmat arriving.