Just wondering randomly how often yas wash n polish ya cars, i do mine once a week wash n maybe once every few weeks a polish, and every couple weeks interior armour all and leather conditioner...
how detailed do you really do it... for ex. taking rims off and cleaning callipers? door jams? engine bay?

what stuff do you use?
mothers
meguirs
suggestions?

i usually wash mine every 5 days or so (thats both cars), i dont take off the rims to clean the calipers (theyre standard, why would i ) but i do all the door jams, engine bay etc, and interior. i use Meguairs Nxt Generation 2.0 Car wash, and to polish i use Meguars Deep Crystal System Polish, and finish it off with Meguiars Gold Class Liquid Wax. (that stuff is incredible)

i just came home after getting the indians at the local servo to wash my car! $28
i was giving my ride the wash and wax treatment once a week and then ever 2 weeks i
would give it a coating of eagle 1 liquid wax!
this product wont leave that white chalky residue!
but im now finding that i cant get that lovely glossy finish i once had.
so you reckon the meguirs waxs are a must have !
there other products work a treat!

yeah the meguairs products (especially the Gold Class wax) are awesome, but the wax i use is quite expensive. but the shine it gives.....

Auto Glym make a really good polish too, called Super Resin Polish, that one also brings up the colour like you wouldnt believe. But it too is quite expensive (about $40/bottle)

ah ! $40 bucks is still a good price!
i would spend more than that feeding my tribe takeaway for 1 night!
i'll go out and buy some next weekend and give it a try!
thanks dude.
pete.

I cleaned mine last week...before that...probably 2 months prior...before that about 3 months.

So whenever I can be bothered really...usually when it rains. Pre-rinse = free, driver under cover and use a bucket with warm soapy water (morning fresh preferably), reverse back out for a free rinse, then I drive back in and do the rims and wheels without water...just wipe the s**t out and spray tyre shine. Once that's all done and I feel like it, I will wax it.

all in all, if it's going to cost me more then $5 to clean (not including wax/tyre shine) I won't bother.

if your paint is a little bit faded, it might also be worth using a cut'n'polish first, otherwise the good stuff dosent work as well, lol

i usually do mine weekly cut n polish say bi monthly then apply paint protection from motorone , gives it that super slick look and feel.
usually claybar it every month or two to get the build up off the paint as i wash it with the soap mix,
i just use armour all blue carwash and kitten cut polish compound before i put the paint protection on.
interior i usually vac weekly even tho its usually just me in it, apply leather protection every 3 months or so and same with the vinyl treatment, i get all the motorone stuff from work we dont use, its amazing on the leather,and makes the car look pretty good too,

Every week for both cars.

Alfy you seem to have used a few products. I have epic swirl marks on my Galaxy Blue EL. I need them out so I can make it shiny. Tips on what to use? I tried some old Meguairs Swirl Remover 2.0 with a Meguiars yellow hand applicator and doing it by hand, but didn't help much. Seeing as you have been dealing with a Navy Blue EL you may know?

there is a product i use at work made by U-POL, called 333 Cutting Compound, it has a bit harsher abrasives than most off the shelf cutting compounds (its really only meant for an electric buffer but hand appicating works just fine) and it does quite a good job at removing swirls, but it does leave the surface dull so I finish it with 3M Foam Pad Polishing Glaze. that brings up a nice shine and smooth feel to the paint, and if done correctly leaves no swirl marks.

Im not sure on the availability or price of these 2 products, but they should be available at most crash supply shops. I know the 333 can be bought in a smaller tube, but as far as i know the 3M polishing glaze is only available in a 1L bottle, but it will last forever.

oh, and for applicating it i just use normal soft cheese cloth. (you can get different types from different brands, some of the ones at Kmart are quite harsh and scratch the paintwork) You could probably find the softer stuff at cash supply shops, or Repco/Auto Pro.

I wash the exterior once every 1-2 weeks with Meguiars Gold Class wash. Used to use Armour-All wash and wax but found it left a lot of water marks so switched to Meguiars. My car hardly gets out in the rain and dust isn't too much of an issue at the moment. I only use a very fine polish maybe once every 3-4 months to bring the depth out of the paint, and wax it maybe once a month to keep the shine. Door and boot jams, i just wipe over with a cloth and warm soapy water, then once again with clean wet cloth, then dry. Then when it's dry, spray some Australian Export tyre shine on the tyre's, dress the wheel wells and that's about it. My rims hide the calipers almost completely so i don't worry about cleaning them up until i take the wheels off for whatever reason.

I do under the bonnet almost every time the car is washed. Basically everything gets wiped over with a cloth with warm water, then i wax the engine bay all around the shock towers, radiator support etc, wax the rocker cover and any painted plastics. The rubber intake joiners, any hoses and the ignition leads get wiped over with tyre shine/silicon spray. Also hit the BBM, intake piping, thermostat housing, fuel rail and a few other little things with Autosol metal polish just to keep it shiny. I do most of my work in the engine bay so i like keeping it clean

I currently use the Turtle Wax range of wax and polish because it does the job for me. Will be trying the Mother's range soon as i get a decent discount on their products being a member of a NZ forum which they sponsor so we'll see how that stuff goes.

Wash the Beast once a week, the polish side, not much value as the paint is less than good.
I have tried 3 different cut compounds and none did the job on my boot lid or the bonnet.

I am guessing I need a person to make Lucifa look good as I am unable.

Shes a daily driver so she needs a bath every week, polish can't do it myself (back aint good) so whenever i can afford it

I'm terrible when it comes to cleaning. My car is parked under a damn tree everyday so gets covered in sugary tree sap everytime I do clean it.. maybe once or twice every month. Working away doesnt help either.
Paint has gone to s**t a while ago. Now covered in hail dents so should be getting a repspray courtesy of new panels too. Might put some more effort in then.
As for products. I use the meguirs Next Gen stuff. Interior stays spotless by the way of god somehow, just a quick vacuum to get all the leaves and grass out, bit of sand. Usual stuff.

i do mine every week inside and out windows and carpets etc, polish it not as often as i should but atm im washin it every 2-3 days as the roadworks here make it dirty as near tunes the N9 paint job white lol,i hose the under body down everytime i wash it evry now n then ill take it in get the under body with the truck wash as it wash's underneath ( like little sprinklers)as well as normal high pressure hose/brush etc but hand wash every week and window clean same time i use baby wipes for the inside wood grain trim and plastics