[im_chandan]

Dear bhpian,

As we have an awesome thread on ‘car detailing guide’, However I was interested to know how our fellow bhpians are taking care of there cars in day 2 day life, specially the steps and product they use.

Request you to share what routine you follow for car cleaning.

For example, below steps I am planning to use for my new car care needs.

Steps:

1. Dusting * Jopasu duster * Alternate Day
2. Waterless car wash * Proklear * Weekly
3. Claying * HSR Magic * Monthly
4. Waxing * Turtle Wax ICE Seal N Shine * Monthly

Will take to a car washing show after each long trip.

[Artyom]

I follow the below routine:-

1.Jopasu Duster before taking the vehicle out for drive/work.
2.Waterless wash( Proklear WFC+ Optimum ONR Wash and Wax) Every 2 weeks
3.Complete wash once in a month(If Required)
4.During monsoons, the complete washing routine is little more frequent either by self or from a car washing centre

I use "SONAX BSD" Every 2 months(1:1 dilution) to maintain the shine and gloss
"Carpro Hydr02" every 4 to 5 months as a top-up for the coating. Carpro Iron X and Carpro Spotless is used before Carpro Hydro02 application
For Wheels, I use "Sonax Xtreme Wheel Cleaner" once every 2 months
"Carpro PERL" for Tyre dressing
"Sonax Interior cleaner" for interior plastics and trims
"Gyeon BATHE" as car shampoo
"Carpro Ech02" as a Quick detailer post complete wash
"Bilt Hamber Surfex HD"as a degreaser.
"Kwazer Venus Pro" manual foamer for waterless and foam washes.

[forester]

Dusting with a Jopasu for me on a regular basis, along with removing any bird droppings with a micro-fibre and a slightly soapy solution.

On top of that, full-car washes are being restricted to once in three months or so, alongside claying the car and dressing it with Collinite 845 / Turtle Wax ICE. However, I do ensure that I get it washed (including underbody) and vacuumed immediately after returning from an outstation trip.

[John P Daniel]

Just a simple jopasu dusting before taking the vehicle for a drive. Every alternative weeks,
1. Dust the car with jopasu duster and remove loose dust.
2. Clean the interior completely to remove sand and dust.
3. Vacuum the interiors and dashboard.
4. Wash the car using 2 bucket method with 3m car shampoo and microfiber cloth.
5. Wipe and dry the car with another moist microfiber cloth.
6. Allow car to dry and then cover it up with car cover.

Once in 2 months, use 3m wax after washing the car.

[abhishek46]

Below is my cleaning routine.

1. Once-a-week quick dusting of the car using Jopasu duster (Haven't bothered to replace the duster since a year).
2. Once-a-month "mild" water wash, using one bucket of water.
3. One-a-quarteryear full body wash, in a nearby water-wash center.

The paint on the 8.5 year old Polo is still gleaming, in spite of my lazy and casual approach towards cleaning.
Even the windscreen has no scratches, despite my lack of care for it.

Forget waxes, clays and other such stuff, I don't even have a sponge & shampoo.

P.S. I do not recommend such poor cleaning regiment to others.

[anantpoddar]

My regular routine is as below:

1. Waterless Wash (Proklear RAW Xtreme CX) every alternate day

2. Interior vacuuming + Collinite 845 + CarPro PERL (for interiors and exterior plastics) + Sonax Glass Cleaner once every 30/60 days. If I'm lazy, then collinite is replaced with Sonax BSD

3. If the car is too dirty after a long drive or during monsoon, then a thorough interior vacuuming + exterior wash followed by Wax. If I don't have easy access to a car wash, then I have to make do with diluted Proklear SFC as a rinseless wash at home
The drawbacks of staying in a residential apartment complex is that you cannot use a pressure washer due to lack of electricity and water outlet in the common areas.

I intend to start using Proklear APC for the interiors soon as there are signs of smudges from visits to the service center.

[GTO]

As someone who doesn't have any free time on weekdays, I don't spend too much time on caring for my cars on a daily / weekly / monthly basis. That said, they remain in top shape even at the 9 - 10 year mark because of the best practices I have listed here:

1. Simple guide to keeping your car clean & shiny

2. How to keep your car in top form

I drive well, park well, use a microfibre cloth and get my cars detailed every 6 months. Almost zero time investment for 90% of the results that the fanatics like Vid6639, Akshay1234, Rudra Sen & Sahil get.

[VWAllstar]

Once a week wet wiping with a microfibre cloth.
Once a month a pressure wash with shampoo, followed by wax.
Once a year professional detailing.
Use to overdo a lot of such things however have realised that Cars are made to take certain level of abuse. Moreover, now I feel a dirty car looks better than a cleaned one It shows you have lived driving it at many more places than keeping her parked.

[saikarthik]

I will let you know my father's routine. Remember this is what he used to do and still does, but not saying this is right or recommending to anyone.

1. Park the car mostly under some shade and dust the car everyday (Product used: Soft used cloth like a vest - then dust the cloth),

2. Take out the mats and wither any mud/spills,

3. Spray water with a garden hose, clean the glass area first, then bonnet, door panels then roof with mild soapy solution and leave it for a couple of minutes (Product used: a couple of drops of Clinic plus shampoo, used cloth - but a different one),

4. Spray water using a garden hose and use another cloth to dry the water on the car.

Repeat step 1 daily, repeat step 1-4 every time the car goes out of the gate/once a week whichever comes first.

He does this for our 14 year old Activa, 12 year old Zen Estillo and heck even for my friend's cars who parked them at my home for a day while visiting me. All those vehicles are still shining and are in best possible shape.

[shree_shell]

I have given up on keeping my Daily-drive nice and shiny. The garage-queen gets pampered a lot on the other hand - Garaged and climate-controlled.

I perform the following once a month for the Daily-drive. And once every six months for the garage-queen - Yes, I wash it once every six months (runs a paltry 1000 km a year)

Dusting - None
Washing - Meguiars or Mothers soap, with CG Foamer and Microfiber Mit
Wheels/ Rims - CG Diablo wheel cleaner
Wax/ Ceramic coat and paint/chip correction - Annually only for the garage-queen from the experts.
Interior/ Leather: CG Leather cleaner and conditioner
Rag for drying - This is interesting. To avoid using a million microfiber rags while drying, I use the CG Wiper Blade Squeegee. It is supposed to avoid micro-scratches while getting rid of the water quickly. I use it only on the Daily-driver. I tend to use a million microfiber rags on the garage-queen though; trust issues
Getting rid of water stuck in grooves/ monogram/ nooks&crevices - Leaf-blower. Perfect solution. Or borrow your wife's hairdryer.


CG - Chemical Guys

[TaurusSHO]

Here's my simple routine that I follow once a week:

- Dust down the car using a good, soft duster followed by a thorough waterless wash (highly recommend using Proklear products). Clean the wheels and tyres using soapy water and then use 3M tyre dresser for the tyres.
- For the interior, vacuum and do a complete wipe down using a microfibre cloth followed by using 3M dashboard dresser on most interior plastics. For the seats and fabric/leatherette parts, I use 3M upholstery cleaner.

Car gets a proper wash only when it's really required like if it's super dirty or when waterless carwash just won't work.
Waterless wash takes quite a lot of time and effort but the end results are very satisfying, especially since Proklear products have carnauba wax in them.

[07CR]

I have had two routines for two different cars of my dad. Our silver colored Honda Amaze (Sept 2013-June 2020) was almost washed daily by the car wash men at our society. No fancy stuff, just wash by clean bucket full of water and a soft cloth (Sometimes microfiber, sometimes a household cloth). As you can see, it was gleaming like new till her last day with us!

For the (Pre-loved July 2018 model) black colored Ecosport S TDCI which we purchased in June 2020, it's been different. Primarily this difference began due to the pandemic. Dad being diabetic, we had asked the car wash men of our society to stop cleaning our vehicles since March 2020, (Giving them an advance payment for next 2 months). When the cars were changed, the decision was to avoid the wash by the car wash men, as feared, if done carelessly, there would be scratches, which would be easily visible on the absolute black color. So we have now resorted to self cleaning the car (which again involves only clean water) once a week. The results are great till now, and I wish to get it detailed at Aquatint detailing studio by the next weekend.

For my bike, a red and black Pulsar 180 (March 2013 model), it has gone through both the above schedules, and is currently washed only once a week.

Some precautions I always take to keep the color and shine intact-

• All vehicles are always parked under shade. Had a special Awning shade constructed, when we shifted to our new bungalow, from a flat in 2018.
• Always wash using a soft cloth (Microfiber is optional).
• Never wash under harsh sunlight. All washes are either done post 6 PM or before 10 AM.
• I am a bit apprehensive of dust removal, as I am afraid, some dust stains might remain which might affect the color in long run. Therefore only water washes.
• Going forward, depending on the results at Aquatint, will be using detailing services atleast thrice a year.

Will now let the pictures do some talking.
PS- The picture of Amaze is after her last wash by yours truly

[Vasanth]

My car washing routine :

1. I don’t do Dusting. I feel the dust will create minor scratches on the body work. And the dust will remain on the duster.

2. Our daily driver: I wash it once a week. By myself. We have a Karcher pressure washer back at home.
But I live in apartment so I don’t have access to plug points.
Why once every week? The more it gets dirtier the more I’ve to spend time washing it. If it’s too dirty I get it washed from car washing centre. For the amount of dirt collected in 1 week, spending 350-400 rupees is waste. So I wash it on my own.
Rainy reason - diesel wash. Underbody wash
Materials used : Microfibre wash mitt
Car Shampoo (not clinic plus or head & shoulders)
Wheel brush
Rules I follow:
1. Wash mitt : from top to bottom (the bottom part of car is dirtier than upper part) so I don’t get the dirt all over the body
2. Only horizontal and vertical motion. No circular motion. As it gets minor swirl marks. Noticeable under the sun.
3. No using wash mitt on the wheels or rims.
Drying stage : Microfibre cloth
Again no circular motion , rubbing, etc.
very gently and patiently.
Interior vacuum , dashboard polish, steering wheel , gear knob.
Tyre polish : I just want the wheels to look black so I don’t spend thousands on huge brands like Gyeon or Car pro.
Polish by professionals once a year.

[iamitp]

Background: I have open parking at home and office, in New Delhi. No protection from bird poop, monkeys and dogs.

Pre-purchase: I got Modest BC-04 ceramic coating on the day I took delivery of my Creta 1.4 DCT.

Post-purchase: I also bought a TPH Pilot 373 cover with inner microfiber lining and reflective piping. Has been doing a great job at keeping off dust, monkeys and dogs. Though some moisture does accumulate from the condensation in winters, leaving the paint a bit hazy.

Every-day before covering: Swipe with Jopasu duster to remove fine dust.

Once a week: Self-detailing with a dry wash using Pro-klear CX and microfibre cloths. Interior cleaning with Turtle Wax Dash and Glass. Have also bought the Turtle Wax Odour remover and Tyre foam last week.

Once in a quarter/couple of months (especially after rains or highway drives): Professional detailing.

[saur95]

Having a dark coloured car has put me on overdrive, especially considering what a beauty dad's Kodiaq is in this colour. All the metro construction in Bombay and an unpaved road right outside the wall of our apartment means there is a layer of dust every time the car is taken out/left uncovered.

I was away for a year and the car wash person absolutely ruined the paint, swirls everywhere making it look extremely dull. Started washing the car myself and got a detail from Glosswerkz to bring it back to its glory.

Stella's Routine :

• Dust (Jopasu of course) and remove any bird droppings/tree sap daily with ONR before covering the car.
• Wash car once every week/two weeks with a waterless solution (Currently using ONR Wash & Shine) and microfibers. Same solution for piano black panels in the interior. Separate old towel for wheels.
• Sonax Xtreme Wheel Cleaner every two months to get rid of any tough dirt and hard water stains (splashes of neighbour's car).
• Sonax Xtreme Tire Foam every month/two months.
• ArmorAll Leather Care every 6 months, or in case of any stains. Considering the regular use of hand sanitiser, the steering wheel now gets it every 2 months to condition it.
• Sonax Xtreme Plastic Detailer every quarter for interior and exterior plastics.
• Professional detailing every year.

The Meguiar's Gold Class Wax used by Glosswerkz seems to be lasting 2-3 months, especially with our low usage (10.5k in 20 months!). I plan to add two layers of TurtleWax Ceramic Spray once it wears off a bit more.

Also need to invest in a good glass cleaner and hard water spot remover like MDR, although vinegar solution seems to do the trick if you don't wait too long.

Leaving you with some impromptu shots of Stella from yesterday