After a little online reading, I bought some Meguiar's wipes for the interior of the car.
I got the Quik Interior Detailer wipes - got these because there were already a few foot scuffs on the interior driver door where the speaker is as well as just general dust collecting and a little something on the passenger seat. It did great with all of these. The one thing I didn't use it on yet was the Nav screen. I also haven't let my wife drive the car but I did have to drive her somewhere. Makeup crap all over the passenger side door. So I wiped that down and it worked great.
The only complaint I have is that they're really wet when they come out and seem to dry very quickly, but any of the smooth black plastic I use them on it more or less beads up and has to be dried with something else.
What's the general thought on the use of these wipes as a general all-purpose "smudge" remover (smudges being anything sitting on the surface of an interior surface)?
Good for Nav screen?
Something better out there?
I thought about getting some "Wet Ones" or even some kind of baby wipes just to do general dusting inside, or, unless a rogue sip of drink or god forbid other disaster happens (no food is allowed in the car, and bottled drinks with a cap only!). I wanted something like this also to wipe MY hands down (or shoes) when I get in, especially after pumping gas - a general hand-cleaner but maybe also something I could use on the interior??? Obviously the Mequiar's is not cost effective for hand cleaning and not made for it.
I also bought the Supreme Shine Protectant wipes. I got these primarily for the Dash and the upward-facing parts of the door sill as it's supposed to include a UV blocker. It's also got scotchguard in it. It does say "glossy" finish type which I'm OK with for the Dash, especially if it helps extend the life of the dash peeling/cracking (I have a visor too and park inside a garage all day at work). I haven't used these yet.
BTW, the interior is black.
Am I good with these?
As for the exterior of the car, I just washed it yesterday for the first time. I used Dawn dishwashing/hand soap liquid and a plain white T-Shirt. What happened was, I had some mud splatter and it was a light-colored, almost like concrete mud, so I decided to rinse down the car. It also had "dust" on the lower half. I thought I'd just rinse it with water - no go. Grabbed the T-Shirt to wipe of the mud - that worked, but the "dust" turned out to be more like "grime" and I ended up just smearing it around, so what was going to be just a quick rinse turned into a quick wash while I basted the turkey every 15 minutes!
So, what to wash with? Anything to help keep water beading up, or should I go for traditional wash and wax? Be it known, I have never waxed a car in my life. I'm not the type who spends an entire Saturday detailing one's car, so I need something one-and-done - I can do something quick while/after washing. I will admit though, I vacuumed out the car already (usually I would wait years) and washed it much sooner than I would have, so I'm getting slightly more obsessiveness (and then there's the wipes above!). My previous car I just pretty much "let be" (and luckily it has been and continues to be an amazing car).
I think the black interior doesn't help as it shows every speck of dust and piece of leaf (fall here) tracked in.
I know I should probably get a chamois and all that, but really, what does one *really* need - for example, there was a Meguiar's "Kit" at the store which seemed like a good deal, but it had tire shine, which I'll never use, and no kinds of wipes, which is why I bought the singles. So if I can get by with stuff I already have around the house for exterior washing, I'm cool (aside from something that does the waxing for me too!).
Finally, what's the consensus about Rain-X for the windows/mirrors? I've used it a lot in the past - it seems once your windshield gets too old it doesn't "seal" as well (maybe too many microscopic pock marks) but on a new windshield I could drive in the rain without even turning on the wipers (which saved me once years ago when a wiper motor went bad!).
TIA
Steve
I got the Quik Interior Detailer wipes - got these because there were already a few foot scuffs on the interior driver door where the speaker is as well as just general dust collecting and a little something on the passenger seat. It did great with all of these. The one thing I didn't use it on yet was the Nav screen. I also haven't let my wife drive the car but I did have to drive her somewhere. Makeup crap all over the passenger side door. So I wiped that down and it worked great.
The only complaint I have is that they're really wet when they come out and seem to dry very quickly, but any of the smooth black plastic I use them on it more or less beads up and has to be dried with something else.
What's the general thought on the use of these wipes as a general all-purpose "smudge" remover (smudges being anything sitting on the surface of an interior surface)?
Good for Nav screen?
Something better out there?
I thought about getting some "Wet Ones" or even some kind of baby wipes just to do general dusting inside, or, unless a rogue sip of drink or god forbid other disaster happens (no food is allowed in the car, and bottled drinks with a cap only!). I wanted something like this also to wipe MY hands down (or shoes) when I get in, especially after pumping gas - a general hand-cleaner but maybe also something I could use on the interior??? Obviously the Mequiar's is not cost effective for hand cleaning and not made for it.
I also bought the Supreme Shine Protectant wipes. I got these primarily for the Dash and the upward-facing parts of the door sill as it's supposed to include a UV blocker. It's also got scotchguard in it. It does say "glossy" finish type which I'm OK with for the Dash, especially if it helps extend the life of the dash peeling/cracking (I have a visor too and park inside a garage all day at work). I haven't used these yet.
BTW, the interior is black.
Am I good with these?
As for the exterior of the car, I just washed it yesterday for the first time. I used Dawn dishwashing/hand soap liquid and a plain white T-Shirt. What happened was, I had some mud splatter and it was a light-colored, almost like concrete mud, so I decided to rinse down the car. It also had "dust" on the lower half. I thought I'd just rinse it with water - no go. Grabbed the T-Shirt to wipe of the mud - that worked, but the "dust" turned out to be more like "grime" and I ended up just smearing it around, so what was going to be just a quick rinse turned into a quick wash while I basted the turkey every 15 minutes!
So, what to wash with? Anything to help keep water beading up, or should I go for traditional wash and wax? Be it known, I have never waxed a car in my life. I'm not the type who spends an entire Saturday detailing one's car, so I need something one-and-done - I can do something quick while/after washing. I will admit though, I vacuumed out the car already (usually I would wait years) and washed it much sooner than I would have, so I'm getting slightly more obsessiveness (and then there's the wipes above!). My previous car I just pretty much "let be" (and luckily it has been and continues to be an amazing car).
I think the black interior doesn't help as it shows every speck of dust and piece of leaf (fall here) tracked in.
I know I should probably get a chamois and all that, but really, what does one *really* need - for example, there was a Meguiar's "Kit" at the store which seemed like a good deal, but it had tire shine, which I'll never use, and no kinds of wipes, which is why I bought the singles. So if I can get by with stuff I already have around the house for exterior washing, I'm cool (aside from something that does the waxing for me too!).
Finally, what's the consensus about Rain-X for the windows/mirrors? I've used it a lot in the past - it seems once your windshield gets too old it doesn't "seal" as well (maybe too many microscopic pock marks) but on a new windshield I could drive in the rain without even turning on the wipers (which saved me once years ago when a wiper motor went bad!).
TIA
Steve
