First few questions

[wst0209a]

I got to wash my car today with Gold class car wash. And had a few questions about a few things.

1. Meguiar's ultimate quick detailer spray, do you spray it directly on the car's surface or on the towel? Does it matter if it gets on anything else besides the paint such as the glass, chrome trim, the grill, or anything else? Can you use to much?

2. How often are you supposed to clean you leather? How often to condition the leather? What are the best conditions to do it in?

3. What should I use to clean the interior of the car such as the dashboard, the plastic cover where the gear shifter is, and the navigation screen?

4. Also, do you wash the microfiber towels after every use? How long do the towels usually last for?

[Murr1525]

Re: First few questions

1. I tend to do a bit of both, but on the towel would be best, esp in a breeze. It will be fine for everything. Too much might streak a bit, and might get a little streaking on windows.

2. Kind of depends on how dirty it is getting, but a good cleaning and conditioning twice a year would be a good start. More if it needs it.... You could use something like the spray cleaner/conditioner for more frequest touch-ups. Cool conditions would be best.

3. Quick Interior Detailer is a must have product for light general cleaning.

4. I wash them every use, and with some white vinegar thrown in every so often. I have had mine a couple years and still going fine. But some folks detail more often than me.....

[wst0209a]

Re: First few questions

You wash the micro towels in the washer and dryer and use regular laundry detergent right?

[Murr1525]

Re: First few questions

Yup, no fabric softener.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: First few questions

I got to wash my car today with Gold class car wash. And had a few questions about a few things.

1. Meguiar's ultimate quick detailer spray, do you spray it directly on the car's surface or on the towel? Does it matter if it gets on anything else besides the paint such as the glass, chrome trim, the grill, or anything else? Can you use to much?

2. How often are you supposed to clean you leather? How often to condition the leather? What are the best conditions to do it in?

3. What should I use to clean the interior of the car such as the dashboard, the plastic cover where the gear shifter is, and the navigation screen?

4. Also, do you wash the microfiber towels after every use? How long do the towels usually last for?

Well first let me state that the following consists of my personal preferences

1.) With most products people recommend to spray on the towel and not the car/window/plastic/leather etc as you can control overspray better. However, once you get comfortable QD'ing is one area you may learn to evenly "plant" some spritzes of UQD on the panel and "pick it up" almost like a bead of compound or polish with a rotary as you work along.

so, in short, do whatever you are most comfortable with, but I suggest towel first.

2.) I clean and condition in one step with the Detailer line product (180? maybe 181?) about once a month. Some may say it is overkill, but when people see my personal vehicles with leather 2 and 3 years old that literally in every sense of the words looks 100% day 1 brand new they change their minds.

More often is better because once leather gets too far dry it sometimes takes on irreversible damage.

3.) for the interior plastics and vinyls I would recommend to use either 4:1 dilution, or 10:1 dilution APC Plus cleaner from the Detailer line for removing actual gunk, stains, or random dirt. then, for upkeep and dust control + protection use Quik Interior Detailer. This stuff is super awesome to work with and doesn't leave a nasty greasy coating that attracts dust.

It's also very gentle so it won't harm sensitive paints etc

For the navigation screen I use the same towel and product I use on my windows.

4.) I may use a microfiber a few times by folding it in 4ths and rotating to clean sides for simple tasks like windows or quick interior wipe downs, but for serious cleaning or polish/wax removal the towels should be washed properly and soon. The longer you wait the more likely stains can set or the products get hard to remove.

I also suggest adding a few cap fulls of distilled vinager in the rinse cycle on the mircrofiber load (NEVER wash microfiber with anything but microfiber, it grabs other materials and lint and it ruins them) to help remove the detergent so you don't get soap streaking on paint or glass.

Towels will last a long time if cared for properly, and use a "use cycle" and start with nice new towels being reserved for paint, then work their job duties down to other duties less crucial like glass, leather, carpets, etc as they become worn down and less plush.

[wst0209a]

Re: First few questions

I still am confused about the leather care. Is there anything I should do daily, weekly, or monthly to keep them in good condition?

[Murr1525]

Re: First few questions

I wouldnt worry about daily. I think even weekly is not needed, but some may disagree.

There really isnt a set rule, its just kind of how much you want to do.

If you want to really stay on top of it, then monthly, or every couple weeks you could use the Gold Class Cleaner/Conditioner.

[sudsbyhubbs]

Re: First few questions

i clean leather with an interior cleaner first, then apply my leather care product.

[Megafast13]

Re: First few questions

Once a month conditioning on leather is fine...
quik detailer can be used on anything, its amazing.
wash the microfibers after each use w/regular detergent, NO FABRIC Softener.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: First few questions

I still am confused about the leather care. Is there anything I should do daily, weekly, or monthly to keep them in good condition?

Balance how often you clean, condition and protect the leather with they frequency and type of use the leather sees. A good rule of thumb is to apply a dressing that cleans, conditions and protects in one step on a monthly basis for any area that your skin touches and for the face of the seats, that is the front portions where you sit.

For this our most popular product is our
Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner/Conditioner but because this is a rich lotion you need to be careful that you don't apply too much and get it into the seams and stitching, or if your car's leather has perforated section, (little holes in the leather), you want to be careful you don't load the holds up with product.

My personal preference is for our spray version of this product called Gold Class Rich Leather Spray



To use this, simply dampen one side of a folded, clean microfiber polishing cloth or even a clean wash rag and then use the dampened area to apply and work-in the product. Afterwards simply give all treated surfaces a quick wipe with dry microfiber to remove any excess residue.

Here's a thread that discusses this technique which can be found in How To Articles

How To Apply Interior Dressings


After you've treated your leather interior with a leather dressing, for fast touch-ups you can use Quik Interior Detailer on the inside just like you would use Quik Detailer on the outside.

[wst0209a]

Re: First few questions

I am about to clay bar my mom's car because it looks horrible. I bought meguiar's SMOOTH SURFACE CLAY KIT to use. After I clay it should I polish it or can I just use the wax that comes with it? It has some light scratches on it and it is a white car by the way.

Thanks for the advice on the leather guys!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: First few questions

I am about to clay bar my mom's car because it looks horrible. I bought meguiar's SMOOTH SURFACE CLAY KIT to use. After I clay it should I polish it or can I just use the wax that comes with it? It has some light scratches on it and it is a white car by the way.

Thanks for the advice on the leather guys!

Usually when you change topics like this you start a new thread.

As to your question, you can do either, what's your goal?

If you want to remove the swirls then you'll need a product like ScratchX, Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, etc. and then you can apply a pure polish and a wax.

If you want to do a good job but don't want to do a lot of steps then clay the paint and go straight to wax, it will still turn out great.