Car care products - what do you use & recommend?
 

What car care products do you like to use to keep your T4R looking good?

My favorites that I regularly use:

Nextzett Cockpit Premium - Great cleaner for all interior surfaces. Leaves a natural shine-free finish, has sun-blocking agents. Smells good.

Nextzett Kristall Klar washer fluid - Concentrate (mix with distilled water), cleans well & smells great without leaving streaks.

Nextzett Windscreen Clear - Great glass cleaner.

Rain-X Glass Cleaner - I use it for the exterior glass for its water repelling properties. Makes it easy to apply Rain-X.

303 Tire & Rubber Cleaner - Does a great job of returning tires to black.

Griot's Garage Black Satin Tire Coating - Great for those like me that prefer a natural matte satin tire finish instead of a wet shiny look.

Black Magic Engine Shine - Better suited IMO for maintaining an already somewhat clean engine bay versus heavy duty cleaning. Shine is a bit of a misnomer, leaves a more natural OEM look and not artificially shiny which is the main reason I like it. Makes all of the black plastic pieces in the engine bay look like new.

Sonax Wheel Cleaner Full Effect - Does a great job of cleaning brake dust and gunk off of wheels.

Meguiar's Ultimate Wash & Wax - I like it, works well enough for me.

Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax - I like a shiny vehicle but I'm too lazy to put a ton of work into it. This stuff is easy to use and works good enough for me.

Shortly after purchasing my silver 5th gen last July, I stuffed it through some super stiff and spiky mountain mahogany on a narrow and rocky trail I’ve taken numerous times in the past. I forgot that my 4Runner is nearly a foot wider than my ‘02 Tacoma TRD. So, I had substantial and deep pinstriping.

So, I bought a Meguiar’s Scratch-X scratch remover kit and worked out the scratches. Then topped it with Meguiar’s Ultimate Quick Wax.

That was last August and I haven’t waxed it since. The truck still looks good. Some scratches are starting to show, but the sun needs to be just right and your eyes just happen to fall on them. I’ve had feedback that using Scratch-X and the drill mounted buffer often will compromise the clear coat, so I’ll just keep the scratches as my badge of honor as long as they stay subtle.

Because of frequent snow, ice and mud in winter, and dirt roads in summer, I seldom take pains to keep the exterior clean. If the weather forecast calls for a week of sunny weather and the roads are dry, I’ll run the truck through the auto car wash (brushless) for $8.

On the interior, I vacuum with my shop vac using the onboard inverter (the closest outlet is 75 feet away from the driveway); then use a spray bottle of diluted Purple Power or similar and microfiber towels. I even spray the seats and headrests and wipe.

As for glass, I don’t do the outside much. In winter, frosts leave behind a film of embedded dust particles. In summer, dust settles on the glass. The first time I use the washers, the windshield looks like I never touched it. Inside, I use whatever cheap glass cleaner I have on hand.

My old Tacoma was white. White was a great color for planned neglect. But silver ain’t too bad either. I’m not a fan of silver vehicles, but the 4Runner’s color has grown on me and it doesn’t show dust that bad.

Since I live where I cannot wash my car in the driveway I use the following:

Aero Cosmetics Wash Wax All: It is a completely waterless carwash system

Turtle Wax ICE Spray Wax

TriNova Tire Shine Spray

Once winter is over I am going to try out the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating

Armor All Glass Cleaner

https://live.staticflickr.com/829/28...82919f34_k.jpgUntitled by redrunner87, on Flickr

I live in a complex where they state no washing of cars on the driveway, but I do see some residents wash when no ones around.

How's this waterless system working for you? How effective is it? Very interested on your feedback. To play it safe, I might just have to go this route.

It works really well. If it my 4Runner is really dirty I will run it through the touchless car wash and use the Wash Wax All. The "kit" comes with microfiber towels, but I bought more off of Amazon. It really shines the 4Runner up and it beads the water pretty well too. Another plus side is that it can be used on any surface, so you don't have to worry about windows or anything. Been using it for 2 years now.

A touchless car wash is what I been doing lately, but I started seeing reports of some soaps and liquid that can ruin our trucks paint? This true?

If I plan on heading straight home (less than a mile), then apply my aftermarket sprays, i'll be fine right? (excuse my noobness)

I have heard that touchless car washes use heavy chemicals in their "soaps" that break up the grime and clean the vehicle.

I haven't had any issues using this method the last couple of years, but I am not an expert in this area. It is kind of a necessity where I live. I have to clean my undercarriage off somehow because of the chemicals the state uses on the roads during the snow. My hope is the wax with the Wash Wax All helps build a barrier around the paint so the touchless doesn't do much damage. I also use the Turtle Wax Spray On Wax which builds up the more use it.

I use the Jay Leno Garage stuff, uses less harsh chemicals than some of the auto parts store stuff. Also hear good things about Chemical Guys and Adams.

Crack junkie feces fresh off the street. Massage turds gently into dash with a lightly sun baked week old newspaper soaked in piss cured in a Poland spring bottle.

https://media3.giphy.com/media/3o7aC...LWrS/giphy.gif

:bounce::bounce::bounce:

My current detailing products:
Ceramic Coat-CarPro CQuartz UK 3.0
Sacrificial top coat-CarPro Reload-can use on windows like RainX as well
Car Shampoo- CarPro Reset or Meguiars Gold Class
Soap for foam cannon-Turtle wax ICE Snow Foam
Matte Tire finish- CarPro pearl diluted 1:1
Interior Clean-Meguiars APC diluted 10:1
Leather seats- Meguiars leather cleaner and conditioner
Interior protectant/exterior black pieces-Aerospace 303

When it's warm I usually give my truck a bath once a week or once every two weeks with Chemical Guys Blacklight car wash (or Extreme Body Wash & Wax) applied via foam cannon (Amazon special, not Torq). It gets hand washed after the foam is applied, and then dried with a Chemical Guys Waffle Weave drying towel and Chemical Guys After Wash (I also mix a half a cap into the wash bucket). For the underbody/wheel wells I use Chemical Guys Nonsense All Purpose Cleaner (5:1 diluted); engine bay gets Sonax Cold Engine Cleaner + a scrub from a large wheel-cleaning brush; wheels get a two-step process of Chemical Guys Signature Series Wheel Cleaner (agitated on tires only), then Chemical Guys Sticky Citrus Wheel Cleaner. Floor mats get Nonsense, a rinse, then Chemical Guys Mat Cleaner (then scrubbed) and rinsed. Last steps are Rain-X on the windshield and side mirrors, and a few spritzes of Chemical Guys JDM Squash scent under the seats.

Maybe once a month or every other month I'll hit the interior with Chemical Guys Total Interior Cleaner.

Once (maybe twice?) a year it gets a light buffing and wax application (again, Chemical Guys products), along with Sonax Fallout Cleaner, and a clay bar application.

Chemical Guys products are convenient (there's a Detail Garage store just a few minutes from me) and they offer a notable first responder discount; I'm not a huge fan of the fact that they have a ton of products that are nearly the same but just relabeled and re-scented/colored.

Oh, during the winter, it'll occasionally get run through a touchless car wash, but that's about it (unless it's a REALLY nice day)

• Stoners Invisible Glass cleaner
• Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detail spray
• Mequiar's Hot Shine Tire Coating
• A roll of the good Bounty paper towels
• Absorber fake chamois drying cloth

With these things and a spray car wash, I have everything I need to keep the 4R looking good.

Zymol car soap

Klasse All-In-One Polish

No name Chamois for drying (the real stuff that came off of an animal that was alive but is now dead, not that vegan crap)

Dual action electric polisher

Old cotton bath towels

Wool car washing mit

Rubber ended hose nozzle so I dont scratch the car when Im using it.

Beer

A sunny day with no rain in the forcast

Smoove wash n wax boat soap
Meguiars Flagship Premium Marine Wax
Dr. Beasley's matte wheel cleaner and seal
Cobra Guzzler micro fiber drying towel
Micro fiber washing sponge and detail cloths
Wolfgang quick detail spritz