Overwhelmed with product selection...Please help!

[BMW335i]

Congrats on the car. Is it a coupe or sedan? I have a TiAg 330i and have been using the Euro sheepskin from WalMart as well as the Megs Chenille. So far no problems with either one. TiAg really hides any marring well but even in strong light the finish is holding up rather well. As far as shampoo, I've used Megs GC, NXT and DG. All perform well but IMO DG>GC>NXT. GC is better "bang for the buck" though. As far as wax/sealant, I really like the Duragloss products best on this color. Check out the C&B http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75321&highlight=Duragloss

Nice car. I have the coupe. I picked up two Eurow wash mitts at Wal-Mart today, the general consensus of these forums give rave reviews, so I am pretty confident in using them. They also feel pretty soft.



Oh yeah, and I did that CD test while it was dry. Its rare to find something that WONT scratch it dry and the only thing that doesnt scratch it dry is microfiber, truly amazing stuff. The edging of the microfiber will scratch though, with pressure of course. I have some of the satin edges microfiber and even that scratched it (with pressure).



So far, I have accumulated

- 2 Eurow sheepskin wash mitts

- 1 Meguiars super suede microfiber drying towel

- 1 Meguiars supreme shine microfiber towel

- 1 Meguiars chenille wash mitt (for the wheels).



Now all I need is the car wash soap...Im thinking Meguiars Gold Class. Im going to hold off on polishes for now until I get this washing part down pat.



What do you guys think so far....be HONEST please..

 

[rit]

I feel your pain. The choices are overwhelming, huh? And as a beginner, I want to SEE what I'm buying, so I'm not quite ready to order online.



I just picked up my car earlier this week. Here's what I started with:



Viking Chenille Wash Mitt (AutoZone)

Mothers California Gold Wash (Pep Boys)

Mothers FX Wheel Cleaner (Pep Boys)

Old Terry Cloth Bath Towels for Drying (Wife)



For washing, I used a separate wash and rinse bucket for my mitt. I was SUPER gentle with the drying, doing a lot more patting than rubbing. I'm going to get something else as soon as I figure out what to get.



The wheel cleaner didn't seem to do much, but of course my wheels really weren't that bad to begin with. The wash stuff was fine. Pretty sudsy and smelled good.

 

[BMW335i]

I feel your pain. The choices are overwhelming, huh? And as a beginner, I want to SEE what I'm buying, so I'm not quite ready to order online.



I just picked up my car earlier this week. Here's what I started with:



Viking Chenille Wash Mitt (AutoZone)

Mothers California Gold Wash (Pep Boys)

Mothers FX Wheel Cleaner (Pep Boys)

Old Terry Cloth Bath Towels for Drying (Wife)



For washing, I used a separate wash and rinse bucket for my mitt. I was SUPER gentle with the drying, doing a lot more patting than rubbing. I'm going to get something else as soon as I figure out what to get.



The wheel cleaner didn't seem to do much, but of course my wheels really weren't that bad to begin with. The wash stuff was fine. Pretty sudsy and smelled good.

^^ Nice to see a fellow 335i owner. Sounds like shes being taken care of real well. Keep me updated.

 

[Accumulator]

..So far, I have accumulated

- 2 Eurow sheepskin wash mitts

- 1 Meguiars super suede microfiber drying towel

- 1 Meguiars supreme shine microfiber towel

- 1 Meguiars chenille wash mitt (for the wheels).



Now all I need is the car wash soap...Im thinking Meguiars Gold Class. Im going to hold off on polishes for now until I get this washing part down pat.



What do you guys think so far....be HONEST please..

I think you'll need more drying towels of some kind, but IMO you're on the right track now. And :xyxthumbs for working to get the wash regimen down pat, that's where (IMO) most people mar their paint, which is the start of the most common detailing issues (e.g., "how do I get these swirls/scratches/spiderwebs out of my paint?"). If you don't mar it in the first place you're way ahead of the curve.



I'd still use a foamgun (I simply can't wash without marring unless I use one) but yeah the GC is a good OTC shampoo.



Note that the problem (now that you have the right wash media, which shouldn't scratch in and of itself) boils down to the dirt being abrasive. The dirt is on the relatively soft paint. If you apply pressure to the dirt and then *move* the dirt while under pressure, you'll mar the paint. The trick is to somehow get it off the paint without that happening. IMO the way to do that is a gently dislodge the dirt and then flush it off the panels without applying a lot of pressure.



In the absence of a foamgun (sorry, there I go again ) I'd try this (in addition to using two buckets): fill the wash mitt with solution by holding it, cuff-up, underwater in the wash solution bucket. Then hold it shut at the cuff (it'll be like a leaky bag full of shampoo mix). Holding it this way, gently whisk it across the panels. The nap of the mitt will dislodge the dirt and the shampoo mix that's seeping out of the mitt will help flush it off the panels. Note that there will be far less pressure against the dirt than there would be if you put your hand in the mitt and wiped the paint with it in the "normal" manner.



Such wash techniques work best if a) the vehicle doesn't get too dirty, b) the vehicle doesn't *stay* dirty too long before you wash it (the dirt can sorta bond to the panels), c) you're using a fairly slick LSP, and d) you're using an effective, high-lubricity shampoo mix.



Always check to make sure you really got things *clean* before you start drying. Any residual dirt will mar the paint if you rub it (dry) into the paint in the course of the drying.



If dirt doesn't come off with the gentle wash techniques, I'll use Sonus green Ultra Fine clay (*very* gently and carefully) to clean the surface more aggressively, and then I rewash it just to make sure I don't leave any clay/lube residue behind.



Washing correctly isn't easy, but IMO it sure beats having to deal with marring all the time.

 

[guso]

Hey I can share with your dilema. I purchased two weeks ago the exact car and color. The car is great. I spent countless hours doing searches and have followed one of the more popular detailer's her in Autopia. His name is Scottwax. He has a lot of experience and after many hours of searches I settled with the Jeff Werkstatt products. Last week I applied the Pirme as a polisher and follwed with the AJT and WOW. The car looks better than when I got it from the dealer. These products gives the paint a real wet look to it which in my opinion, looks awsome.

If you have anyother question feel free to ask. We can learn from each other. Enjoy the car it is made to run!!

 

[rit]

Cool. How many is that? 3 or 4 335i drivers?



After writing this morning, I went to Target and bought a bunch of their "vroom" brand "microfiber premium detailing towels", "diaper cloths", and one "large microfiber drying towel". I also bought a can of Meguiar's "nxt generation Tech Wax Paste".



I came back home and spent about 3 or 4 hours washing the car top to bottom. I washed with the Mother's California Gold Wash and microfiber mitt mentioned in my post earlier, then I dried the "exposed parts" of the exterior with the large towel. Next, I went over everything painted with one of the smaller microfiber towels, and finally cleaned my wheels with that Mother's FX wheel cleaner I mentioned (see above). A few thoughts:



- Love the microfiber towels! They work really well for both cleaning and drying. And they weren't expensive - maybe $10 for a dozen of the 16x16 size.



- The diaper cloths didn't really do anything for me on the washing or the drying. They may be better for polishing, though.



- I take back what I said earlier about the Mother's FX wheel stuff. Just spray it on, wait a couple minutes, and rinse it off. Anything that's left wipes off really easily with a mf towel.



I was planning to wax today, but chickened out. I remembered when I waxed a new truck I had about 7 or 8 years ago, and all the black plastic parts, like door handles and stuff, turned kind of white. The wax got on there, and it was about impossible to get it off. I saw pics of somebody else's bimmer on this site this morning, and they had taped off all their plastic parts before waxing. Not sure if that's why they did it, but I don't want to screw up and get wax all over the trim parts on the car. I'll have to study up some more before taking the plunge.

 

[Accumulator]

I was planning to wax today, but chickened out. I remembered when I waxed a new truck I had about 7 or 8 years ago, and all the black plastic parts, like door handles and stuff, turned kind of white. The wax got on there, and it was about impossible to get it off..

I don't know if the NXT does that or not...there are a lot of products that don't stain trim these days, in fact I use some polishes/waxes/sealants *on* trim intentionally! Quite a change from the days when, yeah, you'd get that nasty white staining and have a terrible time fixing it.



In any case, no need (*IMO*) to tape trim when waxing, it's not all *that* hard to just keep the wax off the trim. Polishing is a different matter, but for applying the wax I'd just be careful..work slowly and pay close attention. With a little effort I bet you can work right up next to the trim without getting any wax on it.



But I applaude your decision to consider the (possible) limitations of your current abilities and err on the side of caution :xyxthumbs