Scoobie Doo

What products do you guys recommend as far as soap and wax goes?

I have an '03 Sonic Yellow WRX.

1reguL8NSTi

I use Zymbol as a cleaner wax and then I go over it with Mother's (the stuff in the metal can) or Eagle One Nanowax for when I'm feeling a little lazy or pressed for time. I wash it with regular Turtle Wax soap, nothing fancy. This weekend when I waxed it I would let the wax dry and then mist over top of it with a water bottle (really fine). It looked awesome. Black glass.

Tomasu

Hey i dont mean to hijack the thread or anything, but i have a simple question to add.

Is it bad to wash the WRX in a drive through car wash or any of those kinds because of soapy water getting through the hood scoop and onto the intercooler/turbo???

That just came to my mind right now, i still havent washed my car yet since i bought it....

jdepould

iTrader: (2)

is your car ever out in the rain? don't worry about it.

yzercyber

It's hard to beat Blue Coral Concentrated Car Wash for cleaning between waxings, IMHO. Leaves a high gloss polymer coating behind that beads water very well and protects wax and paint. It's pretty gentle stuff that works quickly on road grime and brake dust. Wish it was better at taking off bugs. It won't strip wax. I suppose that if was strong enough to take off bugs quickly, it would probably strip the wax, too. The stuff is cheap... which is good if you wash a lot. Needs to be buffed dry with cotton towel for best results.

I use Meguiar's Deep Crystal waxing products. These are carnauba wax products that do a fine job on my WRX's black paint.

My last three cars have never been taken through a car wash. Car washes are a great way to make a car look clean and dull.

porter_mann

I would check out Mother's Gold Auto care's website, or Meguier's. They have a ton of info and a forum. I would recommend NOT to go through the automatic washes, but not becuase of the open hood scoop. In actuality, it won't hurt it, but the car washes just don't do as good of a job as a hand wash. Any water that enters (its minor) will only go through the intercooler, and then down the back side of the engine/transmission area. Areas that would already be wet from water on the road. With those automatic car washes, those brushes are not as soft as a wool mit, who knows what dirty off-road truck just went through, and some places even recycle their water.

I would recommend either Mother's or Meguire's products for washing or waxing. With your new car, I would also recommend clay bar with the paint to remove any contaminants before waxing. People recommend doing it on a new car, and only 1-2 times a year afterwads. It will get rid of any rail dust (from shipping) and keep you from marring the new paint job you have during the first wash. The clay bar will not mar the surface. A two year old could do it. As a note, if you drop the clay - toss it, its done for. Some people split it up into 3 pieces in the event they drop on, they have a spare.

Use a wool mit (with frequent rinsing), when your done clay bar the paint (I used Mother's clay bar kit that contains instant detailer spray as a lube), wash any residue off, and then wax. When drying or buffing - use a microfiber cloth, supposedly its better then 100% cotton, although a 100% cotton cloth will be fine.

I used to use the wax in the tin, but I've switched to the bottle version. That way, I don't introduce anything back into the tin via the foam applicator. With the bottle, I can use a clean terry cloth or applicator and if I suspect it to be dirty, I can throw it away without worrying that there's bits and pieces in the tin wax as well. With higher quality waxes, both the tin and the bottle versions work as well - the bottle is slightly more expensive though.

If your super zealous, you can also apply polish, after the clay bar but before the wax. That step was a bit much for me to be honest, so I skipped it. Its as much work as the waxing, and if you do this - you still have to wax.

I would wax once a month, and wash one every other week (or once a week if it gets dirty often). When washing I use the AutoDry as well. I know - it kind of a gimic but it works. It keeps me from having to dry it with a towel (posibbly adding more micro scratches) in between those times I don't wax. Hard water is a realy big problem here in California, and the autodry keeps me from getting hard water spots. Since its dusty where I live, I also have a California car duster. Its a breeze on a waxed car.

meilers

The only problem with water under the hood of a car would be if you managed to get water into the alternator, fuse box or somehow submerge the battery. It is actually a good idea to clean your engine bay once or twice a year -- and guess what you use? A hose! :-)

If your engine has enough integrity to hold in hundreds of pounds of compression and several gallons of oil and coolant at 5-8psi, a little water on the outside of it won't hurt it; your intercooler is also airtight (which means watertight as well) and is aluminum, so it can't rust. The only danger is getting water in your electrical system.

I clean my engine bay twice a year; just wrap the alternator and fuse box with aluminum foil or heavy-duty plastic wrap and either take out the battery or wrap it with a trash bag (don't use aluminum foil, for obvious reasons). Get some good engine cleaner (I don't like GUNK or the heavy industrial stuff; last time I used Simple Green Automotive, but there are a few good Euro products that are biodegradable and won't eat your skin) and spray the entire engine compartment; wait 10 minutes and then LIGHTLY mist the engine bay with a hose (I use a spray attachment set on 'mist') until all traces of the cleaner are gone. Turn your sprayer head on "jet" and blast the hell out of your intercooler; last time I did this I found flies, stones, bits of tar and all sorts of other junk on the driveway that had washed out of my intercooler.

The key to not causing rust or damage is to warm the car up first (drive it for 10-15 minutes) and then do the cleaning while the engine is still warm. Once you are done, unwrap the alternator, fuse box and battery and then immediately start the car and let it idle for another 5-10 minutes; the heat of the engine will dry the engine bay in no time.

One of the great advantages to cleaning your engine bay is that it is MUCH easier to spot coolant leaks, oil leaks, frayed wiring and other underhood problems when the engine isn't coated in grime.