stillwaterS6

I wanted to cover how I started with my car - then how I have maintained the finish and shine going forward. I will walk through this in order.

When I bought the car - I used a foam cannon and clay bar to strip everything off the surface. Then I used Ammo Reflex coating. Then I put on Ammo Skin.

Now every time I do this same process:

Wheels:
I used a single dedicated bucket with a grit guard. Once you use a bucket for wheels, it's always a wheel bucket. Adam's Bucket Wheel Cleaning Kit | Perfect Wheel and Tire Kit

Rinse the wheels
Spray with Adam's Wheel Cleaner
Spray the Tires with Rubber Cleaners
Wait for it to turn purple and use a Wheel Wooly to get the barrel of the wheel
Long handle brush on the face of the wheels
Short stiff brush on the tires
Rise.

Car:
I use a torq foam cannon with a gas pressure washer.
I then drive the car in to the garage where I have a floor drain
In the foam cannon and 2 bucket wash I use Honeydew Snow Foam soap from Chemical Guys
Each bucket (soap and rinse) have grit guards
I work top to bottom rinsing the wash mitt ever panel.
Then I rinse the whole car at once.

Drying:
I use the chemical guys drying microfiber towel.
I spray Adam's Detail Spray on the wet car as a drying aid.
I work top to bottom.
Then I walk away for a few min.

Glass:
I use invisible glass spray (it doesn't run)
I use two microfibers towels. One for the first pass and one for polish

Was/Sealant:
Once the car is dry all the way - I use Chemical Guys V07 sealant - with 2 microfiber towels. One for removal and one for buffing Chemical Guys - Hybrid V7 Optical Select High Gloss Spray Sealant & Quick Detailer (1 Gal)

Wheels:
I wax the wheels with Ammo Gelè
I do the tires with Adam's Tire Shine

Finished! Then I take a picture.

Qbruin

Thanks for sharing. Your car looks great. My S4 is supposed to arrive next month, which I will clay after I take delivery. What kind/brand of clay did you use?

stillwaterS6

I use Meguiars. I've found very little difference between brands. Spend more than $10 and you're fine.

JohnEnglish

My detailing routine:

- drive through the touchless carwash at the closest gas station lol

stillwaterS6

We know

njspeedfreak

I'm the same way. One bucket and a hose every few months. The problem with washing the car is that it just get's dirty again. So much effort for such a reward that only seems to last a few days.

JohnEnglish

Yeah when I got my first car I was all about detailing it but the novelty wore off fast. Now I just take it to someone in the spring and fall to be cleaned and touchless car washes otherwise.

mplsbrian

You guys (not OP) are the reason I don't buy used cars.

Hand-washing and regular detailing of my cars is why I was able to trade in a six-year-old Honda Accord with two [properly repaired] major accidents on it in for eleven grand when I bought my S4. If it weren't an Audi dealership they would've drove it right out onto the showroom.

Looks great, Stillwater. What (if anything) do you do for the interior?

njspeedfreak

I followed the exact same (non) washing routine with my 2012 Phantom Black S4. And after 5 years it only took one pass with the polisher to make it look almost showroom new again. But no amount of hand washing is going to prevent the normal road debris that I encounter on my daily commute from pitting the front valence, and hand washing isn't going to prevent some idiot in the supermarket parking lot from dinging my door. And when I sold the car last month the selling price had very little do do with the amount of swirl marks in the paint. The 110K miles on the odometer pretty much made the condition of the paint irrelevant.

Now the interior is a completely different story. That I have to look at every day for 40 minutes in the morning and again at the end of the day, so I keep that spotless! It also tends to stay that way for a while so it's worth the extra effort to me.

Now if I could only find some way to keep the window glass looking clean for more than a few days. Nothing I hate more than that haze that slowly builds up on the glass after a week or so - especially when driving in the direction of a rising or setting sun. Does anyone know of a magical product that works better than plain old windex for that?

JohnEnglish

This is why I take it to be detailed twice a year, less for the exterior and more for the interior; especially after winter.