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How to protect Engine (gloss black paint) and silencer (Matt black paint) ?

I am using Meguiar's Ultimate liquid wax for silencer chrome components. Hope that is safe to use.

Hello BHPians!

Can you suggest some simple yet effective car detailing products that can be used by owners themselves.

Thanks in advance :)

Using a wax on the silencer is safe but nearly useless as carnauba has a melting point of 81-82 degrees Celsius, your silencer gets much hotter than that during use. Use a sealant or better yet a chrome friendly ceramic coating (most paint coatings are safe on chrome).

For paint, be it matte or gloss use a good quality diy ceramic coating for the best protection, something like Carpro CQuartz UK 3.0 for eg. Note: test on a small patch of the matte surface before applying everywhere, it will add a very light satin like sheen to it. Also make sure it’s actually paint, matte plastic trim and paint coatings are generally not compatible.

Got a rather surprising complement last week

TLDR:
What happened: My car got extra care at a routine car wash shop as the carwash folks believed that my car is ceramic coated
Fact: My car is not ceramic coated or PPF coated! I maintain my car on my onw using basic wash and wax materials and SOPs I learnt from this valuable thread!

Long version:

I took my Car (2021 Innova Crysta ZX Diesel AT, Pearl-White) to a reputed car wash in HSR - one having the big rotary mechanized washing setup.

There were 4-5 cars and all were queued into the mechanized setup. However, only my car was not queued up for the mechanized setup. Instead, the boys cleaned my car the traditional way - a)Water jet spray to remove dust, b)Foam spray and soak, c)Hand Rinse using microfiber clothes soaked in shampoo , d)Water jet spray to clean shampoo, e)Dry - using pressurized air and then using microfibers.

At time of leaving, I asked what led them to do manual wash for my car when they have motorized setup.
Car Wash: "Sir, we saw that your car is ceramic coated and hence we did not use motorized setup."
I just said thank you and moved on. I had a big smile as I moved on- because my car is not ceramic coated!

It came as a large compliment - especially coming from a pro in the business! I am glad I didn't have to plonk some 30-40K for Ceramic coating and yet got the compliment from a pro. I am an enthusiast and I do take care of my car on my own. I do not use any car wash boy. I do not have access to running water in my apartment basement parking. So, everything is manual, Tender Loving Care and elbow grease!

Materials I use

1. Water: 2 buckets
2. Garden Spray bottle of 2L capacity with compression pump and spray nozzle
3. Microfiber: 12-16 pieces
4. Drying: Meguiar's Water Magnet
5. Shampoo: Optimum No Rinse Wash and Wax.
6. Wax: 3M Wax (box is almost over); Will start with Collinite 845
7. Tyres Cleaning: Meguiar's Hot Shine Tire Foam

Weekly/Fortnightly Car Care I follow

1. Spray water using garden spray bottle and remove all lose dust. Takes 6-10 minutes as I need to refill the bottle multiple times.
2. Spray ONR Wash and Wax solution over the car and let it soak for 5 minutes.
3. Soak 10-12 Microfibers in the same wash and wax solution
4. Fold each micro fiber into 2 folds - that way I get 8 faces from the microfiber cloth.
5. Start cleaning panel by panel- with horizontal swipe of the microfiber towel. Once a face of the folded microfiber is used, I don' use that face again. So, 8 swipes and that towel is done for the day. I keep that microfiber cloth away from the lot. I start from top and go down.
6. After doing 3-4 panels, I use the Meguiar's Water magnet towel to dry the panel.
7. For tyres, I just spray the Meguiar's HotShine Foam and it takes care of everything. It does not need any rinsing.
8. For leather: Turtle Luxe Leather Cleaner and Conditioner
9. For Interior: Sonax Cockpit Spray

Car Wax - Once a month

1. Complete rinseless car wash as above.
2. I have been using 3M wax so far. I will switch to Collinite 745(procured but yet to use).
3. I dip the sponge into the wax can, then dab the wax across various places in the panel.
4. I then start working the wax into the surface by circular motion of my hand. I do two passes.
5. I complete the whole body wax - including plastic panels, headlights etc. I do not do it on front and rear windscreen.
6. I do head putting wax on all panels in one shot without worrying about wax drying up. I am in BLR with mild weather and I am working on basement-2 where ambient temperature is further lower and there is no wind/sunlight.
7. By the time I am done waxing all panels, wax on initial panels are ready for wiping off the wax.
8. I use a clean micro fiber cloth to start wiping/buffing off the wax. For this, I fold the microfiber into 3-4 folds to evenly distribute pressure
9. Turtle Luxe Leather Cleaner and Conditioner: I spray few times into a microfiber pad. I spray into the seats, and start working on the seats. I don't let the liquid rest after spraying. I also use this process for my home leather sofa set.
10. Interior Plastic Trims: I spray the Sonax Cockpit liquid into another microfiber pad. I never spray into the trim directly. I work the trims and then finally wipe with a microfiber cloth.

It takes me 45mins-1 hours for Washing. And ~1.5 hour if I also do waxing.

So, 1-1.5 hours on Sundays, 2 buckets of water, few car-care materials, some sweat and elbow grease - and tada - My car is shiny like a pearl !

Oh yes - I do turn back and look at my car to admire my hard-work before I go to lift lobby! And it is so satisfying!

What about wheel well, do you use rinse with plain water or with ONR?
and what would you recommend for interiors - fabric seats and roof ?

I too, being a delhite is frustrated with the dust that gets stick to the car on daily basis. I do weekly car washes myself using a sonax high gloss shampoo. But the very next day car is covered with dust. Using jopasu duster helps to an extent but only for a couple of days. After the third day from the wash, there is so much dust on the car that the duster is now also not able to pick it properly. I am very curious to know how you use BSD to help fight the dust. Please share the process. Also let me know if you purchase the BSD through amazon or any other source, because if needed, i will prefer buying it from a tried and trusted source only.

Hello folks! I have a VW Polo with black marks and dirt on the B-pillar, near where the seatbelt buckle rests when not being used. This is a result of dirt from hands sticking onto the pillar when people grab the seatbelt.

What is the best way to clean this? Can I just hit it with a typical household general purpose cleaner and rub it off?

If it is the Plastic trim then yes, Colin/soap solution would work.
Spray/rub the area with the solution & let it sit for few seconds, then rub the area gently with a soft bristle brush or a clean cloth. Remember not to apply too much pressure to avoid marring the surface.

Wheels: I use the same ONR water(if still available) or plain water.
Wheel Wells: I don't clean wheel wells on my own. That gets washed in the car wash places once in 5-6 weeks.
Roof: Same ONR water. It is tricky to reach Innova Crysta roof.
Fabric Seats: I will suggest Meguiar's Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner. You can also look at ChrisFix videos and I am sharing one link below. You may have the tools but nothing that you can't achieve with manual work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaNiHFW11yA

I did a quick search, and only saw stuff about fabrics, leather etc.

Has anyone refurbished seats for comfort, which I imagine involves renewing the layer between the springs and the cover at least?

My Polo seats seem to have become rather hard.

I recall seeing this on the thread where a member bought a pre-loved Fortuner and re-did the seats as they were worn a bit too much for his liking.

Link

Thanks, I checked that out. Quite a fancy leather job, and quite a lot of money. I'm just thinking I need the padding under the cloth replaced.

I believe any upholsterer can help with that. After 12 years, I felt I needed to get it done for my Pajero, and found a place who would do that locally. However, the price put me off, and i have learnt to live with the current setup for now. :) Needless to say, the cost involved is owing to high cost of labour where I am, and it needn't be the same in India.

Hello Folks,

I am waiting for my XUV 700 Midnight Black (Dark blue but looks like black) to be delivered in a week and I don’t want to spend a bomb on PPF or ceramic coating to maintain the gloss and shine of the car. I was going through this thread and god there is lot of information here. Till now I haven't used anything apart from a cotton cloth and water from the garden hose to the clean my existing car as it is very old (Tata Indigo Marina 2005)

I was surprised to see so many cleaning products available in the market and as a noob it is very difficult for me to understand the difference between wax, polish, shampoo and spray!
But I found one post with detailed care routine, which I am planning to copy.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post5340077 Thanks @daretodream for this.

All I need to understand is, Can I blindly use the same routine for XUV700 midnight black and its white interior? Are there any other recommendations for me.
Please share your feedback!

Hi amvj,

Im also having an FZ v3 gloss black and in also interested in keeping the engine paint in a black. Did you find any solutions! There are several videos in YT recommending different type of polishes, but i haven't tried anything. Have you tried anything!?