Keeping Up New Car

[dano]

New Guy here looking for recomendations on keeping up my new 06 Rav4.Would like to keep it looking new ,hard now living in Ma.too cold to drag out hose and bucket(carwashes out right.)Also looking for whats the best products too use and where to buy.been reading product reviews.Point me in the right direction Thanks Dano

[BigLeegr]

Try to find a pay-n-spray bay that allows you to bring a bucket to wash with.
If you can't, here are some options:
Any of the Poorboys stuff would be a good choice. You can get everything from the wash to the trim dressing in this line.
Spray and Wipe is good for light dirt cleaning. Make sure you have a thick towel (or many, for that matter :D ), as thin towels will just drag the dirt across the paint. :o
QEW is a "rinseless" wash. You actually use a bucket of water to wash the car, but you don't have to rinse it. Just wipe it down. Again, thick towel, IMO. You can also follow the QEW wash with S+W to clean a little more thoroughly.
As a quick protection "touch-up" after the wash, you might try Poorboy's Quick Wax +. Look for a review for more in depth info on it. (Look under QD+, as it recently changed names to QW+)
http://www.danase.com might be a good place to start looking at products to buy. :wink:
As to "summer" care, I'd wait and see what's on sale at the time. Also, you may get a better Idea of what type of look you'd prefer (sealant vs. carnauba, wet vs shiny, etc.).

[Bob]

Agreed with BigLeeger

[manuels_madness]

Dano first of all congrats on the Rav4! I'd like to know a few things before I give you some more tips. By the way great tips BigLeeger. First of all what color is your car? Also I assume this is going to be your daily driver? Some intial tips I recommend is that you get a clear bra for your car. Toyota paint tends to be soft and highway driving can really chip at the front end. Shoot on my black IS300 I got a rock chip on the back just above the passagener side door. Man the paint is soft. I would at least protect the front. Also if you are really concerned make sure you get some good products. I personally would get the following:
Microfiber drying towels
Microfiber towels to remove Polishes/Waxes
Microfiber towels to remove Detailing spray
Clay Bar with lube.
A good Clay bar with a lube (u can use detailing spray as lube)
Any bar sold by bob or even in store. There are really only like two manufactures that make the clay that are supplied to all these companies.
A Porter Cable to make life easier along with some Lake Country pads.
Polish/Swirl Remover
Wax/Sealeant
Detailing Spray
Glass Cleaner
Tire Dressing.

For a polish I would get either the poorboy's world SSR's or Merenza IP. Polishes/Swirl removers are a must for dark colored cars (black and red especially). I'd also get either Natty's Blue or I use Souveran for my black car. Then I'd probably get Stoner Glass Cleaner. I'd use 303 Aerospace Protectant for my tires and for my car's dash. I like FK1 #425 as my detailing spray. Not sure what I left out but you can always ask. I hope this helps. :D

[Dan]

All excellent suggestions manuels_madness! I would just replace FK 425 with CG Pro Detailer since if you're going to be working with nuba. Also, I've heard CG Cut 2 Polish (a.k.a. Spiderweb 321, a.k.a. Laser Buff without the wax) is a good swirl remover, like SSR2.5's cut but without as much dusting.

[budman3]

You can't go wrong with Poorboys. Easy on easy off and great results. Make sure you clay your Rav, even if it is new. A PC would make your life a lot easier and results better and quicker. Microfibers--- buy as many as you can. There is no replacement to microfibers. I would suggest at least 10 quality ones and at least 2 waffle weave towels. Buy some 'spare' MF's for door jams, wheels, trim, windows, etc at Sams, Costco, Target etc. but don't use on your paint. Stick with quality towels for that like the ones sold at Danase.