Any detailing products for the lazy?

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@KLF - I tried an off-brand battery powered blower and it just doesn't cut it for that purpose. The blowers advertised for car drying are quite spendy for what they do. Thanks for commenting positively on this brand - is LXT the model?

I've lived in Florida now for 30 years. But on a milder day in the winter, when I lived farther north, I would occasionally hit a car wash to get the salt, etc off my car. A gas powered blower was great to avoid having the little nooks fill with frozen water when the temp later dropped. A good/modern battery version would be even better.
 
LBridges said:
@KLF - I tried an off-brand battery powered blower and it just doesn't cut it for that purpose. The blowers advertised for car drying are quite spendy for what they do. Thanks for commenting positively on this brand - is LXT the model?

I've lived in Florida now for 30 years. But on a milder day in the winter, when I lived farther north, I would occasionally hit a car wash to get the salt, etc off my car. A gas powered blower was great to avoid having the little nooks fill with frozen water when the temp later dropped. A good/modern battery version would be even better.
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This is the model, but there are no batteries included.

Amazon product ASIN B00NLXXQXQ
I have a significant number of the Makita cordless tools in the 18V LXT line, so this was a natural choice for me. I don't use it to fully dry the car, just get the bigger puddles and the stuff that's hard to reach. Then i use a fluffy MF towel to fully dry.
 
sdnative said:
Looks great, when can I drop my truck off?

Seriously I need to do something with mine. It looks great from a few feet but I can feel some light grit when I rub my hand over the paint after a good wash / wax. I may need a clay bar or something. It's been many years since I have done anything more than a good wash and wax on a vehicle.

Can you recommend a good affordable place in San Diego?
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I suggest taking some time and get the contaminants/grit off with a clay bar and try out the Turtle wax hybrid. Wax on, wax off! You'll be Happy with the results. If not, I suggest searching through Yelp! I almost got a professional once but I've gotten several quotes of $500+. Decided to buy my own equipment and did it myself. If you asked me years ago, I would of taken care your truck when I had time before having kids. Let us know what you end up doing.
 
I use to spend hours with a clay bar. Fussy thing to use, extreme care not to drop, and keep things wet so it glides.

This is before I found the beauty of the dual action car polisher. I get they're different things to the elitists (which I use to have the time for) As @bloc mentions, I can't imagine the paint coming out more slippery after a pass. Whether polishing or waxing, it makes quick work of the large 200-series. The results are 100% better than hand done. Being a power tool, it puts in the hard work for you.

Short of paying someone, that's my preferred lazy way.

I do have to try those TurtleWax products @CCinSD mentions. Have come across many mentions of that so it must be some good stuff. What applicator pads do you use to apply?
 
TeCKis300 said:
I use to spend hours with a clay bar. Fussy thing to use, extreme care not to drop, and keep things wet so it glides.

This is before I found the beauty of the dual action car polisher. I get they're different things to the elitists (which I use to have the time for) As @bloc mentions, I can't imagine the paint coming out more slippery after a pass. Whether polishing or waxing, it makes quick work of the large 200-series. The results are 100% better than hand done. Being a power tool, it puts in the hard work for you.

Short of paying someone, that's my preferred lazy way.

I do have to try those TurtleWax products @CCinSD mentions. Have come across many mentions of that so it must be some good stuff. What applicator pads do you use to apply?
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I just used a light polishing foam pad since there was minimal swirl marks to begin with. it's not perfect but it good enough. We'll see how durable this product is, I also applied it on all trim and wheels.
 
TeCKis300 said:
I use to spend hours with a clay bar. Fussy thing to use, extreme care not to drop, and keep things wet so it glides.

This is before I found the beauty of the dual action car polisher.
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I think you are missing the point if claying. If you run a polisher across your paint without claying, you are just grinding embedded dirt and brake dust into the paint harder.

I no longer use raw clay bars, for the reasons you state. I was constantly dropping the darned wads of clay on the ground, which you then have to throw it away and get a fresh one. Now I use a clay towel, soooo much easier and faster, results are the same. I use my pressure washer and foam cannon to blast off the dirt, then while the car is still covered on all that foamy goodness, I run the clay towel over it, very fast. If you drop it on the ground, just swish it around the rinse bucket, then keep going. Then a healthy final rinse and on to dry and sealant. This is the one I use, although there are many on Amazon now to pick from:

Amazon product ASIN B01AB5OSEC
 
KLF said:
I think you are missing the point if claying. If you run a polisher across your paint without claying, you are just grinding embedded dirt and brake dust into the paint harder.

I no longer use raw clay bars, for the reasons you state. I was constantly dropping the darned wads of clay on the ground, which you then have to throw it away and get a fresh one. Now I use a clay towel, soooo much easier and faster, results are the same. I use my pressure washer and foam cannon to blast off the dirt, then while the car is still covered on all that foamy goodness, I run the clay towel over it, very fast. If you drop it on the ground, just swish it around the rinse bucket, then keep going. Then a healthy final rinse and on to dry and sealant. This is the one I use, although there are many on Amazon now to pick from:

Amazon product ASIN B01AB5OSEC
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So we're not talking past each other, we're in the lazy detailing thread. Your points are not lost on me but perhaps warrants its own best practices thread.

Not missing the point at all and I couldn't agree with you more. I'm coming from the lazymans practical perspective on this. I don't do clays anymore. Am I destroying my paint? Perhaps from the elitist POV. From the lazyman detailers POV, I'm still doing way better than 99.999% of what the general population does. The results still excellent with minimal time invested. Which is what this thread is about.
 
I’m in Alaska so 6-7 months a year car washes are done in my garage. About 4 years ago a buddy who is extremely frugal got his car done in ceramic pro and just raves about it. So I got my LX done. $1600, for the paint prep and “Gold” lifetime version. Honestly it is Amazing. The dirt falls off, the longest it ever takes me to wash it is is 20min using No Rinse wash and shine I can do a wash in 10min in my garage at -20F outside easily and it looks glossy and freshly waxed. Like it so much a little over a year and a half ago put in on my wife’s New Tesla before it even came home, it was $1k for the new car that need almost no paint correction.

On our 15 year MB e class that we kept for our kids to drive last fall I did CQuartz. For $250 I got everything for the paint prep and application. Me and my highly capable 12 and 14 year old got the paint prep done in ~4 hours. Then ~1.5 hours a day for the next 4 days and it was done. So, what the DIY really took was 6 days of that car staying inside the garage and not being driven, 12 hours of our labor, and ~$250. If I had done it myself without the kids help probably would have taken close to twice as long. So far After one winter I can’t really notice a differences in the ceramic pro and CQuartz
 
^That is something I'll have to look into. Haven't gotten into the ceramic coating stuff yet, but perhaps time to give it a look.
 
TeCKis300 said:
So we're not talking past each other, we're in the lazy detailing thread. Your points are not lost on me but perhaps warrants its own best practices thread.

Not missing the point at all and I couldn't agree with you more. I'm coming from the lazymans practical perspective on this. I don't do clays anymore. Am I destroying my paint? Perhaps from the elitist POV. From the lazyman detailers POV, I'm still doing way better than 99.999% of what the general population does. The results still excellent with minimal time invested. Which is what this thread is about.
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OK, I actually figured you knew all this, and I see the "laziness" factor tossed in. All good.

I am also a believer in the ceramic coatings, they do make cleaning so much easier. I have Ceramic Pro on my Miata, and I have done the full CQuartz treatment on a friend's almost new GMC pickup last summer. The prep on the DIY process took me about a day and a half, as the truck started life as a service loaner for about 5,000 miles so it needed a full correction. It still looks great after a Maine salty winter, being parked outside, but we'll see which one lasts longer. I'm considering doing the same DIY treatment on the Cruiser, as the paint is still in remarkable condition for 71K miles. I've started filling in a few tiny stone chips on the hood with touch up paint, which will get wet sanded flat.
 
texas said:
Turtle Wax Seal and Shine or their Ceramic line. Super cheap and easy to apply, yet hydrophobic like crazy. All the detailing nerds are going crazy over them right now.
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+1 on the Turtle Wax ICE/Hybrid line

Solid, high performing (better than a lot of very high end detailing products), long lasting performance. More durable than traditional waxes (beads for a few months), and dead simple application with just spray on and buff off with a microfiber towel. Super cheap too. I did their black polish and their seal n shine, and it's incredible.

I'd also recommend a cheap foam cannon (I use the TriNova brand from Amazon), and then some sudsy, pH neutral (no soap spots from the sun) car shampoo like Chemical Guys Honeydew Snow Foam. You can use a wash mitt and a bucket (or two) for a deeper contact wash after foaming, and dry off with a leaf blower or a large microfiber drying towel. Turtle Wax has some hybrid products that you can use as a drying aid which waxes as you rinse and dry, preventing streaks or water spots and leaving some protection.

This is a good minimal maintenance regimen in my book. If you're not picky about it, this avoids claying, paint correction/machine polishing, and thick wax applied by foam or machine.
 
TeCKis300 said:
So we're not talking past each other, we're in the lazy detailing thread. Your points are not lost on me but perhaps warrants its own best practices thread.

Not missing the point at all and I couldn't agree with you more. I'm coming from the lazymans practical perspective on this. I don't do clays anymore. Am I destroying my paint? Perhaps from the elitist POV. From the lazyman detailers POV, I'm still doing way better than 99.999% of what the general population does. The results still excellent with minimal time invested. Which is what this thread is about.
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his clay towel is a lazy way
 
Thanks for all the ideas and advice. I tried the turtle wax seal and shine. That is perfect for my needs. I can see why it falls short of those who are looking for a professional grade product, but it is good enough for me. I hit the power car wash, and spent about 15 minutes applying the stuff. Thanks for all the great info.

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