It’s been a few weeks since my last car washing adventure and I was getting a little bored working on the household cars so I decided to hit-up my family members for the use of their cars. In exchange for their loss of automobiles for the day, they will receive a free car wash. My first “customer” also became my car washing partner, cousin Reiki and I were out washing cars on Super Bowl Sunday.
First car in the line-up, a 2000 Toyota Celica GTS
Within the past 12 months the GTS was given a new paint job and since then has been well maintained. We started at the wheels and they proved to be the most difficult part of the cleaning. Covered in brake dust it was a chore to remove the caked-on residue from the outer portion and almost impossible to clean the inner wheel. With a little help from Turtle Wax F21-line’s spray-on wheel cleaner and a little elbow grease we were able to remove 90% of the residue, onward to the paint. After a thorough wash and rinse, a quick pass with the clay bar removed what little defects were hidden on the paint’s surface. A coat of Turtle Wax F21-line polish and Meguiars’ Cleaner Wax were we complete. Details such as wheel dressings, fender-well and rubber trim were handled by No Touch Tire Care, 303 Aerospace Protectant and Turtle Wax’s Wet n’ Black respectively.
A few pictures of the finished product
Here’s a tip for those with hazed headlight housings, a coat of wax on the outside clears them right up.
Before 
After 
Second and final car in the line-up was a very un-maintained 2004 Toyota Corolla-S. A pass with the clay-bar revealed many impurities, to the point where it felt “like sandpaper”, but once the defects were removed the remaining processes went very smoothly. Again all rubber and black trim were treated with:
- 303 Aerospace Protectant
- Turtle Wax Wet n’ Black
- No Touch Tire Care
I tried another “trick” I learned to remove water-spots from the windows, white distilled vinegar. Didn’t work to perfection but it appears to have softened the spots.
Here is a link to the list of products I’ve used, including my reviews, price paid and purchase location.
Hazed headlights are a horror. My car’s 7 years old and I always fear that I’ll walk out one day and be subjected to the yellow filmy look. It’s good to know what to do when it happens. I hope to get a paint job this summer. Then I can start using clay bars and the good stuff. There’s no point in waxing key scratches.