Well I baught my apex silver EVO lat Sat and this weekend I decided to detail the hell out of it and protect the seats and the paint. I decided I would do a write up to show EVO owners how to protect your 30K invest ment and how to keep your car looking its best.

Step 1

Wash your EVO. I use a good car wash soap mothers makes sum it does not realy matter as long as it is clear coat safe and what not just never use dish soap like Dawn etc.

Step 2

Dry your car with a shammy or a micor fiber drying cloth. Dont forget to get all door jams etc.

Step 3 CLay baring the car

Ok clay baring the car will basicly prep your paint for wax it will lift any and all dirt, eviormental, bug stuff etc off your paint that waxing and washing cant get off. IT will leave your paint feeling like silk. U can get a Mothers clay bar kit from any local autoparts store like kragen etc. The way u use this product is simple first use teh supplied spray lubicant * I use a different lubricant but it doesnt matter as long as it is a clay lubricant** spray all over the pannel u with to clay keeping it nice and wet then rub clay bar over with medium pressure till pannels is silky smooth. After your done claying a pannel wipe off the extra lubricant off the pannel before u wax.


Step 4 aplying wax
Get a wax aplicator and a good wax. I like satin cream from PRO it has palamers that bond the carnuga to the paint giving it better protection for sun etc. Apply in small circles and evenly all over the car and let sit for a wile some wax's like to left on longer to stick to paint better. Also do the waxing on a cool car surface and in shade never on hot day or out in the sun or a car that has been sitting in the sun for a few hours alway get a cool surface it will come off easier. Also u can put alitte on the lights makes them look crystal clear be carful and dont get to much wax in the cracks save your self the head aque later




Step 5 taking wax off

Use a mico fiber towel to take wax off it will not leave swirls or scratches in the paint.


STep 6 check in the sun light

PUll car out in the sun light and look for any spots u missed and then enjoy the beauty of your freshly waxed and clayed EVO





ISIDE DETAILING AND PROTECTING

Step one Vacume
STep 2 Cleaning and preparing to dress interior
I use a cleaner called extracto power works great for carpet stains etc. Delute it down alot I put about a 1/8 inch of it in a spray bottle and then rest with water get a damp cloth and ring it out and spray the cleaner on the towel and wipe down all pannels in car. Be sure to ring out the rag and redew this proccess every pannel the last thing u want it so spread dirt all over your car.

Step 2 Dress pannels

OK take a dry clean cloth and spray the Dressing in the cloth and then apply evenly all over plastic trip dash etc till its nice and shinny new. At this point u have 2 choices u can get the shinny look or u can get the brand new look with little shine to get the little shine apply the dressing and then go over it with a dry towel to take some of the shine away but still leave protectant on. If u want shinny just apply and be done I liek the shiny look cause there is more poduct so it protects longer and better in my eyes.






Step 3 apply leather conditioner to ****er,Swheel,Ebrake

Get a dry rag and put lotion in rag then apply to S wheel and shifter and boot and E brake for lasting protection and long lasting protection for about a month.



Step 4 Protecting carpets and seats
Take the Pro guard most dealers use this it will protect from water or drinks or any kind of stain. Shanke up well spray 6inches from seat and the carptets till u get a little white haze just ot make sure it did not discolorate the seats I lightly wiped the swade with my hands. Make sure to let dry for 4 hours befor sitting or driving etc.


NOw your done and your car should look off the hook and its protected for the future. I usualy wax my car ever 90 days since its in side most times but if out side u might want to do it earlier like every 6-8 weeks.

If anybody has any ?'s hit me up

CHRIS

 

So do you apply the wax over the clay? I've never used clay, so you'll have to explain a little better. thx.

 

Thanks a million Chris. What do you recommend I use on my cloth convertible top to make it look like new?

Also, what do you recommend we put on our plastic headlight covers to restore their shine?

 

thanks. very useful.. once i get my evo this will be one of the first things im going to be doing.

 

IM sorrry I will edit my post the clay is just a piece of clay that removes setiment particals off your paint that wax and washing alone cant do. U do what I told in the steps and then wipe off with a ragg to get excess liquid off the paint then when its dry u then wax.

 

Might I add a few things?

Clay is primarily used to take off overspray. It is not, I repeat, NOT to be used to clean anything off the car. Doing so will pick the grit/dirt/crap into the clay bar and essentially scrape it all over the car. You will leave scratches if you do this repeatedly. You must continually turn and knead the clay or the little junk that was on the paint will be spread all over. Also, keep visually inspecting the clay surface for any contaminants. Remove them before using the bar any more. Keep it stored in a container of water so it doesn't pick up any junk while in storage.
Plastic headlight covers can be cleaned up and protected with plastic protectant; they have products specifically for that at auto parts stores, etc.
I recommend saving your micro fiber towel for final inspection. You can use regular paper towels IF you get the proper kind; very few actually work for this so be careful. Viva Ultra is a soft cloth type towel that can be used. Once you've wiped all your nasty wax off (that stuff comes off like glue), go back over everything while inspecting with the micro fiber towel to keep it lasting a long time. You don't want all your junk on the m.f. towel.
If you want a truly awesome wax that continually builds an enamel protective layer and goes on and off very quickly, I recommend Klasse. That is what I use in my production automotive paint facility.
Oh one other thing. Do wax your rims (and if you want to be a fanatic, your calipers too) to protect them from the large amounts of brake dust that your Brembos will put out. It makes cleaning them much easier.

Take care,
Mark

 

Thanks for the info. guys. I understand what you are talking about now Calomino.

 

Don't forget to wipe dry the lubricant you use for the clay bar. I was stupid enough not to do that one time, and applied Meguiar's Paint Cleaner right over it... Very very very bad choice. It took me 3 whole hours to take that **** off. And there's still places that still remind me of the stupid mistake I made.

 

Sure u dont have to use microfiber towels ot get teh wax off initially. Most customer cars we do we use a soft towel and take wax off and then go over with microfiber for the final little bit to get any and all left behind off. But for my car I dont want any chance of leaving any swirls etc ** im just super picky like that** so I use microfiber from start to finish.

As for the wax on the rims and calipers. That is a good point ot bring up most Benz's or highend cars we do with 20's etc or crome rims we hit with a little wax for easy cleaning later and it gicves the rims a little extra sparcle with out having ot actualy buff them wiht polish.

 

www.zainobros.com

all you need to know...

 

Exactly.

The quality of ingredients used are as important as the effort that goes into cleaning and polishing your car.

 

Check this out http://www.lotuselancentral.com/renovo.htm --they make other restorative products as well!
Just use plastic polish on the lights.

 

somebody needs to spend some tme on the garage! lol

 

Agree that Zaino's is awesome.
Complete pain in the ***, though.
And you forgot the tires.
Doug

 

nope did not forget tires at all pics just dont show it well look in the pic where caris covered in wax