Lets see what we all like to use on our 8's and why.


I like Mother products.

Mothers pure carnuba paste wax with no cleaners. Applied thinly its not hard to remove.....and slippery as hell when done. A must for new, clean paint. I use Diaper polishing cloths to buff and Micro Fiber cloths to detail buff and remova any dust.

Zep wash. A nice car wash with thick thick suds and light polymers. your glass will shed water with this sweet stuff!!

Mothers Duration tire dressing. A low luster tire shine that looks "nice" not greasy and cheap. Lasts and lasts also.

Mothers Back to black. Black trim should look black and almost flat.....this stuff does just that.

Eagle One's Wax as you Dry. I LOVE this stuff!! A wax polymer that you spritz a few times on a wet panel, then dry as usual. Very easy to use. Slippery and glossy. Not a substitute for wax of course.......but great for between.

A cheap feather duster. Do you hate that haze that the clear plasic gets over your instrument cluser? This plasic is SO soft. I never use windex and paper towels for just dust. this will keep it looking glossy

Micro fiber cloths. these things really clean....great for finish buffing and cleaning glass witout chemicals.....dust.....they are awesome.

Lambswool wash mit. I change mits often and alway get something different. I like the Lambswool, but if YOU have a favorite......

Prestone's Upholstery cleaner. The can with the brush attatched. good spot stain removal, Great scent also.

2 or 3 "dirt work" wash mits and cloths. Inner wheel wells, Alloy wheels and rocker panels.

Zep 40 for glass. I use Zeptowels for glass cleaning. They are lint free and very strong. High quality.

"blue" metal polish for stainless exhaust tips. I use this occasionally to deep clean and brighten these guys. They will look brighter than day 1.


Thats all I can think of for now.......How about you guys?

 

How about for the dashboard and other vinyl areas? The manual says not to use "glazing agents" (Armor All?) page 8-44.

 

The dash in our cars should never see a " protectant" or glazing agent as Mazda calls it. The new trend is Flat finishes in the inerior. Armor all will look blotchy uneven if sprayed on the surfaces in our 8's.

For this I use those Microfiber cloths I talked about just wipe over the dash dry. If you had a particularly dirty area. Simple green or even a small amout of a window cleaner spayed on the cloth first should do it.


BTW I love the flat look of the dash board.

 

So you use no chemical at all for the dash? I was about to use Armor All or something like it too.. whew.

 

Good to see another ZEP guy -- ZEP 40 is the best glass cleaner I've ever seen and I agree -- the ZEPtowels are perfect for car detailing -- no residue and no lint. You can buy some ZEP stuff at Home Depot now but the really good stuff can only be purchased from a ZEP sales rep (they are one of the largest industrial chemical companies in the world and don't sell retail except some consumer stuff at Home Depot)

I must admit I did just switch from the ZEP car wash to Zaino wash (came with my kit) can't tell much of a difference. May go back to ZEP when the Zaino runs out.

The Zaino polish and gloss enhancer are the real deal -- no comparison with anything I have ever used before -- simply amazing products.

 

I will never use a carnuba wax again in my life. Too much work for not enough results that don't last as long. Synthetic polymers for me please. I personally use Zaino but others like Liquid Glass or Klasse are very good too.
I also use a lambswool mitt, 100% cotton Fieldcrest towels or microfibre towels, leather shammy for water.

 

What do you folks plan to use for the black plastics thats on the outsides of the 8?

spots like the side mirrors, under the front and rear bumpers... etc..

 

Autoglym bumper care, it's the best I've used and it lasts a long time. You can use it on anything that's black, it does wonder for removing the water stains on the wiper arms.

 

ooh... that sounds interesting.. not a walmart product is it? heheh

 

No it's British and it's the official line of products for Jaguar. You can find it at detailing shops, I stated using it on my Black TT and now 3 cars later I'm still using it, I used Mothers return to black for a while but it's just not as good.

Plexus spray for all your plastic parts is also very good, you can find that at most motorcycle shops, they use it for motorcycle fairings, it was developed for aircraft windsheels. I use it for all my light covers head and tail and it's also wonderful on your instrument cluster.

 

Zaino tire dressing works great on the black exterior plastics

 

My favorites (proven on my Miata, and now on the RX-8):

Paint: Wash with Dawn dish detergent to remove whatever the dealer may have slapped on there, followed by

Zaino Z-18 Clay bar (great for removing leftover adhesive from the shipping wrap), followed by

Wash with Zaino Z-7 Show Car Wash

Then, for a first-time Zaino-ing:
Z-1 Polish Lok,

Followed by several coats of Zaino Z-2 Show Car Polish.

Tires: Zaino Z-16 Tire Gloss

Black trim: Mother's Back to Black

Haven't found anything that works to my satifaction on glass, but I haven't tried Zaino's Z-12 Glass Polish yet. I will soon.

Wheels: Just keep 'em waxed (I use Meguiar's yellow wax... don't want to use the more expensive Zaino on them).

Interior Vinyl/plastics ... Don't use any liquid treatments if you want to keep the matte finish. I've found Swiffer sheets (the dry ones) work well to remove dust.

Fabric Upholstery: A Pet Hair Roller to remove lint and dust.

Now... get out there and commune with your car for a few hours! The results are worth it.

 

uh, Windex and lots of old newspapers freakin' rule windows...

the secret is to have relatively clean window, and use a very very very light mist so it evaporates quickly... you have to really go hard at it with the folded newspaper, but just keep wiping until it's dry and it's ready to kill plenty of birds *thud*

to get rid of the micro scratches, you really need to get it polished.

 

Mother's "Preserves and Protects" Plastics protectant.

this works very well on the under hood plastics of the Rx8

deep black with a satin finish. dirt wont stick either.
heres a pic

 

I mean HERES the pic

 

Actually, I use Armor All for both the interior and the black parts of the exterior without any negative effects (except for the shininess that can be a distraction in direct sunlight). To get around the blotchy-ness, spray on a rag first and then wipe it on the interior. I'm not sure what you mean by "flat", but after detailing the interior, I like that the plastic parts don't look as dry or dull.

On the exterior, it also did a good job getting the wax off the rubber and plastic parts.

Mark D.

 

Dont hate me
i go to the car wash machine thing and i wash my car there like every week its good they put polish and wax on. i'm just lazy to do it myself plus i barely have the time

 

I use Aerospace 303 on my dash and it lasts from wash to wash with no problem. I have not tried waxing my rims. Does that help with the brake dust buildup? I seem to have a lot of it since I have rush hour driving all the time. I use Zaino on the the paint and I have to say it is the best product I have ever seen for a finish.

 

Inside I use Black Magic--I like a deep black gloss (wet look) Outside I use Meguires NXT wax--followed by the quick mist Detail spray. I swear by the Quick Mist Detailer, I haven't seen a product that bests it.

 

For me:

1) Wash: Meguiar's car wash (used to be called Meguiars Poly Wash - but with a flood of water on a freshly waxed car, the water runs off without beading)

2) Wash mitt: three of them - two cotton chenille big wash pads (look like a giant sponge with white dreadlocks ) and then one netting covered pad for areas that need more muscle like bugs on the front spoiler.

3) Spray nozzle (yes, an important part) - I use one of those "ultimate" spray nozzles they have these days - works like a firehose nozzle and provides water all the way from a gentle flood to a hard "rope" of water - about $20.00 at Home Depot.

4) Drying cloths: old 100% cotton bath towels, washed after every use, and dried without fabric softener.

5) Waxing routine: Wax and polish products applied using a Wen 10" orbital polishing machine, wiped off with a microfiber cloth. For polish products I use a terrycloth bonnet cover, and for wax, a foam rubber bonnet cover.

a) Annual: Step 1: Meguiar's clay bar kit, Step 2: Malm's "pink" polishing product (can't remember name), Step 3: Malm's pure Carnauba liquid wax. Also like Mother's Glaze and Polish, and liquid Carnauba, as well as Meguiar's #26 yellow carnauba wax, or Mother's Pure Liquid Carnauba wax.

b) Twice a year: Step 1: Malm's pink, Step 2: Malm's wax

c) Monthly: just Malm's Wax

6) Tires: Stoner More Shine Less Time for Tires - every other washing

7) Wheel Cleaner: Eagle One, Armor All or Turtle Wax's spray on products. All the same ...

8) Exterior plastic: Griot's Garage exterior black trim product (can't remember name)

9) Glass: Stoner's Invisible Glass and microfiber cleaning cloths

10 Interior wipe down - the wet car wash towel - no product!

11) Interior stains (not on leather or carpet): Armor All cleaning wipes (no protectant in them!)

12): Leather: Lexol leather cleaner, Lexol leather protectant

13): Carpet cleaning: Annual trip to the local detail shop to have the carpet's steam cleaned. Spot cleaning with Woolite Oxy Carpet Stain Remover (household product)

14): Touchup: Turtle Wax Ultimate or Meguiar's spray detailer products

 

Like Whoa:

We don't hate you, but I bet your car harbors feelings of neglect and abandonment. Don't be surprized if it acts out on you one day ...



SC

 

I like Zymol -- not the liquid stuff but the high-carnauba pastes they sell. Smell terrific and not nearly as hard to apply as some people claim. Contains no cleaners so there's not a problem with residue. Gives a satisfying deep-looking shine.

I also like their "HD Cleanse" - basically clay in a bottle. I like it because you don't have to worry about lubricants or dropping the clay.

For soap I'm not so picky -- just find some stuff that claims not to remove wax.

I like using a car-washing brush instead of a wash mitt. I picked up a hogs-hair brush from The Eastwood Company a long time ago and still using it.

For drying, the 8 was my first introduction to microfiber towels. I like. If you search around you might find my "Zen" post on getting most of the water off before using the towels. For interior I find using just a bit of distilled water on a microfiber towel does fine picking up dust. Or a little Windex on the microfiber towel does great on glass.

What I am finding is you should reserve certain of your microfiber towels for removing wax. They aren't as good for absorbing/cleaning after that, even if washed.

The wheels seem to be well enough protected without wax; I don't have trouble getting the brake dust off. On the other hand I'm not putting on a lot of miles....

 

Zaino!

:D