Cleaning and Waxing

When I first purchased my Infiniti G37 in 2010, it was a shiny new black. Infiniti was touting their self healing paint. They did not stick with that for long. But...wanting to keep the look right, I set about trying to learn more about car paint care. I grew up washing my parents cars with dish soap from a bucket...so I needed to something better.

I wound up going to Detailed Image. Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Google that company. It will take you to a site that sells all kinds of products. The great thing about this site is the support. They have an ask the pro tab and a detailing guide tab. If you go to the detailing guide tab, it has how tos on everything about car cleaning. The other thing the site offers are reviews of products and you get to see what the pros are using.

I followed their instructions and recommendations for the car wash, exterior detailing, and interior detailing and it kept my G37 looking nice until I had a "professional" do a wax job on it...big mistake there. It looked great when I picked it up, but after the heavy wax came off, swirls were all over the place.

There as one product that they had that allowed you to do a rinse-less wash. This meant with a couple of buckets, you could wash your car in the garage in the middle of winter and stay warm. I liked that one.

Did my first cleaning this weekend. Exterior only as I did the interior several weekends ago.

Used the ONR product for the cleaning. Did a very good job at cleaning the car with little effort. I was able to wash the whole car in the garage since ONR is a no rinse wash. The plastics around the tires were a bit tougher. I just went with a different mix level and washed that area twice. There are Optimum Products for deep cleaning plastics, but I was looking for efficient.

I have to admit that there were some challenges in washing this E-Pace. The front is a pain. All those little holes in the grill. The spoiler on the back also traps a lot of dirt. You have to really reach under the spoiler to clean it.

When you open the doors, you will also notice a fair amount of dirt in there. A lot of nook and crannies. This was pretty easy to clean using a detailing spray. No need to wash. Just spray an area (careful to avoid interior) and wipe with a good microfiber.

Tires were cleaned using ONR also. Still a good product for doing that. I use a separate sponge for that area, just because. Then a tire shine product to make them look pretty.

I followed the wash with a spray on wax. They go on easy, spray and wipe. This is only needed every couple of washes. It adds a layer of UV protection and a nice shine. When you dont spray wax, you can detail spray it. Or ONR is a protector, so you dont need this step.

I did not do the engine bay. I have never done that. There are instructions but just like using an orbital to do a deep wax, I am not brave enough for that.

All told I spent three hours on the cleaning. Time wise that is a bit much for me. I will have to work that down. Considering that I spent two hours on the interior a couple of weekends ago. I typically dont have that much time on weekends, so I will have to figure something out.

I did take it out for a drive on Sunday...it was a gorgeous day and being indoors all week, it was nice to get out...Though it got a couple of bugs on it...must fight urge to wash again right away. Actually, using ONR with the right dilution can be used for a quick clean. Follow with a detailing spray...all would be good in ten minutes.

cllisanti said:

Dont know if you have had any luck with your scuffs. I saw this product the other day. https://www.detailedimage.com/Einszett-1Z-M46/Plastic-Deep-Cleaner-Plastik-Reiniger-P472/500-ml-S1/. I have not used it, but it might be something to try. It mentions scuffs specifically, but the reviews did not point anything out.

I put in an order for exterior cleaning this weekend. I am going back to the Optimum No Rinse product. This worked great in the past on my black Infiniti.

Click to expand...

No, I haven't seen that product but I do know anything that creates a wet look sheen will visually make scuffs disappear while the sheen lasts.

There is a shop in Chatsworth CA (relatively nearby) that specializes in car interior plastics (really) but the virus lockdown made it a low priority for now.

As an experiment out of sheer lockdown boredom, I ordered online two types of adhesive-backed vinyl door skin material - black leather grain and black carbon fiber. The black leather grain is a close match to OEM door plastic. The carbon fiber is noticeably different and much glossier than the OEM plastic. I haven't decided how or if I want to use either one, but I will wait till after I visit Chatsworth.

I have another issue, actually two.

Our cat likes to sit on car hoods near the glass between windshield wipers. I think she likes the mirror effect of the glass. She'll sit there for hours and doze off. I didn't want her on the new E-Pace at all but sure enough she got there and before I could gently lift her off, she panicked and climbed down using her claws to brake the slide. I tried to buff the scratches out. They are not thru the paint but still very stubborn. According to many youtube videos it should be a piece of cake but it isn't. Of course, anything on camera is deceiving; what you see up close with the naked eye may be totally different. I don't want to use a harsh product that will create a dull spot or make it worse. I wish I knew one simple product for this situation. Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0 is too gentle.

The other issue is more concerning and a heads-up to other E-Pace owners.

I tried a drive-thru car wash and the blowers ripped the driver's side roof trim moulding off the roof and tossed it. This is the moulding that clips into the roof rail channel. The event was caught on video and was emailed it to me by the car wash owner. I didn't notice the missing piece till after I got home and raced back to the car wash to find it. The damaged moulding strip was repaired and repainted in a body shop for $100. Luckily it didn't damage the roof or anything else as it violently lifted and blew off the roof. Let this be a warning. If your car has this trim piece you might wanna reinforce it with painter's tape if you use a non-hand car wash.

Good luck on the plastic. That is interesting idea, to use a "wrap" for the interior plastic. That would help protect it. I would be interested in your outcome.

My G37 had paint chip off the steering wheel (around the center horn). It was annoying and happened to most all G37s. I did have luck making my paint last longer when I was using Interior Detailers. For the first four or five years, I maintained the interior very often. Then I got a new job and did not have the time to maintain the car. I think that is what lead to mine finally chipping.

My lesson from this was to keep cleaning maintenance up (interior included).

For the cat scratching, look on Detailed Image. They will have some how to guides to help. Most minor buff attempts that I tried in the past did not work I also have the Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0, which I found useless.

I wonder if others have had drive through car wash issues. Just another reason to wash at home...haha. In truth mechanical car washes use harsh chemicals to remove the dirt, then a weak wax to shine it up. It encourages people to drive through again. In the states we have these "soft cloth" mechanical car washes, which are gentler in the dirt removal, but still use the harsh chemicals.