I've just spent a while trying to dodge the breaks in the clouds to wash the M6 with minimal water spots (AZ sun + AZ water = water spots from hell). I had to cut the full bath short as the sun came out quicker than I'd hoped. My wheel wells are still dirty inside. I'm going back out there with the odd brushes and microfiber cloth and whatever else to attack nooks and crannies.

So, how do YOU deal with things like the little slats of the grill and kidneys? The areas 'round the headlamps? And how about the engine compartment where so much cleaning can take place? Interior? Share your knowledge for the cause of keeping 6ers as brilliantly clean as they deserve to be :D

One thing I've found is that the cheap little art brush sets at places like Michael's can make for some nice detailing brushes. Sounds odd, I know, but for 3-5 bucks for a ton of little brushes, it's hard to beat.

A toothbrush for those pesky places is what i use. Or any kind of nylon bristle brush. Also, to get some of that nasty brake dust off i go for Westleys tire cleaner. Its specifically for whitewalls, but it works wonders if you spray that stuff on and let it soak for a little bit. As for interior, any kind of leather cleaner/conditioner, and then a vinyl protectant to make things all shiny and slick for a while. I honestly havent been able to do a full detail for the reasons ill show:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0313.jpg
I really dont have a good base to make look good! :(. But i like to put some cleaner wax on every once in a while to keep a car shiny, im not one to spend countless hours on making the car look perfect. Perhaps because i know its gonna get dirty again. Anyone got anything that lasts longer for us lazy detailer types?

-Jeff

I've used boot polish and a good leather cleaner for the interior but scince some one has punched my baby in the nose with a trailer hitch, my obsession with perfection has wained. She looks like she's got a hair lip. (pictures after the vacation.) Little brushes and plenty of time.

Hey evlgt85

I hate those darn water spots too. I have a black M6 and those water spots dry faster than I can get to them. So - I've been washing/drying the M6 in my garage away from the hot sun. After the wash I dry the car one section at time first using a small microfiber towel to get most of the water (wringing it out as I go along) and then immediately following it up with dry microfiber towel. Process works pretty well.

BTW - Nice M6.

You can buy hard water filters for your car-washing. They are pricey, but have heard they work well...

what about the mr clean car wash kit? anybody use that thing? i used to work a local hardware store that sold them for like $40. they might help some. is that what you were thinkin of e24mpwr? or are you talkin about the big $300 ones from lowes/home depot?

-Jeff

what about the mr clean car wash kit? anybody use that thing? i used to work a local hardware store that sold them for like $40. they might help some. is that what you were thinkin of e24mpwr? or are you talkin about the big $300 ones from lowes/home depot?

-Jeff


I'm from NJ so the sun here isn't as intense as AZ, but I do detail cars as my summer job, and I've used the Mr. Clean and I personally wouldn't waste my time. I use a shammy to dry my cars.....I have no idea what brand it is b.c it was my dads, and its the best shammy I have ever used. ( I would die if I lost it haha) But anyways I prefer drying the car myself just incase you missed a spot while washing it. Sometimes when it's hot I'll dry once side at a time and then rinse down the other side and dry it. Just my 2 cents.

I entered my first show-n-shine recently and therefore cleaned my car like it had never been cleaned before! In the whole 13 years I've owned the Beamer it had never had so much detailing attention put into it. And I was amazed at the end result.

I had a go at that claying technique. I followed instructions found elsewhere on this forum, which were very good and very helpful. The only change I'd make to the advice concerning claying is the bit about cutting the block in half and putting half away for next time, then dividing it up into small pieces, fingertip size and going at it like that. Maybe it depends on the size of your fingertips, but I reckon I divided them up too small. The pieces I used were too small to work with effectively, and despite keeping them moist, the bits I'd cut and put aside to use on each separate panel went dry and crackly rather quickly. So in hindsight I'd use more of the block and in larger pieces instead of saving some for next time - its there to be used so you may as well use it.

I couldn't see much of an improvement at the time, but I could certainly feel how the panels were considerably smoother.

I used a product called AutoGlym Bumper Care for all the external black rubber, including the grill, headlight surrounds, kidney slats & the black slats on the pillars between the front and rear windows (what are those bits called?). I applied it with a small kitchen sponge, the type that's a scourer on one side and sponge on the other (also cut into smaller, manageable pieces, and obviously don't use the scourer bit!), and that was very effective in gently squeezing between the slats and providing a neat, smooth consistency across the various surfaces. Weeks later this AutoGlym stuff has held up pretty well in harsh sun and hot weather - haven't had much rain though so that remains to be seen. I ended up using this product on the interior black too, the dash, console & inside door sills, and its produced a much better and longer-lasting result than any of the other interior touch-up products I'd tried before. Let it dry and buff it off with an old t-shirt or something to get rid of the swirls, and it looks great. The sponge can also be pushed gently with the other end of an old toothbrush to clean up the slats in the interior air vents - fiddly, and only worth doing for a show-n-shine, but looks tidy!

I'd highly recommend this AutoGlym product.

On the chrome I've just used good old Brasso, right down to the exhaust tips, and it doesn't seem to have had any negative effects - there's a lot of chrome on my car!

Various polishes seem to be much of a muchness to me - I hadn't done it for years and years and years so I just went with a Meguiars product coz they seem to be highly regarded. It turned out pretty well, and only done by hand rather than with a buffer, but I couldn't really rate it over any other product.

And I don't know much about leather conditioners - I think I went with a Meguiars product for that too. Smelled good and made for a richer, darker look. I guess I was hoping for a softer, suppler feel, and that didn't happen. Years ago I'd been using the standard spray on Armor All products, which seemed to be good coz the leather really sucked that stuff up, but I've since learned of the potential damage and negative effects that type of stuff can cause. My front seats are beyond help anyway, hence the seat covers, but the back ones are pretty good considering 30 years.

Maintaining the exterior since then has been pretty easy with a microfiber cloth and some spray quick-detailer, but I am lucky to be able to park in a garage both at work and at home. For sure the car is not as shiny all 'round as it was, but its holding up pretty well so far.

As I said with the claying, I couldn't really notice much improvement at the time, but once everything was done, and we parked the cars in the sun for photo-opportunity-time with some mates, I was totally amazed at how much of a difference it all made. I reckon the cars look almost new.

http://xs308.xs.to/xs308/06434/shiny01.jpg

http://xs208.xs.to/xs208/06435/shiny02.jpg

I haven't done any real detailing of the smaller parts. For quick drying after a wash a hand held silicone squeegee knocks 80% of the water of in a couple of minutes. Follow up with microfiber cloth for nooks and crannies around trim.

Claybar has worked very well for me too. Wash car twice before using the claybar. The clay will pick up a lot of impurities stuck on the paint that won't come off with soap and sponge.

I also had great results with the Glosshaus kit for polishing a smooth surface on the paint following clay cleaning. http://www.glosshaus.com/Gallery/index.php
The kit has three levels of polishing compound, a final glaze polish, a polymer sealant and carnuba wax. Work with these products is based on using a random orbital buffer.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a43/jmenacker/84-635/041606BMW635FrontDriver.jpg

I've also had very good results with Victoria Wax products that are applied and removed totally by hand. http://www.victoriawax.com/ The nice part about hand application is the zen-like intimacy and quiet. It is also easier to get into tight spaces without worrying about damaging trim or staining rubber seals. Victoria Wax looker kit was used to clean up the 24 year old paint on our "weekend" car. The finish has held up incredibly well over a five month period!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a43/jmenacker/1982%20Avanti/061706AvantiLF3.jpg

Best regards,

Joe M in WV

im sorry to ask...but what is that car? it looks really good and shiny, ive just never seen one i dont think!

-Jeff

The white car is our only 'merican vehicle. Its an Avanti - designed by Raymond Loewy (Coke bottle/Lucky Strike box/Kennedy Air Force One) for Studebaker in 1961. When Studebaker went under, a couple of enthusiasts bought the tools, dies and rights to continure building Avantis. The Avanti II was born using Studebaker frame and suspension but with Chevy Corvette drive train.

Ours is an '82 with 300 hp 350 sbc and a Tremec T56 TransAm tranny. This is another very undervalued car like the BMW 6ers. Only a few hundred were hand built each year and each one was custom ordered before it was built.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a43/jmenacker/1982%20Avanti/041606AvantiInterior06Seats.jpg

More info here http://www.theavanti.com/

We are just over the WV line down Rt 81. Come down for a ride sometime!

Joe M in WV

Very interesting Joe. I too was dumbfounded when I saw your photo, very interesting history with Loewy as the designer.

Was that the type of car used in Gattaca?

Good memory. I've never seen the film but a "round eye" Avanti was in it.
http://www.theavanti.com/Gattaca.html#

Incredibly enough the cars are still being made. I believe the new ones are built on Mustang frames now.
http://www.avantimotors.com/gallery_2005.htm

Love your green sixer BTW. :alright

Best regards,

Joe M in WV

Thank you.

That Avanti site is excellent. So informative and such a great tribute to the car. They're an incredible design, and the fact that yours is an '82 but still maintains that true, '60s, futuristic-retro look inside and out is very impressive.

In my opinion, the current ones (looking at the 2005 website) seem to have lost that style somehow. The interior doesn't look to have as much character, and after a while I realised the exterior doesn't have chrome bumpers but rather colour-coded plastic, and that's no good!

Back on topic, can anyone give me advice on cleaning glass? The rear window on my car has those hazy off-brown water droplet stains, and I've used as much elbow grease as I can muster but it doesn't seem to want to budge. Its the type of in-grained discolouration that has accumulated over time, and seeing as how clearly and easily all the the other glass cleans up, surely something must get it off?

Our '66 Volvo had some hard water spots on the glass that nothing seemed to touch. We had just about resigned to putting in new glass. Someone suggested trying 0000 steel wool and Windex.

I was scared about scratching the glass but figured that it would have to be replaced anyway if the spots couldn't be removed. The steel wool and Windex really made a big difference. The spots are 95% gone. The only time they are noticed is at night when headlights from cars in the other direction are shining directly on the windshield.

Joe M in WV

Nice Avanti. A friend of mine's father had one back when we were in high school. I was not aware that they were still in production. Thanks.