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this DIY is how to wash, polish, wax and get your paint job so shiney you can use it as a mirror! no interior stuff, no wheels, no windows, no tires, just the body of the car, for all that other stuff read the full auto detail DIY, this is a in depth look at what to do and how to do it for washing your car.

NOW:time to wash
WHY WASH?: cuz its clean the car, duh! its the first step in surface preping and helps remove all dirt, grease, dead bugs, bird poop, etc..
WHAT TO USE: Mother or Meguairs seem to be the best soap companies out there and you'll need either a 100% cotten towel, sponge or car wash mitten/glove
HOW TO DO IT: first off, if your one of those guys who think "ahh a sunny day, think i'll take off my shirt and wash my car!"...i'll personally slap you! do your car and neighbors a favor, keep your shirt on and move your car into the shade, thats where your gonna be doing all your work at. washing in the sun can result in water spots, swirl marks, soapy residue and other bad things. and remember wash from top to bottom, this is just common sense..water runs downward! now prerinse your car to help cool off the car further and help loosen any dirt and grease. now fill one bucket with soap and water and make sure its nice and foamy. now fill another bucket with JUST water, use this to rinse off your cleaning rag every so often of dirt, bug guts, etc... now start washing! once you got every inch of your car clean its time to rinse, also rinse top to bottom, use a higher pressure stream for the lower part of the car and a steady low stream of water for the rest, it will help sheet the water off to make for easier drying.

NOW:time to dry
WHY DRY?: cuz your gonna be polishing next and the last time i checked polish and water dont mix well.
WHAT TO USE:100% cotton towel or mircofiber towel
HOW TO DO IT: here let me explain if you didnt already know...putting the towel against the water will help soak up the water and remove it from the surface of the car, thus leaving it dry, cool huh!

NOW: now would be a good time to do some interior work (see full auto detail DIY), it will give time for the car to dry further.

NOW:time to polish
WHY POLISH?: it helps remove dirt you didnt get below the surface and it also helps remove swirl marks, water spots and scratchs. NOTE!: some polishs arent safe to work on some graphics such as vinyl! read the bottle carefully!
WHAT TO USE: 100% cotton towel or application pad
HOW TO DO IT: carefully! dont use to much or you'll get swirl marks (but yet you use the right amount and they get rid of them, go figure!) do a small amount of space at a time and rub it good till its gone!with polish, a true polish, you should only have to do this about 1 or 2 times a year, so you dont need to over do it. make sure you got it all rubbed in and no trace of it behind, the next step is going to lock it in and protect it!

NOW:time to add some shine, aka wax
WHY WAX?:so you can see yourself in your door and it helps protect everything you just did before this.
WHAT TO USE:as for rags use the same kinda things for polish. as for which wax, you'll have a choice between "carnauba" wax and "synthetic" wax, carnauba is a true, natrual wax, you'll get more of the sun gleaming in your face with it however, synthetic wax's are supposed to be easier to apply, i recommend Carnauba wax.
HOW TO DO IT: also carefully, you dont wanna half *** the wax! this will leave the ugliest swirl marks, epscially for all you black civics out there. rub it in with a application pad till its rubbed in good. now take a terry towel or mircofiber towel and rerub what you just rubbed! now to clear up a major myth, adding muiltple coats DOES NOT help it shine any better! it just makes it harder to work with! the most coats you'll need is 2 and thats only on the lower part of your car to help protect it from dirt, road pebbles, bugs, etc...adding more elsewhere is pointless. you'll need to wax about every 2-3 months, its the protector of your paintjob! but how do you know you'll need to wax? rub your finger along the car, does it glide gracefully like a figureskater on ice or does seem a tad sticky and squeak? if it squeaks, whip out your wax and repeat this step. clean off any gobs that may of stuck on any emblems or cracks with a soft bristle toothbrush.


so there you have it, this is the true correct way to wash, polish and wax your car. i hope this helped you in some way, now i expect to see a lot of clean *** 7th gen civics around!

 
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ill be sure to do that one time, nice diy

 
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good job steve!

 
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If you didnt notice we already have a DIY sticky on how to fully detail your car. Thanks for your effort though...but please look the next time before posting.
http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...threadid=16148
Locked!!!!

Please post in that thread, thats why it is there