Freakin' dirty... help!
 

Hi there! I just got my civic back from a friend (well not much of a friend now :mad: ) and it is freakin dirty right now... i had to clean it to see whether i've got scratches on the doors or whether that's just dirt... as a newbie i've no idea about how to clean it without further damaging the oh-so-poor exterior... :hithead:
would anyone be kind enough to give advice? thanks!

first get some car wash soap, add to a bucket of water, and throw in a clear coat safe wash mitt. Spray the car down with water, then go over the whole car with soap using the wash mitt. Rinse off. The car should now be free of dirt.

Next pick up some meguiar's show car glaze #7 and put that on the paint. It will make it nice and shiny. If there are scratches, now would be a good time to fix that. Kit scratch out is great for concealing fine scratches. If not, get some good wax (I use KIT cause it lasts a long time and its pure wax) and go over the car with that. All done. Now if you've never applied glaze or wax before, you want to use 100% cotton detail cloths and first rub some of the liquid on an area of the paint. Let it dry to a haze and then wipe it off using a new cloth. Microfiber cloth works great to remove any residue.

for the windshield, i would recommend No touch auto glass stripper. Clean it with that, wash off any extra, and then let dry or use a squeegee. Then add some rain shield, diamondite or other rain repellent to fill in the tiny pores and make the glass smooth again so rain repels off. I don't use rain-x on the windshield cause its bad for rubber wipers. Use something else but its okay on the rear and side windows.

gearbox covered most parts, so i'll add this in.

after you wash, make sure you dry your car well with a chamois or a waffle weave microfiber. drying is just as important as washing, don't forget that.

polish and protect (wax) at least twice a year, before and after winter. in the meantime, weekly maintenance washes will do.

if you're lucky and it doesn't rain, you can keep the car pretty clean for a while using a california car duster. Just dust it every day or twice a day and it will look like new.