i got a sponge from the auto store that i use for washing that has a super soft side and then the other side looks king of like a nylon web, kind of hard to describe, but it does such a good job at getting the bugs off, a little soap and water to lube it and a little rubbing and they come off.

If you can avoid drying your car with a leaf blower, do it. Dry your car off other ways. I'm not a big eco freak, but i try to help out by recycling and everything, but using a leaf blower is just lazy and stupid. Put a little elbow grease in to it. I know a lot of people really could care less, but still...

"A 2000 report by the California EPA determined that the average residential leaf blower produces 145 times more hydrocarbons, 7.5 times more carbon monoxide, and 11 times more particulate matter in one hour than a 1999-2000 light duty vehicle driven at 30 mph, getting 15 miles to the gallon. The hydrocarbon emissions produced from one-half hour of residential leaf blower operation are equal to the emissions produced from driving 2200 miles, comparable to a round trip from Denver to San Diego. Commercial leaf blowers with more horse power are even more polluting."

 

I use to work at a shop where cars were detailed and all we used was air and sometimes a shammi. This is the method we always used , and most cars we had in there were worth over 100k $ .. so i dont think its necc a bad way to do it if they let us do it on phantoms and lp460s all day long.

 

Here's some things I've used on mine and are impressed with.

I use Detailer's Pride car wash shampoo, which is mail order.
For a good over the counter, I would use Meguiar's gold class

For Bugs and Tar, A wet Dryer sheet will work wonders.

After the wash I use my electric leaf blower to dry off, then a synthetic chamois.

I use a clay bar about once ever 3 months, For a shine..

Right now I switch back and forth from Poorboys Polish with Sealant and Detailer's pride sealant with Poor Boy's "Blue" wax over top that.

I really don't use too much over the counter stuff anymore, but for a sealant.. NXT or Liquid Glass always worked for me.

 

Adam's car shampoo works well on my black finish - neutral pH (7.0), easy on the finish, lots of suds if you want them...

 

RainX works great until it starts to wear. It destroys wiper rubber quick, you will change the wipers often. I use it once on a windshield, never again. However, I do use it on the sunroof, side, & back glass. When it's time to renew the RainX, the water spots won't "fly off" easily, I can live with that on the sides until I redo the windows. With the heavy rain in NY lately, I've no need to turn on the rear wiper because of the RainX! Since no one carries wiper refills anymore, I can adapt the wiper rubber refill from past cars that I still have to the back wiper.

 

My Air Compressor has 2 filters I've installed, so it blows clean & being 220 is eco friendly as well.

And all my glass except the windshield gets waxed...

 

What do you use for the windows? I've always used a black and white newspaper or wad of ones and some windex with no problem. But I got some nasty streaks today, so I guess the old trick isn't as good as it used to be.

 

I agree 100%. Dryer sheets work awesome to get the bugs off. I used them on the front of fifth wheel that when thru a love bug cloud down south somewhere.. It takes no effort and you will be surprised on what it takes off

 

Try using a microfiber window cloth with the Windex. Something about the microfiber helps clean the gunk off.

If you really want to get a great window cleaner, get the Adam's Glass Cleaner at adamspolishes.com It really removes the junk on the windows and doesn't streak. Works great on the house windows, too., and I like my windows and mirrors clean and streak free.

The other thing you can do to get them super clean is to clabar the windows, just like you would do your paint. It makes the windows extremely smooth. Then clean the windows and presto - sparkling glass. :)

 

I use microfiber with 50/50 megs concentrate to clean with.

To get rid of spots I use a terry cloth with M04.