Cleaning, Washing and wax for first car (/ I'm a newb)
 

So I was strolling thru walmart and I saw this Armor All gift package for $20!

but since its my first car I'm shopping to (chili red mcs), I'm not sure if this is a good deal or not.

btw advice about cleaning is appreciated :)

http://www.armorall.com/img/products...giftpack11.jpg
http://www.armorall.com/img/products...k_includes.gif
Ultra Shine Wash & Wax (16 oz)
Original Protectant (10 oz)
Cleaning Wipes (25 ct)
Extreme Tire Shine Spray (22 oz)
Triple Action Wheel Cleaner (24 oz)
Bonus Item: Car Wash Sponge

I am sure others will chime in but I am NOT a fan of Armor All Products whatsoever. I use Meguiars for the wash, Menzerna for polishes with my Porter Cable, Wolfgang Deep Gloss 3.0 for sealant, and Natty's Poor Boy Red Wax. Black WOW for the exterior plastics. Aerospace 303 for the interior.

I have picked up some Prima Swirl that I have yet to try but others swear by the Prima line of products as well.

I use a two bucket system with a dirt guard in the rinse bucket. Nice Microfibre mit for washing and been very happy with the Cobra Microfiber Waffle Weave towels for drying the car.

There is something to be said for quality MF towels!!!!

Well it's an inexpensive deal at $20. There is lots of information on this forum (and other detailing forums) regarding detailing (cleaning/maintenance) products for your new Mini. So I recommend you spend a little time and get some other ideas.

IME...there's nothing wrong with AA products although they seem to have fallen from favor in some circles. Of course they are one of the most successful retail mass market product lines and have had some excellent products over the years. e.g....they made a paste wax/sealant that won high praise in one of the Guru test reports. One of my favorite products is Armor All's low gloss vinyl protectant gel which I use on the dash of my Mini.

Can you do better? Yep..absolutely. But it's probably gonna cost you a little/lot more.

As a rule, the mass-marketed brands are considerably more diluted than most premium or boutique brands; therefore, always consider your number of uses, etc. per $ when evaluating deals from the mass-marketed brands. I know I'm biased here, but I've been using and testing gads of products and brands out there for years. Concentration level varies greatly between brands.

That said, it could still be an ok deal- it just depends. A few things I would consider, by product:

Soap
The soap should be just fine. I'm sure it washes well and will leave you with a bit of shine. This type of soap is commonly classified as a polymer-based soap, and is a type that is increasingly popular. As a rule, as long as you stick with a brand name soap (as opposed to a generic or off-name soap) you are safe. Safety is key, IMO. Many generic or off-name soaps are so harsh that they will strip your wax (or at least wear it down prematurely) and will be harsh on your plastic bits. My "educated guess" is that Armor All's soap will not strip your wax or dry your bits. It's a bit diluted (read: takes more product per use), but if it's cheap enough that isn't a big deal and will work just fine.

Protectant
Not a big fan of the Armor All Protectant but some people are. It is way too shiney for my taste. However, if you like the glazed donut look, then you might like it. (I am sometimes embarrassed to admit that I don't mind a tad of shine on my tires but never, ever on my interior.) They say that this is an improved version with better UV protection... I mention this because their most recent formula prior to this one did have much UV protection in it at all. This new formula may actually have more but I haven't tested it myself. It won't hurt anything to try it out. (303 cleaners will remove it if you just dispise the shine)

Wipes
I actually don't know what is in their wipes so it's hard to comment on this one. They sound like they could be handy. Perhaps someone else has tried them?

Tire Shine
If you like super-shine on your tires, then you may like this. Keep in mind that most high-shine tire dressings tend to sling/fling on your paint a bit. You can minimize this by wiping down the tires after application a few times, with at least 20-30 minutes between each wipedown. Regardless of the brand you like, if you use a high-shine dressing I think you'll be hard pressed to find one that doesn't sling/fling. On the flip side, durability is sometimes longer with high-shine dressings than matte-finish dressings- a plus for the high-shine products.

Wheel Cleaner
IMO, buyer beware on this one!
When buying a wheel cleaner, always try to determine if it is acidic, alkaline or pH-neutral. The pH-neutral products will always say so because they're quite proud of it. These are completely safe on all wheel types (assuming you let the wheel cool before cleaning). The alkaline products can be ok because they do help reduce the potential labor involved in wheel cleaning and yet are not as harsh as acidic wheel cleaners. Still, be careful with these and DO NOT allow the product to sit on your wheels for even seconds longer than they recommend on the bottle. Alkaline products will sometimes say they are so, but often not. The acidic products can be very dangerous. They are by far the most effective, due to the acid of course, but, unfortunately, they can eat through your clear coat (most MINI wheels are clear-coated) and then right through into the underlying metal... permanently etching your wheels. Of course, if you are VERY careful about leaving the product on for only the time suggested (use a timer!) and you rinse VERY thoroughly, then you'll likely be ok.
How can you tell if a wheel cleaner is acidic? They will never state it but a good way to make a good guess is to see how much time they suggest in the directions... the Armor All wheel cleaner says to leave it on for 30 seconds. :eek2: In my experience, this is a big red flag for an acid-based wheel cleaner... or at the least a highly alkaline one. Personally, I wouldn't even try this product on good wheels. If you do, just be very careful.

Overall, if I was buying this and I didn't know what I like in terms of looks but liked the idea of shiney interiors and tires, I would personally estimate the value of each component as (I'll do this completely off the top of my head and intentially not looking at the actual individual prices of each, like the Price is Right :lol:):
Soap: $3
Protectant: $6
Wipes: $5
Tire Dressing: $8
Wheel Cleaner: $0 (wouldn't use it)
Free Sponge: $.50 (note that I wouldn't use it on my car but would use it around the house)
Total:$22.50

So assuming I liked shiney stuff, $20 isn't too bad of a deal. (I happen to already know that I personally wouldn't like anything in the kit except maybe the soap but I'm a little spoiled! :nod: :wink:)

That's my two-cents!

Heather

Really, it comes down to what you want and have time/money for. If you are ok with your car looking like you spent $20 and 1 hour on it, then stuff like AA is fine and dandy (this is not meant to sound bad btw.) If you want people to oogle at your car, and know it's protected, then pony up a little more cash and time (starting with reading this forum.)

The key is to make sure you get it protected somehow, so that in 3 years, you don't have a matte finish, and get little money for it if you decide to sell.

I highly recommend perusing this thread. IMO it is the best "how do I take care of my car?" thread on NAM for people new to detailing.

really? it's just a tread by someone advertising Hydro. :lol: :wink:

I'd dump the AA products! Heather is being modest, the products that they sell with instructions how to use from them and OC Guy, are the best products I've ever used in 47 years of taking care of my toys. Worth the money, time and effort.

Thanks for the tips!

although I must say that thread have a lot of bold Hydro in it.

and thanks to Detailers Paradise for warning me about the acidic contents, that helped determine the turtle wax i have is a bad bad bad thing.

btw while i was waiting at mini the other day, I saw they had some wheel cleaning sprays for about $6, since its from the dealer i can assume they are safe.

the dealer is the first place to get swirls. i would not trust them. use car shampoo and a boar's hair wheel brush to clean your wheels. :)