Texas Rookie

I recently got me a 1980 'vette. I only drive it a few afternoons a week. It has fresh (not perfect, but...) paint. It hasn't seen rain or a "power washing" yet. I was wondering what the best thing to "wipe it off" with would be, without taking anything away from the shine. I usually just grab a water-wet rag or old T-shirt to wipe off the bugs from the bumper. Could I use windex, or any other common household cleaner to wipe this down with, or dish washing liquid (w/water)? This maybe a dumb question, but I only want to preserve what I can of the shine...

Any advice would be great!

Plus, what's the best car wash soap I could get at Wal-Mart or any common place for a drive-way, hand-wash on my ride?

-B

Jon Hekking

I very rarely wash my vette. When I do I use a car was soap and soft, clean cotton towel and just use the hose without a nozzle to rinse it off. I always use a microfiber towel to dry it.

As I said, I only wash it rarely. Each week I use and express shine spray on product and wipe it down with a microfiber rag, makes it look like new.

Good luck.

Jon

Star79

There's all kinds of exotic/expensive stuff you can use if you're psycho about keeping it immaculate, but as far as just washing it once or twice week after driving it you'll get good results with Zipwax, which is cheap and available at Walmart

Green73

Windex and/or dishwashing detergent will work, however these products will take the wax off a car. Since you said it was just painted, there may be no wax on the car and therefore no problem. If the car has been waxed, then use a car wash soap. I like Meguires products, but it is largely personal preference. Anything from Wallyworld or the discount auto chains should be fine. I wouldn't recommend firing up the pressure washer for the job, but I don't think it really matters what soap you use for hand washing.

79L82owner

WIZARDS- Mist and shine, and a microfiber towel. I only wash my vette about twice a year, but everytime I take it out, I use the mist and shine. It looks awesome!

I also heard the Turtle Wax-ICE has a good product just to wipe the car down with.

I wouldn't use dish soap, unless followed up right away with a good wax, a couple of times. As stated above, it will take the wax off.

Natfout60

House hold cleaning products are meant to remove cooking greases and hardened foods, these are pretty harsh.
Any car wash soap from AZ of WalMart are fine. Use a cloth sponge to wash and dry with a micro fiber cloth. The whole set up
( Bucket,sponge, soap, and micro fiber cloth) will cost you less than $20.00.
After you wax it with a quality wax (Mothers,McQuires) you can use a polymer detailing mist spray to keep it looking like glass, these work great. McQuires Quick Detail spray works great. You can do your complete Vette in 15 minutes. Make sure the car is cool and out of the sun.
Have fun

michael c. volpe

i keep my vette in the garage, and i purchased (from a local car show) the california duster. i wash it very rarely, and just run this over the vette to pick up the dust particles.
i love meguires, and mothers products when i do wash it, however.

MixxMaster

use a CAR SOAP to clean. Use low pressure soft water. High pressure can leave micro scratches in the clear coat. Use a good Detailing spray and microfiber cloths for wiping off dust/small debris.

Vettevice

I drive my 80 once a week to our local cruise night. I wash the car about 4 times a summer and use a duster I purchased at Griots Garage the rest of the time. I also use Meguiars Quick Detailer prior to the weekly cruise to add some shine. I have found both Meguiars (gold class) and Griots Garage products to be fantastic. I also began using a polish prior to waxing the car. It makes a nice difference. Check out Griotsgarage.com. I ordered their detailers handbook for a few bucks. It's a great resource on the little things that really make your car look good. Order their free catalog, I think you will enjoy it.