[sdengineer]

I just acquired a G80 M3 which was treated with ceramic coating. Looking for recommendation for a relatively simple routine (including recommended washes and finishing). I do appreciate and respect the folks that get very deep into this but I am looking for something a bit simpler because the car will only be driven on nice weather days (not my DD) and garaged.

Perhaps to be a bit more specific, some things I was looking to get some advice on:
- Recommended washes (specifically for ceramic-treated paint)
- Recommended wash-mits
- Recommended drying towels. Note: I do plan to use a leaf-blower to do the heavy-duty drying (assuming that is ok)
- Any sort of post drying treatments/sprays

I already have the dual buckets with grit-guards

Appreciate any help on this.

[Nettles]

Serious question but why don’t you just get a dedicated detailer?

[Berzerker]

One-off detailers are stupid expensive. You're paying multiple hundreds of dollars each time, which you can spend half that for the supplies to do it yourself.

OP:

Any pH neutral cleaner is perfectly fine to use for ceramic-coatings. You just don't want to use any acidic or hardcore stuff (like CarPro Descale) since it'll take the coating off.

I use Koch-Chemie Gsf Snow Foam for a pre-foam, then Adam's Car Shampoo for the hand wash.

These are great mits I use for the handwash.

These are the rags I bought. Great quality that don't leave any residue.

After wash, I use Gyeon Wet-coat, quick spray on then rinse it right after. Don't let it sit. That'll protect the ceramic coating. Great on wheels too.

As an aside, P&S Brake Buster is the best wheel cleaner you can get.

Keep in mind all of this stuff (except Wet-Coat) can be diluted. I do 1:5 (1 part cleaner to 5 parts water) dilutions and it all works great.

Also, I would not use a leaf blower specifically for drying as that has a large air intake which can suck in random debris and jettison it towards the car. I prefer something handheld that still packs a punch but has a much smaller intake to prevent large debris from getting sucked in, like this one from Adam's.

[Nettles]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

One-off detailers are stupid expensive. You're paying multiple hundreds of dollars each time, which you can spend half that for the supplies to do it yourself.

Why would you get a one off detailer? I found one I like and stuck with him. $100 for exterior wash/interior light cleaning is at the high end in San Diego, which you can find an abundant amount of detailers willing to come to your front door or office. I’m all for doing it yourself, but for someone who wants something “simpler” this just makes alot more sense. He’s only driving the car on weekends/nice days so that’s roughly one wash every two months. If OP says he’s all for killing his back and spending his free time doing the work then I’ll shut up. No way attacking you either just trying to understand the decision behind this. Your recommendations are solid otherwise.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by Nettles

Why would you get a one off detailer? I found one I like and stuck with him. $100 for exterior wash/interior light cleaning is at the high end in San Diego, which you can find an abundant amount of detailers willing to come to your front door or office. I’m all for doing it yourself, but for someone who wants something “simpler” this just makes alot more sense. He’s only driving the car on weekends/nice days so that’s roughly one wash every two months. If OP says he’s all for killing his back and spending his free time doing the work then I’ll shut up. No way attacking you either just trying to understand the decision behind this. Your recommendations are solid otherwise.

By "one-off" I meant paying them for a one-time cleaning. $100 is a steal if it's truly done well, so I'd say you got a bit lucky. Cheapest I've found in my area from people that have examples that do well is nearly $200 per time. Too much for my blood.

[sdengineer]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

By "one-off" I meant paying them for a one-time cleaning. $100 is a steal if it's truly done well, so I'd say you got a bit lucky. Cheapest I've found in my area from people that have examples that do well is nearly $200 per time. Too much for my blood.

Nettles and Berzerker , appreciate the replies. It is a fair question to consider detailing. Nettles - you probably picked up the sense in my post that I am indeed not looking to spend a lot of time on this. Come to think of it I actually think I am looking for a hybrid setup

1) A professional detailer to perform more serious detailing at some period of say 2-4 times a year
2) Some kind of intermediate routine I can handle which just involves basic washing with whatever finishing/sprays are needed to keep the ceramic healthy

Nettles - I'll DM you for a detailing contact in San Diego.

[icj_45e]

My system:

Carpro Reset soap for car/wheels/tires. (Adam's Wheel and Tire Cleaner diluted if you need more cleaning action on the wheels/tires)

Foam cannon would be nice, but optional depending on your preference (Active 2.0 pressure washer if you need to buy one)

Misc brushes for wheels/tires. MaxShine has large variety and pretty economical

Autofiber double flip towel "mitt". Pre-soak all the mitts in your wash bucket, wash one panel per towel side, flip, repeat. Move to next towel after you've double flipped. Work from roof down to side skirts.
https://www.autofiber.com/collection...100-gsm-3-pack

Electric leaf blower to dry car off

Carpro Elixir drying aid spray and hydrophobic top coat with Autofiber Dreadnought towels for final wipe down
https://www.autofiber.com/collection...1100gsm-1-pack

Good luck

[Pheonix]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

One-off detailers are stupid expensive. You're paying multiple hundreds of dollars each time, which you can spend half that for the supplies to do it yourself.

OP:

Any pH neutral cleaner is perfectly fine to use for ceramic-coatings. You just don't want to use any acidic or hardcore stuff (like CarPro Reset) since it'll take the coating off.

I use Koch-Chemie Gsf Snow Foam for a pre-foam, then Adam's Car Shampoo for the hand wash.

These are great mits I use for the handwash.

These are the rags I bought. Great quality that don't leave any residue.

After wash, I use Gyeon Wet-coat, quick spray on then rinse it right after. Don't let it sit. That'll protect the ceramic coating. Great on wheels too.

As an aside, P&S Brake Buster is the best wheel cleaner you can get.

Keep in mind all of this stuff (except Wet-Coat) can be diluted. I do 1:5 (1 part cleaner to 5 parts water) dilutions and it all works great.

Also, I would not use a leaf blower specifically for drying as that has a large air intake which can suck in random debris and jettison it towards the car. I prefer something handheld that still packs a punch but has a much smaller intake to prevent large debris from getting sucked in, like this one from Adam's.

Great Information except CarPro Reset is a pH Neutral and specifically designed/made for coated surfaces.

[sdengineer]

Originally Posted by icj_45e

My system:

Carpro Reset soap for car/wheels/tires. (Adam's Wheel and Tire Cleaner diluted if you need more cleaning action on the wheels/tires)

Foam cannon would be nice, but optional depending on your preference (Active 2.0 pressure washer if you need to buy one)

Misc brushes for wheels/tires. MaxShine has large variety and pretty economical

Autofiber double flip towel "mitt". Pre-soak all the mitts in your wash bucket, wash one panel per towel side, flip, repeat. Move to next towel after you've double flipped. Work from roof down to side skirts.
https://www.autofiber.com/collection...100-gsm-3-pack

Electric leaf blower to dry car off

Carpro Elixir drying aid spray and hydrophobic top coat with Autofiber Dreadnought towels for final wipe down
https://www.autofiber.com/collection...1100gsm-1-pack

Good luck

Thanks for the tips!

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by Pheonix

Great Information except CarPro Reset is a pH Neutral and specifically designed/made for coated surfaces.

You're right. I mixed it up with Descale. I'll edit accordingly.

[rellascout]

Originally Posted by sdengineer

I just acquired a G80 M3 which was treated with ceramic coating. Looking for recommendation for a relatively simple routine (including recommended washes and finishing). I do appreciate and respect the folks that get very deep into this but I am looking for something a bit simpler because the car will only be driven on nice weather days (not my DD) and garaged.

Perhaps to be a bit more specific, some things I was looking to get some advice on:
- Recommended washes (specifically for ceramic-treated paint)
- Recommended wash-mits
- Recommended drying towels. Note: I do plan to use a leaf-blower to do the heavy-duty drying (assuming that is ok)
- Any sort of post drying treatments/sprays

I already have the dual buckets with grit-guards

Appreciate any help on this.

What was the car coated with? I am a big fan of using the wash products from the company who made the coating. It make sense that their maintaince products will work with the coating.

As far as wash mitts and towels pick ones from a known source and you will be fine. If your process is sound the towels and mitts won't matter. Don't overthink it.

[sdengineer]

Originally Posted by rellascout

What was the car coated with? I am a big fan of using the wash products from the company who made the coating. It make sense that their maintaince products will work with the coating.

As far as wash mitts and towels pick ones from a known source and you will be fine. If your process is sound the towels and mitts won't matter. Don't overthink it.

I am trying to find out. It was handled by the dealer or perhaps distributor? Appreciate the advice.

[TXGrey]

This topic can be (and has been) beat to death a 1000 different ways.... There are SO many products on the market these days. Just do some of your own research (while mixing it with info/advise from places like here), and you'll figure out a technique that works best for you. Heck, my technique seems to "morph" as each year passes. But I do everything DIY. Both of my current cars are years into ownership... daily driven... and both still look amazing. I'm a Griots fan, and have good luck mixing it up with different products on different manufacturer paint. But there are tons of good products to use these days. I also have a (car) air-dryer, and I have to admit, it's become one of my favorite detailing products. I also use my small leaf blower if I'm in a hurry... but the dedicated car dryer is small and has a rubber tip that is designed specifically for the job. Works amazing.

Two bucket wash (tried foam canons... don't feel it's worth it)... only in the shade
Chemical Guys After Wash Spray to help with water spotting (I have hard H2O)
Dry with waffle weave drying towels (and thick microfiber as well)
Use air blower/dryer
Thick microfiber and terry cloth towels for drips & streak wipe ups
Detailers (multiple ones) for touching up and finishing

Every 3 months - Griots 3 in 1 Ceramic Wax

I did actually apply a true ceramic coating to my black powder coated wheels to help with cleaning; it helps a little.

I can do a quick start to finish job in about an hour... maybe 1.5 total if I'm wiping down all the door and trunk seams, etc. But "maintenance" is easy to do when you keep it clean. I hand wash about once every week (max 2 weeks)... so the paint stays clean and in good condition.

Also - I absolutely LOVE Griots thick blue detailing towels. They are fantastic for actual detailing. Have other types of microfiber towels for other uses... but keep coming back to these for my paint.

[horseygrl]

This is what Detailership in No Cal recommended to me after I had front PPf and ceramic coating on my new X5;

We have hard water here so I got this water deionizer https://di-rinse.com/online-shop/DI-Pro-50D-p105868875

I only use the above for my final rinse.

I use a power washer.

To wash: Optimum No Rinse with The Rag company Cyclone Ultra wash mitts in a 5 gallon bucket with a Detail Gardz in the bucket.

For Tires and Wheels: P & S Brake Buster Total wheel cleaner in a iK Foam Pro2 pump sprayer. Woolywormit wheel cleaning brush, Nanoskin flagged body brush for wheels and Detail Factory Tire scrub brush on tires.

I spray Gyeon Wet Coat on my wheels and use Optimum Opti-Bond Tire gel on my tires.

I blow dry with a dog grooming dryer I already had. For drying droplets left, I have The Rag company The Gauntlet drying towel.

I also have some The Rag company Eagle edgeless 500 towels.

I'm a 65 yo lady and I can wash my car so easily with the above.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

By "one-off" I meant paying them for a one-time cleaning. $100 is a steal if it's truly done well, so I'd say you got a bit lucky. Cheapest I've found in my area from people that have examples that do well is nearly $200 per time. Too much for my blood.

There's no way I'd even pay $100 per wash. I get the time element and valuing it appropriately but I just can't do it. I have two cars I don't drive often and I just wash them myself. They don't see inclement weather and the kids are never in them so it only takes 30-45 minutes for them to come out pristine. I have the supplies and quite frankly I'll probably do as good or a better job than a detailer.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

There's no way I'd even pay $100 per wash. I get the time element and valuing it appropriately but I just can't do it. I have two cars I don't drive often and I just wash them myself. They don't see inclement weather and the kids are never in them so it only takes 30-45 minutes for them to come out pristine. I have the supplies and quite frankly I'll probably do as good or a better job than a detailer.

I'm assuming it's not just a wash. Think about that you pay $25-30 to go to your regular old automatic car wash + interior clean. $100 for them to detail it with more individual attention and do a better job is well within the realm of reality.

[Jrock645]

Just get some optimum no rinse wash soap. Works great, leaves a clean, naked finish.

Something like Kamikaze Overcoat would be a good topper if you wanted, but coatings perform best left naked.

[TboneS54]

Optimum, meg's hyperwash, nanoskin hypersuds are all fairly cheap, ph neutral soaps with no additives/glossifiers/wax for ceramic coatings.

Carpool reset is my go-to, but it's significantly more expensive than the aforementioned, but they're just as good really.

I recommend blow drying the car, spritzing a 70/30 short nap towel with sio2 based spray and wipe any remaining water.

Coated cars, especially at the beginning, don't need toppers, it's all marketing. Near the end of the coatings life, a topper might extend their properties a bit.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by sdengineer

Nettles and Berzerker , appreciate the replies. It is a fair question to consider detailing. Nettles - you probably picked up the sense in my post that I am indeed not looking to spend a lot of time on this. Come to think of it I actually think I am looking for a hybrid setup

1) A professional detailer to perform more serious detailing at some period of say 2-4 times a year
2) Some kind of intermediate routine I can handle which just involves basic washing with whatever finishing/sprays are needed to keep the ceramic healthy

Nettles - I'll DM you for a detailing contact in San Diego.

OP, if you are in SoCal, and most of your dirt is just dust, I would consider using this. Larry creates his own stuff. His wife is a chemist and he has experience creating his own products. Most chemicals you buy are created by tge same few blenders and are largely the same. Larry is pretty overboard with his methods and products.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

As an aside, P&S Brake Buster is the best wheel cleaner you can get.

Have you ever tried any other wheel cleaners? Brake Buster sucks for BMWs with dusty brakes. It's not good at removing brake dust. Any of the wheel cleaners with iron removers do a better job and also are more gentle on coated wheels. Turtle Wax Rapid Decon, Koch Chemie MWC, Sonax The Beast, etc. blow away Brake Buster. They do stink, though.

[Berzerker]

Originally Posted by chris719

Have you ever tried any other wheel cleaners? Brake Buster sucks for BMWs with dusty brakes. It's not good at removing brake dust. Any of the wheel cleaners with iron removers do a better job and also are more gentle on coated wheels. Turtle Wax Rapid Decon, Koch Chemie MWC, Sonax The Beast, etc. blow away Brake Buster. They do stink, though.

Brake dust is brake dust. These are brembo brakes, they're not some special formulation that's "more dusty" than other pads or something. Brake Buster works amazingly for me on OEM and now on my iSweeps. It's the best on the market.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

Brake dust is brake dust. These are brembo brakes, they're not some special formulation that's "more dusty" than other pads or something. Brake Buster works amazingly for me on OEM and now on my iSweeps. It's the best on the market.

No, it's actually very poor. It's bad at cleaning all brake dust. It's good on dirt and grime only. You should do yourself a favor and try something that isn't shilled by paid sponsors on YouTube. Koch Chemie MWC can clean a stock M4 wheel almost touchlessly. Brake Buster won't even do a thing without agitation. It's only good at cleaning tires and dirt. Adam's Wheel and Tire Cleaner is at least 2x as strong as Brake Buster, but it's still the wrong thing for brake dust.