Keeping it clean

[ArthurCaverly]

How do you do it???

I like WD40 to clean it, but keeping it that way afterward is a bit of a pain in the ass. The smallest amount of water makes streaks under the windows and mirrors, even after wiping off all the WD40. And if it doesn't rain, it seems to collect dust after a couple days. I tried waxing the hood and that looks like crap, so I'm looking for suggestions...

Thanks!!

[Dangermouse]

"Bar Keepers Friend" is the go-to product for most people.

Do a search for "keepers" and several threads will show the pros and cons, as well as alternatives.

[sdg3205]

Soap and water.

I'll "grain" it once a year with Weismann's stainless steel spray, but after that just soap and water.

Mother's "Back to Black" on the louvres, rub strips and mirrors is just awesome and lasts a long time.

[Iznodmad]

That topic came up today at a car show with another owner. Plain old simple Windex held up better after being outside all day. I had used a spray on oily type polish and gone back over it with a non-ammonia window cleaner. He had only used Windex. At the end of the day, his car had less dust/pollen than mine. Both looked nice and shiny, just one with less particulate matter on it.

[pezzonovante88]

Car soap and water, and windex.

[kajcienski]

Having been called "Mr. OCD" many times as far as cleaning my D, I agree Windex is good. But found a new product call "Twinkle" through a club member to use on the stainless. Overspray will not hurt the paint either. It helps with minimizing fingerprints and smudges too. No streaking either if car is clean. I do not recommend Black Again/Back to Black or other products that soak into the fibers to deepen the color (especially UV activated ones). You will be very sorry when you go to repaint one day and the paint does not adhere correctly due to "gassing" of the chemicals that soaked into the fiberglass or plastic. I learned this the hard way and several vendors will tell you the same. There is a super product for the louvres and bumpers (deepened the look) a car restoration friend used but can't recall the name off the top of my head. I will post in a follow-up. For the leather/vinyl, I have been happy with what DMC sells - I am sure there is a cheaper alternative through another company. And I think we all agree Armor All = Bad Things. However for an amazing leather conditioner once a year, I recommend Leatherique. It is what the Rolls Royce guys use and our leather is similar. It is natural and not full of harsh chemicals that can break down leather. Just wanted to share!

[Nicholas R]

Stainless: Dish soap+water+Mr. clean's magic eraser
Fascias: Dish soap+water+soft sponge
Tires: Turtle wax tire stuff+sponge/scrub brush
Rims: Dish soap+Pressure washer

Drying: Chamois (always works great)

Probably get flamed for this but I have never liked barkeepers friend. Every time it's left a small residue that takes too much time to get rid of. Same story with pretty much every single stainless steel cleaner on the market. If you are religious about weekly cleanings with it to keep the coating/film even then it works. For me, I love clean, shiny, bare stainless. Biggest problem with stainless is fingerprint oil. Dish soap is designed to cut oil and grease and does just that.

[Morpheus]

Stainless: Dish soap+water+Mr. clean's magic eraser
Fascias: Dish soap+water+soft sponge
Tires: Turtle wax tire stuff+sponge/scrub brush
Rims: Dish soap+Pressure washer

Drying: Chamois (always works great)

Probably get flamed for this but I have never liked barkeepers friend. Every time it's left a small residue that takes too much time to get rid of. Same story with pretty much every single stainless steel cleaner on the market. If you are religious about weekly cleanings with it to keep the coating/film even then it works. For me, I love clean, shiny, bare stainless. Biggest problem with stainless is fingerprint oil. Dish soap is designed to cut oil and grease and does just that.

I agree with Nick. I have long believed that plain, old fashioned dish soap (Dawn, Palmolive, etc.) was best to clean a D. The problem with typical car wash soaps is the additives (like wax) that they put in there for painted cars.

BKF is really good at getting out stubborn stains, but I agree that it's a PITA to get all the residue off.

[David T]

Try using car wash soap instead of dishwashing liquid. It washes off the car MUCH easier and with a lot less foam. Cheaper too. I use hot water and an ounce of car wash soap in a 1/2 full 5 gallon bucket with a large grout sponge Removes tree sap easily. Stay away from anything that leaves a greasy residue like WD-40. It only attracts and holds dirt. I like Windex for touch-ups and spot cleaning. You can also use it on the glass. Take a look at Griot's Garage for cleaning supplies. I agree Leatherique is great on the leather. For drying I use a plastic wiper to get most of the water off and then finish with a micro fiber drying towel. I also did not find Barkeeper's friend to be all that great. The 3M stuff in the spray can is the best but it is expensive. Wax the facias. Black Again is a very good for the black plastic trim. Use a good UV protectant on the tires.
David Teitelbaum

[SIMid]

I would not use dishsoap/dishwashing liquid on the painted bumpers as it will leave streaks in the paint. It's very harsh and will damage the paint surface over time. These detergents are designed to destroy grease and grim. I always use proper car wash detergent (warm water helps too). If your paint is average, go for it, but I wouldn't use it.

I do use windex at car shows for finger prints, but recently discovered Meguiars Quik Detailer.

http://www.meguiars.com.au/products/car-care/paint-care/wash-maintain/ultimate-quik-detailer/

More pricey than Windex, but does not leave a dull surface. Also gets rid of small bird droppings on the panel very easily and comes up brand new. Windex needs a bit of work and sometimes leaves a wet shadow.

BKF has been giving me headaches with water spots afterwards, but does make the panels look brand new. Just have to work on one panel at a time.

[AugustneverEnds]

For after cleaning, I picked up a small bottle of Chroma stainless steel protector. Actually keeps fingerprints off pretty well.

[DMC5180]

Lately I've been doing the old fashion Hand wash w/ car washing soap and hot water. For occasional spot cleaning I use "Invisible glass" foaming spray by Stoner.

[Victor]

For glass, there is not much better product than dishwasher soap _ in very little amount works great, I found.
For stainless, I like to use a mitten soak in just warm water, and a nutsize amount of Vim in cream form directly on the washing mittens _ good for the entire car, then wash it up.

[jawn101]

Does anyone have good suggestions for getting the film off the inside of the glass? Three decades of outgassing from the vinyl everywhere have filthed up the insides of my windows really good. I have gotten the doors and rear glass clean, but because of the angles involved and fear of getting cleaners on my dashboard, I haven't figured out a good way to clean my windshield yet. How do you guys reach down into the area above the dash? Some kind of squeegie on a stick?

[dmc6960]

How do you guys reach down into the area above the dash? Some kind of squeegie on a stick?

Google search: Windshield Cleaning Wand

http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_56422_1.jpg

[jawn101]

Google search: Windshield Cleaning Wand

http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_56422_1.jpg

Nice. An actual squeegie on a stick. I'll hunt one of those down, thanks Jim!

[dmc6960]

Nice. An actual squeegie on a stick. I'll hunt one of those down, thanks Jim!

Not a squeegie, a microfiber cloth. And yes, the microfiber does work fairly well to get the film off the glass. I bought mine at O'Reiley's. Autozone would probably have them too.

[jawn101]

Not a squeegie, a microfiber cloth. And yes, the microfiber does work fairly well to get the film off the glass. I bought mine at O'Reiley's. Autozone would probably have them too.

Right right, was just being tongue-in-cheek. Do you use anything on it (invisible glass, etc) or just dry?

[dmc6960]

Only tried it dry. Unsure if it would work better with a cleaner or not.

[David T]

Windex works pretty good on glass. To remove film like from a PO that smoked use a razor blade. Perfect Glass seems to clean a little better than Windex. You can find it in Bed, Bath, and Beyond. In auto stores you can buy a handle that holds single edge razor blades, usually used for removing stickers. It can get all the way into the corners. Be careful around the left lower corner so you do not remove the screen-dyed lettering.
David Teitelbaum

[dmc6960]

I have found that Windex does NOT work very well on a film-covered windshield using standard paper towels. It mostly pushes it around into more glaring streaks. After the dismal luck with that I never bothered trying it once I got the microfiber which worked pretty well on its own.

[Jonathan]

Jon, this film/haze you're speaking of on the windshield, is this something different from what I view as almost an orange-y coloured haze up around the top of my windshield? I had always thought of this as something to do with the windshield getting old and needing replacement? But if it's cleanable, then giddyup. It seems though that it's almost within the glass versus on the surface outside or inside.

[jawn101]

Jon, this film/haze you're speaking of on the windshield, is this something different from what I view as almost an orange-y coloured haze up around the top of my windshield? I had always thought of this as something to do with the windshield getting old and needing replacement? But if it's cleanable, then giddyup. It seems though that it's almost within the glass versus on the surface outside or inside.

Oh yeah, much different. I've got that orange tint as well, but the windshield is perfectly fine in my opinion. This is more like the kind of greasy haze you get from constantly touching the glass and smearing fingerprints all over it. But it's not from that in this case - it's likely from the natural outgassing of the vinyl in the dashboard, kneepads, seats, etc. And when I windex the parts of the windshield I can reach, it just makes the areas I couldn't get to that much more obvious.

[Morpheus]

The best thing to use when cleaning glass (removing built up film) is #0000 Grade Steel Wool + your glass cleaner of choice.

99% guaranteed to not draw blood (unlike a razor blade), and polishes the glass as it cleans. Win Win.

In closing,

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518N69vOkcL._SL500_AA300_.jpg + http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Invisible_Glass_Lineup.jpg = http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d181/dan_o_00/borat_thumbs_up_narrowweb__300x5040.jpg

[jawn101]

The best thing to use when cleaning glass (removing built up film) is #0000 Grade Steel Wool + your glass cleaner of choice.

99% guaranteed to not draw blood (unlike a razor blade), and polishes the glass as it cleans. Win Win.


Really? I've never heard of that. I don't even know what 0000 steel wool feels/looks like. This isn't like telling the guy to flush his oil by removing the 710 cap and running hose water into it til the engine stops, is it? :)

[Morpheus]

No, I'm completely serious. It sounds crazy, but it works like a charm. I've used it on all my cars at least once a year and never had a problem.

Be sure to use a fresh pad and plenty of window cleaner, and work your way around the glass. 0000 is very fine grade, so you won't scratch the glass unless you scrub really hard and in the same spot for too long. Toss out the pad when you're done, you won't be able to use it after it rusts up on you.

I am told that auto detailers use this method all the time on glass and chrome.

[sdg3205]

I've heard of this as well. I had a problem where even after new wipers on my daily driver, i had streaks and the windshield even sounded dirty/gritty. It's build up and needs to be removed.

[David T]

I have tried 0000 steel wool also. It does work in some cases. On some newer cars they have a coating which you are not supposed to use steel wool on but that is not the case in a Delorean. The problem I found with steel wool is the clean-up afterwards. All those tiny little pieces of steel wool all over. It is also difficult to get into the tight areas with it. The orangy haze is the tint in the windscreen aging because of UV light. Using the steel wool on the outside the clean-up is easier, just stay away from the trim and the rubber. Use masking tape if you have to. Cleaning the glass because of a former PO that smoked is very messy. That smoke gets all over, in the A/C and heater ductwork, the carpet, the headliner, etc. Very hard to get rid of it all. I don't think your problem is outgassing as much as a smoker.
David Teitelbaum

[jawn101]

Definitely a non-smoking car, there's no doubt about that. Whatever the source of the film it's a mild annoyance at best - I'm going to try the microfiber on a stick method. Sounds really promising, especially with a little invisible glass on the cloth.

[Ron]

Mother's "Back to Black" on the louvres, rub strips and mirrors is just awesome and lasts a long time.
I tried it, on several other things too :thumbup:

Thanks!

[SIMid]

I tried it, on several other things too :thumbup:

Thanks!

Would you use it on the sidewalls on the tyres?

[Tillsy]

I tried it, on several other things too :thumbup:

Thanks!

Did she like it? ;)

[Ron]

Does anyone have good suggestions for getting the film off the inside of the glass?
If one is real bad, I tape the tight spots off with polly, just in case, and use thicker cotton cloths with some quality quick lacquer thinner around the edges then walk across drying right behind, immediately rinse it down with Windex, and finish with a dry micro.

====


Would you use it on the sidewalls on the tyres?
Not really I prefer clean, bare...w/o shine...
If I wanted to match out all of the black or ??, I'd just try this stuff....not sure about the way the regular would dry if the tires were not pretty new...made for tires and looks a bit more economical ;-)

14443

[Ron]

Did she like it? ;)
14444

[Dangermouse]

I'm a big fan of using Windex and newspaper to clean glass. Old wives tale perhaps, but it really works for a streak free clean. Just make sure to use the standard black/white sheets and not the color supplement. Spray windex on the center of the glass, crumple up a sheet of newsprint and away you go, working into the corners.

And it's recycling too.

[dmc6960]

Newspaper is what I used before the windshield wand. This morning I grabbed mine off of the rear shelf and touched up a spot on the inside of the windshield that was bugging me while driving into work this morning. With that stick you can reach all corners of the windshield while stopped at a stoplight.

[louielouie2000]

Foaming windex in a can is the best stuff I ever used on my DeLoreans. It's tough to find these days, but Amazon still has it!

http://www.amazon.com/Windex-Aerosol-Foaming-Cleaner-Oz-19-7/dp/B004RTSF4I/ref=sr_1_43?ie=UTF8&qid=1351625268&sr=8-43&keywords=windex

[pezzonovante88]

Newspaper is what I used before the windshield wand. This morning I grabbed mine off of the rear shelf and touched up a spot on the inside of the windshield that was bugging me while driving into work this morning. With that stick you can reach all corners of the windshield while stopped at a stoplight.

I love that product.