Kinda long, but I've lots of questions.

As some of you may be aware, I recently acquired a new-to-me 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. Nearly-pristine exterior finish. Same on the inside. And it's got leather seats. I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible. Particularly challenging here in road salt country.

I think I know what I want to do next spring, exterior-wise: Thorough washes at "quarter" coin wash. (Can't use our own water. We're on a well and it's fairly hard water. Tried it once. It was a disaster.) Gently dry with premium waffle micro-fiber towels. Clay with Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay. Maguire's Ultimate Liquid Wax. But the weather's turned up here in S.E. Michigan. Too late for all that, now. Short of paying a detailer, regular visits to a good automated car wash will have to suffice.

A buddy of mine recommended I treat all the seams with a moisture-displacing corrosion-inhibitor. I'm thinking Boe-Shield on all the door flanges and any other seams I can find?

Any other ideas?

Yes, I know automated car washes are regarded as Evil. But, up here in Cold County, there's little choice. Unless you can afford to visit a detailer every time it snows.

Speaking of detailers: How to you go about finding a good one?

Interior: Bought and installed OEM floor mats, front and rear. (Liked 'em better than WeatherTech and half the price.)

What about the leather? Both now and going forward: What can I do to keep that nice and protect it?

The rest of the interior I know how to deal with. Been doing that for a long, long time. (Not recently, but, now that I'm retired I have the time.)

I noticed, looking at the car, yesterday, the discs develop surface rust essentially overnight. Anything I can spray on them to retard that? (That won't negatively affect brake performance, obviously.)

Engine compartment looks nearly factory-pristine, too. What do y'all use to keep the engine compartment looking good? (Back In The Day, I'd thoroughly warm the engine up, let it cool down a bit, give everything a good spray with a foaming engine cleaner, let it work, rinse. Done.)

The Hemi in the new vehicle has an exposed filter:



Cover it when cleaning the engine/engine compartment?

I'd avoid high pressure spray in an engine compartment. It is only waterproofed for normal occurrences like rain. There are too many wiring connectors and nooks and crannies in the engine itself where intrusion or accumulation of water would cause problems. Such problems wouldn't necessarily surface right away, it might take months, even years. You could wash off the surfaces of the engine bay with a gentle stream and some sort of cleaner (be sure it is non-corrosive to aluminum), and blow the engine off with an air hose.

Brush car washes are evil. They scratch paint. A lot. I'd rather have a dirty car. Find a brushless one, or use the spray booth kind.

For the non-leather parts of the interior, I like 303 Aerospace protectant.

I wash the engine with low pressure water and a brush. Be careful not squirt water into the alternator and other electrical components. Avoid washing a hot engine.

Lexol on the leather seats (cleaner and then conditioner)

Boeshield would probably be fine on the hinges. I like Corrossion Block in a white/aluminum colored can for that, but either would work.

No high pressure water in the engine bay. I like the Gunk foaming engine brite cleaner.

Two bucket wash. Dry off with a leaf blower.
Then I hit it with Meguiars quick detailer.
Might not be the absolute best shine but it looks great and is relatively quick and easy. But mine is garaged 99% of the time.

Couple times a year, if I get a wild hair, it gets Meguiar's ultimate paste wax. I Can't use the Liquid because it contains petroleum distillates (like naphtha) and that's a no go on clear bra. Unlike the liquid, the paste is Polymer, 100% synthetic.

I just never worried about water on the engine as it gets absolutely saturated every time it rains anyway. I do have the engine slightly warm, not hot, before any cleaning to help with drying.

I use the Lucas Interior protectant. Dries to matte finish and is non oily

Detailing is more about elbow grease than it is about products to a degree.
However, a couple of places for great info I use:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/

https://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html

There are a LOT of great products out there and no one end all but the Aerospace 303 products (both the cleaner and a protectant) is highly rated and effective on interiors.
There are products for just about every part of the vehicle and every stage of detailing.
For paint I like to use one mfg's line from cleaning to polishing to waxing and lot's of good ones.
I use Meguiars Ultimate Series but they are not the only ones.
Remember, there are no magic bullets ~ mostly elbow grease that works.

Good Luck.

If you can spare the money, have the truck ceramic coated, the detailer will generally do a paint correction first, then seal it in with something like Cquartz or Sonax, after being coated you literally just need to rinse the car off to bring it back to the pristine condition it was in when he finished it.. You can also ceramic coat the interior and wheels.

As for the brakes being rusty, that'll come off the first time you apply them while driving, I definitely wouldn't mess with spraying something on them. For the filter, either get a "sock" for it (something like this: https://www.newlevelmotorsport...ducts&kw=inhyprefi), or just avoid spraying it with the hose, unless you are literally letting the hose run on it while the car is on you shouldn't do any damage though.

Lastly, for products I love the Zaino line.. the owner is a good friend of mine, and he's really passionate about what he does! If you end up going with zaino MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THE STEPS!

http://www.zainostore.com/mm5/...ginners&Store_Code=Z

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Yes, I know automated car washes are regarded as Evil. But, up here in Cold County, there's little choice. Unless you can afford to visit a detailer every time it snows.

Given your locale, spring for a pro detailer to do the exterior of the car. cmr076's suggestion about ceramic coating the paint is an excellent one. The weather and conditions your paint will endure in Michigan can be hugely mitigated through the use of ceramic coatings. The Meguiars wax you noted simply isn't up to the job of protecting your paint from Michigan's worst. And ceramic coating your paint will make keeping up with the car much, much easier.

quote:

Speaking of detailers: How to you go about finding a good one?

Find a local exotic car club (Ferrari's, Lambo's, and the like), visit one of their get togethers, and ask the attendees who they use. These are the type of people who don't play with fly-by-night wannabees, opting instead to find and keep professionals doing their cars. To this day, I still do all the prep on a local collectors Ferrari's when he places them in an event because he won't let anyone else touch them. Collectors and enthusiast's are funny like that.

quote:

What about the leather? Both now and going forward: What can I do to keep that nice and protect it?

There are dozens of great cleaners and protectants. Check out Autogeek.com and pick the product(s) that meet yours needs (and your pocketbook).

Most important rules of keeping leather looking great are....

• Wipe the seats off after you've sweated or gotten other contaminants on them. A simple damp cloth will do.
• Vac out all the seems frequently to keep dirt and grime from eating up the stitching and leather.
• Treat them occasionally with a good conditioner/protectant.

Do those things and your seats will stay newer looking longer.

quote:

Anything I can spray on them to retard that? (That won't negatively affect brake performance, obviously.)

No, just ignore it.

quote:

Engine compartment looks nearly factory-pristine, too. What do y'all use to keep the engine compartment looking good? (Back In The Day, I'd thoroughly warm the engine up, let it cool down a bit, give everything a good spray with a foaming engine cleaner, let it work, rinse. Done.)

I still spray a light coat of cleaner across the engine and engine bay, and use a brush to remove the built up grime. Then I carefully use a hose (no spray end) to rinse the engine bay, then try and use my Stihl leaf blower to blow out/off as much water as possible before towel drying and applying a treatment. Of course I also cover electronics in plastic before I start.

This is my 2001 Ford F150. Seventeen years old and 140k miles and still looking better than its 2-3 year old peers. With the right products, process, and willingness to get out there and do it, all cars can stay new looking throughout their lives.

quote:

The Hemi in the new vehicle has an exposed filter:

Cover it when cleaning the engine/engine compartment?

No. Just remove it and cover the intake tube with plastic and a couple rubber bands. Reinstall it when you're finished. Removing it will also allow you additional room to clean in and around the area.

Dry off with a leaf blower.
Use a cleaner wax on exterior windows
Peanut butter will pull up white wax residue
Use isopropyl alcohol to help clean interior window residue
Use a spray wax on your rims it makes cleaning brake dust easier.
Use ceramabryte oven cleaner on your exhaust pipes
Hobby or small brushes for the hard to reach stuff
Lexol on leather or vinyl inside.
Warm soapy water on the rest.
Clay your exterior now and then.
Honestly a quick brushless car wash followed by a good wax and the tips above will give you great results.

I usually wipe my engine compartments down by hand. Usually with a spray wax. Never had a need for a full on deep engine clean. I am not show car ready of course but my engine bays are cleaner then any new car dealers are.

Well when I am not a lazy piece of crap......

So what I am saying is NO you may not visit and see the current state of the cars.

That F150 looks fantastic BTW.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
That F150 looks fantastic BTW.

The funny thing is your Camaro has a much nicer paint job than both Porsche's. You can see the orange peel in the reflection on the doors of both porsches.

The brown one is the trick of light.

The blue one.......yep Chevy had a much better paint job.

Lots of good advice here.

If the rusty rotor hubs really bother you, they can be powder coated. Of course, you’re not going anywhere until they’re cured and reinstalled, and we’re not talking about the rotor surface, just the centers.

Just buy rotors with a coated hub when you replace them.

Oh, I’ll warn you that the MOPAR all-weather mats work very well, but don’t last as long as aftermarket. The driver’s mat in my Cherokee is beginning to develop a hole under my heel after 94K miles. Otherwise, I agree that they’re very nice and effective.

-Rob

Congrats on your new Jeep! 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland owner here with 1360,000 on the clock. Huge love hate relationship with her but I'll probably just buy another one when this one is done.

Anywho with 136,000 miles on the clock the biggest thing I would do is keep the undercarriage clean in the winter. Road salts and all the grime in the winter take their toll on the steel and aluminum down there. Go easy with underhood washes, very light mist of water if anything. There's a lot of finicky electronics including the TIPM out in the open. I run a water repellent sock over my open air filter, I have a K&N set up with a AEM dry flow filter. A quality rotor will not rust over as quickly overnight, Centric is a good brand and the non-friction surfaces are coated black so they hold up nicer. I just replaced all my rotors and pads and the old stock rotors were very badly rusted, beyond surface rust even.

Thanks for the guidance, everybody!

High-pressure in the engine compartment: Gotcha. (I would've gone easy on that, anyway.) How to deal with the air cleaner: Noted.

The evils of brush, and, I assume, so-called "soft cloth" car washes: Sometimes ya gotta do what you gotta do. That salt has to come off, and the sooner the better. I haven't had any luck finding a brushless car wash nearby, so far.

To be clear: I'm going to use the Boe-Shield as a rust inhibitor. I'll be spraying it on welded seams (like inside door flanges) and perhaps in the junctures of wheel wells.

Two-bucket wash: In the summertime I plan to bring to the car wash two two-gallon jugs and buckets: One for soap and the other for wash-glove rinse. I will use a chenille microfiber glove. Soap, rinse and dry there. I may "wax" there, as well. Or pick up a California Duster, drive home, dust and "wax".

Maguiar's Ultimate paste vs. liquid: Noted. Important point, since I'm considering a clear bra for my jeep.

Ceramic coating: Have read about it. It has its pros and cons. I haven't decided. I need to read more.

Zaino product line: Yes, I've seen it mentioned many times. But I've got this free bottle of Maguiar's liquid, you see... And I'm liking what I'm reading about Pinnacle's clay.

Brake rotor rust: Noted.

Leather and interior: Lexol on the leather: Noted. 303 Aerospace: Noted. Lucas: Noted. I'll look into each of them.

Undercarriage washing: Noted. (I was already going to inquire of any car wash I was considering if they offered undercarriage washing.)

Sharp-looking F150, BD. Boy, that is one clean-looking engine compartment!

Nice-looking vehicles, cslinger.

Finally: There's a car wash nearby that does detailing. Couple guys at my gym were raving about what a good job they do: Exterior, interior and engine compartment. On-line reviews look very positive, too. I think next week I'll stop by there and see what they're about.

Forgot to mention..

Exterior trim I’ve been using Wolfgang’s trim sealant. It lasts much longer than the label says. Dirt, bugs etc washes off every bit of plastic very easily. Little bit goes a long way. I treated the wheel well liners on the Tacoma Pro. Makes it super easy to wash the dirt off of them. It holds up to the auto “soft touch” car washes and the aggressive soaps they have. I coated the whole exterior of the truck with Polish Angel Cosmic V2, time consuming but DIYable. Not a single scratch in the paint from car washes, I use 1 in particular after talking to the owner almost every week. I do have to reapply the sprayable high gloss (which I believe is the sacrificial portion) more often , every 90days to bring the hydrophobicity back to it fully

Autogeek and sister Company autopia are great forum resources

Autogeeks customer service is great. I had placed an order and a “freebie” was forgotten to be put in the box. A short phone call and it was put into an order I had being pulled and shipped.

They seem to be a pretty good company to work for also. Almost weekly they have an activity day with full spread of food and give always to employees

When I was doing all the work myself I was a fan of Zaino. It's all in the prep though. Two step paint correction followed by a few coats of Zaino would give me minimum 8-10 months protection. Only did paint correction when needed once a year or every other year. Touch car washes and black are death. Now that I pay somebody to do it he uses a ceramic sealant and it lasts 2 years and looks fantastic.

I like Lexol for leather and 303 Protectant for anything plastic. Stoners glass cleaner. I use the citrus engine cleaner with a brush or rag for heavy areas followed by one of the spray and forget engine compartment treatments. I stll use the Zaino tire protectant as I really like it.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
That F150 looks fantastic BTW.

Thanks. I must say I'm very impressed with the results you got on that Honda Pilot. My wife drives a 2013 Pilot and I can't stand the paint on that vehicle. Bar none, its the worst paint job I've ever had to maintain.