boltsfan

A week ago, I turned in my '06 C230 and leased a new '09 C300 Sport (black on black) with 18" AMGs.

I usually do not have the time to wash my car, so I take it to a drive thru touchless wash that is about a minute from my house. I finish the drying in my garage with micro fiber towels and then use Meguiars "Quik Detailer" to clean up the car. I also use Meguiars "Hot Shine" on the tires.

A few questions:

What do you guys recommend to clean the wheels?

Have you guys used Mothers "FX Spray Wax"? Is it any good?

How often should I do a full wax?

What do use to clean the non-leather seats? Is Meguiars "Gold Class Rich Leather Spray" ok to use?

What do you use to clean interior (dash, doors, etc...)? I usually just wipe down with clean micro fiber cloth.


Thanks for your input.

ptronus31

Starting with the wash - how do you think they actually make the touchless car wash work? Well, the answer is very strong detergents in the soap. It is a great dirt remover. The trouble is, it is also very effective at removing all traces of wax.

So, technically you should wax your car after every wash or two. Given that is impractical, it would be better advised to wash the car yourself (with detergent-free soap) and wax twice a year.

I am an exclusive Meguiars customer and love their new line of synthetic wax. I have used their #7 Glaze before waxing for about 20 years now. Love the stuff. Clean the MB Tex seats and dash with warm water and a towel only. If you need to add a bit of soap, do so sparingly only on stained areas.

boltsfan

Thanks for the post... unfortunately I do not always have a lot of free time to wash the car myself or else I would. When I find the time I love washing my cars myself.

Is a quick spray wax good enough after every 2-3 washes and then a full wax twice a year? I'll look into the #7 Glaze....

I used that leather cleaner on the C230. I won't use it on the new rides MB Tex...

Krytech

First, congrats on the new MB.

I also use drive thru touch-less car washes in the winter here. There are not many other options. It doesn't get everything off but wiping the car down afterwards to dry it helps immensely.

I use Zaino Z-10 Leather in a Bottle for the seats. You can use it on the dash as well, but I usually just wipe it down with a micro fiber cloth. The Z-10 can be used on mb-tex to help give the car a leather smell.

Can't help on the wax, I've only used sealer thus far, but I am bringing my car to the detailer to do a good wax job for me next month. If you live in a warm/sunny climate and use those drive thru washes with high power warm water you can remove the wax fairly quickly from what I've been told.

For the wheels, I haven't found a product that works better than anything else I've tried. They all seem to be fair-at-best. I've come to use less of the wheel cleaner and more gentle scrubbing with a soft wheel brush. I can use far less product and get the wheels really clean. If you are having trouble with your wheels getting dirty right away you can try some wheel wax. The stuff I have I got from my dealer and I just apply a small amount after cleaning them and it seems to help quite a bit. They still get dirty, but it wipes off a lot easier and in the winter the touch-less car wash would clean the wheels better when I had the wax on them. Just remember to reapply the wheel wax right away.

Good luck!