I bought a used car this past Fall and didn't have a chance to detail it. Now that Spring has arrived, I'd like to see how close I can come to making it look new. I'm looking for advice on an assortment of products and hints to detail a car. Need to know:
1) Soap! What cleaning agent should be used for the body"2) Spot remover - body! Something like regular 409 or "Green Stuff" or "Purple Stuff" for marks on the surface?
3) Polish! What's best... that lasts longest?4) Leather! What do I use for a general cleaning of the leather and what do I use to get spots out. There are a few paint marks on the surface of the leather and some black marks on the back seat where - I assume - a baby carrier was strapped in place. An aluminum frame probably caused the black marks.
5) Carpet! Nothing out of the ordinary after 40K miles but it needs a good cleaning. I was planning on simply vacuuming it then using a "Little Green Machine" upholstery cleaner for the carpet. Only problem with that is it has no rotating brushes; it just sprays detergent water and sucks it back up with the operator applying whatever force desired with the small brush that's attached to the nozzle.The rest of the stuff I think I have a handle on; spray for the tires to make them shine, Similar stuff for the dash. Regular glass cleaner I suppose for the instrument panel.
Most of this I assume is common sense but I think people who do this for a living have shortcuts and materials perhaps that aren't commonly used by consumers.