How do you wash and detail your white Prius

Strip whatever wax the dealer has applied using some Dawn dishwashing liquid and apply some Zaino: http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc ! Also, don't forget to use Claybar.

 

Start by reading http://www.detailcity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3136

 

Good lord, reading that scares the hell out of me? :lol: :lol:
Now I am going to park my new Prius in the garage and find another car to actually drive.
Wow.

 

I just spent about 10 hrs. yesterday detailing my 4 week old Tideland Pearl. I used Zaino products exclusively (except for the Dawn dish soap). Johnnieliu is right.

The result of my labor and the Zaino products is a finish like I've never seen. It beats the socks off anything else I've used, and I've used many different products.

I'd go to the Zaino Website and buy one of the kits. Then plan a day when you can give your Prius some love.

 

Amen Brother! I spent a WHOLE day Clay Bar'ng and applying several coats of the various Zaino polishes on wife's "Black Forrest Pearl" RX330 when we first bought the car back in '03 . Before the application, I was apprehensive, skeptical, and intimidated by the prep and actual application. However, as you apply the various coats and SEE and FEEL the results of your labor, subsequent coats go much faster and easier.

 

I've clayed older cars and seen outstanding results with Zaino. It is the best product I've ever used, period. I agree that Zaino should be applied to new cars too. But is there any need to clay a new car? The finish on a brand new car is clean and smooth (no tiny specs of dirt, tar, sap, etc) which is what clay bars remove like a magnet. Sure new paint has orange-peel, but overall the paint should be clean. I'm thinking of applying Zaino to my new '06 when it arrives, but I don't plan to clay it until at least 12 months later. Any other thoughts about claying a new car?

 

That link was definitely for detailing a car for a show where judging is involved. It would not be possible for the average person to do that every weekend (who wants to take out the seats?) :lol: If you just want to wash your car like a fairly normal person, here are some tips. I'm sure our other members will have more tips of their own:

I use two wash mitts to wash my cars. One mitt is for the top half of the car, and the other mitt is for the lower (usually dirtier) part of the car. Start washing the car at the top and work your way down. Switch to the second mitt when you've worked your way down to the middle part of the car. The second mitt will get dirtier than the first mitt. When you wash the mitts, the cleaner looking one (less stained) is the one you should use on the top part of the car next time you wash.

Using two wash mitts helps keep one mitt cleaner than the other and thus reduces scratches and swirl marks on the top half of the car in future washes. This means you will never clean the top part of the car with a mitt that was used to clean the lower (dirtier) part of the car. It's impossible to tell whether the washing machine has removed all of those fine-graned particles from the mitts, so having two dedicated mitts will help keep the top half of the car swirl-free.

I completely rinse the mitt each time before submerging it back into the soapy solution. The idea is to keep the soapy solution as pure as possible (not contaminated with dirt and particles from the previous scrub). BTW, I like to use Zaino soap too.

Wash your car in the shade if possible, which allows you more time to dry the car with a towel (or whatever you use) before the sun evaporates the water from the painted surface (leaving water spots). If it's a really hot day, I will keep the whole car wet by spraying it to prevent spotting until I can dry the whole car at once. I've also tried the Mr. Clean auto dry spotless car wash attachment for the hose and it seems to do a pretty good job. I still wipe it dry after the spotless rinse though, rather than letting it air dry.

Zaino is excellent stuff. If you don't mind putting in the effort, you will get unbeatable results that you will be proud of.

 

I clayed mine, and I'm glad I did. I think the claying better prepared the paint for the rest of the process. It really isn't all that difficult.