Here's the opportunity to share any wisdom that you may have picked up regarding the care and feeding of your Lexus.

Please Note: The opinions and comments made in these posts are written by our members and are the responsibility of the individual member. ClubLexus assumes no responsibility for the content expressed or implied by these posts, nor the results of following or not following the instructions in these posts.

 

Use Stoner's Invisible Glass to clean and treat your windshield wipers.

Spray a small amount on a clean cotton towel or rag and rub the wiper blades. This cleans the wiper blade and reduces streaking and chatter.

**Please note that the towel or rag will become very black from cleaning the wipers

 

Save the towel that you used to buff off the wax on your Lexus to polish the outside of your windows. The dried wax left on the towel will leave your windows really refective and shiny.

edit- Do not do this on your windshield, as the wipers may smear the little bit of wax that may be left on the glass.

 

A little bit of tire shine dressing will revitalize the shine on old neglected machined finish wheels. Really works well.

 

Rubbermaid makes a sponge toilet bowl cleaning scrubber that does a respectable job cleaning the inside of the wheel wells after you clean the wheels/tires. Follow up with Griots Undercarriage spray and it looks like it just came off the boat.

OK, so a toilet bowl cleaning scrubber was about all I could find to reach around and get the inner wheel well. It works.

 

When you clean your windows, wipe vertically on the outside glass, and wipe horizontallly on the inside. When the light is right, and you see any streaks, you'll know which side of the glass they're on.

 

If you're performing a complete interior/exterior cleaning, do the interior first. After cleaning the exterior, you may be wet, sweaty or dirty...or just too tired.

 

Also any dust you blow out of the interior can settle on the Exterior which is just annoying after all that work!

I've also found that using a leaf blower works great for blowing water out of all the door jambs and cracks and crevices before you dry, much like the big high powered blowers do inside carwashes. This keeps the car from dripping after you've dried causing you to have to redry certain areas. You can also use it all over the car to blow the bigger watter droplets off. Like Daddy-O says, the less you touch the car the better.

When I wash the Explorer myself (very rare) I use the leaf blower first, then a California water blade, then a chamois to follow up. My plan of action for the new car when I get it will be to (have it washed by a detailer in the winter, ha ha) use the leaf blower, then the cali blade, then the Pak Shak microfiber towels.

 

Oh another thing, if you use towels that have edging or tags, cut them off before you use them to dry your Lexus. The tags and the edging can cause fine scratching. The towel itself may be 100% soft cotton, but the edging probably is not, and the tag certainly isn't!

 

After washing your Lexus, dress your exterior rubber/plastic trim with protectant before waxing. Any dried and hazed wax you may accidentally apply to the trim will wipe off much easier.

 

Mise en place - Pronounced MEEZ ahn plahs

A French culinary term referring to having all the ingredients necessary for a dish prepared and ready to combine up to the point of cooking.

This concept is also applicable to care care. Be organized. Have all your supplies ready to go. Take your time and do it right the first time.

In other words, everything in its place and a place for everything. It sure makes cleaning your Lexus easier and more enjoyable when you have everything you need at hand.

 

When you wash the car, spray some quick detailer on the car after the final rinse, it helps prevent streaking adds lubricity and adds a bit of shine to the drying process.

When using clay, cut a new clay bar into a few pieces so you always have a new , fresh clean piece if you drop one, or dirty one up with use.

Permatex paste hand cleaner (non-pumice kind ) substitutes as an excellent, safe wheel cleaner in conjunction with a brush, to remove stubborn brake dust, tar and grime on wheels and rocker panels. The solvents will strip wax though, so re-wax after using.