I'll be spending part of this weekend washing/waxing me A4 but before I order some much needed wax and interior detailing products, I'd like to know what's been used on here that can be highly recommended.

I've heard good things about Blitz wax and 3M products...any more recommendations on a quality wax and anyone use Imperial leather cleaner/conditioner? I read it's suppose to be the best on the market (for $27.99 it better be)

Thanks again,

Steve

Was bored one afternoon and created a list of products A4.org people recommended. Here is the list:

Wash Soap

P21S Bodywork Conditioning Shampoo
Meguiars gold class car wash
Sonax Car Wash

Wax

Blitz Wax
Collonite
Mother's California Gold

Leather Care

Lexol cleaner and conditioner
Connolly Hide Food - good but messy and smelly
Leatherique - expensive

Vinyl Care

Lexol Vinylx

Wheels

P21s Wheel cleaner

Windows

No touch
Rain-X - outside
Rain-X Anti-Fog for the inside

Wax: Blitz Wax and Pinnacle Souveran Wax

Polish for paint with slight swirl marks and scratches: 3M Imperial Hand Glaze

Polish for paint in good condition: P21S Paintwork Cleanser

Leather Cleaner: Lexol

Leather Conditioner: Lexol and Zymol Treat

Window Cleaner: 3M and Wurth

Car was soap: Sonax and Mothers

Vinal and Rubber and Plastic: Lexol Vinylex and 303 Aerospace Protectant

Towels: Miracle Towel and P21S drying towel

Be sure to check out:

http://www.carcareonline.com
http://www.sonax-usa.com
http://www.autopia-carcare.com

Terry

I use Zymol Clear for washing, P21S for the wheels, and Maguires Endurance for the tires. I haven't waxed it yet, but have some Zymol HDCleanse (cleaner) and Zymol Creme wax just waiting for a weekend with nothing else to do. For leather I would recomend Griots Garage Leather Care, worked great on the leather in my Jetta. I've heard that the Blitz wax is nearly as good as the Zymol and is easier to apply. Also, lots of folks swear by Maguires, plus it's available at many autoparts stores.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

I've used both Blitz and Zymol (Carbon and Titanium). I think that the products are actually pretty close in performance unless you move up to the estate-level Zymol. Blitz may last longer but Zymol looks a bit better IMHO, even when using the entry-level, non Zurtle Wax mass market grades like Carbon and Creme. I have a coat of Titanium on my Avant right now that has held up to several washings and daily driving (but is always garaged when not on the road).

Blitz and Zymol take the same level of effort to actually apply to the car, but if you put on too much Zymol, you will end up with greasy streaks (very noticeable on dark colors) that are hard to get off without using tricks like distilled water spritzing or letting the paint heat up before rebuffing.

For leather I use Zymol Treat or Lexol, for wheels I like P21, for Vinyl I use whatever is on hand--Zymol, Meguiars or Vinylex. I have no preference on tire dressings; I just hate that high-gloss Armor-All look

1- Griot's Garage car wash
2- Griot's clay and Griot's Fast Shine detail spray, and also P&S detail spray
3- Zymol HD Cleanse and P&S Duz-All Clear Coat Cleaner for spots and light scratches and other hard-to-remove junk
4- 3M Glaze, not the Imperial stuff, it was in a black bottle, some stuff my friend wanted me to try.
5- Griot's Carnauba wax which IMHO is very similar to the Zymol carnauba and much easier to use, and less expensive too. I was too lazy to try using the Zymol Destiny, Atlantique or Vintage waxes in my Zymol sampler kit.
6- repeated steps 3, 4, and 5 for my wheels (ack! road rocks leave little teeny pits on nice shiny wheel rims!)
7- Black Again on the tires and exterior vinyl/plastic pieces
8- damp towel to clean the engine compartment
9- a "miracle cloth" with microfibers (like what you use on eyeglasses on the window interiors
10-Connolly Hide Food for the leather. I think it works a little better than the Lexol stuff, but I'm probably going to just alternate both products every few months.

-PhilJ
with lots of free time these days

Note: P&S is what a lot of professional detailers use, there is a shop on A Street in Hayward, CA. They have a Quick detail spray that is similar to the Griot's and Meguiar's stuff that is much less expensive, like $15 a gallon and you can choose between silicone and non-silicone stuff. The Duz-all is a very nice clearcoat cleaner that's very reasonably priced...