Wax & Cleaner Recommendations

[LukerDooker]

Now when you say plastics and rubbers it's below the door and below the bumper? I think that's the area we use amoral, but if Lexol VinylX doesn't leave that shine, I'm definitely going to purchase a bottle. Now when you buff like the devil, doesn't too much scrubbing wear out the dashboard and the other like surfaces? I did that to my Mazda, but with armoral and I noticed the doors were kinda peeling from it.

VinylX states that that peeling is due to raw silicone oil in the product, they state that its not used and wont do that.

Buff using softest possible towel-I found "finishing towlels" at Walmart, 2 sided cotton tshirts essentiually, so soft it wont do anything to the surface.
Works great on the leather-the best towel-it wont grab on to the seat surface-very smooth.

Buffing the product after is 100% necessary, otherwise it can pool or run, and remain slick.

A good chammy cloth will do, it may absorb a lot of the juice though.
Also tip from here-beware what chammy you use - the looped chammy is best-the particle chammy cloths (cheaper and look fuzzy-no loop)can leave tiny chammy flecks all over and on glass that reflect light.

You use very sparingly always, as it really covers so its ok. They sell these items as wipes in a bottle too, 1 wipe will cover quite a bit. You can review all bottle types and kits of all items together on Amazon.

Beware the bottles they are sort of are greasy even on the shelf in Wmart so shipping is a crap shoot.
(Lexol Leather and Cond is in Wmart.)

-By plastic I mean all black plastic trim outside the car inc roof rail caps, antennae, etc

-all plastic/vinyl inside including dash, doors, console, any non leather.
(doors look like new, may help keep material 'moist' so it wont show white spots of stress from pushing/pulling on door.)

-all rubber seals outside and inside-buff as well-dont leave it on seals thinking it will provide some lubrication during winter-once you are driving air will force it out and it will streak across the door or glass once it leaves the rubber seal area.

- not on the paint or window appliques, if you get it on the car, glass or appliques, wipe off right away.

It wont protect against road grit or rock chips, but will help from water, mud, snow staining-like it will stain for sure but when its time to clean it off - it will all clean off.

...can you tell I clean this car a bit much?....HS never again black...

 

[LukerDooker]

GRIOT'S GARAGE One-Step Sealant. Beyond the fact it's easy to use by hand or machine, it is really quite impressive. I've used it for about 3 years now after trying/using everything in the marketplace at all different price points. You may have to order it from Amazon or GRIOT'S direct as I've only found it at select Advance Auto Parts stores locally here.

It's a complete, one-step cleaner and sealant. No need to clay with this and it will remove swirls and scratches and it protects for up to a year. I would recommend every 6-months for best protection, but it does last for a year even through Ohio's last winter on every car I applied it to.

They do make a complete line of car care products and I've moved towards using the leather and plastic care products as well and couldn't be happier. I will say the leather care not only removed my wife's blue-jean stains on the light leather, but it also seems to prevent it from recurring.

For the record, and to be clear, I'm not in any way bashing clay, it does not, nor was it intended to remove scratches or swirls. The clay is for picking up/removing all the little particles that are stuck in your wax and paint. Like acid rain and other industrial fall-out kinda things. It's a wax stripper that allows you to get completely down to the bare paint, so you can polish (if needed) and protect the actual paint. If you put a piece of plastic wrap on your finger and brush across your paint, you can feel a lot of the 'bumps' the clay can remove.

Unless the paint has really been beat up, I would wash the car once or twice with a good dose of dawn, or other strong dish detergent. This will strip all the wax off and get you down to the bare paint. (From there use the plastic wrap trick to determine if claying is really gonna be worth it, 'cause it's a LOT of work!) Then use the GRIOT'S. I tend to use heavy elbow grease on the bugs and other imperfections as needed. You can even do the head and tail light lenses.

One last word, not intending to discount the waterless car washes, having been a fan of Dri-Wash-n-Guard for years, nor the LEXOL products as they are a quality item also. Nor do I have any vested interest in the GRIOT'S products. I just know how well each works and for the money, the GRIOT'S is well worth it.

...sounds good especially for winter paint protection, & you must have forearms of steel
also sounds like I could have a weekend to myslef in the garage - not too shabby I say !

 

[Dr Plastic]

What ever you do do not use ARMOR-ALL. I use Maguire's natural sheen protectant. Armor all will cause your plastics and vinyls to crack.

 

[DeepBlueSC]

What ever you do do not use ARMOR-ALL. I use Maguire's natural sheen protectant. Armor all will cause your plastics and vinyls to crack.

Maquire's is good stuff, no doubt, but what I can't figure out is how Armorall is still around. It's been common knowledge for years that it degrades rubber and plastic but people still flock to it like flies to honey...

 

[DeepBlueSC]

...And the number one way to keep your Explorer clean and looking new is: Put it immediately in the garage, under a cover and don't drive it unless there's an emergency...

Well at least that works for me.

 

[182RG]

Zaino AIO

 

[DeepBlueSC]

Zaino Bros. is a fantastic product line... except is is rather pricey and a lot of work to get the results. While I tend to use it on my more expensive, exotics, as much as I love the Explorer, I feel it's too much work. I will get similar results from the GRIOT'S in less than half the time.

 

[PooPooSandwich]

VinylX states that that peeling is due to raw silicone oil in the product, they state that its not used and wont do that.

Buff using softest possible towel-I found "finishing towlels" at Walmart, 2 sided cotton tshirts essentiually, so soft it wont do anything to the surface.
Works great on the leather-the best towel-it wont grab on to the seat surface-very smooth.

Buffing the product after is 100% necessary, otherwise it can pool or run, and remain slick.

A good chammy cloth will do, it may absorb a lot of the juice though.
Also tip from here-beware what chammy you use - the looped chammy is best-the particle chammy cloths (cheaper and look fuzzy-no loop)can leave tiny chammy flecks all over and on glass that reflect light.

You use very sparingly always, as it really covers so its ok. They sell these items as wipes in a bottle too, 1 wipe will cover quite a bit. You can review all bottle types and kits of all items together on Amazon.

Beware the bottles they are sort of are greasy even on the shelf in Wmart so shipping is a crap shoot.
(Lexol Leather and Cond is in Wmart.)

-By plastic I mean all black plastic trim outside the car inc roof rail caps, antennae, etc

-all plastic/vinyl inside including dash, doors, console, any non leather.
(doors look like new, may help keep material 'moist' so it wont show white spots of stress from pushing/pulling on door.)

-all rubber seals outside and inside-buff as well-dont leave it on seals thinking it will provide some lubrication during winter-once you are driving air will force it out and it will streak across the door or glass once it leaves the rubber seal area.

- not on the paint or window appliques, if you get it on the car, glass or appliques, wipe off right away.

It wont protect against road grit or rock chips, but will help from water, mud, snow staining-like it will stain for sure but when its time to clean it off - it will all clean off.

...can you tell I clean this car a bit much?....HS never again black...

I am so excited to get this going. I ordered some products from Amazon, the Husky floor liners, soft lint free towels, leather cleaner and conditioner.

I bet a lot of people compliment your Explorer! My dad had a BMW, kept it clean all the time, and when my parents turned it in three years later (lemon) they gave them what they paid for it! The dealership said that they haven't seen such a legit clean car is a long time.

 

[Cayman150]

Zaino AIO

+1 :biggthump

 

[GRNMACHINE]

What ever you do do not use ARMOR-ALL. I use Maguire's natural sheen protectant. Armor all will cause your plastics and vinyls to crack.

I need to check out the natural sheen protectant. Used to use Meg's Endurance for Tires, found a bottle hiding in the garage. Its like gummy water, its been around a few years....

 

[HDJulie]

How to protect leather

I had my 2012 EX Limited with light color interior for 4 years before trading it in the other day on a Platinum, also with light color interior. At work we are allowed to wear jeans so that's what I wear all of the time & I noticed that the blue dye had rubbed off on the seats over the years. It was pretty bad, especially on the side facing the door from getting in & out of the driver's seat. I don't want seat covers so so I figure I'm going to have to do a better job of cleaning the seats more often but is there a particular product that helps protect the seats or helps clean them better if they do start to become stained?

 

[peterk9]

I had my 2012 EX Limited with light color interior for 4 years before trading it in the other day on a Platinum, also with light color interior. At work we are allowed to wear jeans so that's what I wear all of the time & I noticed that the blue dye had rubbed off on the seats over the years. It was pretty bad, especially on the side facing the door from getting in & out of the driver's seat. I don't want seat covers so so I figure I'm going to have to do a better job of cleaning the seats more often but is there a particular product that helps protect the seats or helps clean them better if they do start to become stained?

I used the 'Search' function to find this thread and merged yours with it. I recall your post on the 2012 issue. I also wear jeans all the time and never had an issue with the light coloured seats in my 2011 Explorer. No stain transfers at all.

Peter

 

[HDJulie]

I used the 'Search' function to find this thread and merged yours with it. I recall your post on the 2012 issue. I also wear jeans all the time and never had an issue with the light coloured seats in my 2011 Explorer. No stain transfers at all.

Peter

Thanks, & I wish I had taken a picture of mine -- it was pretty bad on that one side. The rest of the seat wasn't awful but it was definitely there.

I'd found this thread as well but since the last post was over a year ago, I didn't know if I should resurrect it. Next time I will

 

[Junkmann2]

My Mercedes had full leather seats in it, and I always used Lexol leather cleaner and followed up with there protectant. After 20 years, the seats still looked like new, and no cracking. .

 

[Sixonemale]

Liquid Glass. Not cheap but simply amazing. Use it on my collector cars and the red ex. Stays on forever too. Makes my 67 Nova with lacquer look like clear coat. This is what the show winners keep secret.

RED13SPORT

I could not agree more and have been using it for many years. Easy on and easy off, and the most professional shine I've seen. I've received compliments on my cars for many years using this product.

 

[k9gold]

I had my 2012 EX Limited with light color interior for 4 years before trading it in the other day on a Platinum, also with light color interior. At work we are allowed to wear jeans so that's what I wear all of the time & I noticed that the blue dye had rubbed off on the seats over the years. It was pretty bad, especially on the side facing the door from getting in & out of the driver's seat. I don't want seat covers so so I figure I'm going to have to do a better job of cleaning the seats more often but is there a particular product that helps protect the seats or helps clean them better if they do start to become stained?

My Limited was the same way. The dye transfer was a constant battle. I have tried every product suggested I think. Nothing took it off easy. Within the first couple of weeks I found the blue appearing on the Platinum seats. Showing up sooner than my 2013 Limited. I tried lexol cleaner, coach leather cleaner and others but the blue line was still there. After driving to town one day I had an idea. I was desperate so I tried it. I tried Mr Clean Magic Eraser. I wet it and wiped and the blue came off immediately. No scrubbing. It was like magic. This was so much easier than anything else I have tried and it took all the blue off. I have applied 303 Aero to the side of the seats hoping that this will help prevent the blue from appearing as soon.

 

[HDJulie]

My Limited was the same way. The dye transfer was a constant battle. I have tried every product suggested I think. Nothing took it off easy. Within the first couple of weeks I found the blue appearing on the Platinum seats. Showing up sooner than my 2013 Limited. I tried lexol cleaner, coach leather cleaner and others but the blue line was still there. After driving to town one day I had an idea. I was desperate so I tried it. I tried Mr Clean Magic Eraser. I wet it and wiped and the blue came off immediately. No scrubbing. It was like magic. This was so much easier than anything else I have tried and it took all the blue off. I have applied 303 Aero to the side of the seats hoping that this will help prevent the blue from appearing as soon.

That's an interesting suggestion. I just happen to have the Magic Eraser & will give it a try when the blue appears on my seats.

 

[peterk9]

I think that the issue may possibly be the brand of jeans that you're wearing since this doesn't appear to be a big issue with the majority of members. I'm guessing that if the dye is transferring then it should also appear in the wash.
If you check the following thread you'll see that one member had the issue with CLOTH seats. Many others chimed in that they wear jeans as well and haven't had the issue. So to me, the problem seems to be the jeans.

https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=359836&highlight=jeans

Peter

 

[HDJulie]

I think that the issue may possibly be the brand of jeans that you're wearing since this doesn't appear to be a big issue with the majority of members. I'm guessing that if the dye is transferring then it should also appear in the wash.
If you check the following thread you'll see that one member had the issue with CLOTH seats. Many others chimed in that they wear jeans as well and haven't had the issue. So to me, the problem seems to be the jeans.

https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=359836&highlight=jeans

Peter

I wear Levi's jeans -- no other brand. And I've never had any blue coloring in the wash. If/when it starts to happen again, I'll post a picture.

 

[Junkmann2]

From the magic eraser package...

The Warning Label

Melamine foam erasers work well; but on surfaces that are painted, polished or easily scratched, they might work a little too well. It's recommended to test the eraser on a small, preferably unnoticeable, portion of whatever you're looking to clean before you dive on in.

I would be careful as to how often you use the eraser, because you don't want to damage the surface of the leather. Once damaged, there is no cure except for replacement. This is why I purchased the Limited, because the Platinum was only available with the light colored interior, and I know how worn it would look in a couple of years. I also don't care for the stitched "Platinum" logo on the seat, because in a few years, the stitching might start coming apart.