a new car wash opened up down the road from me. great at cleaning cars too. uses soft brushes, soft water, etc. not a high pressure wash. those suck. anyways i'm noticing some spotting coming from under the side mirrors. they said it's some grime or something that is in the mirror when they come out of the factory. happens with any new car they see. they sent me through again for free today. same thing happened.

so basically i'll need to bring a chamois when i go again...i'm new to keeping a car looking new so need some tips from people who actually care for their car

i want to keep this new car finish...i can't wax myself. too time consuming so i'll have it detailed a couple times a year at the dealership probably. anyways as far as washing the car. do you do it at home with a microfiber brush, take it through a wash and just touch it up, etc?

what's the best technique that won't consume my day. i washed it by hand using a mit microfiber brush the first few times. wasn't too hard just time consuming but is that mit going to ruin my paint and put swirls or lines in it? that's what i want to prevent.

any techniques and walkthroughs would be much appreciated. thanks. love the car so far by the way. 1600 miles as of today.

Invest in a bra it will keep the bugs off the front end paint.

As for washing Ideas, I was mine with mild dish soap like dawn, hand wax with $7.99 dupont teflon spray wax takes 20 min. to do whole car. inside I use $4.99 black magic tire wet on the dash and plastic using one of those little aplicators you would use for applying wax walmart $1.99

Shes a Beut, I will have to invest in a bra (front mask) to keep the front end from sagging with age though. (lol j/k) really the mask just looks cool and protects the front end.

Good Luck~

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

Be somewhat careful of front end masks (Bra's). You stil have to remove them and apply wax on a regular basis. If any sand or gritty material gets behind the mask, it can destroy your paint job in a very short time. I have seen cars with masks driven back from Las Vegas with little or no paint left behind the bra, because the owners did not put the mask on tightly and/or went through a dust storm.

I had a mask on my first BMW back in 1972, and after that, I would not put one on any of my cars. It looked cool, but after a couple of years, the paint behind the bra was not as faded as the rest of the car, and in a few spots the clear coat was gone.

Just my experience and thoughts.

Cheers, Doug

I never understood bra... you put an ugly piece of rubber ober a cool looking metallic paint... the reason is to protect the paint, but why does it need protection if it will NEVER be seen by anyone?

I advise against using a bra... unless it's the 3M variety (clear bra). The vinyl types tend to trap dirt behind the bra and scratch of the paint it is trying to protect. Plus the sun rays are blocked so your paint will fade uneven.

Also, never use dish soaps. Very bad idea, the mildest of dish soaps is too much and will rob your car's paint of essential oils. Use a good car wash soap. The only reason you should ever use dish soap is to remove all the wax off your car, this combined with claying. Otherwise, stay away. You will dry out the finish with dish soap and your paint will eventually start to crack.

Has anyone tried driving through one of those drive-thru car washes? I am worried about the antennae. Any suggestions ?

2005 Salsa Red Prius w/Package #4

If the antennae is like the HCH, what I do is unscrew the antennae and then put it back on. I also use loc-tite to keep the screw part of the antennae from seizing.

I beg to differ:

I did that on my 99 tacoma the special car wash soap and waxed with a carnuba wax every 5 months. for 3yrs. I started to notice stains from the oak trees popping up on the paint and the paint was losing some of its luster....

I went to my local Toyota Dealer's paint and body shop and asked the mgr. what I could do ref the stains. I then told him I had been informed by a car detailer that I needed to use one of those soaps you get from the part stores like turtle wax car soap.

He started to laugh and stated that that was a wives tale and that I could use any mild dish soap on my car and it wouldn't hurt the finnish but that no matter what you wash the car with you need to wax the car regularly with a quality wax to protect the finnish.


As for the bra, it keeps the bugs & rocks from damaging your paint and in some cases looks cool just put a coat of wax on the front and slap the bra on there. Be sure to remove it when you detail the car plus you can wash it too...

I use a mild dish soap on my 04 and wax with carnuba, no fade / no cracking & I park in the shade..

P.S. you can also use WD-40 on your rocker panels to remove raod tar and it will not harm the clear coat..

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

I've went through a drive thru one three times now with my car and have had no problems. it's not one of those no touch ones though with 80 high pressure streams hitting the car though. it's got a few high pressures it uses when rinsing but they are on the ceiling pointing down. the rest of the washing is done by spinning brushes and/or those ones that just smack your car from the front and glid over the rest then slap the car in the back after you pass over them.