I always wash my vehicles by hand. Car washes with brushes scratch the paint. I hand washed my TCH about a week after picking it up from the dealer. Then on the 8'th day someone ran into the back and it's going to the body shop tomorrow!

Hand washing this camry feels like nothing to me though. My last vehicle was a 3/4 ton four door chevy truck. That monster took over an hour to wash and dry. The new camry takes about twenty minutes.

I'm not sure about waxing though. I recall someone in the Edmunds thread saying it's good to let the paint bake in for a few months before waxing? Anyone hear of this?

i see a pattern here, charlesc and elmo - sorry to hear about both of your accidents - hmmm, maybe I'll keep mine dirty...

That is old school thinking fomr the 60's. The paint is backed on the car at the factory in modern cars. My question to the port woudl be about the lip spoiler and colro keyed splsh guards, I woudl assume they are not baked so it is usually better to let that paint cure 30 days before waxing. But the factory paint shoudl be waxed immedialty for best protection. Although with today's modern clear coats I have seen cars totally neglected look fine years later as the clear takes the beating.

I hand washed my TCH for the 2nd time today (3rd time overall)...

I went to Autozone and bought a Clay Magic clay bar, some Macguire's NXT Polish, some cotton rags, and one of those Mr. Clean Autodry car wash things.

I gotta say that I am impressed with the Autodry system. If you haven't seen it, it is a special spray gun with a reservoir for their soap, and a spot to insert a filter that filters water for the final rinse. It has a dial that lets you choose between "rinse", "soap", or "final rinse". You wet the car first, then switch it to soap (I sprayed some in a bucket and used a wash mitt) to soap up the car in sections, and as the last step, you switch to the final rinse setting and spray down the whole car with the filtered water.

I was skeptical, but it was only $20, so I thought I would give it a shot. I hate drying my car - it seems like you always get a couple of spots. I was really impressed! I followed the directions, and moved the TCH off to the side as I repeated on my wife's car. I went and checked on my TCH when the Accord was rinsed off, and I couldn't find any water spots!

I know they make their money by selling you the filters and refills for the soap (both of which I will need for next time). I ended up washing the Honda twice (long story), so I used up the filter. The started filter is only good for 3 uses, and the soap lasted me about 2-1/2 washes. The 10 use filter and larger soap refill were about $6 each.

I clayed both cars and used the NXT polish on the Camry. Seems like pretty good stuff. Only trouble is I am afraid of driving it now and getting more bugs on it!

I also found the Mr Clean Autodry system to work quite well. But I did not like the poor water pressure through the filter. So I bought a large house filter that is designed to soften the water for washing cars and the filter is able to be rejuvinated after about 6 months. It works great and I still use the soap that comes with the autodry system as I like how it sheets even over wax. Many times I just spray the soap on let it sit for a minute then rince as I don't like to wash by hand unless I have to. Here is the web site,of the place I purchased online. http://www.autogeek.net/clinhofianda.html

Not much help here, I always hand wash at home (with the exception of washing off crud in winter withthe hand wands)

Newbie wax question: Not knowing what I was doing, I just applied Mequires Show Car Glaze 7 to my 4 day old TCH. I am now wondering if I really "waxed" it or not, and if I did the right thing. I am thinking that I should have put wax on instead????

The purpose of all this was/is to protect the paint.

Edit: I fixed the name. It is a Glaze not a Polish. Does that matter?

The polish makes it smooth, the wax protects it.

The meguirs is a system that you use a number of steps to clean then protect your car. Not all of the steps are needed unless your car is really neglected, but the final wax step is needed to protect the finish.

But, I have run mine through two different "simonize" car washes and have hand washed it a couple of times. The bugs just seem to love the front of this car, and after 5,000 miles I have a bunch of bug stains that I need to work off, and also three rock chips on the hood.

Ok, thanks. What confuses me is what I read about the Zaino products. They sell a Z-2 "polish" that is supposed to protect the finish for about 6 months.

So, I will at least need to apply a wax on top of the glaze, if I use Meguire's wax. Or, I need to put on the Zaino Z-2 polish. Right?

I do a lot of driving and the bugs certainly are dying in masses on my front bumper too! After applying three light coats of Maguire’s #26 to my paint the bugs and other gunk wash off much easier.