While the car is still wet, mist the entire thing with some instant detailer such as Meguiars #66 Quik Detailer and chamois the whole thing dry. The instant detailer acts as a wax and gives you a great start toward the final product. Never use a terrycloth towel on your car, unless you love thousands of little scratches caused by dirt trapped in the loop pile. CostCo offers an affordable microfiber towel that works perfectly. At this point, the car doesn't have to be 100% dry, but just make sure you remove most of the water so it doesn't get a chance to bead up. The rest will dry as you move on to the next step.
When the car is mostly dry, apply the tire dressings to the tires and bumpers. Tire Wet is a good product for this, also No Touch. Do this before you wax the car, and spray the dressing onto a rag so all the airborne droplets won't mar your freshly washed car. Avoid any product that contains formaldehyde or any harsh preservatives as they are not good for your tires. Once you are done, take a quick spin down the street and wipe off any water that has been blown from the mirrors, tires or molding.
On the insideThere's nothing a good vacuum can't suck up in a car's interior. Use it on the floor, the pockets, cup holders, everywhere that something can fall into (glove box). For best results, remove anything from the car that's not nailed down, from the floor mats to the coffee coupons in the console. Start with a small brush and get the dust and dirt out of the speaker grills and around the dash joints. When cleaning carpets, always brush carpet in one direction to achieve truly professional results.
Never use a window cleaner that contains ammonia, especially if you have a leather dash. Ammonia blocks the pores of the leather (from overspray) so it can't properly breath (it is cow skin after all), which will fog up your windows and leave streaks. For the windows, Robert suggests cleaning horizontally on the outside and vertically on the inside, so if they do streak, you'll know which side it's on.
The spin cycleMost waxes on the market today aren't very durable or long lasting. A few years ago, 3M and DuPont did a study and found out most waxes won't last more than a month on a regularly driven car, so take that into consideration when you're feeling frugal when buying your next bottle of wax. If you just use a run-of-mill wax you're not really protecting your vehicle's paint very well, and this is because most waxes actually have small amounts of wax and a lot of petroleum distillates (picture rubbing Vaseline on your car). The petroleum is a byproduct from the processing of the carnauba, palm, and montan waxes. There's no real gain from using it except that it will aide in stripping some grime off the finish, and that's about it.
Cars that have been recently waxed or those that are somewhat new can stand for just the use a good one-step product, like Meguiar's cleaner/sealant/wax. If you wax the car often (every two to three months, let's say) you can just use a good carnauba wax, such as Mothers Pure Carnauba Wax or Zymol, or a quality cleaner wax such as those made by Meguiar's.
If you're really into it, consider laying out the money to get a DA buffer to protect your wrists from the Karate Kid's "wax on, wax off" syndrome. Forget about the cheap ones that will burn through your paint job if under the slightest pressure and check out Meguiar's Dual Action Polisher.
Prepping the paintPrepping is necessary to get a clean, smooth surface ready to receive sealer/glaze, and a good way to do this is with a clay bar. It also removes mild oxidation, some that you can't even see with the naked eye, as well as swirl marks and very minor scratches. As well, Meguiar's also makes a good prep product, No.7 clear coat compound (followed by the No. 26 for a finer compound), which is inexpensive and does a good job removing small scratches and swirls. Whether it is the clay bar or No. 7, always work in one direction, horizontally down the length of the car.
Sealing the paint Whenever you use compound to strip away old wax and dirt you must then seal the paint. Waxing alone is not good enough. A sealer/glaze is just what it sounds like. Since the paint is basically exposed to the elements, you'll need to seal the pores. I'd recommend Meguiar's sealer/glaze for this. Apply this just the same as the prep. Use soft towels to remove it after it has hazed over, after no more than 10 minutes.
Wax it upNow that the paint is sealed and prepped, the next step is to apply the wax, and two thin coats is much better than a single thick coat. The wax will add depth and shine to the paint, and even more durability. Mother's Pure Carnauba Wax has about the most carnauba wax in it than any other product on the market, and after applying it, don't let it sit for more than 10 minutes before removal, as it can be difficult. Apply it with a side-to-side motion instead of a circular motion to prevent swirl marks (regardless of what the label might say). This process will leave an amazing finish and help prevent scratching. To remove the hard-to-reach white residue from moldings and badges, make a detail brush by cutting in half the bristles of a 2.5-inch-wide paint brush, and make sure to tape up the metal collar to prevent accidental scratches.
What you're left with is a clean car, with complete protection from the elements. However, as in life, the concept of clean is fleeting, so keep this issue for future reference and we'll see you again in a couple of months. Happy waxing.