Couple of Car Cleaning tips

[Boomer]

Also the rear glass over the engine is very hard to reach on the inside

Yesterday I "discovered" an easy way to clean the inside rear window glass in the coupe. Our kitchen step ladder is sturdy with wide steps. Its a standard Home Depot kitchen step ladder with three steps. I put it sideways behind the C8 with the trunk open. From the second step I was easily able to step from the ladder into the trunk. Then with my legs in the trunk I sat on the rear deck. From there I was able to clean the rear window with a damp towel while just sitting there. Easy reach and it took me about five seconds to clean the inside of the rear window.

[Tbob]

This works for the windshield, rear cabin glass inside and out and the engine glass....

[MrBluster]

OK, Boomer. We definitely need photos of that!

[Neil H]

Does anyone have suggestions for engine cleaning? I live on a dirt road and this engine gets much dirtier than the engine in my C3.

This is my method.
Open the trunk fully, pressure wash the engine bay with soap, pressure wash rinse and blow dry.
Dab up the remaining drops with a microfiber.
This is the only way to get everything clean in the engine bay.
Just remember GM's suggestions (from the manual), keep at least 1 foot away with the spray nozzle and avoid areas marked with the "Do not pressure wash logo".
I have looked and have not yet found that logo on anything so I wash everything under the trunk, including the underside of the trunk.
After doing this a couple of times now, I don't even have to cover the trunk opening any more.
I wash the engine bay after I have washed the car then rinse all with RO water and blow dry.
My engine bay is never dirty as this method is so easy to do and I am never leaning against the paint trying to wash and wipe the engine off.

[AZvrod]

Yesterday I "discovered" an easy way to clean the inside rear window glass in the coupe. Our kitchen step ladder is sturdy with wide steps. Its a standard Home Depot kitchen step ladder with three steps. I put it sideways behind the C8 with the trunk open. From the second step I was easily able to step from the ladder into the trunk. Then with my legs in the trunk I sat on the rear deck. From there I was able to clean the rear window with a damp towel while just sitting there. Easy reach and it took me about five seconds to clean the inside of the rear window.

Nice man, I just saw this, you sir are a problem solver! I love it! Gotta love simple solutions. Coupled with with my cheapness, my laziness are usually my biggest barriers. If I can find an easy, cheap solution..Im in!

[Rick M]

I could not imagine cleaning the glass any other way!

[L79]

Hi guys, after washing the car several time now, I thought I would share some of my experiences and tips, just to help anyone else who might have an interest. First of all the car has much more surface area than it looks, and a lot of nooks and crannies. While roughly the same size as my C5, it has a lot more angles and general surface area and probably takes about twice as long to clean well. I joke to myself that its like a piece of Origami, it just keeps unraveling as you clean it. So here are some quick suggestions. Also note I dont have anything to do with the products below, other than my recommendation.

1) Most obvious is the open vents to the engine compartment. What I use it 2 good size towels rolled on the outside of each top vent, and a hand towel stuffed into the gap between the glass and the lid for the bottom slot. They don't get that wet, but keep all the water from running down into the engine compartment, and then you can use them for cleaning the door sills and the frunk and engine compartments, no need for anything fancy here, works great.

2) Wheels: I deliberately got black wheels so they wouldn't show dirt as bad as other colors, and I love the 5 point wheels as opposed to the C5 Z wheels (which is also why I didn't get the trident wheels). But the wheels also have lots of grooves and slots, and its tight to get inside the wheels in several places (and the rears are very wide). But I got a Woollywormit wheel brush and it is great for cleaning all the nooks of the wheels, and has a fitting for cleaning around the lugs.

3) Glass: The car has a very long dash and the windshield goes on for miles, and all the edges are very hard to reach. Also the rear glass over the engine is very hard to reach on the inside, as well as the partition between the engine and cabin. I just got a Invisible Glass 95164 Reach and Clean Tool, and it works great for all glass. It comes with 2 heads and reaches all the surfaces and cleans great.

Just sharing some of my experience and hope it helps some of you folks who wash their own cars!

For the open engine grilles in the back, I use The Absorber...cut it in half, fold it over, and dampen it. When damp, you can mold them to fit right over the grilles, and then a regular towel into the gap between the glass and lid. One piece of advice....make sure you wipe off all the water on the deck lid and top after washing before opening it to dry the engine compartment. Otherwise, water runs right back down in there.

[SgtMajUSMC (Retired)]

There is an upgraded version of the Stoner Invisible window cleaner. Screw in extension for the pole and a smaller attachment that is used to clean then the larger attachment to polish or dry. Also comes with three microfiber covers for each attachment. I think it was $29 on Amazon. Extension makes it super easy to reach inside windshield and rear class. I had the version previously posted and it worked fine. This upgraded one with the two attachments is so much better.....

[UCF.Fan48]

Anyone in this thread using water treatment (canisters) to reduce your rinse water solids to prevent spotting?

[UCF.Fan48]

There is an upgraded version of the Stoner Invisible window cleaner. Screw in extension for the pole and a smaller attachment that is used to clean then the larger attachment to polish or dry. Also comes with three microfiber covers for each attachment. I think it was $29 on Amazon. Extension makes it super easy to reach inside windshield and rear class. I had the version previously posted and it worked fine. This upgraded one with the two attachments is so much better..

Zora... what glass cleaner are you using?

[SgtMajUSMC (Retired)]

Stoners Invisible glass. I have tried many others and always come back to this.

[pksjc]

Anyone in this thread using water treatment (canisters) to reduce your rinse water solids to prevent spotting?

Yes, I use a deionizer for the final rinse and it works great. No water spotting at all.

[UCF.Fan48]

Yes, I use a deionizer for the final rinse and it works great. No water spotting at all.

Who’s are you using? Size? How many rinses will it-they handle? (Sorry for the 20??s 😎) Thanks a Million!

[pksjc]

Who’s are you using? Size? How many rinses will it-they handle? (Sorry for the 20??s 😎) Thanks a Million!

I got the "On The Go Portable Water Deionizer" and it's the single tank model. I used a hose bib splitter at the source to isolate regular water that goes into my pressure washer/foam canon and then another hose to the Deionizer that just have a regular nozzle. This way, I don't have to switch back and forth.

I also used a regulator to lower the water pressure into the Deionizer so the rinse is a gentle flow. Works really well and I think it gets around 30-35 washes easy for the size of the cars I own. It comes with a hard water tester too so I test the water every 5 washes or so and if the solids start to rise, it's time to order the recharge pack. I got the standard sized unit and they come in larger units if you want to go longer between recharges or have larger vehicles like RVs.

My cars are also ceramic coated, so the need to wash them as frequently has dropped down too.

[UCF.Fan48]

I got the "On The Go Portable Water Deionizer" and it's the single tank model. I used a hose bib splitter at the source to isolate regular water that goes into my pressure washer/foam canon and then another hose to the Deionizer that just have a regular nozzle. This way, I don't have to switch back and forth.

I also used a regulator to lower the water pressure into the Deionizer so the rinse is a gentle flow. Works really well and I think it gets around 30-35 washes easy for the size of the cars I own. It comes with a hard water tester too so I test the water every 5 washes or so and if the solids start to rise, it's time to order the recharge pack. I got the standard sized unit and they come in larger units if you want to go longer between recharges or have larger vehicles like RVs.

My cars are also ceramic coated, so the need to wash them as frequently has dropped down too.

Great Feedback.... Thanks a Million pksjc!!