Good Basic Wash/Wax Set Up
 

hello all

i'm a new X3 owner (taking delivery mid June) and just wondered if someone could give me a good basic cleaning overview, in terms of washing and waxing....what to buy, etc.

I live in NYC so, it's not like i have a house with a garage, my own hose, and hours and hours to spend....i will have some weekends at my wife's parents house, where I can detail

So...assuming i'll use a car wash (maybe a sacrelige, but a reality in NYC), what can do for that every so often detailing....

Also...any wheel and dash/leather cleaner that i can keep on board?

Autopia Car Care sponsors an car detailers forum that has plenty of good information. They have a library of various detailing topics which takes you through the basics from basic car care to pro level detailing:
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/

There is a free downloadable detailing guide located here:
http://autopia-carcare.com/freeguide.html

Finally, there is a user forum with plenty of professional detailers contributing information including product reviews: http://www.autopia.org/. It's a little intimidating at first because of the depth of knowledge, but I haven't found a better detailing site on the web.

For daily cleanups of the dash, I recommend one of those Swiffer dusters. I grabbed one out of the house on a whim one day, and it did a great job of removing the dust that had built up on the dash, instrument cluster, etc. Plus, it's dry, so no worries about residue, damage to materials, etc.