I am new to washing/detailing my own KJ...

What few (3 or 4) products would you say I need for the exterior?

Clay bar, wax, nxt and?????

For the tires.. I have heard that armor all is BAD for the tires?????

Thanks for any and all tips or advice....

what color is your jeep?... I own a black jeep so i use mothers clay bar... then i go with the black box. then some mothers back to black for the trim... for tires do not se armor all they have tire shine out there that is very good...

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08 Revenge- Rock Lizard (Skink Sliders & Gecko Roof Rails), High Clearance Trimmed Front Bumper, Mopar skids, Riddler Diff Cover, JBA (5.5 Arms, 6" rear Springs, Front Adjust-A-Struts), 32" DuraTracs, Superior 4.56's, Front & Rear ARB Lockers, Fastman Throttle Body, AEM Intake, Hypertech Tune, Custom Ram Air, RunCool Louvers

Two buckets, a sheepskin mitt, wash, clay and some wax.

NXT is one of the better OTC waxes available unless you have a CarQuest nearby. If you do, pick up some Duragloss #105.

Armor All is not bad for your tires. It is just more greasy and shiney than some of the other options. It isn't the same Armor All that cracked dashes in the 70's. However, No Touch makes a nice spray can that you can apply. After application, let it dry slightly and then quickly wipe the tire off with a rag. It will leave a very nice low shine that lasts.

For the plastic trim and interior pieces, Meguiar's Natural Shine is a great dressing.

For the good washing techniques, check out this link...
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3385363

For a lot more links to great information, check out this link...
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4098729

I know it is a VW based forum, but it would take me forever to transfer all of the knowledge/info I have compiled in there to this site.lol Thre is a wealth of info in there.

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I'm right 97% of the time. Who cares about the other 4%.

What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about?

2005 Jeep Liberty Limited - Bright Silver Metallic

Thank you for the replies!!

My jeep is blue. Think its "Atlantic" blue??

Anymore advice for a dark color?

Again, thank you for the replies...

Vehicle's color really has no bearing on how you should properly take care of a vehicle's paint on vehicles with a clear coat.

The clear coat is what you are cleaning, polishing and waxing. Not the color (base) coat.

The only thing that the color does is show more or less defects in the clear depending on the darkness of the color. The darker the vehicle, the more defects are shown. This may dictate, however, which detailing path you choose to proceed down.

With those waxes like Turtle Wax Black Box that advertise themselves as black car only or dark car only waxes, what they really mean is that their waxes contain a lot of fillers and oils that visually reduct swirls and hazyness in your clear. They aren't actually making your black blacker. They are making your clear clearer. They also work on light vehicles, but the filling isn't near as apparent as it is on dark vehicles.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the products though. If you don't have the supplies or the ability to property polish the defects out of your clear, then you most likely would like to fill in those defects with a filler wax. There is nothing wrong with that. Just want to make you aware of what those specialty waxes are actually doing.

Generally, filler waxes don't last as long as waxes that don't fill. The fillers and oils that hide the defects wash away within a couple of weeks and they also hinder the longevity of the wax. So, you have a trade off for filling in those defects. If you care less about filling defects and more about protection, those "black only/dark only" waxes aren't what you should chose.

Proper washing and drying techniques, claying your vehicle a couple of times a year and applying a good lasting wax/sealant are the best things you can do for the looks of your vehicle. Regardless of the color.

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I'm right 97% of the time. Who cares about the other 4%.

What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about?

2005 Jeep Liberty Limited - Bright Silver Metallic

If this is the first time waxing in a while (more than 6 months), I suggest using Meguire's Cleaner Wax then a coat of the NXT 2.0.

For washing, I like Armorall Wash and Wax, same as Meguire's Gold Class. I like the Mother's Clay bar as well.

For interior, I assume you have cloth...so I'd get Ball Bulls eye. Best carpet/fabric cleaner ever. It's available at Grainger.
For protectants, I like Meguire's Natural Shine. For general interior cleaning, Armorall Cleaning wipes are nice.

LMK if I skipped any thing, be more than happy to answer more!

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05 KJ Limited 4x4 in Light Khaki: Detours USA Backbone, Warn M8000, Huskyliners, RockLizard Super Skink sliders, OME/Bilstein Lift, JBA UCA's, 245/70/17 Nitto Terra Grapplers
07 LR3 SE V8
1996 XJ Country
2015 KL Limited