My 2000 GM is the first car I've owned in a while that had paint that was worth saving, so I thought I'd ask; How do you keep your Panther lookin' good?

I'll start: I use diluted Purple Power (degreaser) on wheels and white walls, then I scrub the tires with a stiff scrub brush. I like the stiff plastic bristle ones from the bathroom cleaning supply section of the grocery store because they don't damage the edges of the white walls. After scrubbing the whitewalls, I use a wool mitt to wash the rim by hand. If there are any small grooves or contours or anything, I'll grab an old tooth brush too. I do this on all 4 wheels, then rinse before wetting the body of the car.

Once the wheels are done, I rinse the body of the car, and check out the front end for bug splatter and the like. If the bugs and debris on the front end are bad, after the initial water rinse, I spray the same diluted degreaser on the bumper cover, headlamps, and grille, and let it soak for a couple minutes and loosen up the bugs. I then wash the entire car with CARWASH soap (just about any carwash soap will do as long as it is intended for that purpose) and water. Rinse all the suds off, and dry with a simulated chamois. Don't forget, there will be water in the handles, in the mirrors, on the edges of the moldings and inside the door jambs.

For wax, I use Mothers Carnuba paste wax. put a coat of wax over the whole car, and let it dry to a light haze. Once the wax is applied, THAT is when I spray my tire shine. Those little mist droplets that get on the paint and streak when you rub your towel over them will be wiped away when you remove the wax. I for removing the wax, I prefer to use a clean microfiber towel, and I turn it often to get the most shine possible out of the paint.

We're not quite done yet... Once the wax is removed, there will inevitably be leftover wax residue in the panel gaps, around door handles, around the moldings, etc... To get rid of this, take a midgrade quality paint brush, and cut the bristles down to about 1/2-3/4 of an inch. Use the paint brush and a towel to go around and lightly brush the edges of your moldings, panel gaps, door handles and such to remove that excess wax. With that done, spray the entire car with a fine mist of water from the hose and dry again with a different, CLEAN microfiber towel. This last step will help remove any excess wax residue left over from buffing the haze out.

I then go back and clean the windows with an aerosol glass cleaner (I like Stoner Invisible Glass) and newspaper. I use newspaper because it's cheap and doesn't streak like paper towels do. Do the inside and the outside, and I try to put the car in the bright sun for the windows because if there are streaks, they're easier to see that way. Don't forget to check and clean your mirrors!

That's pretty much it, I try to do this every 4-6 months, adding a clay bar to the process usually once every 12 months or so.

How do you maintain the looks of your baby?

Excellent ideas there, man! Seems like every single time I go to use the tire shine, the wind kicks up. Sounds like you've done this before!

A long time ago, in another life, I worked at an auto detailing shop. I can't take credit for the process, but I have certainly benefitted from it!