I have a 3rd gen (who'd have guessed?) KF verada with absolutely gorgeous paintwork, not a scratch or imperfection on it.
I'm lazy when it comes to maintenance and don't see myself out polishing it every week. Infact last car I just didn't care (when its sun damaged who cares anyway) and never really bothered with the exterior, but I figure I may as well find out what works and what doesn't or is likely to eat away at the clear coat

So whats the go? just clean it with detergent then apply some 'armor all' or similiar?
What about CT18 truck wash. I use it for the bikes as its great for disolving dirt. Is it a no-no for clear coat or is it actually a good cleaner to remove dirt and grime?

edit: Also the interior. Is the dash particularly prone to cracking and is there anything I can do to prevent it short of putting up one of those reflective pains-in-the-ass across the windshield

What about a dash mat?

And a high pressure hose and some soapy water is what I used, if its stubborn, I use my hand, for the wheels I use degreaser and high pressure, toothbrush for stubborn stains.

Sometimes the simplest option is the best, ask anyone whos seen my car, they call me pedantic, but my cars old (1995) and the paintwork looks new.

What about a dash mat?

I hate cheap gimmicky crap in the interior. Dash mats fall under that catagory

I was thinking more along the lines of something that could potentially wipe on, stop it from being so affected by the sun if such a thing exists. Even water perhaps?

I am not familiar with CT18 truck wash but I hear that it's very strong. I would use something milder. CT18 won't dissolve your clear coat but it may strip the polish and wax already on the car.

You don't need to polish your car every week to keep it looking good. I try to polish every six months, and wax every three months (i.e. after polishing, and then an in-between wax). A spray wax after a wash will help prolong the life of the wax already on the car. Most good waxes will last longer than most people think - putting a proper coat of wax on after every wash or two is just a waste of time and money.

If your car has minimal swirls I would suggest refining your washing technique so as to inflict minimal swirlling when washing. Use a good mitten, use two buckets (one for detergent and one for rinsing), rinse and dip the mitten after each panel (or more than once if it's particularly dirty). Leave the wheels til last and use a different mitten on them.

As far as off the shelf products go I would look at Bowdens Own, Meguiars and Autoglym. If you want to get serious check out www.detailparadise.com.au for info and www.carcareproducts.com.au and www.waxit.com.au for products.

I was thinking more along the lines of something that could potentially wipe on, stop it from being so affected by the sun if such a thing exists. Even water perhaps?
Meguiars have a 'natural look' protectant that has Scotchguard built in. It's what I'm using at the moment.

I hate dash mats with a passion, but windshield shades are a Godsend if you are parked in the sun.

Washing the car on the outside with a quality wash like Meg's Gold Class wash works well, it doesnt strip back any coats of wax that could currently be on the car where as when you use cheap stuff or the car washes they do. Clay bar the car while its still wet, this will remove residue from the surface of the paint, then if you need to correct anything a good polish with a foam pad on a DA like some HD Uno works well, however if you dont need to correct paint then seal it with some carnubra wax or some synthetic wax, I found Meg's Carnubra very good along with HD Poxy.

As for the interior do not use the armor all gear, alot of the mainstream brands tend to use Silicone in them and this is the last thing you want in your car, it looks good but its not good for the long term, theres a product called Aerospace 303 Protectant, this is a silicone free product available from Autobarn that does an excellent job at cleaning and protecting the interior, just keep it off clear plastics like the instrument cluster face.

Anything else on the interior that requires some elbow grease, get some HD Total Degreaser, and a quality scrubbing brush, work this into anything whether it be your seats, door cards, carpet what ever and then seal them with some HD Protect.

My ts has been in the family since new and I gotta be honest, the only time ive seen my dashboard without a dash mat is when I put the speakers in.

Autoglym products are great for paint, I use their polish, it's expensive but when I had a paint oxidation problem it was the only polish that fixed it.

As for dashboard products, try to stay clear of any armorall or similar products, armorall contains sillicone and because it seals your dash, it stops it from breathing - stronger products can take important chemicals out of your dash. Same result either way which is always cracking.

Best way to preserve is damp cloth and some oil like sewing machine oil or baby oil rubbed over it every few months

What autoglym polish did you use on oxidisation?

Called autoglym super resin polish

Be careful if you use a high pressure water blaster on your car. I used ours to get rid of splattered bugs, and it stripped the paint on the front bumpernear the headlights. No more... The paintwork on our TF was excellent when we got it (2 yrs old) and we kept it that way with Turtle Wax.

Autoglym products are great for paint, I use their polish, it's expensive but when I had a paint oxidation problem it was the only polish that fixed it.
Any abrasive polish will remove oxidisation if applied correctly.

I think thats why they tell you to hold the hose at least a metre away from the car your hosing at car washes now.

As for bugs, a mild degreaser and your hand or a soft brush will help that, and alot less likely to strip your paint / clear coat too

Any abrasive polish will remove oxidisation if applied correctly.

If by applied correctly, you mean putting enough pressure, I didn't have to put any pressure, I just rubbed gently and wiped off and it was fixed

I managed to strip some of the black matt off the front grille at a car wash using the high pressure hose. Was too close trying to remove the bugs.
The KH looks like new, but what can you do: gf took it for a drive to Ballarat the other day and a truck flew past her on a rough road and sprayed gravel all over it. Quite a few marks that will polish out except for a nasty couple high on the bonnet.

For sone reason the KL seems to have less robust paint and is easily marked by small flying stones on my daily freeway trip.
I wanted to try one of those nano hard coats but havent had a chance to yet. Should have.

As for dash mats, always had one on the KH and the dash is perfect. Just keeps the worst of the sun off and stops the drying out of the plastic. For some reason the Magna ones dont seem to wrinkle so always look good.
Also had a rear louvre on the car. These are brilliant at saving the rear headrests from fade, enhancing privacy and keeping the car much cooler. Even improves visibility during heavy rain (much reduced spatter). Really crazy that they went out of business and nobody took it up.

My ts has been in the family since new and I gotta be honest, the only time ive seen my dashboard without a dash mat is when I put the speakers in.

It wouldn't even matter what your dash looks like, it could be completely cracked and ruined its not going to make any difference if its covered up by a dash mat. May as well let it get to that stage and then use one?

I remember seeing on teev or the net where some bird used SPF30 sunscreen on her dashboard and door plastics..
Sort of makes sense. UV protection and if it's ok on skin I can't see it harming plastic.
Thoughts?

I remember seeing on teev or the net where some bird used SPF30 sunscreen on her dashboard and door plastics..
Sort of makes sense. UV protection and if it's ok on skin I can't see it harming plastic.
Thoughts?

Makes perfect sense to me unless there's something in the sunscreen itself that breaks down or hardens the plastic. Plus the smell wouldn't exactly be prize winning...

Any abrasive polish will remove oxidisation if applied correctly.

This ^

If by applied correctly, you mean putting enough pressure, I didn't have to put any pressure, I just rubbed gently and wiped off and it was fixed
If you didn't need to work it in, then it's full of fillers which hide the oxidisation rather than remove it.

Proper polishes require friction which produces heat to work properly, normally a rub by hand will not generate enough heat to do a proper job. Hence why I just bought a DAS-6 DA Polisher.