what is the best wax, cleaning products?

i want to protect my paint finish and leather interior and my mind was boggled whith the number of stuff out there and i was wondering what you all use and why it is the best thanx.

azz..look through this forum here DETAILING and you'll find my selections for Wax and Leather care...

lol yes i see my post got moved here i am still a newby and i have been reading them thanx ...........so far i see   " ice " is the product of choice for the outside and i am still reading about the interior.

Armor all...use it everywhere on your leather on your glass...can't go wrong with armor all.  j/k
 
I will never let armor all touch another vehicle I own. My old 98 Jeep wrangler didn't have the body color fenders and I used to armor all it all the time. After a couple of years I noticed that I had white spots appearing on my fenders and even applying armor all didn't remove them. I was then informed that armor all was actually BAD for plastics fenders etc.
 
I've talked to a few people that do car shows and they recommended using transmission fluid to do the black on your tires and exterior plastic rubber parts as it will not harm them.
 
Have you ever heard of this Dennis?

Yes and motor oil too..it's kinda like lip gloss, looks good for the moment but won't last long..Vinylex by Lexol is the greatest for the plastic trim...until I found ICE, this stuff works the best yet at cleaning and shining the plastic trim/rubbers and bumpers..and it lasts the longest..Mud stains are easier to remove from the plastic rear quarter sections and along under the doors..anything that's plastic or rubber gets a coat of ICE.

Hey Dennis.....do you use the Ice Liquid Polish or Paste Polish?  Have you tried the Ice Liquid Clay Bar?

ICE only comes in a clear liquid as far as I knew....And my finish is too new yet to Clay it..I'll give it another year.

regroup..
 
Wow!  I just googled the ICE and sure enough they now have the paste...
and the Liquid Clay bar..that looks interesting..Hmmmm, I wouder if it's as good as the old fashioned clay bar that worked you to death while using.?
 
Thanks for the heads up Rutdogg

No prob...Dennis.  I just got back from Walmart and they had both the paste and liquid as well as the liquid clay bar.  I bought the liquid Ice and I'll probably try applying it within the next couple of days.  Dennis, does it matter how cold it is outside when you apply this wax (provided its not freezing) and have you tried using it on the dash and such inside your Hummer?

I have used or applied it to everything except the glass..it works great on the dash and all parts of the radio and environmental controls too...I know it takes a while for it to set up a little..so try putting it on in the sun, if there is such a thing this time of year...But usually the warmer, the better it is to wipe off.

Thanks Dennis!

After reading ALL the threads on detailing I was very surprised of no one mentioning claying your hummer. All I really seen is the recommendation for ICE & NXT, which are decent products I will admit having never used either. However on the other forum I belong to it is well liked and used, in fact many prefer the ICE product. As mentioned here, the reason it is loved is its simplicity of application and removal and the fact that it gives off a nicer shine than NXT (so I read). That said, I cannot comment much futher on those products because I never used them. Their one advantage IMO IS the fact that they are synthetic, thereby lasting longer. Also considering the size of our vehicles it is understandable to use one product and get it over with as quickly as possible and minimal labor & the hope it will last a decent amount of time, by that I mean the water will bead for months. My question to the users of these products is durability, how often do you have to use it? How long does it last after each application? As a little info passing below, I'll post some info from a professional detailer on some facts: After some replies I'll tell you my procedure on detailing my H2, which is a bear and takes me all day, thats just for the outside--
 
Terms used in the car detailing industry;
Clear coat: the unpigmented paint that lays on top of your finish, extremely thin, about 4mils or less.
Synthetic: man made from chemicals, you use synthetic oil because it helps extend longer life of the engine, since it has man made chemicals in it. No different with your finish, synthetic is also used with the word polymer, which comes from the greek term Poly=many and mer= units, thus many units of different chemicals....also the word sealant compliments the two previous terms, so Synthetic polymer sealant classifies a product that consists of higher quality chemicals which will last longer on your car.
Wax: been around since automotive paint (early 1800's) most people don't know it hasn't changed much, still is a natural by product that comes from trees, has a melting point of 98* compared to a synthetic which is 392*, wax is being marketed like its something special when the reality is their is NO comparison with regard to wax and a polymer sealant. This is why car dealers are capitalizing on charging upwards of $800 or more to apply one coat of a synthetic, same stuff you can buy for 12 bucks, (only in America) in this business, which is educating people on car care.
Polish: is a product that restores shine to a finish, has no protective properties.
 
Looking forward on some feedback.

You started out mentioning "Claying your Hummer."  I thought maybe you were going to touch on the importance of claying our Hummers.  I for one don't know chit about claying and why we should do it.  Can you provide some insight?

Instead of me writing the information, I'll provide you a url with a detail description of what claying is and what it does which was also the site where I was introduced of this "claying" phenom:
 
http://www.autogeek.net/clbaandlu.html
 
This site is where I buy most of my stuff BTW for all my vehicles. I guess they started the education for me on how to detail your car in every way.
By the way, I was pleasantly surprised that on page 2 of this detailing thread, this same company has posted here, albeit long time ago. In fact the wolfgand products is what I have been using for over 2 years now. Detailing a vehicle IS a labor of love I guess. I'm a detail fanatic I figure, and I am still learning tricks & things. The process I go thru is very much labor intensive. The results are good for 5-6 months, which means that bathing, claying, polishing & sealing is a 2 times a year deal for my H2, or when I see the water starts to stop beading. That does not include bathing when its needed, just means the process is done every 5-6 months or when needed. For me it has been about every 5 months down here in Florida with the heat, humidity & rains. Which comparatively speaking not easy or as quick as lets say ICE, but to me it is well worth it. Let me know what you think after you read the info.

My take on claying...Is that it will remove all the stuck on contamination that has built up and remove the film of oxidation that clouds the clear coat...So if this Liquid Ice claybar works as good, but only much easier than the traditional clay bar..I'll be doing it to it this spring after this hellatious winter we've had here in OKC.

Keep in mind my friend that claying will not just remove surface contaminants, depending on what clay bar you use, it removes EVERYTHING, including any old wax, polish or sealant you have on the car at the time. First wash/bath the vehicle, then clay it, they then recommend another wash to remove any leftover claying soap & stuff, dry it, then you need to apply your preferred polish, wax, or sealant. I don't use wax, I use a polish to shine up the paint, then I seal it--Whooeee--Good stuff--

After all of the ranting and raving about Ice I decided to give it a try today.  Here's the process I used. 
 
First I drove my H3 to the local brushless car wash and did just the basic wash to remove the dirt.  Did not use the wax and did not dry.  I drove straight home.
 
When I arrived home I rinsed the whole entire truck with water.  Now that the dirt and other debri was removed from my paint I started by using the ICE LIQUID CLAY BAR.
 

 
It only takes a very small amount.  The directions say to use a firm back and forth motion.  I used only a very small amount on the sponge.
 

 
That small amount covered this whole entire area on my truck.
 

 
Once I used the clay bar on the whole truck I then rince the suds off and dry it using my "ABSORBER."
 

 
After my truck was completely dry I applied the ICE LIQUID POLISH.
 

 
It went on and buffed off effortlessly and left a very smooth finish.  As you can see I only used a small amount of the bottle and that was probably more than I needed to use. 
 
I recommend two coats!
 
And the result.
 

 
A shiny H3!

Very nice job.  Could you tell if you were removing anything with the Ice Clay
 
Looks great

Yeah I could see the dirt and grime.  Keep in mind I just put her through the car wash.

BRILLIANT!
WOW! man!....You just gave me the itch something fierce

Dennis......just keep in mind....if you clay your ride you are going to need to apply two coats of Ice wax.

Gottcha!..Thanks...Did the Liquid clay remove that fine little gritty feel too..?

Looks pretty good. Of course donno how good the "liquid" claying works, to me looks like it would be the "mild" version. I will take pics when I do my H2 this weekend if the weather agrees. I will take pics of the stuff I use for reference for yall & try to pic the step by step.. My question to the ICE users still remains, nobody yet has answered it, how often do you have to apply the stuff? When will water stop beading?? After my process I can go 5-6 months before I need to polish & seal again. Like I have said in my other forum, probably better related for this forum since our vehicles are so much BIGGER--But the ICE NXT process is the "easy" way of doing it, or another way of putting it, lazy mans way (No offense intented) I beleive use what u wanna use, at least some cleaning & protection is better than nothing--I will try to document my process, however it is very much involved and it is on a H2, also, keep in mind I also do the ROOF--hehe, do you?

I'm thinking that the "fine little gritty feel" you are referring to are actually contaminants on the clear coat.  If that's what you mean then yes it removed the contaminants and gave the clearcoat a smooth base to apply the wax.  I only had time to do one coat and I could feel just a couple of spots that need a little more wax to smooth it all out.
 
I usually tell people to run their CLEAN fingers over the paint after they wax.  If it's smooth then your good.  If you notice any grittiness then you need to apply more wax in that area.
 
 
Now let me ask you a question.  When you Ice your ride does the sponge tend to lather up a bit?  Mine did and I wanted to make sure that was normal.

Yes it does get all foamy, when it does that i start rubbing on the rubbers and plastic trim to get rid of the foam...And yes you described exactly what I'm talking about in that gritty feel..So the liquid clay eliminated that?..GOOD to hear, thanks.