How often should I wash my car?

[blacksan]

I hand wash 2X each week and use Eagle One Nanno Wax during the wipe down. I should add that I commute about 50 miles round trip on the highway each day making it important to stay on top of exterior maintenance (IMO).

[Lickitung]

Originally Posted by naossoan

How is the wax in those pressure wash stations?

I live an apartment, so I don't have anywhere I can wash/wax my car at home...

I've been wondering this too. In my townhouse complex the homeowners association won't allow us to wash our cars on the complex (I guess because they pay the water bill). So my only option are going to car washes. So far I've only taken it to the pressue wash stations, however for $25 they will do a hand applied carnuba wax so I might have them do that soon.

[ChinoCharles]

I'm working on a detailing DIY. If you're like me and didn't know much about washing and waxing before, it should be a good read.

[Razr]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

I'm working on a detailing DIY. If you're like me and didn't know much about washing and waxing before, it should be a good read.

Sounds cool!

If you're getting into this, please make sure you research actual wax longevity as well. I saw some posters saying that you only need to wax every 6 months, but that is folly in my experience... I've never seen any wax that could hold its "freshly waxed" look/feel/protection for more than about 4-6 weeks, regardless of what the informercial guy says

While I'm at it, here's some other suggestions for the DIY off the top of my head:

* Explain the two bucket system.
* Explain top-down system (this is for noobs right? )
* Why sponges/rags are reallly bad, and wash mits are reallly good.
* Why you shouldn't let your car dry naturally after washing.
* Why you don't use dish soap
* Why newspaper is the best "rag" for cleaning glass
* What claying is for
* What chemical cleaners are for
* The differences between polishes, waxes, sealants and conditioners
* Why newbie detailers should never machine buff a car
* Why rotary buffers are bad, and orbital/dual-action buffers are good
* Why applying polishes/waxes should be hard, but removing them easy
* How to clean wheels
* How to remove stuff like tar, and cow/bird shit safely
* How to polish plastic light lenses
* How to remove/reduce swirls, and how to avoid them in the first place
* How to clean tires, and how to dress them
* How to dress exterior rubber and plastics
* How to vaccum your carpet properly using the hairbrush method
* How to clean interior plastics/trims, and how to dress them (if that's your thing)
* How to remove chewing/bubble gum from seats and carpets
* How to dress your external glass surfaces
* How to remove wax build up around badges/emblems
* How to clean the inside of air conditioning vents

[static808]

WHOA! that is really comprehensive, just about everything and anything you could think of is covered there. a great (if not intimidating!!) starting point for the DIY!

--B

[ChinoCharles]

Yeah, holy crap. You write it, LOL. I quit.

No, seriously, I see no need to go into that kind of detail on a forum for a brand new car. If your 2006/2007 is that dirty already, you're hopeless. This is just going to be a quick little guide to the twice a year wax job you should be doing anyway. I guess the word detailing was a little misleading.

[sam07yaris]

Silver rocks! I haven't hand washed mine sinced Oct and it still looks spanking new. I gave it a water bath every once in a while to get the salt off but thats it.

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by sam07yaris

Silver rocks! I haven't hand washed mine sinced Oct and it still looks spanking new. I gave it a water bath every once in a while to get the salt off but thats it.

Silver/grey doesnt require nearly as much cleaning as most other colors. I'm a silver man anyway, so it not looking filthy after you run through a puddle is just an added bonus

on that note.. I should add that just because it doesn't look filthy doesn't ean its not filthy! Still gotta keep up with it.

[Razr]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

Yeah, holy crap. You write it, LOL. I quit.

No, seriously, I see no need to go into that kind of detail on a forum for a brand new car. If your 2006/2007 is that dirty already, you're hopeless. This is just going to be a quick little guide to the twice a year wax job you should be doing anyway. I guess the word detailing was a little misleading.

Wanna see just how dirty a 10 week old Yaris that gets detailed weekly can look?

Image2.jpg

Image4.jpg

Image5.jpg

That's after just a single 810KM journey, albeit in the 3rd world

Tell you what Chino, you write a basics DIY, and I'll pitch in with some of the more specific stuff - deal?

[eTiMaGo]

You like her dirty, don't ya?

[Razr]

Women yes, cars no

I'm a clean freak by your own accusation :P

[the_boss]

everytime I wash my car we have snow or rain the next day so no more washing for me.....


i'm wondering if my wife would like to wash the car.....

[ChinoCharles]

Yeah, I gave up on writing a DIY... but I did wash and wax the piss out of it. Looks sexy... loving the Ice products.

[turboyaris]

more often then me