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Post by alf on Apr 23, 2021 13:49:12 GMT
Lockdown has meant very low mileage, and it's been so dry recently, that often I get to a weekend having only done one or two short urban trips and all that's on the car is dust - so I've taken to just rinsing it lightly and drying off with a big microfibre drying towel, and hey presto for about 10 mins work the cars look as good as fully washed. Especially so as they were all waxed recently... If it's a cold morning I can go outside and just wipe off the condensation once a week for even less effort. . I was wondering if it might damage the paint but as long as the towel is rinsed out afterwards it can't be nearly as harsh on the paint as wiping off a proper muddy layer in a normal wash... It's amazing just how much dust lands on a clean car, I had always assumed they got dirty from being used but they look pretty shabby from just sitting there, after a week it's pretty noticeable and after 2 weeks they look properly dirty, dependent on colour - white and silver show it much less, the red shows it a bit, the old dark blue Audi was a total nightmare. Anyone else got too much time on their hands car care-wise in lockdown?? The location of the drive here and me being in an office overlooking it means it winds me up if they cars don't look right  This time last year I tried 3 different waxes on the boot lid as from inside the house I could always see swirls and a shallow scratch at some angles, before settling on the Armor-all stuff... |
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Post by chipbutty on Apr 23, 2021 14:03:28 GMT
Cheat wash for the chipwagen is to just clean the wheels and under the arches (car equivalent of whore's bath).
Annoyingly, the wheels on the F-type are filthy again after one trip, but the RRS ones could go for months. Honestly I don't know how they have done it but there is near zero brake dust on them ever - which is no mean feat when you consider that weight of a fully laden V8.
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Post by alf on Apr 23, 2021 14:13:24 GMT
That is weird. I would expect anything heavy to produce industrial amounts of dust...
When doing my cheat routine I ignore the wheels - the XFR brakes produce plenty of dust but black wheels don't show it, it would seem the Porsche pads don't throw up much dust. Though they can squeak a bit...
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Post by Roadrunner on Apr 23, 2021 16:34:34 GMT
I agree about the dust issue when parked on the drive, especially when we have a Sahara dust cloud. The Benz lives under a cover on the drive so that keeps it dust free. The Mini stays clean when the garage, but gets filthy if it stays out. I am pedantic about avoiding swirls, so when either of them are cleaned it is a proper snow foam and two bucket wash.
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Post by johnc on Apr 23, 2021 16:46:44 GMT
I am pedantic about avoiding swirls, so when either of them are cleaned it is a proper snow foam and two bucket wash. I am the same. If I am going to touch the car with anything, it gets the full treatment but in the winter or when I have no time, I will either snowfoam them or just pressure wash them and then leave them to dry on their own. I only dry them with a cloth when they have been properly washed. |
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Post by Martin on Apr 23, 2021 17:04:37 GMT
My cheat wash is snow foam, jet wash, DI rinse. If it’s not too horrendously dirty it will be cleaner than going to most hand car wash places as I get properly inside the wheels and any water that runs out of the mirrors etc won’t leave a streak.
The RR creates barely any brake dust, the wheels stay clean for an amazing amount of time, especially compared to the BMWs I’ve had which looked dirty after a short journeys. I wouldn’t say months, but the bodywork generally needs cleaning before the wheels do.
ALF - doesn’t the brake dust look a dirty redish colour on the black wheels? It did on our Boxster and to my eyes was worse than a layer of brake dust on silver wheels. The black got swirl marks on it really easily as well.
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Post by racingteatray on Apr 24, 2021 20:59:17 GMT
You lot would hate our cars.
To be fair both look pretty good for their age, particularly the Fiat which looks more like three years old than seven and a half years old.
But polish? Wax? Swirls?
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Post by Eff One on Apr 24, 2021 23:32:07 GMT
You lot would hate our cars. To be fair both look pretty good for their age, particularly the Fiat which looks more like three years old than seven and a half years old. But polish? Wax? Swirls? +1 |
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Post by LandieMark on Apr 25, 2021 6:41:41 GMT
I gave both of ours some love yesterday. Just used Aqua Wax (bought a large bottle of the professional version some time ago as it worked out a lot cheaper than the retail version), but it has given them both a nice shine. The Mazda needs a proper going over as the paint is a little rough to the touch, but it is still looking good at 14 years old - we have had it 10 or 11 years now. The wheels are desperate for a refurbishment and there is one little rust bubble on a wheel arch that needs attention. Considering it has never been garaged, I can live with that.  |
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Post by PG on Apr 25, 2021 18:18:33 GMT
I think it must be the really dry weather as having bothered to wash all three cars about a week ago (foam, wash, aqua wax), the Mini and XFR both looked really shabby with the dust after only a few days. Maybe red shows the dust really badly as the Shogun looks dusty but better.
The XFR then got washed again at the dealership when it was in for some work. I've got a cover for it, but the cover needs to be put on a clean car. So unless I've just washed it, I don't use it. Wasted purchase really.
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Post by alf on Apr 26, 2021 10:42:54 GMT
A cover came with the Boxster - the orginal Porsche one but it's soft cloth so must be an indoor only job, I may Ebay it... Indeed the car needs to be perfect before putting one on.
Mark's cars above both look stunning and what a fantastic view!!! I didn't cheat wash mine this weekend as they still look OK but there is plenty of dust if you look hard enough...
The brake dust I get on the XFR is charcoal coloured and really doesn't show up much on the black wheels - I have seen that weird red dust, I wonder what pads they are.... I run Pagids which are what Porsche often use, but only the OEM compound they obviously have loads - Pagid Blue was the compound I generally used the most in the past on sometimes-tracked vehicles...
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Post by LandieMark on Apr 26, 2021 15:16:40 GMT
Yep, never get tired of the view.
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Post by ChrisM on Apr 26, 2021 17:37:11 GMT
What you call a "cheat wash" is largely what my cars get, hence the so-many-washes-per-week. When I have a bucket with lid outside, it's very easy to just quickly wash the dirty bits whilst they are still wet, or just give a quick wipe-over with a wet sponge followed by a dry. Much of the dust that is around at the moment appears to be pollen, much to the disappointment of my nose which reacts by making me sneeze :-(
I'm not getting much time to keep the fleet spotless, until the last place shut down in January I was still very busy even when working from home, and the new job has so far required my presence at work every day with no early finish, not even on a Friday
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Post by johnc on Apr 27, 2021 7:34:23 GMT
A lot of the "dust" at this time of the year is actually pollen.
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Post by Grampa on May 21, 2021 14:36:05 GMT
I'm two years in to using Meguairs hybrid ceramic (used every six months) with an SiO2 wash every week - makes car care so much easier - the shine is a mile deep and people often ask how I got it like it is - and I can wash it and just hose it off if there's not time for a complete dry and barely any water marks showing.
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Post by chipbutty on May 22, 2021 15:38:23 GMT
You are not wrong, what a fab place to live
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Post by Grampa on May 26, 2021 8:48:02 GMT
The results of aforementioned cheat washing with SiO2 wash after coating with hybrid ceramic six months earlier...   |
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Post by alf on Jun 2, 2021 8:29:41 GMT
Nice! I face my annual nemesis now - the Mayfly! With the dry weather period just starting I washed all three cars at the weekend, and the white audi and silver porsche still look near perfect.
The red Jag - along with any dark coloured cars in the road - has attracted a covering of mayflies (and pollen, which is more visible on red). We live near a chalk stream and its one reason I wax the cars every April - unwaxed, you can barely get the buggers off....
Edited to add: its not raining, which I'm irrationally pleased about, as it means I can go an wipe the bugs off when it's done, and towel down the car for a cheat wash. I'm sure my neighbours think I'm barmy, but Tina has said nothing about it (I think such order is seen as sufficiently Germanic) - my ex wife was convinced that anything nice I had, or anything I made look nice, was to show off (which said a lot about her brain). I don't give two hoots what people think, it's for me - it gives me pleasure to have a clean car or perfectly prepared mountain bike or whatever....
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Post by racingteatray on Jun 24, 2021 16:41:49 GMT
Talking of washing cars, I washed the Fiat, which was looking just a little bit greige rather than white - had barely been anywhere but it was just two month's worth of accumulated grime from the sky - dust, pollution, leaves, cobwebs, generic plant detritus.
I decided for once to take it to the jet wash at our local Shell garage, largely in order to blast the spiders out. My goodness what vast quantities of black crud emanate from the crevices of an apparently relatively clean car when you attack it with a powerful jet of water. Ok, so white paint makes it particularly obvious but the gutters on the roof, the channels around the panoramic roof and at the sides of the windscreen all released vast quantities of black grot and filth. As did directing the water jet at the front and rear badging, numberplates, the inside of the fuel filler cap, and the chrome bumper and nose inserts. It gets almost a mission to see how much you can hose out - I've probably lightened the car by a couple of hundred grams!
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 23, 2022 13:08:32 GMT
I had ran out of snow foam so tried Autoglym Polar Blast. I'm impressed. It has a long dwell time and removes lots of grime. I've used this on its own as a contactless wash. Followed up with polar wash which I haven't used before - this goes in the foam cannon and you wash with a mitt then rinse. Finally, Polar Seal - again in the foam cannon - which is a hydroscopic wax coating. I gave the truck a coat of HD wax shortly after I bought it last year and it has had a coat of Aqua Wax/Express Wax last September, but that's it. It has come up really well.   |
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Post by Martin on Jan 23, 2022 13:22:22 GMT
Looks good Mark, just a shame it won’t last. I’ve cleaned both knowing the same, but do have a sense of satisfaction and it’s good exercise!
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Post by Blarno on Jan 24, 2022 9:49:26 GMT
The real cheat wash is cleaning just your headlights, tail lights and number plate.
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Post by Tim on Jan 24, 2022 9:51:22 GMT
The real cheat wash is cleaning just your headlights, tail lights and number plate. I do that plus the wheels - washing them makes a huge difference |
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Post by PG on Jan 24, 2022 12:14:15 GMT
It's that time of year (lambing) where the cars just have to fend for themselves. I do a blarno "plus" cheat wash - headlights, tail lights, number plate, front side windows and top up the screen-wash.
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Post by Blarno on Jan 24, 2022 12:16:29 GMT
The real cheat wash is cleaning just your headlights, tail lights and number plate. I do that plus the wheels - washing them makes a huge difference  I have gunmetal wheels anyway so no difference when they are clean to when they are dirty. The only clean parts of my wheels as of now are the hand marks from when I fitted new tyres just before Crimbo. |
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Post by Blarno on Jan 24, 2022 12:55:07 GMT
The number plates were spotless on Friday. I just realised that my front fogs are now the same colour as the bumper.
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Post by Martin on Jan 24, 2022 12:59:40 GMT
I was expecting much worse when I saw blarno had posted pictures! Might be the pictures and it being the colour of salty helps, but the Golf looked worse than that yesterday and it had only been cleaned 2 weeks before.
Agree that cleaning wheels makes the biggest difference. The best cheat wash is snow foam, then blast off with filtered water and let it drip dry. You do need to have some protection on the car to get decent results, but even at this time of year it gets our cars to 90%+ clean and takes very little time. I’d have to clean the cars more than once a week to avoid the headlight/number plate clean.
Dry roads this morning though, so I’ve been able to get more benefit than I expected from washing it yesterday
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Post by johnc on Jan 24, 2022 13:18:14 GMT
It's January and I work 7 days a week so no car cleaning till February. I have given the windows, mirrors and lights one 2 minute clean but that's it until I have a free weekend. The cars have plenty of sealant on them so it's not really an issue.
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Post by Blarno on Jan 24, 2022 13:55:12 GMT
I was expecting much worse when I saw blarno had posted pictures! Might be the pictures and it being the colour of salty helps, but the Golf looked worse than that yesterday and it had only been cleaned 2 weeks before. Agree that cleaning wheels makes the biggest difference. The best cheat wash is snow foam, then blast off with filtered water and let it drip dry. You do need to have some protection on the car to get decent results, but even at this time of year it gets our cars to 90%+ clean and takes very little time. I’d have to clean the cars more than once a week to avoid the headlight/number plate clean. Dry roads this morning though, so I’ve been able to get more benefit than I expected from washing it yesterday The photos don't show just how dull and matte the coating of road grime is. |
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 24, 2022 14:33:05 GMT
I was expecting much worse when I saw blarno had posted pictures! Might be the pictures and it being the colour of salty helps, but the Golf looked worse than that yesterday and it had only been cleaned 2 weeks before. Agree that cleaning wheels makes the biggest difference. The best cheat wash is snow foam, then blast off with filtered water and let it drip dry. You do need to have some protection on the car to get decent results, but even at this time of year it gets our cars to 90%+ clean and takes very little time. I’d have to clean the cars more than once a week to avoid the headlight/number plate clean. Dry roads this morning though, so I’ve been able to get more benefit than I expected from washing it yesterday That's what I usually do at this time of year with the exception that I don't have a water filter, but we are blessed with soft water in any case. |
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This time last year I tried 3 different waxes on the boot lid as from inside the house I could always see swirls and a shallow scratch at some angles, before settling on the Armor-all stuff...
