Topic: Weekly Wash Routine?

[valuator]

Sorry if this has been posted before. 

We're pretty much into nice enough weather that a lot of us will be found in our driveways on Saturday mornings washing the vehicles.  What is a good routine to follow to keep your vehicle looking good and prolong the life of the finish?

Personally, I want to spend about an hour per vehicle per week...max. I don't mind using a clay bar once or twice per season.  I have a buffer but just can't see myself using it more than once per year.

With a baby in the house now, I only see myself doing a quick weekly wash and then maybe applying wax every couple of washes. 

Are there any products or processes to maximize this level of time commitment? In other words, "best bang for your effort level".

For the interior of the vehicles, we are generally pretty tidy, so a quick vacuum of the fabrics and then wiping down the hard surfaces with a damp cloth seems to suffice.

[UCD]

wash and a quick detailer (weekly) or spray wax (monthly).

[Snowman]

wash and a quick detailer (weekly) or spray wax (monthly).

same here

[valuator]

Snowman, I noticed in another thread that you had success with Poorboy Spray and Wipe....is this still your "go to"? (The S2000 and TT looked great, BTW)

What spray wax do you use?

I had no idea these quick detailers worked so well....I can't see dragging the hose and bucket out very often going forward.

[Arthur Dent]

Hmmm ... I mostly wait for it to rain to clean off the vehicles. They get a spray wash maybe four times a year. 

[Snowman]

Snowman, I noticed in another thread that you had success with Poorboy Spray and Wipe....is this still your "go to"? (The S2000 and TT looked great, BTW)

What spray wax do you use?

I had no idea these quick detailers worked so well....I can't see dragging the hose and bucket out very often going forward.

I take the cars to a detailer twice a year for waxing. Not sure what they used, I will ask next time.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Snowman, I noticed in another thread that you had success with Poorboy Spray and Wipe....is this still your "go to"? (The S2000 and TT looked great, BTW)

What spray wax do you use?

I had no idea these quick detailers worked so well....I can't see dragging the hose and bucket out very often going forward.

I take the cars to a detailer twice a year for waxing. Not sure what they used, I will ask next time.

  You don't lovingly wax your own cars?

I don't find it's that much work, and it's a great opportunity to pore over your vehicle and spot any potential problems, ie stone chips that could turn to rust if not addressed.  You've never looked closely at a vehicle until you've spent time hand waxing it.

[Snowman]

Snowman, I noticed in another thread that you had success with Poorboy Spray and Wipe....is this still your "go to"? (The S2000 and TT looked great, BTW)

What spray wax do you use?

I had no idea these quick detailers worked so well....I can't see dragging the hose and bucket out very often going forward.

I take the cars to a detailer twice a year for waxing. Not sure what they used, I will ask next time.

  You don't lovingly wax your own cars?

I don't find it's that much work, and it's a great opportunity to pore over your vehicle and spot any potential problems, ie stone chips that could turn to rust if not addressed.  You've never looked closely at a vehicle until you've spent time hand waxing it.

Its a all about time. I have found a great place that details my cars well beyond my expectations and I am diligent in my weekly washes. Works for me 

[Firm]

Snowman, I noticed in another thread that you had success with Poorboy Spray and Wipe....is this still your "go to"? (The S2000 and TT looked great, BTW)

What spray wax do you use?

I had no idea these quick detailers worked so well....I can't see dragging the hose and bucket out very often going forward.

I take the cars to a detailer twice a year for waxing. Not sure what they used, I will ask next time.

  You don't lovingly wax your own cars?

I don't find it's that much work, and it's a great opportunity to pore over your vehicle and spot any potential problems, ie stone chips that could turn to rust if not addressed.  You've never looked closely at a vehicle until you've spent time hand waxing it.

Agreed, when I have the time it can be a very enjoyable process. I usually try to give each of my vehicles a proper 3 or 4 stage polish (or clay bar) and wax twice per year. Otherwise I wash with a quality wash&wax liquid whenever they get dirty looking, hand wash only - always! For the cars that spend a lot of time outside I try to apply a coat of wax every couple months.

[Slow_lane]

Hmmm ... I mostly wait for it to rain to clean off the vehicles. They get a spray wash maybe four times a year. 

This would typically be what most people really do with their cars. I know very few people that hand wax cars. I know many that rarely, if ever, wash them.

I have a good friend that calls having his car hand waxed is to spend $2.00 to have liquid wash and wax sprayed on at the hand car wash before drying.

I wash my cars often by hand. I have only used a clay bar once. I do not bother doing 3 stage procedures either. I basically just wash the car carefully and then wax with a product like Nu-Finish. This works for me....

I have 2 white cars and really the only reason I would get out a clay bar is because every year I have this little tiny rust deposits on paint. Supposedly cause my rail dust. Never even saw these spots before until I owned white cars. They drive me nuts!!!

By the standards set on this site that is minimal care for the cars. But amongst my friends and neighbours I am considered extremely anal about how I look after my cars. It is all relative.

[RunsinLight]

Weekly wash routine, what they will think of next!  I can see doing if it's more of a hobby, something you enjoy doing.  I can average about 100 km a week, doesn't get all that dirty after 7 days.

[ktm525]

The Ridgeline gets rained on every couple of weeks while the Rover gets a little more love, usually a spray every 2-3 weeks or seo. I actually wash more in the winter. Looks I don't really care about. Crusty salt I do.

[CanuckS2K]

About 80% of the time with my S2000, I simply use 4-6 MF towels and a good QD to clean it up.  All said in done, it takes about 10 mins.  Having said that, my S2000 never gets heavily soiled either.  Like UCD mentioned, wash and a QD does the job and it doesn't take long. 

[JohnnyMac]

Just wondering how good the spray on wax is?  Should it be applied more often?  Seems like people are doing the clay bar thing a couple of times per year.  I've never used a clay bar, is it extremely time consuming? 

How much should a good car detail be, with all the bells and whistles, like clay barring and wax?

The new vehicle has 19 inch rims that I want to keep looking good for many years.  The inside of them seems to be painted black.  The brake pads on Golf R's have been reported to be very dusty.  What should I be doing to keep my rims looking good and prevent them from pitting from all the brake dust?  How long does it take for brake dust to do damage to finishes?

[UCD]

Just wondering how good the spray on wax is?  Should it be applied more often?  Seems like people are doing the clay bar thing a couple of times per year.  I've never used a clay bar, is it extremely time consuming? 

Use CarPro Reload for the paint protection.
Clay bar - twice a year is good. Takes ~10 minutes.

How much should a good car detail be, with all the bells and whistles, like clay barring and wax?

Depends who you call, lol ....  from $140 to $2000+ for a Golf R.

The new vehicle has 19 inch rims that I want to keep looking good for many years.  The inside of them seems to be painted black.  The brake pads on Golf R's have been reported to be very dusty.  What should I be doing to keep my rims looking good and prevent them from pitting from all the brake dust?  How long does it take for brake dust to do damage to finishes?

Remove them and coat them with C.Quartz. Use Wheel Woolies to keep them clean.

[Slow_lane]

Just wondering how good the spray on wax is?  Should it be applied more often?  Seems like people are doing the clay bar thing a couple of times per year.  I've never used a clay bar, is it extremely time consuming? 

How much should a good car detail be, with all the bells and whistles, like clay barring and wax?

The new vehicle has 19 inch rims that I want to keep looking good for many years.  The inside of them seems to be painted black.  The brake pads on Golf R's have been reported to be very dusty.  What should I be doing to keep my rims looking good and prevent them from pitting from all the brake dust?  How long does it take for brake dust to do damage to finishes?

I am pretty fussy with my cars compared to my friends and neighbours. I know of no one in my circle of friends who fusses with car care more than me. My friends & neighbours consider me obsessive. But compared to most of the posters on this web site I am not doing near as much as they do.  There was so much talk of clay barring cars here I drank the Koolaid and got on board. I have only used a clay bar twice. I found it not to be worth the effort. Maybe because my car is kept clean and waxed twice a year the paint was in good shape and there was little to be improved upon. It was very unrewarding for me.

I long ago tried Maigurs 3 step detailing process. OMG I was so fed up with the work involved I could not be bothered doing that again. I find overall I am happy with just waxing my car a couple times a year with a polish / wax like Nu-Finish. I get 95% of the results with 30% of the effort.

I am not knocking what people do or how far they go to care for their cars but for me I just did not see enough gain in results to warrant the effort.

Maybe the fact that both my cars are white has something to do with it. Maybe claying a black car might be more rewarding as black finishes tend to show every imperfection.

Clay bar - twice a year is good. Takes ~10 minutes.

I am sorry but telling poster that claying a car takes 10 minutes is very very optimistic. I like to see that done!!!

[UCD]

Clay bar - twice a year is good. Takes ~10 minutes.

I am sorry but telling poster that claying a car takes 10 minutes is very very optimistic. I like to see that done!!!

10 minutes is plenty of time. It's a Golf R. It if takes you more than that......check your technique. Most contaminates are in the lower panels. You first use a Tar-X, Iron-X then clay. By that time, there will be limited level of contamination.

If you really want to be productive and efficient you can wash, decontaminate and protect paint under an hr. Here's a video of the technique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0aLOJKKM1k

[johngenx]

The Miata gets washed anytime it's dirty - so it's kept pretty spotless.  Waxed a few times each summer.

The Corolla gets a wash every now and then - maybe once a month, maybe a bit more often if conditions warrant.

The Highlander maybe the same as the Corolla.

Can't remember the last time the Forester got a bath - at least a year.

[bye]

My Smart Electric Drive takes about 5 minutes to detail, but the Tesla is a bit harder due to the size of it...

Have never waxed a car before, and only use a bit of tire gloss coating once in a while.

Not sure what the fuss is about, both cars look great with a two bucket wash and dry.