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once detailed , how to keep clean

B

birdseye

Member
for the first time in my life I posess a car that has been detailed. Never seen anything so shiny and perfect. But the cleaning of cars and bikes bores me stupid. So what is the best minimalist way of reasonably keeping the car nice without becoming a detailing obsessive?

Is there anything wrong with a routine that goes - pressure wash all over - warm soapy water and clean sponge ( washing up liquid) - dry off with old towels fresh out of the wash - polish once a year. Thats been my routine with previous cars but they werent Ferrari.
 
Washing up liquid will strip off all the protection your detailer has applied, and polish is abrasive.

Assuming the car is perfect, has a good coating of wax, and you want to be as lazy as possible, what I would do is:

- hose the worst of the dirt off
- wash using a good quality wash mitt and car shampoo (something mild to be kind to the wax)
- use 2 buckets, one for suds and one to rinse your wash mitt
- rinse off
- use bath towels to pat the car dry

This is the basic, no-frills way to do it. Maybe consider a spray quick detailer every so often after washing (spray on, wipe off) to keep the shine.

And obviously use your dehumidifier to help dry the car [emoji23]
 
As Gordon says.....swap the sponge for a wash mitt and the fairy liquid for johnsons baby shampoo if you want to keep it simple ;)
Don't wash the car with a dirty mitt or sponge....

I use a mega last touch quick detailer after mist runs and never store the car without a run around the block to dry off the brakes

F cars (testing the new filter) are different and cleaning them is time to look at them [emoji106]
 
birdseye said:
for the first time in my life I posess a car that has been detailed. Never seen anything so shiny and perfect. But the cleaning of cars and bikes bores me stupid. So what is the best minimalist way of reasonably keeping the car nice without becoming a detailing obsessive?
Click to expand...

Do what most owners do ...... Don't use it - simples :)
 
birdseye said:
Is there anything wrong with a routine that goes - pressure wash all over - warm soapy water and clean sponge ( washing up liquid) - dry off with old towels fresh out of the wash - polish once a year. Thats been my routine with previous cars but they werent Ferrari.
Click to expand...

:shocked::shocked:

I'm going for a lie down! :)

Just kidding but as stated washing up liquid strips wax and sponges hold grit against the surface - imagine rubbing your car with some extremely non-aggressive sand paper. Think only Francis does that :grin:

If you get a couple of layers of some decent carnauba wax on there and want to be really quick after a blast you can simply snow foam her then power wash off. Takes a few minutes. If you only use filtered water there's no need to dry her off. You can then go for a full 2 bucket wash with a good car shampoo (I use Swisswax car bath) every few times.
 
Howard

if you're not into doing it properly then contact Dave at Sportscar protection and talk to him about a ceramic coating or similar. I still wouldn't use the washing up liquid or sponge as others have suggested but the coating will help to reduce scratching and should keep it looking good :thumbsup:
 
Give me a ring, can sort you out with a set of basic stuff which will retain the value you have just put into the car, with minimal effort.

A few decent products and good basic technique will keep the car looking good.

01780 749449
 
OK guys, I bought a kit of cleaning things including a mit. But there still is an issue. Suppose I take the car out for a run in dry weather, get back, car not dirty but obviously a bit dusty. That means I dont want to wash it so I put the car away. Do I put the car cover on or not? Seems to methat putting the cover on will cause little scrathes, but leaving the cover off will let the car accumulate dirt and risk scratches as you pass through the garage.

So what do you do? Do people really wash the car and dry it every drive?
 
birdseye said:
OK guys, I bought a kit of cleaning things including a mit. But there still is an issue. Suppose I take the car out for a run in dry weather, get back, car not dirty but obviously a bit dusty. That means I dont want to wash it so I put the car away. Do I put the car cover on or not? Seems to methat putting the cover on will cause little scrathes, but leaving the cover off will let the car accumulate dirt and risk scratches as you pass through the garage.

So what do you do? Do people really wash the car and dry it every drive?
Click to expand...

Use a quick detailer.....Meguiars Last Touch is about £25 for 4 litres which makes 8 litres of spray detailer.

Mist on...carefully wipe off with microfibers.

BTW I never wash my car and put it away. I always take it for a spin around the block to dry off the brakes.......but I don't have a dehumidifier. :coat:
 
Carper said:
Just stick it back in the AirChamber with the dehumidifier running of course .... will be fine :hide:
Click to expand...

No! No! No! - the dehum will only deal with the moisture, what you need in addition to the dehum is an electrostatic air filter, normally used in conjunction with a coarse filter to remove the larger particles, but be careful as the better, commercial, ones, run at a very high voltage and will do more than make your hair stand on end:shocked:

My next garage will have a full AHU with built in dehum, hum, heat, cool and filtration:thumbsup: a smaller verion of that used by contact lens makers, turns the garage into a mini cleanroom:thumbsup:
 
Washing up liquid on a Ferrari? :shocked::shocked:
Yes it's great for washing dishes and is soft for your hands........that's the salt content. Most ferrari owners would more likely have nightmares using it, than watching nightmare on elm street.

If you've had it detailed then, 2 buckets, mitt (these are superb and only a few quid.) Many car shampoos out there, pick one, or take others advise Im not going to swear by one.(it's a little bit subjective) To dry it, micro fibre towels. Cheap on ebay, and even b&q have offers from time to time.
A wash down with 2 buckets is no more than a 10 min job and total contents you can get by for 20 quid. If you want to put a wax on it ? That's a whole different avenue. For quick detail at the end? As said a spray detailer is an easy option......but don't borrow francisn's brillo for it :grin:

I hate washing cars too, so keep it down to a minimum.
 
If you've got it muddy then you'll have to wash it, but this isnt going to take too long as its not dirty really

If its just dusty then a QD wipe over wont harm it, as its waxed, just use plenty of deep pile microfibres - which aren't necessarily the cheapest but £20 is a worst case scenario for a few

If its just dust in the garage then a wool duster will take that off safely

If you suffer from folks going by the car in the garage then you'll have to put the cover on, maybe temporarily, maybe only partly/loosely on, or install an electric fence.

Real world time - my car came back off 2 days Hillclimbing at Harewood on Sunday evening, straight into the garage, and may get washed tonight. The dehum will take care of any residual water (I use filtered water so dont physically dry it, to reduce marring), after running it up the road to clear brakes, the cover will go on in 24 hours. Whole job will be half an hour.
 
birdseye said:
OK guys, I bought a kit of cleaning things including a mit. But there still is an issue. Suppose I take the car out for a run in dry weather, get back, car not dirty but obviously a bit dusty. That means I dont want to wash it so I put the car away. Do I put the car cover on or not? Seems to methat putting the cover on will cause little scrathes, but leaving the cover off will let the car accumulate dirt and risk scratches as you pass through the garage.

So what do you do? Do people really wash the car and dry it every drive?
Click to expand...

I tend to wash the car properly a few times a year, if I come back from a drive and the car seems dusty, I have an air compressor in the garage which I use to blow the dust off before putting the cover back on, hope this helps not sure if this is ok, but it works for me.
 
If you have come back off a drive and there is dust on the car, you obviously haven't been going quick enough..........

But yes, if that works for you then very useful to have one handy
 
Reverted to type - its gone into the garage dirty and covered in dead flies. Life is too short to spend it washing cars - I'll do that before I put it away for the winter.
 
^^ This. If it's mud or birds hit the wash it off. If it's a date or a show then wash it off. Otherwise a couple times in the summer and just before storage.
 
Have a look at Gyeon Bathe+ and Gyeon Wet Coat, they keep coatings topped up, beading and sheet water like mad and make your life a lot easier. Plus you can use Wet Coat on paint, glass trim and wheels. :thumbsup:
 
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