Car wash

[Bobby Dazzler]

sorry to hijack the thread but I have a couple of questions
1. what is ceramic and what effect will it have
2. the dealer put stargard on as part of the deal to buy the car,could I have the ceramic put on top of that.

1. Think of it as you would wax, but more resistant to light damage caused by car washing, and more resilient so it lasts much longer. More expensive too. A good one will add shine/gloss, but that’s most often because the paint is usually machine polished and deep cleaned prior to application.

2. A detailer (professional who would apply the ceramic coating) would usually try to cleanse anything and everything already in the paint - dirt, tar, iron fallout, and other cleaning products.

PS A long lasting ceramic coat is best applied by a professional as it needs to be applied perfectly, and that means prepared to a high standard - and ideally inside. You may need the right applicators and even masks, so best left to a pro u less you’re really into it.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

For those wishing to use a professional detailer for maintenance washes - but think it’s just a touch too expensive - ask if they do a maintenance wash. In exchange for regular business (eg weekly/fortnightly) there can be a fairly substantial discount over the advertised price, and they often throw in extras, eg top up coats when needed.

 

[Lennox]

Why does beading count? In that moment yes woopdeedoo. Bit, seroiously wha does it add?

The beading it's self is cool but as I dry it off its just an indicator that you have very clean paintwork that's got a high hydrophobic element. So it doesn't get dirt as easy and looks very very Shiney.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Beading looks great when wet but I find it a liability because those beads eventually dry. On a black or dark coloured car - especially with horizontal surfaces - it leaves a leopard skin style finish.

 

[Lennox]

For those wishing to use a professional detailer for maintenance washes - but think it’s just a touch too expensive - ask if they do a maintenance wash. In exchange for regular business (eg weekly/fortnightly) there can be a fairly substantial discount over the advertised price, and they often throw in extras, eg top up coats when needed.

My mate offers these to clients..... I often pop round to get mine done. (I do it under supervision)

And ceramic makes cleaning it a doddle. People cannot believe the finish you get in minutes.

From my detailer.....

Beading is usually indicative of a smooth surface with minimal contaminants.

A perfectly flat freshly polished surface with no imperfections (even with zero wax, sealant, ceramic) will bead like crazy, however surface contaminants will quickly bond to the clearcoat as there's no protection which will make the surface uneven and effect the water behavior.

Waxes, sealants and ceramic make removing the contaminants much easier as they're not bonding to the clearcoat but the really thin hydrophobic protective layer.

Beading is indicative of a very clean surface with little contaminants not necessarily that it's protected.

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Always used to take my company cars to the car wash. On the one occasion that I took the Boxster in I told the guys not to use the jetwash on the (20 year old ) roof . A minute later it got a good blasting , thankfully not causing any damage , other than a breakdown in Anglo - East European relations and brief exchange of insults. I now do my own valeting which is no great chore as the car only gets dry use and is garaged.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Always used to take my company cars to the car wash. On the one occasion that I took the Boxster in I told the guys not to use the jetwash on the (20 year old ) roof . A minute later it got a good blasting , thankfully not causing any damage , other than a breakdown in Anglo - East European relations and brief exchange of insults. I now do my own valeting which is no great chore as the car only gets dry use and is garaged.

Last week I was at my detailer's unit and he had a an Audi A5 in with a softtop - it had been damaged by a dealership with over zealous use of a jetwash. My detailer managed to improve the appearance so that it looked normal from a few metres away, but if you were closer than that then you could see what looked like a snail trail where the jet of water had been - the trail was all over the roof but it was less than the width of your little finger which gives an idea how close the lance was at the time.

I think the improvement was mostly from deep cleaning to roof so that it was consistently clean rather than clean where the jet had been and dirty where it hadn't, and I suspect that cleaning it helped disguise it by brushing the the pile, but the underlying damage was still there if you looked. He described it as ripped - but the fabric wasn't actually torn - I'm not sure whether that's the proper term for that type of damage or whether it was his own description.

 

[AW8]

I couldn't leave mine a week........it is seldom found dirty for long after significant use.

In summer or fair weather....... I use bucket(s) of clean water, a MF wash mitt & dry with MF towel(s)...takes around 15 mins. In light use I ,(usually daily), dust off & use water/detailer spray to spritz/spray wipe & buff in sections...(5 or 10 mins to do whole car)....For sake of 75-90 mins total time a week I have a regular use car that looks 8/10 most days, ( rather than 10/10 once a week). In winter 2 bucket washes but usually done in around 20 mins.

Not using pressure washer, foam or suds every wash saves me a lot of prep & rinse time. I find using clean water only causes the LSP (wax) finish to last longer. My current car is silver so more forgiving than the black cars currently here, (clay/polish/wax makes quick washing easier too).

Some purists &/or pro-detailers may dislike my routine, however, I get regularly told that my car is well presented....( & recently from a PDR specialist who works on prestige vehicles).

 

[Philc57]

Well I washed my car on Saturday and now wish I hadn't
I found a defect in the paint finish on both front wings .
Passenger side has a dull patch about the size of a fist
Driver side a dull patch the size of two hands ,both between
Front wheel and front door .not really visible standing away but up close and at certain angles visible to me.
Don't know what to do . Would a detailing sort this i wonder or
Is a job for a paint shop . I'll have to make some enquiries.

 

[Lennox]

Well I washed my car on Saturday and now wish I hadn't
I found a defect in the paint finish on both front wings .
Passenger side has a dull patch about the size of a fist
Driver side a dull patch the size of two hands ,both between
Front wheel and front door .not really visible standing away but up close and at certain angles visible to me.
Don't know what to do . Would a detailing sort this i wonder or
Is a job for a paint shop . I'll have to make some enquiries.

Well I would get a full paint correction and if you want an easier life a nice ceramic coating.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Well I washed my car on Saturday and now wish I hadn't
I found a defect in the paint finish on both front wings .
Passenger side has a dull patch about the size of a fist
Driver side a dull patch the size of two hands ,both between
Front wheel and front door .not really visible standing away but up close and at certain angles visible to me.
Don't know what to do . Would a detailing sort this i wonder or
Is a job for a paint shop . I'll have to make some enquiries.

How old is the car. Depending upon why it’s gone dull then machine polishing may resolve it, but it’s best that a detailer looks first. Best ask a detailer First, rather than a bodyshop as a bodyshop may suggest respraying it.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

The beading it's self is cool but as I dry it off its just an indicator that you have very clean paintwork that's got a high hydrophobic element. So it doesn't get dirt as easy and looks very very Shiney.

So what does "sheeting" add?

 

[Philc57]

How old is the car. Depending upon why it’s gone dull then machine polishing may resolve it, but it’s best that a detailer looks first. Best ask a detailer First, rather than a bodyshop as a bodyshop may suggest respraying it.

It's a 2017 in brilliant blue
And yes have been looking at detailers near me.
There are a couple to chose from.

 

[lastfan]

New car, new resolution. Have bought a snow foam lance ( arriving tomorrow) and following a few on experts on YouTube I am going to turn over a new leaf and get into a routine and schedule of regular washing. No more trips to the local car wash for me.

 

[TomF]

Hi all, as someone that rarely cleaned his car other than when I was an OCD teenager I find myself with a really nice S class W222.
So, I've started taking care of my car but I'm really not impressed with my leather (I've taken to keeping it damp in a bag to stop it cracking up). The leather is leaving tiny bits all over the car and I've taken to using my micro fibre cloth to finish off instead.
Any tips on best way to dry off negating the need for me to polish every time?
Cheers boys n girls..

 

[W221copea]

Hi all, as someone that rarely cleaned his car other than when I was an OCD teenager I find myself with a really nice S class W222.
So, I've started taking care of my car but I'm really not impressed with my leather (I've taken to keeping it damp in a bag to stop it cracking up). The leather is leaving tiny bits all over the car and I've taken to using my micro fibre cloth to finish off instead.
Any tips on best way to dry off negating the need for me to polish every time?
Cheers boys n girls..

Hi Tom,

I have the same issue with leathers......i have one i allow to dry then soak for 30 minutes before using and this has stopped it falling apart. In general now I use micro fibres to dry to a streak free finish and avoid the leather. I have about 6 and wash dry after use (tend to use them all each wash!")

I'm also lucky as Silver cleans oh so easy.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Hi Tom,

I have the same issue with leathers......i have one i allow to dry then soak for 30 minutes before using and this has stopped it falling apart. In general now I use micro fibres to dry to a streak free finish and avoid the leather. I have about 6 and wash dry after use (tend to use them all each wash!")

I'm also lucky as Silver cleans oh so easy.

Chamois leathers seemed to have been replaced with large micro fibre towels these days, so you can “pat” the paint with the towel to absorb water, rather than “drag” across the paint with a leather to wipe away some and absorb some water.

The motive being to reduce the risk of damaging paint by making contact as light as possible with as little movement (in contact with the paint) as possible.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

PS Back when I used to wash my cars - way before microfibre towels - I found that a synthetic chamois leather (Autoglym) kept in a case was the best “leather”. The case kept it moist between uses, and so didn’t crack or degrade - and I don’t think it would even if it had dried out.

 

[Chrishazle]

When I first started getting interested in more comprehensive car bodywork care I read (probably on detailingworld) that microfibre cloths and towels were far better than chamois as a chamois would pick up any remaining piece of dirt or grit and pull it across the paintwork, causing microscratches. Even worse was the silicone water removing blade (even though mine was AG branded!). Both got binned and 2 large microfibre drying towels and a lot of MF cloths bought. I also bought and use a lambswool mitt for the top half of the cars and a MF mitt for the lower dirtyer bits - as the MF can be machine washed at 40C (do not use fabric conditioner!!) whereas the lambswool has to be hand washed.

 

[TomF]

Hi Tom,

I have the same issue with leathers......i have one i allow to dry then soak for 30 minutes before using and this has stopped it falling apart. In general now I use micro fibres to dry to a streak free finish and avoid the leather. I have about 6 and wash dry after use (tend to use them all each wash!")

I'm also lucky as Silver cleans oh so easy.

Ahh thought as much, mines silver too (palladium).