Detailing after every drive.

[ldejavul]

I am very new to detailing and paint care. With this said I have had a lot of help and I think I am headed in the right direction. Let me tell you what I have done so far. 

 

First I washed with blue dawn and clayed the car. Then I used a porter cable and did the two step paint correction. After that I used the paint sealant and then finally I used the buttery wax. 

 

Now after everytime I drive the car I go around and do a quick detail. The rear end of my car is always dusty after a drive and I break out the california duster and do a light sweep of the car. Then I come back with my detail spray and hit any tar or other things that didn't come off with the duster.  This car is kind of my daily driver. I will drive it as long as its not wet out.  When its wet out my baby stays in the garage. 

 

With this said should I be detailing after every drive? I have heard diluting the rinseless wash is better to use if you use it this often. Also when should I wash the entire car? I have also detailed and rewaxed since my first detail about a month ago. How often should I wax? 

 

I do know that I am going to do a major detail in the spring and fall of each year. 

[Ricky Bobby]

Diluting the rinseless wash is most cost effective and it has more cleaning agents than Detail Spray - literally Detail Spray should be used as a final wipe product or gloss enhancer, very light dust (I.E. sitting in the garage for a few days and just some dust on the surface)  For getting light dust or dirt off from a daily driver off, use the RTU Waterless or diluted Rinseless IMO (more cleaning agents and lubrication properties), then follow up with a final wipe with a clean towel with the Detail Spray to add some gloss.

 

Throw out the California duster and just use the regimen I noted above, you are inflicting damage long term and should just do a spray and wipedown instead of using the duster and getting what's left.

 

Buttery Wax is a 3 month product or so, and Paint Sealant is a 6 month product, so you can add a coat of wax on top quarterly if you'd like.  I usually clay and re-seal every 6-8 months or so and that is a good regimen.

 

You only need to do a traditional wash when you feel like it.  Many of us rarely ever traditional wash and just do rinseless washes (preferred method as its safe, uses less water and is fast, efficient, and great for when you have more dirt than is safe with a spray and wipe, but not enough to justify the hose, or maybe the temps won't allow it) -

 

***Cue waiting for Chris@Adams to chime in as he knows very well how to keep his ride SUPER clean without traditional washes.  IIRC he has washed it traditionally 4 times in 11 years.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Ricky Bobby

[mc2hill]

First off, Welcome!

 

It kind of depends on how often you drive the car, but many clean it that often.  

 

You may want to look into Rinseless wash and the 'bucket of towels' (or GDWM) wash method.  Fill a bucket with Rinseless Wash at wash strength and put very good MF towels in the bucket.  Wipe a section with one quarter of the towel, flip the towel to a clean quarter, and continue.  When all the quaters of the towel are dirty, grab a clean towel from the bucket.  You can leave the towels sitting for a week or so, if you use the Gamma Seal lid.  This may save you some time and money in the long run.

[Dan@Adams]

Excellent tips by Ricky Bobby and Michael up above.

 

I can vouch for Chris' black GTO being basically as close to 100% perfect as you will ever see, and like Jason said, he's only washed it with a two bucket wash about 4 times since 2006.

 

I've been doing Waterless and rinseless washes more and more on my GTO now too, following the method Michael explained above. I will use 4-6 Double Soft Towels for a complete wash, making sure to set a towel aside into another empty bucket once it's fully dirty - this way I'm never introducing dirt into my Rinseless Wash bucket.

[Chris@Adams]

First off Welcome.....you can maintain perfect paint with RW and or WW after every drive.

Thanks for the kind words about my GTO guys.

[BRC]

All, thank you for the information above. You may see me commenting a lot lately - that's the side effect of an addictive personality, but I'm trying to learn! So, I live in Washington, DC - in an apartment complex. I won't have access to a hose and water super frequently - maybe once every couple weeks. But in the interim, I'm going to be doing these rinseless washes (I only have Waterless Wash for that purpose at this point).

 

I understand the steps above and I appreciate the advice. In the winter months, though, how do I clean the undercarriage of the car? Not just in the wheel wells, but how do I get underneath the vehicle to remove the salt from the roads. I've searched high and low and there are NO wash bays in my area. Some apartment complexes come with them, but mine is not one of them. Any thoughts? I'd had to take it through a drive through, but I feel like if I have to do that once a month, or so, just in the winter months, it would be better to clean that exposed area, rather than not clean it at all. Any help is appreciated!

[Junior]

Are you in DC? You don't have any coin ops near your location? That would be the way to go. We really don't deal with salt in Georgia so my advice is limited there. Maybe someone else in your area or who has experience with having to keep salt off can chime in. Wondering if similar to protecting paint you could somehow protect the undercarriage against salt. Seems there would be a way,, but again I have no experience there.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Junior

[Junior]

Based on what I am seeing, there are places you can go to have anti rust coatings or oils applied. I would definitely look into that if it were me. Not sure what else to recommend. You definitely need to keep the underside of the vehicle cleaned and that essentially takes water pressure. Rinseless wash cannot do much there unless you can raise the car and take a lot of grimey one use towels and spend a lot of time going over all the nooks and crannies there. Time it takes to do that makes it less than ideal. Undercarriage spray and a fender brush and APC can help to some extent in the wheel wells as the Invisible UC spray will provide some resistance to build up.

[BRC]

Are you in DC? You don't have any coin ops near your location? That would be the way to go. We really don't deal with salt in Georgia so my advice is limited there. Maybe someone else in your area or who has experience with having to keep salt off can chime in. Wondering if similar to protecting paint you could somehow protect the undercarriage against salt. Seems there would be a way,, but again I have no experience there.

 

I am in DC - downtown. I would LOVE a coin operated bay. We don't even have them in the immediate suburbs surrounding the city! I have to drive about 45 minutes away - which is fine, but by the time I drive it back, I'd have it covered in salt again! Thank you for chiming in. 

[BRC]

Based on what I am seeing, there are places you can go to have anti rust coatings or oils applied. I would definitely look into that if it were me. Not sure what else to recommend. You definitely need to keep the underside of the vehicle cleaned and that essentially takes water pressure. Rinseless wash cannot do much there unless you can raise the car and take a lot of grimey one use towels and spend a lot of time going over all the nooks and crannies there. Time it takes to do that makes it less than ideal. Undercarriage spray and a fender brush and APC can help to some extent in the wheel wells as the Invisible UC spray will provide some resistance to build up.

 

Thanks, Jamey. I'm going to look into that to see if I can get something done prior to winter coming.