My question has always been, what does the dust/grit do to my paint as I am rubbing it off? Which is why I have not gone that route.

 

Garage-kept and only driven ~1500/year, rarely in rain. Washed about every 2 to 3 months, starting with a soft, warm water rinse from the hose, at which point the car is already pretty clean. Use a bucket of soapy soft warm water and a big, thick microfiber mitt that holds a ton of water. After going over the body, use the now slightly dirty soapy water to do the wheels and wheel well liners. Rinse with soft, warm water, squeegee with soft silicone rubber squeegee, then finish drying with a big, fresh, clean microfiber towel. Wipe door jambs (all the way around), door bottoms, trunk and engine lids and rain channels with old clean t-shirt. Pull out the air compressor and blow any retained water out from between panel seams, around all lights, corners of windshield and rear window seals, and wherever water is puddled in engine compartment, wiping up as I go. Drive it around the block a couple of times to dry the rotors and mop any additional water that shows up. Takes about 90 minutes.

Clay bar once a year or so, then hit it with two or three coats of Rejex.

 

Exactly. My understanding of the benefit of using soap is that the foam is what carries away the grit. With just a thin film of spray detailer, I wonder how this can be as effective.

 

That would be my concern. On their website, even Griot's doesn't try to claim it is superior to water-washing. Instead, they talk about wanting to clean your car when you have water restrictions or it's freezing outside. So it still sounds second-best. And from their site: "To use our Spray-On Car Wash correctly and minimize any minute scratching that may occur from serious road grime, dirt, sand and mud, I've put together this limited time kit including everything you need for months of safe and easy waterless washing." The kit gives you a bunch of "high-loft" towels. Seems like they're trying to compensate for the lack of flushing action from not having water. So it seems like you'd have to push in dirt to clean creases, etc. Not a great thing IMO.

 

P21S are the best products I have ever used and their wax is a dream

 

Mine is a daily driver and it gets washed once every couple of weeks. After washing, I use speed shine (but I am switching to Dodo Tropical Mist) to give the wax a boost. Once every couple of months I wax it and I clay a coupe of times a year.

As for washing, I think soapy water using the 2 bucket method OR Optimum No Rinse (see earlier post) is the best way to clean the car with no swirls. Both methods are superior to the "waterless" car wash techniques and should minimize swirls.

 

Every couple of weeks, depending on how much I drive the 993, I use softened water and some made in Germany BMW car wash that I get every year at the BMWCCA holiday dinner as a door prize.

Every now and then, it gets a coat of One Grand Blitz wax.

 

This really depends on use. I drive my car mainly on dry days, and on track.

If it's not on track, it's the bugs. Splat.

If track, it's the brake dust. And rubber.

No way a waterless cleaner is going to cut it.

I try to minimize touching the paint, which for me is a wash every 2-3 weeks or so. I soak it up first with soapy suds from a garden sprayer then rinse most of the worst off. Then a normal hand wash changing water and wash mit once for the bottom half.

Results are good. Or so says the signature.

 

Mine is a daily driver. It is garaged so it is washed when it gets dirty. Qwik Detailer when necessary. I always keep a bottle and Microfibers in the car. In Summer top is down 90% of the time so Ragg Top cleaner and protectant in the Fall and Spring. Waxed when water doesn't bead. Clayed once a year or more depending on state of dirt.

I like to wash car with water as it is theraputic.

 

Hi
I have a black 993, the worst car for cleaning and scratches.
I wash may car with a Mequiars purple car wash in a bucket of water, using a big hand mit, running water with the hose on the paint work at the same time, plenty of soap.

Then hose the car off.
Then use a compressor with a air hose to blow the water off and out of all the cracks and rubbers.

This gives a fantastic finish, almost perfect and no scratches from wiping the car down.

We all have our own methods....

 

I also have a Black 993.

The car is washed every few weeks.

1. Full hose down.
2. Let it soak with Adams car wash.
3. Gentle use of a clean lamswool wash mit.
4. Full Rinse.
5. Dry with multiple clean micro-fibre towels.

Plus waxing 3/4x per year with Swissvax Concourso.

Car is professionally machine polished / detailed every 2 years.

:-)

 

I like ONR as long as I stay up on maintenance washes,,,


Video shows the method I use, with Opt Car Wax to finish.

They have a new product as well that cuts it down to one step, look for Opti-Clean here:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Optimum-OPT-M36/

 

I wash my car about twice a month traditionally using great products...followed by a duster in between and Meq finish spray...its a DD so it has some spider swirls...The swirls are nothting compared to the sandblasted original front end from the 97k plus on the car...
Lets face it...in the end it looks great but drives much, much better than it looks if you know what I mean...

 

Car is used on wknds and in nice weather situations only. Used hose and bucket today for about the fifth or sixth time in 3.5 years of ownership had bugs and sap from last weekend's trip up to Carmel/Pebble Beach.

Speed shine/waterless technique most of the time.

 

Exactly Alex!! I wonder what all that brake dust and grit is doing to the finish as it collects on that cloth.

I also wonder about all that black crap that I see on the California Duster. I know it's brake dust, and the fibers are oil-impregnated to hold it in "suspension", so I presume that they are less harmful. Any comments there guys and gals?

Garage Queen gets duster between rides and washed (two buckets--one on wheels and one on the car) and detailed once a month. I use P21S once a year or if I see that the water is not beading up appropriatly.