Bugs? Yeah, thats what happens when you go off roading...

 

+1

 

The California Duster is great. Washing with water works well once you get a good polish/glaze and a good wax job. The waterless wash is so easy with a soft rag. Gets the interstate grime and bugs off with little effort.
16 year old black paint is tough to keep swirl marks off of. I keep my old car garaged and covered.

 

Depends how dirty: Sometimes with water. Sometimes without.

The best way: with a camera








^^ Kudos to Boman993 (Jakob) for the image.

 

I'm with AB Car. I use a soft bristle brush. The dirt migrates up into the brush, unlike what happens with a sponge or mitt. My father was also a car nut. We went to a car show where there were Dusenbergs and other very valuable cars, and they were using brushes and drying their cars with old worn out Turkish towels. I have spent a bunch of money on these new micro towels and have not found them to be as effective as old cotton towels.

 

soap and water in a bucket-body first then wheels..with different mitts but the same water bucket. dry with a fake shammy, wipe dry with old cotton towels.

I try to dry every crack and orfice I can, then apply glass cleaner, tire shine, and Trim shine on the various pieces.

I did that yesterday, drove it in the rain today, and will probably wash it again tomorrow the same way.

and I won't even bother to wash/dry the cotton towel before using it a second time.

I had to wash it Friday, because I had a muddy mountain bike on top of it for the ride back from the trails.

The car gets polished with rejex about 4 times per year, just a pre-wax cleaner before application. Every winter she gets a full wheels/liners off clean-the clean to HUMAN standards you know. Nothing like the factory fresh look of clean cosmoline I always say.

Does this mean I'm going to hell?

 

serious question... why do "absorbers" suck? ive been using them on boats since i was a pre-teen and have always used them on all my cars. i make sure they are contaminate free. im open to switching if its clear why...

---edit---- ok i found this, makes sense. im going to try the griots micro fiber drying towel and see...

 

The absorbers works very well. They don't hold anything but water. So if there are any leftover dirt, it will drag it over the car & scratch.

I use the Griot's towels, they are big, have pockets so you don't drop them, & can do the whole car with out being wrung out. The waffle will hold any dirt left over, & not drag it on the car.

 

i read a lot on detailing forums and everyone was saying the california duster is bad and drags arround contaminants that will cause micro scratching, not sure if its true or not but i dont use one

i always use water, seems like a good soak then second rinse with a hose will remove a lot of loose dirt etc which reduces the chance of me dragging them accross the paint and causing scratches, i use a lambs wool mit to wash, 2 bucket method, (wheels are washed first using a diferent bucket and mit) then dry with a gas powered leaf blower, my system seems to work very well but i get strange looks when using the leaf blower

 

I washed my car twice yesterday... once when I got up b/c it had been sitting a week and my wife drove it through some rain earlier in the week when I was at Laguna Seca for MotoGP and then I drove it yesterday through lots of rain and actually washed it in the rain (late sprinkles) with a hose and soap before putting it and myself to bed.

I grab the hose, hose it off, put some griots soap on a microfiber sponge thing and then starting top to bottom lightly suds it up... I carnuba it every few weeks so its very easy to get dirt off... the car is so small, at least compared to my SUV, that it takes a few minutes to clean...

We have so many municipalities around town wasting water keeping grass green no one uses that the roads always a wet run off in places... this gets a black car spotty... I can't imagine how crappy my black 993 would look only washing it once every few months... but its a semi-daily driver for me and not rare or with low miles so it will get driven in lots of conditions...

Terry towel to dry mostly with micro fiber towels to get the spots...

 

I have a CA duster and wash it whenever it needs washing---spray hose at the local car wash. Good old black shows everything but looks damn good when clean!

 

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...and-dry-a-car/

 

If I was showing my car at Concours events, I suppose I'd worry about using my CA duster. But, I don't, so I don't!

 

Harry - the comments here are all good but things are a little different here as we don't get much rain and bugs aren't a problem, at least in my neck of the woods. I've gotten into this is detail topic with a few local detailers (no pun intended) and the verdict for cars around here is the following:

1. Have a good coat of wax - redo at least twice a year
2. Avoid washing unless the car is really dirty - then two buckets and micro fibre towels to dry
3. CA duster is fine but only on the body, not the wheels.
4. If necessary, spot clean with the waterless cleaner and use it to clean the wheels - with multiple microfiber towels.

We're lucky because a lot of the "dirt" we get is really dust and can be easily and safely removed with a duster on a well waxed surface (that's really key). Heavy dirt should not be removed with a duster and if spot cleaning won't suffice then a full wet wash is better than a dirty duster. I dust my occasional drivers before and after use, never use a cover (my garages are pretty clean) and spot clean with waterless if I get a bug or two or a little road grime. I also keep them well waxed which I think is the real secret to protecting from minor swirls and scratches.

 

^^that is pretty much my routine^^