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We can't really wash our own cars around here, too much calcium in the water from the well. I thought about running the city water to on outside faucet, but they won't allow me to do that unless I abandon my well. That would cost me enough to buy another car.
I'll give your methodology a shot, sounds good. I have only had the car for less than 2 weeks and have only been to the SS wash a few times. You point is taken in regards to the chemicals. The car is going in next week for paint correction, PPF reowrk and ceramic coating. Hopefully that gives me the protection I will need for daily use.
Thanks for the tips,
Tom in Reno
Tom, once you have the detailing work completed it will all be about upkeep and making sure you don’t hit it with harsh chemicals to break down the coating. Ask the Detailer what product to use and you can do a two bucket at home as suggested above and should have much enjoyment from it!
We can't really wash our own cars around here, too much calcium in the water from the well. I thought about running the city water to on outside faucet, but they won't allow me to do that unless I abandon my well. That would cost me enough to buy another car.
You might want to look into Rinseless Washes like with ONR (Optimum No Rinse) or Wolfgang Uber Rinse (what I use). The benefit of getting these products are that you also have a concentrate for detail spray or clay lube.
The downside is that you obviously would prefer to do more touch-less removal of dirt / dust first but you could still do a first rinse with well water first and follow up with the rinseless wash after if you're really concerned about scratching.
My Detailer only uses CQUARTZ products on mine after paint correction then applied full XPEL clear bra to the entire front facia. Before and after pics show the difference. I had this done in the summer of 2018 then had him recently do a quick touch up where he got on me about new swirl marks. My only issue is I'm 6'-5" so all the bending over is a back killer.
I do mine myself but less often than I would like to during the summer months. With almost daily afternoon showers here in Florida you'll have a lot of work undone in no time unless you just wash the car and then leave it in the garage. Not how I use mine.
I check the long term forecast since we do get a dry period now and then even in summer and that's when I go for it. Once a week or every other week during the dry winter months.
We can't really wash our own cars around here, too much calcium in the water from the well. I thought about running the city water to on outside faucet, but they won't allow me to do that unless I abandon my well. That would cost me enough to buy another car.
What a great idea. Here in So Cal we have very hard water and spotting is terrible. Years ago I had a car washing nozzle with filter cartridges but they took it off the market and have been looking for an alternative ever since. Ordered from Amazon today, thanks!
I used to wash my Porsche's by hand at my house. I still do occasionally but great no brush car wash close by and individuals wash by hand for $28
My washing routine was to wet entire car, then using a soft cotton cloth in bucket of re-mixed washing solution gently wash car - Separate rags for wheels.
After soaping up car I then rinsed with hose.
Then after car hosed off and dripping I use 2 squeegee's(large/small) to get rid of as much remaining water on exterior as possible. Then use new soft cotton cloth to dry car.
I then dry wheels with rag and use tire cleaner which dissolves and I use another rag to wipe tires dry. Takes about an hour.
I keep my car in garage and doesn't get much use so I'm not having to wash often.
Does that really work with hard (Ca) water, say 300TDS? A good resin-based de-ionizer does work, but if that works it is cheaper.
Our water here where I'm at is moderately hard - similar to what you've noted above. I have the outside hose bib that I use for washing the car connected to a water softener. Even with that, I would still get some water spotting. I tried the RV filter that ManoTexas has recommended as an additional measure - and it did help produce better results. I don't know however if it would be a sufficient solution on its own - but would be worth a try I think.
I never take my 911 through a car wash. I rinse the car well then hand wash with a very soft mitt. I wash the wheels with a separate cloth. I wash in sections and rinse often. I dry the entire car with a soft fiber cloth and clean the door sills. I keep the car garaged when not in use.
on a recent road trip I went to a hand pressure wash car wash a couple of times primarily to remove bugs.
+1 on the RV filters. The first time I washed my 911 at home I was stunned at how quickly water spots developed and how bad they were, even though I did not wash it in direct sunlight and I tried to dry it off as quickly as possible.
I was looking into water filters specifically for car washing/detailing but they were very expensive and most were designed for wall mounting in a shop or garage. I came across a YouTube video with the RV filter hack and figured it was worth a shot. The RV filter probably isn't as good as one of those units that costs hundreds of dollars, but I will say it's probably about 80%-90% better than straight tap water coming out of my hose.
I bought the slighter larger unit but the filters are replaceable. I haven't tried the smaller, disposable units, but I read this one has a bit more flow for a car washing application.
07-07-2020, 11:11 PM
