i live in nyc suburb where washing a car past dec is nearly impossible until mar. i zainoed may car a few weeks back so i am good from that standpoint. my question is, is a quick detailer spray applied directly without washing appropriate? im not looking for shortcuts as im perfectly willing to do the work. as i said, if i could, i would wash the car. what do people in colder climates do during the winter if they want to do the work themselves?

any guidance here with some details would be appreciated. thanks.

 

I do wipe mine down with quik detailer in between washings, but realize that it will cause some swirling, especially with salt and road grime. I just live with it until spring when I do an all out polishing and cleaning to get rid of the stuff that accumulated during the winter. I would put another layer of sealant on the car (Rejex, Megs 21, etc.) to protect it as much as possible. Good luck with it!

Steve

 

Perhaps this product might be an option (rennlist small business sponsor)?
https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-and-boxster-s-986-forum/315736-magic-spray-and-wipe.html

http://muelhaupt.us/carmagic/shop.html

 

Optimum's "No Rinse" is your solution.

You can do a search for it on here where I posted up a "How-To" and you can also go to Autopia.org and do a search for it on there.

It works fantastic and allows you to wash your Porsche with about 2 to 3 gallons of water. Alot of detailers and enthusiasts are using it now instead of bucket washing......especially in water restrictiuon areas and in the areas that get freezing temps.

Anthony

 

This is the ONLY time you'll hear me recommend this: car wash. They do more harm than good, but if you don't have access to washing yourself and use a quick detailer product, you would be doing way more harm. The swirls the car wash will most definitely put in your car could most likely be remedied in the spring when you use the porter cable.

 

Do you have to wash the car out doors, or can you do it in your garage?
My reason for asking is that I put running water into the garage, and washing with warm (not hot) water made it possible to keep my 928S4 reasonably clean. Of course, it got dirty as soon as I backed it out of the garage.
I found that the garage (not insulated or heated, but attached to the house) was almost always above freezing. I still turned off the water supply when not using it.
Now the cars are cleaned, waxed, and put to bed for the winter. Gives me lots of time for maintenance and projects (in my 'spare' garage which is insulated and, though not heated, stays above 50 degrees for the most part).
Anyway - just thinking out loud.

 

Even washing outdoors, I still managed it in the UK during winter by filling large buckets with hot water and using those to soak, wash and rinse the car before it could freeze on!

I wore rubber washing-up gloves to keep the hands warm(er), but everything else was as normal.

Worth the effort just to keep the salt off the paintwork each week!

Chris.

 

thanks all for your suggestions.

i actually talked to zainos today to get their take - not sure if it was sal himself - and was told they do not recommend any type of spray and wipe, nor the no rinse wash. he was pretty emphatic. he would keep the car dirty, if not he would use a car wash but everything else is harmful in his opinion.

so anthony, while i really, really respect your opinion, im gonna hope that i get a decent day to wash my car if it gets too dirty....

thanks all.

 

I use this product called Fükken Wax. I first started using this quick detailing product about 4 years ago when it was called Fast Wax then they changed their name to Fükken Wax. Check out the their website and take a look at the video demonstration.

www.fukkenwax.com

 

I would use a touchless carwash if you do not have access to water and a garage to wash in or at least pull into after the wash. After the touchless you could spot clean with a quick detailer. Another option is to find someone willing to do an indoors hand wash for you. I mention that because I went that route for a winter before I got my garage squared away.

 

Although I have washed my daily driver in sub freezing temperatures by using warm water, I don't really bother anymore. We have grueling winters with lots of road salt up here. Wash it and it'll look just as dirty and salt covered the next day.

But what I do is protect the insides of my car from road salt. Owners of winter daily drivers may find my tip useful.

This is what the driver's side carpet of my 1999 Honda CR-V looks like after 11 harsh winters. Other than a light vacuuming once or twice a year, it has never been shampooed in 11 years of "real" winters as a daily driver in Canada. Road salt has never made it to the carpet. Taken after the end of the eleventh winter and prior to any clean-up.



Looking at some detailing posts on here, there are some summer drivers that don't look that good before a clean-up.

The secret? A double layer of 6 mil vapor barrier plastic sheeting placed under the Pants Savers rubber mat with about 6" extending beyond all edges. To prevent the Pants Savers mat from slipping around, it is attached to the seat frame rails using rope to attach two tarp clips.

 

hi, I know you guys are going to shudder at this but here in Australia we have eucalypt trees that in the hot weather drip this shocking sticky mess all over everything, and our local parks and gardens people plant those blasted native trees everywhere -- it's just impossible to get away from.

My 996 has now been with me for a bit over a year and I park it in the outside -- at home it's under the gum trees and at work it's under more gum trees (notice the short name we use here for eucalypts ie "gum" trees -- gives you an idea of what they drip onto everything) and those trees are full of birds and you thae the crap they drop.

My previous cars have suffered because of this problem, when I purchased this car I had all of the top surfaces of my car done with clear protective sheeting -- plastic coated (not the class Targa top which of course is impervious).

I occasionally wash and wax the plastic just the same as it were painted, it may be the particular colour of my car (Arctic Silver) or it may be the brand of plastic film that the installer used (not sure -- he never told me) but it hasn't discoloured andI've never had a comment -- not good or bad about the plastic sheet -- so although an expert would "pick it" the ordinary person doesn't seem to see it at all and of course the grime and muck doesn't affect it -- 100% protected!

For me -- problem solved