Day 4 of Porsche 968 ownership, and it is proving as enjoyable as hoped ( www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=33...2 ). Still wonder who has left their car on my drive in the morning as I go out to work....
Being White, it looks fantastic when clean, but it doesn't stay that way once it's been driven in rainy weather.
What's the best way of keeping a car clean? - is a home compressor the way to quickly keep the car clean on a regular basis - or what about the recently advertised systems that you can use with a hose system? Didn't really care about the Cavalier, but with the car being such a good looker, it deserves to look good.
And wax / other preparations to keep the car cleaner....
All tips on how to keep the car looking great gratefully received
Jono
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Keep it in the garage and don't drive it! ;-)
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I find the good old-fashioned brush on the end of a hose is best: you can get them with a place to put shampoo if needed.
Polish takes ages - I've recently got some Turtle Wax stuff called 'Wax it Wet' which takes the effort out of polishing but may not last as long as the laborious stuff. Still shiny and "beading" after a month, so it's doing well so far.
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I've just got one of those Flash car wash systems and I'm quite happy with it.
If you think you've got problems keeping a white car clean then don't ever buy a black one like mine! :-)
I had major problems in getting rid of all of the waterspots on my car when drying it, and it would dry itself quicker than I could attack it with a leather, don't have that problem now.
Actually I found my white car a breeze to keep clean, just used a straightdorward bucket and sponge followed by a water balde and a cloth for drying, never noticed a couple of water spots on a white car.
The other good thing about the Flash system is I personally think it causes less scratching and fine lines in the paint than ordinary washing as you don't have to touch it with a chamois to dry it. Certainly think that the shine after I first washed with the Flash system was better than normal.
So, as you've gathered, I would recommend it, although I'm not sure how useful it will be on a white car. With my white car I just made sure it was well polished and it sort of looked after itself from there.
Blue
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Thanks for all the replies
If you think you've got problems, the 968 is white, and the family transport (Mondeo Estate) is Panther Black :-(
I think the way forward is to keep on top of it (weekly goes with either a bucket and water blade, or the Flash system) with less frequent more thorough estimates.
Cheers
Jono
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It would be better to have a thread on how to keep black cars clean ! In my experience white cars still look reasonable even with moderate dirt, whils black cars are dirty if you've driven 100 yards !
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Best tip i can give is that after washing each side, rinse it off. dont leave it to dry whilst you clean the next side. keep the panels wet, then dry not by chamois but by one of those rubber blade things. just drags the water off. highly recommended and no wet spots....
I have a white car, my wifes is black. and works wonders on both.
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I like the blade drying thing, I have a good quality Auto Glymn one but even so, the first time I used it on the black Focus it left a slight streak in the paint where a tiny particle of dust or something had become trapped. I decided that on a black finish it is just too risky, I've just finished washing my Focus with the Flash thing and once again, it's done it very nicely with no damage to the paintwork...
Blue
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I like the blade drying thing,
I've not heard of these before. I assume that it's an improved version of a window cleaners squeegee?
--
L\'escargot.
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Yeah, the best one is by Auto Glymn, my gran bought a cheaper version, it looked the same but had a much rougher edge that damaged the paint surface.
The AG version works just like a window cleaners squeegee, it's useful for clearing all the paintwork and glass in one go, but you still need a chamois to get around ridges and door handles etc.
I found it especially good on my white car as it didn't show any remaining watermarks so I just avoided using the chamois altogether, only my change of car colour has prompted me to change my whole approach and go and get a Flash car wash.
Blue
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I've not heard of these before. I assume that it's an improved version of a window cleaners squeegee?
I bought one from my local Sunday market a while ago for a fiver. The blade is made from silicon rubber. Hydroblade it's called, I think. Cuts the drying time down dramatically and you hardly have to use the shammy leather.
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I have used a Turtlewax water blade for the past two years both on our V70 and 306.
Top product.
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