RE: Car Washin'

[Duane Collie <drcollie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From: David Beatty <dbeatty@domain.elided>
>Subject: car wash stuff
>
>I have a new //m roadster (imola red) and would like to keep the paint,
>etc in good condition as long as possible.  I've heard that dish
>detergent is too harsh.  

True. Dish detergent has grease removers in it and will accelerate
stripping the oils that are inherent in the paint.  

>Any recommendations on car wash soap?

Better to use Liquid Tide or buy a dedicated car wash soap.  Purists (like
me) will not put any soap on their cars and use water only.  You can get
away with water only if the car always has good wax on it.

>Any recommendations on whether I should go ahead and wax the car (3
>weeks old)?

Do it.  Use a cleaner, first though, even on a new car.

>Recommended wax?  I have a bottle of zymol in the garage.

Here you run into a time/effort kind of thing.  If you really want to do a
bang-up job on the car finish you need to frist CLEAN the car with a
dedicated cleaner, then POLISH the car with a automotive polish, and
finally WAX the car to seal it all in.  This requires a lot of rubbing and
buffing and going over every panel (3) times.  The cleaner does what it
implies - strips the gunk off and gives you a virgin surface to work with
(never wax over dirt).  The polish puts oils back into the paint, and the
wax seals it all up.  Done like this, your finish will go a long time
looking like brand new. 

If you have a bottle of Zymol in the garage, that's the junk made by Turtle
Wax that you buy at the retail stores like Wal-Mart and Pep Boys. Use it on
your pickup truck.  I like Zymol pastes (expensive and short life span),
Meguires (they have an excellent product line) and Blitz Wax(cheaper and
long lasting).  I use them all and don't particularly have a favorite. 

>Recommended leather treatment?  I seem to have a relatively open pore
>nappa leather, which is exposed to sun, wind, dust, moisture a lot
>because the top stays down.

Everyone will say LEXOL (it's like water), but for my money LEATHERMASTER
makes far superior products. Trouble is, you'll have a hard time finding
the latter as its mostly made available to the trade only.  Call them at
910-854-5921 to get a list of products. For starters, try the Protection
and Cleaner Kit (about $ 18.00).  If it's a leather conditioning product,
dye or repair products for leather - they make it.

>Recommended cleaners and treatments for dash?

I don't use anything but a wipe down with water.

>Recommended treatments and cleaner for the ragtop? 

No experience with that.

One thing to watch for on your paint is to NOT let the car stand exposed
outside in the sun after a rainshower.  The mineral deposits in the water
will etch your paint as the sun bakes the water off. You can see this in
virtually all cars as small transparent 'rings' in the clear coat,
especially on the hood and rear deck lid. Once this happens the only
solution is to power buff it out (and you can only do that so many times).
If your car has to stay outside and get rained on, consider a car cover.

Duane Collie
SVR / UUC / Bubba

 

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