Cleaning up the Stang!
 

Wondering when you guys Clean up your Stangs?

Once a week, sometimes twice if it gets dirty. I've used the car wash when I'm tight for time, but only self-serve, never the drive through kind. I keep the micro cloths in the car so I can dry and do some quick interior cleans when necessary.

I try to keep on top of it once a week, but use the california car duster threwout the week if i take the stang out. Sometimes that doesn't work out so well LOL! But i do try to keep the car washing part down to a minimum. I think i washed maybe total of 3 times all season.

Cal duster and interior on a daily basis, hand clean with waterless wash 2 or 3 times a month, polish/wax once a month and before shows.

I don't drive mine in the rain, and it spends most of it's time in the garage. I think I washed it about 4 times this year.

About the same here. I use a California Car Duster before every drive as we live in a pretty dusty town.

Oooh Ouch....I never use any kind of duster. I've heard they work well, but man I just spent a whole lot of hours/days getting every swirl out of my paint with compound, and I think that would be the recipe to get them back.

Oh yeah, and I wash once in a while, but don't drive mine much, it spends most of the time in the garage, but in the summer it gets washed every weds afternoon, right before the local cruise night starts. I wax 2-3 times a year.

I've used them for years with no issues but I'll wait for Snakebite to chime in and see what he says

Do you not notice those tiny little swirls in the sun at all?

I had some but they were there when I got my last car. All of my cars have been pre swirled (used)

Mine was used too, but like I said a few nights of compounding, and they were gone. Now it looks like water, and I don't want them swirls back.

Just a note though......I hope I never have to do that again!!! WAY, WAY too much work.

If I could, it would be once a week. Never in the pay-for-wash, especially not a vert. Did I say especially, especially not a vert ???? Wipe down the door jams, under the hood and deck lid. The interior as well ( vacuum), whether it needed it or not. And don't forget to use the small paint brushes.

re dusters. I use them religiously and in a straight line and have never put any swirls into my paint. The idea is to use them with a VERY light touch and this is the way I apply my polish/wax etc. I do not grind the wax into the paint as it is not required.

Same here, i use my California duster lightly, and my GT still has no swirls after 8 years.

I'm just too scared.......the thought of any of that dust scraping along the paint, makes me think of nails on a chalkboard! Maybe I'll try it next season.

to add a fine point, I would not use it if the car has anything other than a LIGHT coat of dust. The parafin wax picks up the dust immediately so there's no dragging dust etc. My preferred method is to use a damp micro followed by the detailer spray but I have no problem using the Cali duster as mentioned.

I remember some a customer of ours coming in one day and laying into me. His shirt was soaking wet and he was pissed as he had just gone through the drive through car wash with his 02 vert and water was literally spraying past the seals right into the car. I found it quite humorous.

Good to hear and I am the same, always in a straight line just like the wax. So if you ran into Mr Miyagi would you slap him with all that wax on wax off talk. I'm pretty sure he went in a circle.

If I'm not mistaken, it says in the manual NOT to take a convertible through a automatic car wash. It might be something they put in print in later manuals though. But still. Just goes to show you what some people will do. :banghead:

Though I've never read the manual common sense would tell me that there might be issues.

I never get past the seatbelt section=borrrrrrrrring lol

I'm sure with your ADD that would be difficult :wink: But I wouldn't read it cover-to-cover either. It's great as the 1st step resource document...and then your 2nd is the internet where you know the information's gotta be true because its on the internet. lol

^^^ Hahaha I haven't read it cover to cover. I just refer to it if I'm not positive about something technical, say for instance, setting the clock. :D

This is why I take my car to the dealer for everything even oil changes. There's a twofold reason I do this, one is they would seemingly be the best/most knowledgeable people to service/fix the car and if they screw it up they can't blame someone else and void any warranty.

^^^ I hear ya.

I find that even oil changes at the dealer are now about the same price as a quick lube joint. My last oil change this past spring came down 9.00 from the year before yet oil prices went up so no complaints from me

They probably took your oil on trade as it was still clean

maybe, I never thought about it that way tehehehe

lmao!