ChrisBrown

Living in Phoenix, we have great weather for keeping our cars clean...most of the time.

We're entering the monsoon season for the summer, and so it's spurts of heavy, dirty rain, usually in the evening every so often.

When you know you're entering a more frequent season of rain, do you tend to just rinse the car off, do a basic wash, and not wax it again until you know things are going to be more clear?

I tend to do a wash/wax/polish before a rainy season, and then just hand wash the car once a week until things clear up again. I try to stay away from automated washes as much as possible.

Ryanr317

I just wash it once a week. Say i wash it today and it rains tomorrow, i usually just rinse it off and dry it to keep it clean. Sometimes i just leave it though because it rains pretty much everyday here.

e1000

you'll be fine

danev6972

Bought this sealant on ebay:
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/merchant/eradioprez
Works very well...nothing sticks to my car now. Everything easily wipes off.
It rains here in FL almost every afternoon.

andy_meng1024

I wash it twice/week.

ChrisBrown

So do you just wipe it off with a dry towel? Or do you wet the car down, and then wipe?

kirax2

i do a basic carwash

since the soap kill all the dirt off, and it also clean the car again so why not?
it actually save you a bit more time since dirty rain water make dirt stick on your car
and i don't like dirty towel to be use agian anyway

ozoz

i usually find a quiet road and test out on the car's limit cos it does need much to induce oversteer etc (with traction off of cos) ... that way i can learn how to re-gain control of my car without needing such a high speed in the dry ... in fact that's what those advance driving course is about ... to make the track dry and allow u to skid a bit so u can learn how to straighten the car in adverse condition ...

ozoz

i mean the make the track wet ... a few typo ... haha

aolsen

If it rains really hard, I run outside with a bottle of head and shoulders and a Loofah and give my car a bath...jk...actually I don't really wash my car regularly. I guess since I use a spray on wax it doesn't "seem" to get dirty as it used to. Therefore, it's not second nature to me to wash it regularly. Before waxing, it would be dirty the very next, or same day. Mercedes should design a Loofah for grill bugs.

M230K

when it rains up in vancouver bc, it rains for a solid week, i wash mine every friday rain or shine maybe even twice a week, again.. depending on the weather. Ive only waxed my car once ever since i got it! its been close to 3 and a half yrs now! .. you'll be fine

UK-C200

Living in London, all my car seems to do is get rained on. On the occasional sunny day, I'm almost guaranteed that pigeon will take a monster crap on it.

I do a serious Zaino "full pull" about once every 6 or 7 months - so full wash, Z5, Z6, Z5, Z6, Z2, Z6 - usually in the Spring time, and then again in the fall. I find it a really good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Between I wash when I can, usually at least once every two or three weeks unless I'm traveling, followed by Z6. Once a month I try to do a Z2+Z6...

I park inside at work, and under a tree at home, unfortunately. The Zanio products (or at least Z6) seems to be good for about a month of typical British weather, and for the first week or two bird poo actually tends to "run off" - and if not, it does not stick hardly at all - hit it with a hose, and it's gone. The only real reason I wash it as often as I do is vanity - I hate driving around in a dirty car.

Defiant

My first rule in the rain is to stop staring skywards. Fear of drowning.

If it's been a cruddy day, I'll hit a touchless car wash at a gas station. Otherwise, it'll be when it dries up again.

RW C55

I drive the R-class when it rains!

ChrisBrown

I usually do a dedicated paint polish once a year, and then do a full wash, dry, wax 3-4 times a year. I once a week or every other week hand washes (soapy water, rinse, dry) between waxings. I use Meguires Quick Detail to get crap off that i see like dirt spots and such. I do interior details once a month, leather every 2 months or so, and I try to dress my tires as soon as they are dull.

I haven't done an engine detail on this car yet since I bought it in April...I might soon.

What's your favorite item to polish up the chrome trim?

ChrisBrown

I do to. It makes me feel like I'm not taking care of it.

C230 Sport Coup

Lately we've been deluged 1st with pollen like you wouldn't believe (I couldn't dry the car fast enough, before it was already covered with yellow yuk!)
now with Ash from all the fires, and more recently heavy dust from the overflow parking in Yosemite.
Mostly I tend to go to the self serve Car wash, and just rinse it.
Soap will slowly eat the finish so I just use water (hi pressure)
and then finish with the spot free rinse setting.

Normally I do a real wash every week but lately I just been doing this.
It get 99% of the crud and only takes 2-3 minutes.
Haven't done a hand wash for 4 weeks at least and it's nice and shiney.

When I hand wash I just use water unless it's really dirty, and no I don't go to automated wash places, except the hand wash ones, but then they tend to use heavy detergents that are hard on the finish.

bumpnzx3

I too swap cars......but not to an R-class. I drive the 150k mile daily drivin Ford Focus

mikekuriger

silver never needs a wash it seems!

alpinweiss

New México rains also seem to include more sand than water at times. Unfortunately, the sand and dirt can collect in the window tracks and eventually scratch the glass.

Therefore, if it rained hard enough to get the dirt off, I wouldn't worry too much. If the rain was light, and got your car really sandy, I would wash it off to prevent scratches.

nlpamg

well, it doesn't rain much here and I'm really **** about washing my car, so take my comments with a grain of salt...

most rain contains chemicals and other things that could adversely affect your cars' finish. I would say, if you don't have time to completely wash it, at least rinse it off with clean water.

ChrisBrown

Rain drops in the summer here are mini-dirt bombs - it looks like someone used a paint gun filled with dirt clots on your car. And it sticks - hard.