Rashman

Heehee.... thanks for your comments.

Alot of the guys on the UK forum know about my cleaning methods and some of them are pretty sceptical about it all, but I can honestly say that these are the methods I have been using to clean my 63 since around Oct '09.

Back in the day, when I had my 208, I used to throw buckets of water over it and all sorts when I cleaned it.

I loved it just as much as my 63.. but over time, I could see the harm that water in general did to it.

It's not necessarily the body, but it's all the areas that you can't see.. brake components, rims, axles, areas under the under-carriage, drainage channels being overwhelmed, lots of things.

Plus, it used to kill me to see my 208 get rust spots around the arches.

I know MB started glavanising their cars from around 2004, but I swore never to saturate a car again.

I'm in no way stating that my cleaning methods are better than others, or am I suggesting that any of you should do what I do.

All I do is look to clean the car with as little contact with water as possible.

If ever there was a time when I get caught out in the rain, or the car gets serious amounts of crap on it, then I would give it a hot sponge-down.

Just a gently sponge-down though... no more buckets.

The reason I like not to use soaps is because I don't want to use any cleaning agents that would be strong enough to remove all my wax.

I mean, I have put around 55 layers of #2685 on the car... damn near gave myself arthritis in the process too (lol!).. so I really don't want to wash off all my hours and hours of hard labour!

I told myself that I would continue to use my "waterless" cleaning methods until I ever saw that I was harming the car.

In the last year, I do not seem to have harmed the car at all, and I have not created any swirls, so I will carry on as I am.

The secret really is to take your time over it.
Take time to remove contaminants, dust etc slowly and gently, using decent Microfibres. I always go with Meguiars. They are very good!

After removing contaminants, I then go over the car and rims with #425, again taking my time and not applying too much pressure.

Rashman

Hey! How you doing, bud!

I'm glad you like the #425!

I have converted quite a few guys over to it, here in the UK.

"Didn't sex it up"... LOL!!

Fair enough, dude.

That's probably my OCD showing through.

But if you get time, give a panel "The Treatment" (lol!) and see what you think.

Funnily enough, I was in the garage for a few hours earlier, going over the car.

It takes a while, but it really does leave a ridiculously slippery surface.

I drape a couple of soft, thin sheets over the car when it's in the garage, and it sometimes takes me a few minutes because the damn sheets keep trying to slide straight off! LOL!

Supafly

LOL im pretty OCD with my cleaning aswell....what i hate the worst is when people sit in my passenger seat and track in sand and gravel into the footwell carpets....

sweet jones

close up pics of the car please Rash?

Rashman

Oh mate.... have I got the cure for you!.....

You need, what I have dubbed, "The Floor Mat Protection System"!!

Here's what you do....

1) Buy yourself some headrest covers.
2) Whenever someone is about to enter your car with wet, dirty or sandy shoes, have them put the headrest covers over their shoes.

The elastic in the head rest covers will ensure that they fit snuggly around their shoes, thus fully protecting your floor mats from crap!

3) When you reach your destination, eject passenger from car.


Your friends will hate you, but your floor mats will stay clean!! lol



.....Behold... "The Floor Mat Protection System"!!!

LOL!!!!

Rashman

Hi mate,

Thanks for taking time to post up.

I don't have any close-up pictures as such, but I have a selection of pictures on my profile album if you want to take a look.

mikata

Haha LOL, good one

Rashman

HeeHee!

My friends looooove ribbing me about that one, but I don't care!

mikata

I wouldn't care either, if I had a CLK 63 AMG
Got to keep it clean right

My thing is that, when I have passengers in the back, I always tell them to keep their feet on the matt and sometimes I ask them to lift their feet so I can adjust the matts if necessary

I know it's crazy, but I have a grey interior so I have to be a little pedantic
Sometimes I check so that my friends don't wear jeans with rivets/buttons or jackets that can damage my seats

dynomite05

That's why I don't put anybody in the back, or in the passenger seat if I can avoid it. What bugs me the most is when the girlfriend is in the car and wants to pull down the visor to do her make up!

Rashman

Agreed!

I never have rear passengers, because it spoils the handling and I don't want the rear areas scuffed up.

The only person who has been in the back is me.. and that's only when I'm cleaning.

When I clean the inside of the rear window, I place cushions and a blanket over the seats to kneel on.. that way, you disperse your weight and you don't put knee-dents in the leathers and stretch them.

Rashman

Mate, this is a "must" too!

I always check their clothing and rear pockets to make sure they do not have any keys or anything in there that might dig into the leathers.

mikata

Haha Ouch, all that makeup powder on the seats
I don't like anyone riding in the back, because I can't control what happens back there Another think I don't like is, passengers who says "take it easy it's just a car".

That reminds me, I have to rub in some leather balsam on the seats in the spring

mikata

Haha, trust me, I always ask them, but maybe I should start checking properly
Sometimes I don't trust them so I discretely circle around them to check if they have something in the pockets that can dig into the seats.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one "with this" phenomenon.

Rashman

"Take it easy, it's just a car"!

Man.... I hate that sh#t!


That's when you can really see the difference between a true enthusiast and a "civi"!

Rashman

"Discretely circle around them" LOL!!!!

That's the stuff!

The force is strong in you, young Padwan Learner!

mikata

Hahaha
Anything for my W209

mikata

Exactly!

dynomite05

I'm glad to see I'm not alone. I would prefer it if my passengers didn't even have to breathe in the car.

mikata

Haha
We can only protect our cars so far...
What bothers me the most is passengers in my back seat that say, when I ask them nicely to keep their feet on the matts, to sit properly, and not to touch the leather because it can leave marks, is "I don't care" or "It's just a car"
That really "Grinds my gears"

dynomite05

lol, speaking of car care. I am drinking my coffee, looking out the window at the aftermath of the blizzard that just hit us. I see some guy digging out his car and using his shovel to take the snow off of his Acura MDX!

mikata

Hahaha Now that's car care on a whole new level
How much snow do you got in New Joisy?
Here in Sweden we got about, 12-15 inches of snow.

dynomite05

It was almost 20" in my area.

mikata

Damn Hopefully you got your W209 in a garage
Next time you see something funny, like the man with the shovel, take a pic. I could use some laughter here at work

dynomite05

Yea, she's away in the garage.