washing my f355

Silly question, but i'm a new f355 owner and i need to give the vehicle a wash. Do i need to worrry about water/soap gushing into the engine compartment? Thanks.

 

no, but I wouldn't be opening the deck lid to hose it off, either.

I've had 3 Ferraris, spanning a total of 6 years, and never washed one a single time.

California Duster and Meguiar's Detail Mist for me.

But I never got mine wet and that makes a big difference.

 

I have washed my 348SS a few times with water, but never pour water over or onto the deck lid at all. Just do that with quick detailer.

MB

 

What is quick detailer? I don't know what that is.

 

Water won't hurt it at all---Washed my car 200 times with a hose ---Gotten plenty of water thru the rear bonnet onto the motor--It will not hurt anything. Just don't pop the bonnet and spray directly in there, even though that probably wouldn't hurt it either...

Water and soap will help lift dirt and dust off the car---Constant rubbing on the car with detail spray will do nothing but scratch and swirl the paint over time. I wash my car with micro fiber mits(2 bucket method), spray the car down with water and blow dry with a air dryer...

The less you touch the car during a wash/dry, the better chance you have of not scratching the paint....

 

My 348 has never seen rain therefore I never washed it with water. Each time I come back after driving, I clean the glasses with regular glass cleaner, rims with a degreaser and I go through the body with a California duster, or if is needed, I have a very soft car washer cloth.

 

+1

Exactly the method I use.

I drive my car in the rain, and more to the point I park my car outside in the rain, trust me, that will get the engine bay far more wet that simply washing.

Wash away brother!

 

+2

In addition, I place towels over the engine before I wash it. They keep water off all the electricals. The blow dry is crucial. You don't realize how much water is in all the cracks and crevices until you blow it out. High power leaf blower works wonders.

 

It's a car for God's sake, you can wash it like any car but like any car I don't recommend using a power washer or directly spraying the engine, at least without some very good prep. Good idea on the blower...I use an air hose.

 

+1

 

+2

 

+3...I simply spray a light mist on the deck lid just behind the rear window to get the soap off, so as to avoid water going direcly into the engine area. Obviously some mist does make its way into the engine, but nothing to get worried about, and so far never had a problem.

 

+4. Exactly. Spray a fine mist to lift the dust and dirt. A light shower to rinse it off. Then a blow dry to get the water out of the panel gaps and grills. At that point the paint is clean and I use quick detailer to finish it off.

The paint on a 355 is soft. Never wipe dirt off the paint when it is dry.

 

=sum(5+2)*3.445

 

I adopted a suggestion I learned off of FChat and take an old shower curtain and place it on the engine when I wash it.

 

that is an excellent idea.

 

I use this to dry my car... Thing works great!!!

http://www.bikedepot.net/memoairfobl.html

 

That is clever. I presume you can also use it to blast dust out of tight to reach spots for the interior (eg. where the dasboard and winsheild meet).

 

I don't let to much water get up the rear when washing. I don't really drive in the rain either if I can but there is a big drive day in Sydney this morning with up to 40 Fcars turning up and it is pouring rain here but we are still going. So I will post pics tommorrow and let you all know if anything happens with the amount of rain here at the moment.

The guys in the UK always drive in the rain and don't have any problems.

I think the main issue is the exposed electricals but everything else should be OK with water?

 

Am I the only moron who uses a chamois leather cloth to dry my 355????

 

This is the one my buddy uses on his Scud. 58K CFM!!

http://www.sitstay.com/dog/supplies/servlet/product_10001_10001_40154_-1_Metro+Master+Blaster+Dryer_22151_13317_13281

 

holy crap, 19 amps of draw? I'm gonna make a friggin jetpack with a really long extension cord. That thing is awesome if it really does 58,000 cfm.

 

nope! .......... ............... but looks like I will adpot the air blower method as I have an electric makita leaf blower that should work pretty well .

That is a lot of CFM for that little thing ............. it has to be a 'misprint' .............. that is more than the 3000 CFM of a 'top fuel dragster' ......

http://www.albeedigital.com/supercoupe/articles/top_fuel_dragster.html

 

I also use a chamois.

 

I used to detail a 355 regularly, I probably washed it over 100 times. always with water and a chamois. water won't hurt it. don't be scared