Gave My Baby Her First Wash...

ITS JUST A CAR, wash like any other. you can get the motor wet, dry it in the rain and even bang the rev limiter on occasions . ITS not fragile

 

I agree. I wash mine as I did with the M6. It's the same, except easier coz it's a smaller and lower car. LOL.

One difference though, waxing the car is far more enjoyable. It's like applying tanning lotion on Monica Belluci.

 

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! NICE!!!

 

I saw that car the other day and it is beautiful. I understand the delicasy in which you approach the bath.

Don't worry, a couple of blasts at "highway speeds" and it will dry off...

 

Do a search for detailing and washing instructions. There was one really long article about the complete detailing process; interior to exterior-even applying clay bar and wax. I found it very helpful.

 

Well, sort of. True it's not going to melt, but there are some easy procedures you should follow to keep the paint looking better, longer.

+tru-dat.

If anything, I found my ownership made me think twice about how I washed my OTHER cars! The habits I picked up from washing the f-car passed down to my lessor minions.

 

I never spray the engine cover directly- maybe a quick up/down with the hose on a spary to hit the glass to get it wet, but not in the engine vents (i.e. I stand right in the center of the rear of the car so the spray primarily hits the glass to get it a little wet). Everything else is like a normal car. I then dry the car w/shammy type cloth, open the engine lid and wipe down any water drops that get in the engine compartment sides with an old rag/papertowel to get all that dust and oily stuff cleaned up that tends to accumulate there, then to finish use good quality streakless glass cleaner like they sell in (bed bath & beyond or auto parts stores) using microfibre towels to really clean the glass good.

I haven't done the clay bar/polish etc yet but my car is due (my car was detailed to a very high level by the dealer when I bought it in late 2009 and I haven't put anything on the car since- car is never in rain, and washed maybe half a dozen times). For the first time in my life I may pay a good detailer to do it right- I'd love to tackle it myself and would enjoy doing it but my weekend time is just too short nowadays w/young kids and to wash the car clay/wax/polish would take half a day.

Another thing you should do is treat the leather- I bought the leatherique products which while scary looking when you put it on making the leather "wet" and then leaving it to soak in for a couple of hours in the sun with the windows rolled up to heat up the car, wipes up amazingly at the end of the application process. The leather comes out looking and just as importanly smelling like new!

 

My sentiments exactly. I want e clay bar treatment on my 430 but I'm not going tok ruin my weekend attempting it myself.

 

This reminds me of a few things I forgot - I use one bucket with some soap (you probably don't need much- too much soap and you'll wear away the polish/wax faster) and I have a soft sheepskin mit and microfiber sponge to do everything except the rear bumper/exhaust pipes, rims and fender wheel surround section. When I am done with the main car I rinse, then I pour the soapy water into a second bucket and switch to some older sponges where I clean the remaining parts from cleanest to dirtiest- i.e. door jams, rear bumper (where there tends to be road/tire muck), then wheel surronds, then exhaust pipes and finally the rims/brake dust.

The first bucket, sheepskin mit/microfiber sponge are always VERY clean- these are the things I use on the main body of the car and I don't want to spread dirt or worse, get some small picece of dirt in the bucket or sponge and scratch the car!

I try to throw some chrome polish on the tubi pipes too if I remember

Remember to avoid washing the car in the direct sun- especially as it warms up outside, to avoid water spots.

-Andrew

 

yup- scary looking going on, great looking coming off

 

1+

 

Myles, good luck with the car! Almost sounds like you are making love to the car and not actually "washing" it!
Keep it that way.

 

my favorite thing to do besides driving. Try using griots leather rejuvinator(sorry i cant spell worth a damn). The stuff is great and smells wonderful.

 

man, I wish I had the time to spend detailing my ride. With two little rug rats running around, time is at a premium. I go to the quick detailer while shopping and two hours later she's looking nice and purrty...

But if I had the time I'd be using q-tips everywhere I could