Im just curious, how often do you guys wash/wax your stangs? I just washed mine last weekend, and I already want to wash/wax again.

how often is "too" often? can once a week hurt the paint/clear coat?

 

Whenever you feel its too dirty, I suppose. Just washed mine last weekend and don't like seeing the dust already.

The frequency of waxing is something I don't know, though.

 

I think you can wax your car too much, but not really wash it too much. I wash my car usually twice a week, once on the weekend and once in the evening one day during the week. And I try to wax it every weekend after I wash it, but usually end up doing it every other weekend.

 

I wash mine every weekend. I have only waxed it good once since October. I can't stand to see it dirty either.

 

sweeeeet... thats what i wanted to hear!! i cant wait to wash again this weekend!!

 

well the less you actually touch your car the better, you cant put scratches or swirls into it if it just sits....problem your car collects dust and looks like crap....solution take 5 min out of your day to take care of it, immediately remove any debris (ie. road tar, bird crap, tar, ect.) with a quick detailer and 100% cotton cloth diaper and to keep it dust free a once over with the california duster should do the trick, and then only touch up the areas that need it when they need it, if you look carefully at your car you will notice the problem areas, above and below the surface and this will get easier to do with time. If you have properly detailed your car and have several good coats of wax on it it will stay clean longer and be easier to maintain. Remember that is the purpose of wax; to protect the surface of the paint by keeping surface debris on the surface away from the paint.


if you have an itch and must wash the car thats fine as long as you do it right it should be safe....but the more you wash it the more often you will need to wax it....even with a neutral PH soap the wax will eventually start to brake down, you will notice when you need to rewax, the surface will not only loose its luster it will no longer be real smooth and when you run a cloth or your hand across it you will notice you will feel a slight resistance instead of it gliding across the surface freely.

 

Mine is not a daily driver, so its been about a one/week since I got her. If I was driving it every day, I would prolly be going for twice a week since she's black.

I've put 2 coats of Z2 on her in the month I've had her and a few Z6 coats.

 

My car is in the garage all the time unless I'm driving it and I don't usually take it out in the rain. I washed it weekly when I got it, but have since started using Meguires NXT quick detail spray in between washings to stretch out the intervals. I've waxed it twice since I got it - about once a month I guess.

 

I wash mine once every 7 - 10 days. First and foremost, I have waxed her 3 times since bringing her home - 2 coats right of the bat, one coat every month. I have a good cusion of wax on her and she is really easy to keep clean because of it. In the morning, about twice a week, I just use the hose and rinse her off. On the drive to work, all the water runs off and not water spots - and she looks like I just washed her. Having plenty of wax really, really helps b/c the dust and debris does not stick and can normally just be "rinsed" off.

 

by the way mine is a daily driver and after a proper detail back before the SVTOA event here in SD back in March I hadnt even washed my car until the day after our May show on the 23 (so the 24th I washed it) and only because I somehow got road tar all over it that day and had to reclay and start over and the car always stayed show ready just by taking care of it and I bartend at night so it sits in the open air most of the early evening. I have yet to wash it since..if you would like to see some pics of my car on the day of the show (they are not great quality pics) you can check out the link of our show in the West Coast section....mines the one next to Rabbitts (shes sitting next to hers) with the hood open, its black premium with spoiler and upgraded wheels.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=24931

 

The more you wash it the better. You will also find that the more often you wash it the less time it takes. I was my car 3 times a week. Takes less than 10 minutes each time. I was my car once every 2 months unless I am going to a show then I give it a quick detail.

 

ok... define 'detail' because i woudl like to know exactly what you veteran stang owners consider a detail.. and then i would like to do it

and also can someone explain 'swirl marks' and exactly how they are created...

 

think of swirl marks as really light scratches in the very top surface of your clearcoat....most noticable on darker colors, can be removed or more accurately hidden, you see when you remove a scratch from the paint you are only concealing it by loosening the surrounding paint and using that to blend out the scratches or swirl marks...this is why it is best to touch your car as few times as possible while you may be making your car look beautiful every time you wash it in the long run you are ultimately shortening the life of your paint. No you would have to keep the car longer than most people ever hold on to one so for most people this doesnt apply.

detailing is the lengthy process one takes to thoroughly clean their vehicle....its washing for the OCD....there are many grades of detailing but basically it is to be very precise and very attentive to small details like cleaning out the inside of the gas cap area instead of just cleaning the outside of the fuel door. Or the inside of the trunk most people dont care about these areas or even think about them...in fact it is my experience that most people think that a detail is simply a wash and wax, if so all details would only cost $30.00 and you could just go to your local shell to get it done but I am sure you have noticed the difference between that and a professional several hundred dollar detail or the care someone takes in their own show car....you can do a basic detail cleaning the exterior and interior of the car and then you get way into it like those that show their cars and win do and detail the engine and even the undercarage of the car....

I believe if you are looking for an actual step by step guide that someone has posted several tips and I believe even a step by step in the car care section of the forum...there are also great books out on how to do this. It takes time, patience and a lot of practice to get it right and every car is different.

 

I admit I'm lazy about washing the car.......I've only done it 3 times since November, but I do hose it off frequently.

 

Well anyone beat this?



Once that I know of, that was the dealer back in very early November. I only use microfiber towels and a little spray detailer. 378 miles to date.

 

You should be ashamed. You are going to get so many swirl marks from doing that. If you wash correctly, you shouldn't create too many swirls and your car will look better.

I wash mine every week. I just finished detailing it (look at my thread in the car care forum). If you want to see a detail done right, my pics will be up tomorrow


Now that i have all my base coats I will wax every two weeks with Pinnacle Souveran wax. (it only lasts two weeks, no protection).

 

lol.. thanks to all yo guys are awesome... thought for CERTAIN i was gonna get some sort of flame....

 

Mine has been in my fathers garage for the last month and a half so I've only been able to drive it once or twice since then (my parents live an hour away). I've washed it once during that period right after I drove it. And it never sees rain now either.

Other than regular startings by my dad, it sits so theres no dirt on it, just a little dust which I use my california duster for. I guess one positive thing is its squeaky clean, but I really miss driving her. My dad has that garage sealed so tight because of his classic 72 Beetle that I really don't have to worry about it

BUT... When I had my Stang at the apartment complex I washed it every weekend because it was outside all of the time as I guess yours is too.

 

O, I forgot to add. You can wax every day and your finish won't get hurt. But you can't polish everyday becasue that takes away from your clearcoat slightly.

 

Bingo


I tried telling that to a guy who lived across the street from my in-laws but he wouldn't listen. Oh well, it was just a Civic anyway