Car Wash....
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 905
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From: Started out together Now we're both retired
St. Jude Donor '06
Car Wash....
First off Happy Thanksgiving to one an all.
Living here in the SandHills of North Carolina, we are part of the very severe drought stricken area of the South East. We have been under strict water use restrictions since the summer, no outside watering, car washing , etc. As a result, I have not washed the vet since July. I have not taken it to a car wash, because I'm not sure it will clear all the claptrap and rails that the car has to go over. Also there's the front air dam. What about getting water up into the engine compartment, opti spark. Am I right in my concern? Anyone use a car wash?
Living here in the SandHills of North Carolina, we are part of the very severe drought stricken area of the South East. We have been under strict water use restrictions since the summer, no outside watering, car washing , etc. As a result, I have not washed the vet since July. I have not taken it to a car wash, because I'm not sure it will clear all the claptrap and rails that the car has to go over. Also there's the front air dam. What about getting water up into the engine compartment, opti spark. Am I right in my concern? Anyone use a car wash?
Racer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 380
Likes: 1
From: Down South
The undercarriage is pretty low so I would stay away from the automated car washes. The hand washes with the wands I don't know much about. If someone else knew about them, I would be interested in if they do damage or harm to the paint. They have waterless wipes for washing your car. You could try one of those.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,651
Likes: 10
From: Apple Valley MN
I've never used a car wash on the 'Vette (and likely wouldn't), but I have seen threads where folks have concerns about the opti. I saw this link mentioned some time ago:
http://nowet.com/
http://nowet.com/
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,848
Likes: 16
From: St. Louis, Mo......... 1993 Torch Red w/White Interior...2006-07 Bloomington Gold 2005-ZR1/C4 Gathering, 2001-2012 Funfest
I wouldn't take it through an automatic car wash, just asking for trouble with a bottom sprayer and an opti. Not worth the chance. Not to mention how low the car sits, and the chance of damage. JMO...
Rik
Rik
Pro
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 638
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From: Plano TX
FWIW, when I worked at the local flight museum here in Dallas, I used to hand wash aircraft without water. We would use soft cloth rags and a good all purpose cleaner followed up with glass cleaner without ammonia. Did a great job and never left any scratches. Just blow off the dust with some compressed air or use one of those dust mop hand brushes. Pretty handy when you can't just simply roll the whole fleet of aircraft to the water hose. We would then follow this up with something like Meguiars QuickWax. You might want to think about that option.
I actually did it the other day to mine since it wasn't driving due to an engine rebuild I was finishing up.
I actually did it the other day to mine since it wasn't driving due to an engine rebuild I was finishing up.
Last edited by evmlarry; Nov 22, 2007 at 10:40 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,564
Likes: 6
From: Woodstock Georgia
Same issues here. Easy fix. First we save and recycle our 'gray water'.
Examples--put a bucket in the shower and collect the water when you first turn it on until you get hot water coming thru (it adds up quickly).
I also plumbed up our washing machine and capture all of it's used water. Use the really clean 'gray water' (not the washing machine type) and 2 buckets, one with the soap mix, other bucket with rinse water, wash by hand, rinse by hand, then towel it dry, doing sections at a time. Keep your wash 'rag' rinsed clean often (in a 3rd bucket if necessary). Doesn't really take much longer than using the hose and is environmentally good and fully legal. Better yet, park the car on the grass and do NOT have a hose anywhere nearby (case the 'water cops' show up). One county here now has first offense $500 fine and they disconnect your water. Getting ugly!!
Is that an F-15 in your avitar?
Examples--put a bucket in the shower and collect the water when you first turn it on until you get hot water coming thru (it adds up quickly).
I also plumbed up our washing machine and capture all of it's used water. Use the really clean 'gray water' (not the washing machine type) and 2 buckets, one with the soap mix, other bucket with rinse water, wash by hand, rinse by hand, then towel it dry, doing sections at a time. Keep your wash 'rag' rinsed clean often (in a 3rd bucket if necessary). Doesn't really take much longer than using the hose and is environmentally good and fully legal. Better yet, park the car on the grass and do NOT have a hose anywhere nearby (case the 'water cops' show up). One county here now has first offense $500 fine and they disconnect your water. Getting ugly!!
Is that an F-15 in your avitar?
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Brett Foote
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 3,786
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From: Minneapolis MN
I would NOT go through any car wash period. I also would never take any sort of a cloth or what ever and just wipe my car. I do use a California Duster but this is by no means a substitute for washing.
If I were you I would probably wait out the watering ban even though I cant stand to look at my vette being dirty.
Damn I didnt know things were still so dry in some places of the country.
If I were you I would probably wait out the watering ban even though I cant stand to look at my vette being dirty.
Damn I didnt know things were still so dry in some places of the country.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,564
Likes: 6
From: Woodstock Georgia
I would NOT go through any car wash period. I also would never take any sort of a cloth or what ever and just wipe my car. I do use a California Duster but this is by no means a substitute for washing.
If I were you I would probably wait out the watering ban even though I cant stand to look at my vette being dirty.
Damn I didnt know things were still so dry in some places of the country.
If I were you I would probably wait out the watering ban even though I cant stand to look at my vette being dirty.
Damn I didnt know things were still so dry in some places of the country.
No car wash and no dry rag. The bucket approach I mentioned in almost the same as a regular wash, but I should add I would not even do that if I had caked on mud. Near here some examples are a small town in TN that has to truck in their water and city water is only turned on 3 hours a day. Douglas County here, just west of Atlanta, has no more water as their reservoir has gone dry, so they are 'buying' water from an adjacent county. Estimates for the city of Atlanta running out of water go anywhere from 80 to 160 days. Think about an area with population of over 6 million people with no water available. Estimates are also somewhere around 18,000 job loses in GA (farming, landscaping, nurseries, etc). Yes, it is very serious and no improvement anywhere in sight. I would say most people around her are very concerned, not scared (yet), but a little worried about what is happening.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,564
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From: Woodstock Georgia
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 82
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From: California
Chimknee.
I agree with the other posts who say NO CARWASHES. In my humble opine, that is only asking for trouble. I don't even like the idea of regular washing. What I do to clean my car is this. First, I remove the surface dust with a California Duster. After that I use a spray bottle with a mixture of pre-made car wash (I use Turtle Wax car wash or Blue Coral car wash which I mix in advance one gallon at a time). I spray one section at a time liberally with the car wash and wipe it off with a soft terry cloth towel. That removes all of the dirt such as bugs on the front end, etc. After that I either hit it with a quick detailer of some sort or I put on a coat of Carnuba wax (there is no subsitute for a good coat of wax). For the wax, I do a small part of the car each time I clean it that way the car stays waxed but I don't have to spend a lot of time and elbow grease.
By the way, a gallon of car wash mixed ahead of time and stored in a jug then used to refill a spray bottle will last a long time and give many, many cleanings.
When I can start feeling the little microscopic pieces of dirt that normally get impedded in the wax, I go over the car with a clay block and then apply Carnuba wax. Again, I do this process one section at a time and save elbow grease.
Hope this helps.
Norm.
I agree with the other posts who say NO CARWASHES. In my humble opine, that is only asking for trouble. I don't even like the idea of regular washing. What I do to clean my car is this. First, I remove the surface dust with a California Duster. After that I use a spray bottle with a mixture of pre-made car wash (I use Turtle Wax car wash or Blue Coral car wash which I mix in advance one gallon at a time). I spray one section at a time liberally with the car wash and wipe it off with a soft terry cloth towel. That removes all of the dirt such as bugs on the front end, etc. After that I either hit it with a quick detailer of some sort or I put on a coat of Carnuba wax (there is no subsitute for a good coat of wax). For the wax, I do a small part of the car each time I clean it that way the car stays waxed but I don't have to spend a lot of time and elbow grease.
By the way, a gallon of car wash mixed ahead of time and stored in a jug then used to refill a spray bottle will last a long time and give many, many cleanings.
When I can start feeling the little microscopic pieces of dirt that normally get impedded in the wax, I go over the car with a clay block and then apply Carnuba wax. Again, I do this process one section at a time and save elbow grease.
Hope this helps.
Norm.
Cruising
Joined: Nov 2007
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From: CA
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Stockton California
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 905
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From: Started out together Now we're both retired
St. Jude Donor '06
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,564
Likes: 6
From: Woodstock Georgia
Interesting and it must have been both trying and exciting. My son is crew chief on F-15, guess that is why I had it on my mind. F-14/15 look pretty closely related. Back when I was USAF and was flight crew C-119 then C-130 the F-105 (Thud) was still flying and the F-4 was our 'top gun'. What year did the F-14 come on line?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 905
Likes: 0
From: Started out together Now we're both retired
St. Jude Donor '06
Interesting and it must have been both trying and exciting. My son is crew chief on F-15, guess that is why I had it on my mind. F-14/15 look pretty closely related. Back when I was USAF and was flight crew C-119 then C-130 the F-105 (Thud) was still flying and the F-4 was our 'top gun'. What year did the F-14 come on line?
