Ok, need routines you guys use when you drive out of town to a car show. This will be my first time. I will be going in Friday to Ecklers in Titusville from Tampa (yeah its only 2 hours, but good excuse for QT with the wife and a break from my kids (4) and the kids I teach ) I get off work at 2:30 pm. Figure to do a good detail Friday before I leave and cover the car while at the hotel Friday night. But on Saturday morning, what then:
a) take it to a car wash and hose her down there?
b) just use detail like Ice at the show?
c) other?

I could use some good guidance. Is this the right forum for this post or in c5 general?

thanks for the input. i appreciate any tip (s) you might have for a show newbie.

ps: i am number 87 (if i am the same number as the card i got in the mail?) if you want to stop by and say hello, would love to shoot the breeze. Safe trip to everyone heading over there.

 

I take a whole bucket of stuff when I show my '67, and probably overpack but that's in case I pick up something on the ride or have missed something that I didn't see when I was detailing her. So in addition to detail spray and a bunch of microfiber towels, I'll take chrome polish, invisible glass, detailing brushes, trim shine for the interior - pretty much everything you would use from your garage outside of washing and waxing products. You typically have at least a couple of hours before judging starts which is more than enough time to prep your car.

One good tip I can give you is don't apply any dressing to your tires until you park it at the show, since a lot of these products sling onto your paint while driving (even the "non-sling" ones).

Another tip is to bring a lint roller or a roll of tape to get anything off the carpets that you may pick up on the ride down (unless you have one of those car vacs that plug into the lighter).

Good luck - hope you get some hardware.

 

For the drive to the show-
b) Spray-On Protection Bra creates an airtight, waterproof barrier. Make sure the surface to be protected is clean and dry before use. To start, mask off sections that are not to be coated. Apply Spray-On Bra in the shade at cool temperatures, if possible out of direct wind and in a well ventilated area. Shake the container well and often during use. Spray approximately 6-10 inches form surface being treated using overlapping layers until the entire area is covered. For maximum protection a film thickness of 1/8 inch is recommended. Remove masking shortly after application. Spray-On Bra is dry to the touch in 15 minutes and fully cured in 90 minutes.
Removal - Peel up an edge of the film from the surface and pull up sections as desired. After removing, dispose of properly in a rubbish / trash bin. http://www.griotsgarage.com

Alternative product – Shield, from Dupli-Color, provides temporary spray-on protection for your vehicle where bugs and road grime can do damage. It’s ideal for the front end, rear quarter panel and rocker panels. Spray on Shield as a temporary bra for long road trips, quick mud flaps or as a bug guard. Shield sprays on easily and dries in less than a minute. And best of all, it stays on until you wash it off. You can power wash it off or use soap and water. Rain, snow or moisture in the air won’t affect it. This product leaves no residue on a vehicle’s paint. Give your vehicle the protection that it deserves with Shield. http://www.duplicolor.com/products/shield.html

Just before the show as a final 'shine'-spray Pledge

 

Get yourself a California Duster (hopefully you already have a broken in one). If it is new let it sit out on newspaper for 24 hours to absorb extra parrafin wax.

You can lightly dust the car when you get to show with the CD and then go over the car with a product like a good QD or PB S&W or one of those dry wash products.

Or you could bring a bucket and sheep skin mitt and about 1/2 gallon of QEW mixxed up and wash with QEW when you get there.

Make sure you bring tire dressing and do entire tire including treads and remove any pebbles. Sometimes something as small as a pebble will be the tie breaker.

Lint roller or tape work well for carpet etc...

Bring plenty of towels and MF and some junk rags for tire treads and underneath etc...

I usually bring a good damp chamios for stuff like touching up windows or a smear here or there.

Remove everything from car.

Give judges their space.

And regardless of what happens, HAVE FUN.

 

Thanks, I was going to ask the same question.