How to wash a Classic Car?

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DopeCelicaGT

New member
Ok guys I have a 1967 Firebird that is mint and I used to wash it with water u know like u would any normal car but then all the people at the car shows found out I was doing this and told me I was nuts, and I was like what do u mean, they said, "Don't you know water = rust, water is bad, DO NOT wash your car!" I was left speechless and now I am like well how the hell do u take care of the paint and stuff if u can't wash it, anybody got any poiters??? Oh and this thing is only driven a few weeks out of the year so its not like it gets real dirty but it does sit in the shop with a cover over it so!!!
 
You will have no problem washing your car with water. If your car is in mint condition, I doubt you have any bare exposed sheet metal. You will be fine washing it as you would a newer car, just be sure to dry it, and remove any standing water from body seams and the like.



Completely disregard any advice those people give you about washing your car, I would question almost any automotive knowledge they pass on to you.
 
I would ask brad B or Lynn to chime in on this. I have heard that people who have cars like that ever wash them with water.



I think it also had to do with dirty water getting in places that was a huge pain to get out...plus you didn't need to.



Oh yeah...I think they just use car cover + CA car duster



Peter Hsu
 
Right or wrong, the idea of "keeping away from water keeps away from rust" is pretty common in the street rod scene. The one time I saw a friends '64 Chevy SS409 get rained on, I thought he had lost a family member. :nixweiss



Charles
 
//MMMGood said:
I would ask brad B or Lynn to chime in on this.
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Hahaha, you read my mind! :)



I have little clue on this one, but if I were to guess, I'd say washing it should be okay as long as there are no clogged drains or places where a lot of water can collect and not be able to evaporate off in a reasonable amount of time... :nixweiss
 
Yes Charles the Street Rodders prefer to stay away from hoses....and thus was born the Waterless Washes....

Many antique and classic car owners are switching for that very reason of possible rust...and remember I said possible where most of their original rust problems occurred long before the vehicles were collectable. My 67 Caddy for instance has a history of rusting in the bottom of the front fenders....even went to AZ on my honeymoon a few years back to get desert(sp) fenders....they rusted too after a few years and no washings at all.

Point being is that for minimal risk of water sitting somewhere that is not dryable, not spraying large amounts of water on a vehicle is another precaution....

Now there are nice warm dry climates that can easily let a vehicle dry out in the sun after a wash...but to each his own:nixweiss
 
Back by popular demand ... I'm finally online again after several "days from hell" at work. OK. My $.02 about washing a classic car. (DopeCelicaGT, I know you're kinda new on Autopia; check out my gallery. I won the Jaguar club's national trophy for 2002 with my 1975 XJ6 coupe.)



So .... to reply in as moderate a tone as I possibly can: WHAT??????? Don't wash your car with water???????????



My car lives outdoors 24/7. I wash it. With <gasp!> water every week. I use Zaino's car wash. I use a variation of The Perfect Drying Technique (which you'll find on Autopia if you use the search engine), but I use the sheeting method -- no leaf blower for me. I keep the entire Jaguar wet throughout the washing period, then I use a waffleweave towel -- blotting, not rubbing -- to dry her. And I take great care (as others have suggested) to dry all the nooks and crevices where I know water likes to accumulate and make rust-babies. Jaguars are notorious for developing rust. But this baby has not developed any in the year I have owned her.



But ... there's a larger philosophical issue here. I drive my car almost every day -- sun or rain, and even in snow and ice. I believe cars were made to be driven -- not to be lawn art (or garage ornaments). Probably someday she'll show signs of deterioration which I'll have to deal with. But, meantime, I'm going to treat her as god intended: drive her, wash her, enjoy the admiration of people on the street, ... Some owners of classic cars may just keep them in a garage and drive them occasionallly when the streets are dry and the sun is not too bright. It's up to you to decide which camp you want to live in.



I have no idea how I would wash my cars if I were water-averse. I have used Poorboy's Spray & Wipe for "quicky-wash-downs" before a Concours, but expect it too is a water-based product. (Send a PM to Poorboy if you need confirmation.)



So ... out of curiousity ... these geniuses who tell you not to wash with water: What the heck do they recommend? I know I'm probably sounding snitty. (Please chalk it up to the late hour and my exhaustion -- I really do not mean to sound like a jerk.) But I truly am curious to know what anybody can use that's not water-based. Honest!



BradB .... BradB ... where are you????
 
I have no idea what they use LOL thats why I postd, see i have owned my car for 2 years now and I used to drive it everyday, now I have an everyday driver but still drive this car occasionally, I hve always washed this car with water, its just now I told somebody that and they were like o hll NO dont do that, its the worst thing u can do to an old car LOL!



Justin
 
Lynn said:
But ... there's a larger philosophical issue here. I drive my car almost every day -- sun or rain, and even in snow and ice. I believe cars were made to be driven -- not to be lawn art (or garage ornaments).
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I like your attitude Lynn. :xyxthumbs
 
Yes ...Lynn I agree..if it's going to sit ..put it in a museum;)



The point I think they were trying to make is not the use of liquids..ie Waterless Washes, but the use of hoses and large quantities of water(buckets).



A meticulously clean and well maintained car like Lynn's will never rust as long as it's kept like a show car, no matter how much washing or rain it lives through...:xyxthumbs
 
I dunno about that water can creep behind areas in lots of old cars where it may remain unseen and impossible to get to, hence causing rust!!! Any metal that is exposed or just has paint or some coating that is just giving up will rust!! It is hard to maintain a car like this without having any rust at all!! Yeah I think the best thing to do with these types ofcars IMO is to drive them like Lynn said, but they are a lot of hard work to keeep up!!



Justin
 
Lynn said:
...I believe cars were made to be driven -- not to be lawn art (or garage ornaments)....
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Heh heh, my XJS resembles that remark ;) But I REALLY will drive it this year! And I'll note that even my garage queen has had to have some rust repair :( But that was from back when it was a daily driver (think Ohio winters and no garage). Anyhow..



DopeCelicaGT - I think the real concern here is two-fold. One problem, as others have said, is water getting trapped and keeping some area wet long enough to cause rust. You can help this by keeping your drains clear, drying thoroughly, and not using EXCESSIVE amounts of water when washing. Simple enough. The second problem (related to the first) is that many cars are not properly or completely painted in many out of the way areas. A good idea might be to have some waxoyl, etc. applied to places where rust can be a concern (rocker panels and frame rails come to mind). This can usually be done without killing the car's "showability" if it's done right. I had some minor, selective, oil-spraying done to the XJS (you can't tell where) and it's stayed quite rust-free.



And I trust that you have a dehumidifier running near the car.



But consider this- your Firebird has been around a LONG time. If there were some bare metal areas just waiting to rust out (common on cars of that era), it probably would've happened by now. I've found that most cars from "back in the day" either started rusting as soon as they left the assembly line or stayed rust-free if they were taken care of. European enthusiasts (who often share my passion for unrestored originality) seem to REALLY use/abuse their old classics and they still hold up.
 
Accumulator said:
But consider this- your Firebird has been around a LONG time. If there were some bare metal areas just waiting to rust out (common on cars of that era), it probably would've happened by now. I've found that most cars from "back in the day" either started rusting as soon as they left the assembly line or stayed rust-free if they were taken care of. European enthusiasts (who often share my passion for unrestored originality) seem to REALLY use/abuse their old classics and they still hold up.
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I used to live in the UK and went to my fair share of enthusiasts shows.



Believe me, in the UK theres enthusiasts and theres "ENTHUSIASTS"



The 60's and 70's Fords I was into had some raving lunatics who would trailer their car to every show as all the nuts and bolts were finger tight.

They'd had them stripped and re-plated and only finger tight so they wouldnt have any spanner marks on them.



I jest not .....



Maniacs.



Some guy took a brand new (trailered from showroom to home, home to show) Porsche 911 Carerra 4 to one of the concourse shows and came 8th ............



Go figure.



I'm in two minds on the whole 'show car' thing.. if I had a new car I guess it would get the baby treatment....... no rain, no snow etc.

At least for while ;)
 
Smoker- Interesting to hear about the trailer-queens in the UK. I always think of UK enthusiasts being of the OTHER extreme persuasion- the original/patinated/been-in-the-family-since-before-the-war type.



I just LOVE it when I see a write up about an old Lagonda or Bentley that is still VERY original (if tatty) and gets run hard in all kinds of weather. Part of the reason I sorta prefer some of the UK car enthusiast magazines.



I usually think of the "better than factory-new" restorations as being more American/new-world. Had one done once, found it strangely unsatisfying. Like I'd taken away the car's soul/personality. Not a dig at the Pebble Beach types, just one of MY pecadilloes. That car and I had a history that wasn't there anymore after the restoration.
 
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