Let me introduce Candy, she's real sweet! 97 GTS Dodge Viper

[RoboDude]

Hey fellow autopians, I need suggestions on what to buy...



I have decided to start off with the good stuff.



1) I have about 100bucks (My Ford dealer gave me back my money after they did a really poor job at detailing my car... and adding swirls ) to spend on products that must...um...wash,dry,polish, etc... the whole thing.



What do you guys recomend, I want really good stuff... thats afortable.



O, due to the extreame heat here in Miami,FL I've decided to go Synth...



2) I live in an apartment and I'm finding it deficult to wash my car. In my complex they don't allow you to wash cars. All the car washes around me suck. I don't know any one with a house that lives near me that I could go wash and polish my house. What do I do??? I thinkin maybe I could wash my car a night, around 1am. I live near alot of business and that area is full of small little warehouses mybe I can go and hook up a hose and wash my car somewhere away from view? Also I my friend's girlsfriends dad has a warehouse for his biz that I could use, but it's like a pretty long drive...



3) Keeping my car looking good is going to be hard. The parking lot in my complex is full of tress and there are tons of birds. Also every morning there is this like dirty frost and mostiure that settels in? What can I do about this? I was thinking of buying a good car cover, but I'm afraid that it will cause people to harm my car. My neighbor is pretty good, but it has it's bad seeds. A complex across the street is really bad.





Thanks for any help.

 

[ISLANDSBEST]

I understand your car cover concerns. I have used a cover on and off for several years and I have not had a vandalism problem. Perhaps others have, but I have not experienced one. If there is not such a problem in your area, I would definitely go with the cover. It makes, LITERALLY, a several hundred percent difference is your auto care, frequency of washing, paint damage problems from birds, etc., etc.

 

[ultrajim49]

Isn't there a risk of scratches putting on and taking off the cover?

 

[mx5]

Go to one of those Spray-it-Yourself car washes. Bring your own bucket and your own soap with a couple of milk jugs or 2 liter bottles full of warm water. You can use their water but it takes forever to fill the bucket and you are wasting your rinse down before wash time. Use your own sponge or mitt. Try to get as musch dirt off your vehicle using the sprayer before using your sponge or mitt to prevent scratching from any large dirt particles. Do not use the brush they have hanging there, it causes majors swirls. Do this early in the morning or late at night when business is slow so no one gets upset that you are using your own bucket and taking a long time washing your car. I have done this in front of the owners of the car wash and they really don't care unless it is busy. Once you are done washing you can polish your vehicle right there in the bay.

 

[Lemonxxs]

Welcome to the forum!!!!



Car covers should never be put on dirty cars or they will scratch. Also high quality car covers ecspecially made3 to fit your car is the only way to go.



As for products..read the Carport site and see what David B has to say..lots of good info there



Typically you will hear about 3 sealants here: Klass, Zaino, & Black Fire.



Good luck and welcome!!

 

[DETAILKING]

I agree, a car cover should only be put on a clean car. After you detail your car, you might be able to get away with using a duster every morning followed up with a quick detailer. Who knows, once the surface is nice and slick, you might see a considerable reduction in dust pickup.



Anyhow, I would recommend going synthetic in your case, due to the climate in Miami. My first choice recommendation to you would be zaino based on usability in the sun. It can be applied in the sun and is a breeze to buff off no matter how long it stays on the car. I have been using it with great results and I have no shady place to work in that is out of the sun.



Good luck

 

[imported_Intermezzo]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Guess My Name [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Welcome to the forum!!!!

Car covers should never be put on dirty cars or they will scratch. Also high quality car covers ecspecially made3 to fit your car is the only way to go.

As for products..read the Carport site and see what David B has to say..lots of good info there

Typically you will hear about 3 sealants here: Klass, Zaino, & Black Fire.

Good luck and welcome!! [/b]</blockquote>
Wow MB, so 'moderatoresque'!

 

[Lemonxxs]

ah shuckssssssss.

 

[RoboDude]

Thanks for the info guys



But no one has answered my first question?



I do live near by a do it youyr self car wash, with a high presure hose. I'd have to go really late in the night, cause they don't alow hand washes there. Question, will the high pressure scratch my car? If I have a lot of dirt?



Whould I wet down the car with the hose then add the car wash ? or use the buckets to soak the car with the car wash soap first??





Thanks

 

[imported_Intermezzo]

Those places work fine for me. Just be sure not to point the nozzle too close to or perpendicular to your car surface. I always try to keep it about two feet away, usually much more.



It's critical that you rinse your car before soaping it down to get excess dirt off first. Yeah, that would mean you have to pay for two cycles, but it's definitely worth it.

 

[Brad B]

High pressure can embedd dirt in your paint. For best results use a very ablique ange from a bit of a distab=nce so you don't "blast" it too bad.



Never use the soap at the car wash places.



Always presoak the car with clean water before washing with or without soap. It helps reduce scratches when dirt has a chance to soften and flush away on it's own.



As far as car covers, I was in a situation for many years where I covered my car outdoors at work daily. Technique is important when installing/removing covers. I never caused a scratch in several years of careful usage.



Be sure to get the proper detailing tools with your choice of sealant. Foam applicators, quality MF towels, drying towels, etc. You will also need a swirl remover (Finesse It for instance) and rubber care products (303, Gummi Phlege, Zaino to name a few) and cleaner (my favorite, Einmann Fabrik). The choices are many!

 

[Lemonxxs]

What Intermezzo stated about the pressure wand.... DO not use their brushes!!!!



Also try to find a covered bucket so you can bring your own soap solution...otherwise filling it up with them high pressure hoses can be a bit funny with foam flying everywhere!!

 

[DETAILKING]

Some of those places recylcle and filter their water. Dirt always gets through, and ends up sand blasting your car....per say.



If it pans out, bring your wash bucket, and wash your car there as normal, and pay for whatever time it takes. That is the best way.

 

[99323ic]

WELCOME to the Greatest Community on Earth....



In regards to your location problem, maybe you can find a canal (a fine Florida feature that non-Floridians may not be aware of) and you could fill up say 2 five gallon jerri-cans and then take that to a car wash or other place (a parking lot in a "dead mall") to wash your car there?



It's never easy when apartment complexes restrict your activities. They always advertise that you can play volleyball, basketball, tennis, etc., but never let you do cool things like detail your car.



You mentioned having access to a warehouse area, but I find that the wind is almost always blowing (putting dust and sand right back on your clean car) and trying to stay out of the sun might be a pain. My wife works at a warehouse in the Medley/Miami Gardens area and it seems that there is always a sandstorm going on...and the heat is monsterous!



Last shot would be to bug some of your friends that have a house and see if you can invite yourself over to detail. Maybe you can get them hooked, too!



Again...Welcome!!

 

[Don2000g]

As someone who lives in an apartment, I often resort to washing my car at the coin operated car washes. I take my premixed soap and water bucket and my own chenille and lambskin mitt. Make sure to follow Brad's advice on how to use the pressure hose.

 

[ISLANDSBEST]

cvcaelen - I have no scratch problems with my cover. As my friends, above, have advised, don't put a cover on a dirty car. Now, if you use the cover all the time, and QD every day, the car does not get dirty, so no problem. (opps, I should say, "does not get dirty, if you live in a non-challenging climate").

 

[ultrajim49]

darbh:



Normaly I don't have to bother about a car-cover 'cause my car can "sleep" in a garage.But during hollydays I'm a camper and the campingplaces are in plain nature .And beïng (trying to be...)an autopian I want to try keeping the car cleen and shiny,protected from treesap and birdbombings.

Guess I'll be the first to QD a car on a camping .



Thanks for the advice!

 

[ISLANDSBEST]

You are welcome.



Detailing the car during a camping trip? Of course.

 

[Tru_Shine]

I took a trip up to Top Gun Customz in Alcoa TN to detail this 700hp 1997 Dodge Viper GTS. Her name is Candy and she is real sweet with her supercharged V10! This was my first time working on a Dodge viper, so I was ready to jump in there and make this bad girl shine.

here is the car when I arrived.

 

[Tru_Shine]

So lets get this started! I began by spraying down the engine bay with some APC (all purpose cleaner) and then agitated it with various brushes

Once I finished the agitation I rinsed it down and began to blow dry all of the crevices with my Metro Magic Air.

Then I liberally applied some 303 aerospace protectant to the entire engine bay.

Now that the engine bay was complete, Next I started on the wheels.

I applied P21s wheel Gel diluted to 3:1 ratio, and I let it dwell for about 15 min.

Then agitated it with my EZ detail brush and other various brushes.

After the Wheels, I sprayed a coat of Snow Foam with my Foam canon attachment.

Let it dwell and roll of any heavy dirt

then Rinse.......

After the heavy dirt was washed off I applied another coat of snow foam and began to wash the paint using a two bucket method.

then rinsed.....

I dried it using a ReThickulous towel.

Once all of the oils and previous waxes were removed, the Tru Surface is revealed!