New Gal On The Block

Debelli

Debelli

New member
Hope you don't mind me joining in. I'm a total novice:dunno at trying to keep my car clean - heck, I have a hard enough time keeping the house clean!:lol

Little background...I live in SOFLA (S. Florida shortened) where it's hot and humid, so I don't know if 1) having a dark car, 2) and living where it's hot 3) and living where it's humid 4)and living where there's a LOT of rain come summer 5) and appearing to own a car that seems to have a target mark only birds can see and 6) it seems like we must have invisible dust storms the way the car gets dirty in minutes - makes a difference on what products to use.

Bought a new Santa Fa 2 weeks ago. It's a dark blue - they call it MOONLIT, it looks more like MIDNIGHT. I'm wondering if I will regret buying a dark colored car since it seems to show EVERYTHING!:bigscream Since buying this car I've noticed red and blue cars on the roads that look like they've been washed with acid! :bigscream I sure don't want that to happen to my car - I keep my cars for a really long time. I see some really great looking black cars on the road and wish I could stop the owners and ask them what they use or where they go to have the car taken care of.

I've been trying to educate myself on what to use, but honestly, it's soooo confusing - there's too many choices out there and there's pros and cons about all of them. I'm really spending hours trying to figure it all out!

I've always had light colored cars - and I didn't take care of them (at least I'm honest) This one I have vowed will be different (not even the neighbors believe me on this one):rolleyes

I've looked at ZAINO but not having any experience in anything more than washing a car, it seems quite intense stuff to use. Read about PS12 - sounds good, but so do many other products. Very intimidating to know what to chose and not end up wasting so much money. Wonder if it would be worthwhile to have someone else do it.

I've already had to wash the car a few times due to BS. This morning before the sun came up, I knew the car was quite dusty so I hosed it down. Wrong thing to do without drying it I see - water spots all over! I think I've developed OCD with this car already - tried my best to get rid of them and THEN, washed it tonight - there's a few on the hood that I didn't get - shorty here - sometimes hard to reach, but becoming more aware that I need to pay attention to getting at this area.

So, I hope you "guys" don't mind if I hang around and maybe learn a thing or two. I'm no spring chicken, but the mind still can retain a few things for a couple hours ;)

Okay, so I do have a valid question or two - where the heck does the water keep coming from under the side view mirrors so that it drips down right after you wipe it again, and again, and again, etc.??? It's driving me nuts to see that mini-stream of water!

Also, how long after buying a new car should you wax it? It's new to me, but it was sitting on the dealers lot for months, in the hot and humid weather. Gosh knows what they use to keep the cars looking good - whatever it is, I wish I knew because I can't imagine them washing all those cars on a daily basis, or even every few days. I look at mine and as soon as it's done, you seem to see it start getting dirty again :bigscream

I appreciate any input, experience, advice, etc. that you may want to throw out at me. I'm willing to learn:)

Anyone else in SOFLA???

THANKS

Debbie

DCP_3575.jpg
 
I'm a newby as well and in S. Fl. (Florida City/Homestead to be exact). I just started learning to care for my stang the 'proper' way as well. Let me be the first to say it can be $$ to do this the right way. But in the long run very well worth the time and money spent. The longer I can 'properly' maintain and protect the paint the longer I can prevent having to pay to have the car repainted. Spend now and save later, welcome from one newb to another.
 
Welcome aboard! Doing nothing would be better than rinsing it off with water and letting it dry. Touchless drive through car washes seem to do good for some people. A quicky thing to do would be get a bottle of Meguiar`s ColorX and a terrycloth applicator and work it over. Follow instructions but have no fear. If you want to really get into detailing you have come to the right place. Start reading the tutorials that I think are somewhere on this website. In time, you will have a garage full of products!
 
HEllo and WElcome!

1st off nice ride. To answer your water drippage question. You can use a leafblower to blow out the water from all hiding spots in your car so they will not drip and drive you crazy anymore. And about the wax question. You should be able to wax the car right away. The paint is baked onto new cars so you will be good to go. Now in detailing there is more than waxing. I will layout some steps for you and then you can search each and find out more.

Wash
Clay
Wash
Polish (somtimes several)
Glaze (optional)
Sealent and or Wax

On the note about washing the car and not drying. That is a no no. You want to make sure to dry your car. To dry you might want to invest in a waffle weave Microfiber (MF). Also try to only touch your paint with MF. Dont use the retired bath towels and try to avoid the Car wash (swirl o matic) at all cost! Try to utilize the search engine to answer questions and always feel free to ask anythign. We have all been noobies at one time. There are sponsers to your left of your screen were you can find supplies and some even offer 10% discounts. And welcome!! I will let others chime in.

Greg
 
Thanks!

Appreciate the welcomes :)

Wytstang - not too far away I see - to the south. Did you get one of the new Mustangs? They remind me of "when I was young.":lol Maybe you can tell me what you've used, to stay away from, so I won't waste AS much money as I probably will.

TraderB- thanks for that tip - appreciate it! I'm afraid of getting to many products - not using half of them. No garage, so not only do I not want to buy too much and waste money, but I don't have the space to store too much either.

Greg - thank you too :) Wouldn't you know it, I sold the leaf blower at the last garage sale :mad I've read about the clay - very intimidating to me, afraid to try too much. I have a great knack for screwing things up:rolleyes Have to read about polish, I thought you just wash and wax :dunno I do have some MF towels, no waffle ones though. Have seen them mentioned.

Discount, I love discounts - I'm a true shopper! :D

THANKS GUYS :bye for now :)
 
Welcome to DC.

I think that Detail City is located in SW Florida. Somewhere around Sarasota. :naughty
 
Greetings and :welcome to the DC! It's good to see people interested in taking care of thier vehicles .

I'd like to make a suggestion for you and that would be , locate a professional detailer in your area ( perhaps you could find one here) and let them do a full detail on your car and then you could up keep it with a few simple products . This way you don't have to buy all the products and tools, unless thats what you want to do . Either way you came to the right place to learn how to better care for your new car.

I'll try your 2 questions .
Try not to spray alot of water in those mirrors , most pro detailers use compressed air to blow them out , you could do the same with those little cans of compressed air used to clean computers . Its cheap and works in a pinch.

No time like the present to wax that new car. Good luck

:dcrules

Regards
Jerry
 
Hi, Debbie!!

:welcome to the City!! Your Santa Fe looks really pretty in that picture, but I can see how it would show every speck of dust, waterspot & fingerprint. :(

Jerry's suggestion of finding a DC pro to give you a good start on detailing your new vehicle is a great one!! :bigups It would allow you to watch & learn the "scary" parts, and just do the regular maintenance on your own, until you feel more comfortable with them. I know there are several "citizens" in Florida, perhaps one of them will contact you.

Enjoy & feel free to ask lots of questions - we were all :newbies once!!

Norah
 
And DWAYNE, does that mean that if I come up and over to Sarasota that "someone" from DC will show me how THEY detail MY car;)


ROLLMAN, I actually have looked on line and in the phone book for detailers - rhere's places where they hand wash the car and will wax it, but how good of a job they do, I don't know. I have to find a great looking car and ask who did it. Then again, I haven't a clue about the cost - and, well, just buying this new car AND not having a job, well, $$$ a bit tight - so if it's way up there, it's going to be me doing this job.

My other half has a guy who works for him that does detailing, but again, I don't know how well of a job he does - plus, I don't really like asking people like that, should something go wrong - better keep business and business separate. Maybe I can find someone down here that has a good reputation, does a great job and doesn't require an arm and a leg.

Thanks Norah - maybe one of these great guys will help out - if nothing at all, just to tell me what they use down here and what kind of results they have gotten.

So, here's another question...if you aren't suppose to rinse off your car while not being able to dry it immediately - what's the difference in that and if you're driving and it rains - which is does so much in FL.

Oh, and just how do you all handle bird crap? :huh With the heat and humidity and the sheer luck of the crap hitting the front of the car and being baked on immediately, what do you do when you aren't going to be near home to wash it off? I've been bombed 4 times in the 2 weeks I've had this car - pisses me off!

Thanks

Debbie
 
Re: Thanks!

Debelli said:
Wytstang - not too far away I see - to the south. Did you get one of the new Mustangs? They remind me of "when I was young.":lol Maybe you can tell me what you've used, to stay away from, so I won't waste AS much money as I probably will.
Click to expand...
Nope mines a little ole 95 white gt last year of the 5.0 and the some what new bodystyle. What I'm using right now is just meg's #16 I'm waiting for my Klasse All-In-One. So I can do a clay bar, Klasse AIO, toped with Meg's #16. The Meg's #16 by itself is pretty good but I need a paint cleaner to really get the most out of it hence the AIO on it's way. Mind you I'm a newb just like so I'm still learning. More experienced(sp?) members can give you better combo advice but so far from what I've read this is a good little combo to use.
 
Welcome to Detail City Debelli! In case you're still wondering how the dealers keep the cars clean, I've seen the Honda dealership near me use a pressure washer to spray the cars down every morning and that's all they do. How they keep them from waterspotting is another mystery. Maybe they use filtered water. :dj
 
by the way.. here in s.florida there are way tooooo many fake detailers who washa nd slap turtle wax and cal it a detail. everyone here is mobile so imagine. look int he yellow pages and u will get tons of mobile car washes. i can do it for u. i mean, detail it, and i guess teach u pretty much how to maintain it while u elarn a bit to do it yourself. AGAIN, i live in southflorida too, and would love to help out.
 
hi Debbie!!! :welcome It's really nice to see another girl here ;)
Welcome to the addiction! You're going to have a great time, and since you live in Florida you can always visit PAC :naughty You're gonna be like a kid in a candy shop!!
Seriously, there are so many things that can make your life easier. I also have your problems (dust and bs issues) but it's all under my control now :D And it's all because of the help of the resident dcers and sponsors.
About the bird bombs.. poorboys offers a bs remover (which is really effective) that you can carry anywhere. Having the bs remover and a mf is really handy for quick touchups ;)
 
Debelli said:
So, here's another question...if you aren't suppose to rinse off your car while not being able to dry it immediately - what's the difference in that and if you're driving and it rains - which is does so much in FL.
Click to expand...

Well, seeing as how everyone jumped in while I was away.....I'll try and answer this one for you.

Water from the tap or faucet has minerals and additives in it. These will be present in the beads and when the beads sit in that hot FL sun, the minerals and additives will be baked onto/into the clearcoat surface.

Rainwater, on the other hand, doesn't have quite the harsh additives that tapwater will have. Sure, there's stuff in rainwater, just not like from the tap. Man has such a way of messing with the nature of things doesn't he.

That's a pretty broad explination of what the difference is. In any case, you gotta dry it off. Period. For a better solution to the dust issue, check out something like Adam's Detail Spray, Poorboy's Spray & Wipe, or Poorboy's Spray & Gloss. Hope this helped, even if it was just a little. :)
 
wytstang - I guess we'll both be learning more on how to keep our "babies" clean from all the experienced experts on the board, though I do think you are far more on your way than I'll ever be ;)

JOYRIDE, I saw your pics of your mini - nice car! I also saw noticed the pics of the wall in the background and said to myself that I know that wall - but just can't place it right now. Is that near the Falls? I too am in Kendall :)

I do realize that there's a lot of fakes down here in Miami - geez, just look how many people get arrested down here for pretending to be a Dr.! I called a couple places to ask what they use and how much they charge. One place on Dixie Hwy that I know of was about one of only two places I could find on the web that was mentioned that had a good reputation, BUSY BEE.

You are such a doll to offer to help me learn.:angel You really think you'll be able to teach an old dog a new trick?:beat Maybe you can teach me to keep my car looking in tip-top shape and I can teach you the fine art of being a bargain hunter!:lol Seriously, people call me to find them the best prices on stuff-I love the thrill of "the hunt."

So, what products do you find are good down here since you live here? What have you found works for you, and what doesn't? Is this a passion for you or a business, or a combo of both? Hey, maybe we can have a detail party!!!:dj

TERMIGATOR, thanks for the welcom:D Maybe we can solve the mystery of the water spots with dealers - if there's an explanation out there, I'll find it! Actually, have to p/u some t/u paint from the dealer some day soon, so I'll put that on my list of things to ask.

MILKY, thanks for welcoming me aboard - nice to see that there's other ladies out there :dancin . Ookay, maybe it's my mind no kicking in so early this morning, but what is PAC? I guess I'll be keeping some much needed supplies in the car with me to help me deal with the BS. Will check out Poorboys - thanks!

RUBITOUT- THANKS :)

JARED, thanks - every bit helps - I'm learning a lot from you and others on this board. I guess having flouride in our water doesn't help much either:huh I just don't want to get OCD from these water spots - I've got enough issues to deal with that I don't need another one!!!:lol

THANKS!!!!!

:dcrules
 
Mystery Solved, I Guess

Found this on another website, explains about how car dealers can maintain the cars on the lot:

CAR LOT MAINTENANCE
By Larry Hinckley, Senior Technical Advisor
Delco Cleaning Systems of Fort Worth, 2513 Warfield St., Fort Worth, Texas 76106-7554
Phone: 800-433-2113; Fax: 817-625-2059
Last Update: November 3, 1998

Every dealer in new or used automobiles in the nation has a need for a clean product to show to his potential buyers. Automobiles are easier to sell and will bring a higher price when they have eye appeal. Understanding that the need exists for this service the only thing left to do is contact the people in need and convince them that the required service is available through your company at a mutually agreeable price. The price for providing this type of service varies from one geographical location to the next. The price runs from as low as 75 cents per vehicle to as high as $2.00 per vehicle with the average price being $1.00 to $1.25 per vehicle.

What you will be expected to turn out for this price is a dirt free,spot free vehicle. The trick is to accomplish this with a minimum of overhead. In most cases the vehicles need to be cleaned an average of every 10 days. These vehicles should already be clean except for dust or water spots.Your job will be to keep them looking good by washing off the dust and atmospheric contamination that accumulates as time passes.

The difficult part of this is delivering a spot free rinse. There are essentially three ways to accomplish this. The first, the most labor intensive and also the oldest method is to dry the surface of each vehicle using a chamois or soft cotton towel. The second is to buy a Reverse Osmosis unit [ R. O. unit ] and purify the water at your shop to be carried with you to each job. This is not only expensive and labor intensive but it is also highly impractical. The third and most commonly accepted is to rent DI units [ de-ionizer units ] which will give you water in its purest form. [ 1-800-433-2113 ] Depending on the number of cars you do and the quality of the water that you run through the DI tanks you should be able to use DI tanks for about one month before it becomes necessary to re-generate the DI tanks. The average cost for DI water is about 5 cents per car. In most cases you will never use soap or hot water in performing lot maintenance. Because your are not using hot water or detergents you should be able to discharge your wash water to storm sewer because the runoff is similar to rain event. You will need to check with your local municipality to verify that this procedure is O.K in your area.

You should be able to deliver the desired product by rinsing the vehicle with DI water after using a mop dipped in water to wipe off the hood, deck and top of the car. If you should opt to use a DI system you need to use it in conjunction with a cold water pressure washer. DI water is easily contaminated, and should never be discharged through a heater as it will pick up contamination as it passes through the heater coils. DI water should be transferred to your pressure washer through PVC pipe or plastic or rubber hose. When it is discharged from your pump it should go directly to your pressure hose passing through a minimum of metal components. To achieve maximum life of the charge on your DI tanks you should never run hot water through them. Anything in excess of 100 degrees would be too hot. If you will incorporate the use of a carbon filter in your water line prior to the DI tanks this will also extend the life of the charge.

DI tanks are housings for anion and cation resins which remove the positive and negative ions from the water leaving the water as free as possible of spot causing elements. The re-generation of these resins is accomplished through the use of acid and liquid caustic soda and is done by the company from which you rent the unit. So essentially all you have to do is return the spent tanks to your supplier. He will replace them with freshly charged ones and you are ready to start washing again. You can find DI water suppliers under "Water Filtration & Purification Equipment" in the Yellow Pages.
*****

Mystery solved??? Found a site that mentions this as well:

http://www.belbincompanies.com/Spot_free.htm

Please note - I have no interest in either company and just posted this for information purposes only :)

JARED, thanks - I hadn't heard of that website.
 
I would recommend looking into polishes/waxes that work in the sun. PAC has a wide range of them, if you happen to decide to wander over there (Poorboys comes to mind, for some reason :D ). As to off-the-shelf stuff, Mothers Reflections® can be used in the sun.
As mentioned, with regards to the waterspots, or just rinsing and trying to avoid waterspots, use a qd after the rinse. Lots of products to try, lots that work well. It seems that you've already been reading previous posts, so you're going to likely know whick products are generally well received here.
Good luck! ;)

Edit: PAC is one of the sponsor sites of DC. Other sponsors are listed in both the Sponsor Forums and in the Sponsor box located in the upper left-hand of the page. It just so happens that PAC's base of operations is in Florida (Sarasota).
 
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