Washing the car?

[Hokie]

OK, so this may seem like a stupid question to some, but I'm seriously interested in some advice on washing my D. I'm very hesitant to just whip out the bucket and suds and go at it. Are there areas to avoid directly spaying so as to not get water inside the car? Any advice on how the keep the engine dry or whether or not that is even important? Any other thoughts on keeping a D clean? Thanks.

[dmc6960]

Well, it's is a car. Don't be afraid to get it wet. Generally a garden hose and bucket will not give you any issues. Any wiping with a cloth or sponge should go with the grain. Avoid spraying water directly at the engine, but simply getting wet will not hurt it. Don't put much pressure on the hood when washing or drying. It may help to open it up if drying by hand, better access. You may find a few minor leaks in the door weather seals but they generally won't be horrible. If you use Windex do NOT get it on any black portion of the car.

There's a start.

[jawn101]

OK, so this may seem like a stupid question to some, but I'm seriously interested in some advice on washing my D. I'm very hesitant to just whip out the bucket and suds and go at it. Are there areas to avoid directly spaying so as to not get water inside the car? Any advice on how the keep the engine dry or whether or not that is even important? Any other thoughts on keeping a D clean? Thanks.

This is a question that's as up to personal preference as synthetic vs conventional oil, what brand of tires to go with, etc. Do what you're comfortable with. There is a pretty good general consensus that automated car washes are not right for us due to the fragility of the louvers and the unpredictable effects high-pressure water can have on our less than watertight bodies.

Me, personally? I use one of those Mr. Clean AutoDry hose nozzle attachments, hooked to the hose output on my water softener (the water where I live is *ridiculously* hard). I fill up a bucket with clear water and some Ivory dish soap. Hose the car down with plain softened water. Switch the AutoDry to soap mode and spray down again. Use a bone sponge with a scrubby back and some of that water/Ivory mix to get off any stubborn spots, bugs, etc. Hose it down again with fresh water. Switch to the deionize mode to get a spot-free rinse. Dry it with a PVA drying sheet and microfiber towels.

Areas I stay away from: I try not to use high-pressure water near the roof seals or the side louvers, as I don't want to force water past and into the body.

Depending on how dirty the car is and how deep I want to clean, I will spray down all the exposed fiberglass areas (louvers, engine cover, pontoons, wheel wells, etc) with Kaboom foaming cleaner before starting the above process. Regular spray-on wheel cleaner for the wheels. I don't dress the tires as I hate how they look shiny. I don't use any after-wash polish or wax on anything, be it steel, paint or fiberglass.

You don't have to worry about getting the motor wet, as long as your plug boots are the correct type and are on tight. You do want to avoid soaking the ignition coil or the distributor. If you just wash the car with the lower engine cover closed all those concerns should really be handled for you, it does a good job of keeping water off the critical components.

Another thing I recently discovered I should be doing: if you are washing the car on an incline, do it so the nose is at the lowest point. This will help make sure the windshield air intake drains water outside the car rather than inside the evaporator box. That drain is kind of poorly designed and can become clogged easily.

[Nicholas R]

Mr. cleans magic erasers. I swear by them. That plus dawn dish soap, turtle wax tire stuff for the wheels, an occasional pressure washing of the rims, and a chamois to dry it all off with.

[Rich]

There's another way to go, one that suits this car pretty well.

To correctly remove dirt from a painted car you want plenty of water and soap so as not to let the dirt scratch the paint. But with a brushed-stainless car that's less of a problem. Or no problem, at least on the glass and the stainless.

Try a bucket o suds (car suds, NOT dish detergent) and a wash mitt along with a clean "rinse" towel wetted with clean water. And with no wet- or rinse-hose.

With the car in the shade give the car a suds-only scrub, doing a section at a time and wiping with the grain as others have mentioned. Unless the car is filthy you don't need much soapiness.

Then before that section starts to dry go over it with the wet towel as a "rinse", followed by a dry towel or chamois. Then work it section by section in about 4-5 sections. That's it. Treat the glass any way you like.

No hose, no puddles, no leaks, nothing into the engine bay. Be sure to go light on the front and rear (painted) fascias so as not to cause any tiny scratches there with this method. Or just wash them using a hose.

It's a bit unorthodox but it works.

As an aside, this car is remarkably easy to keep clean in that a clean wet cloth can take care of dust and minor dirt on the stainless. No need for a whole wash job most of the time. Just stay on top of it with the minor wipe-downs.

[Tillsy]

Likewise I don't use a hose, I don't even take her out of the garage.

Just a bucket of water, rinse a sponge in it, squeeze it almost dry, then wipe along the grain on one spot and in same direction three times. Repeat the rinse, squeeze, and wipe until I've done all the stainless panels on one side. I then rinse the bucket and start again for the other side, then do it again for the facias. No need to chamois her down as she's already dry and spotless on each of the third wipes.

Clean in 20 minutes flat, no mess, and looks great.

If she's absolutely filthy, or once a month or two, I'll first do all the stainless panels with the same process but some dishwashing liquid in the water - not the facias though. I then redo the above normal process with plain water to get it all off.

That thorough clean is about an hour of work instead of 20 minutes. I then use Windex on the glass and tyre shine on the tyres.

My process takes full advantage of the fact that the panels are all brushed stainless. Doing this on my other cars would scratch them up - they are still the old fashioned hours worth of hosing, washing, rinsing, chamois, wax, blah blah blah...

[DMCMW Dave]

If you are really going at it with a hose, open the engine cover first and cover the engine with a large plastic trash bag or something similar that will run the water off to the sides of the engine. This will keep you from accidently flooding the valley and/or spark plugs. A strong hose is a LOT more water in there than rain coming through the louvers. BTW, this is not a bad idea if parking the car outdoors for extended periods.

[DMC5180]

When I first got my car, I never washed it and just used Stainless cleaner/polish per D1 recommendations. Problem is it looks great at first then starts turning dark and collects dust/dirt like mad. I quit using that stuff years ago and switched to Manual car washing. I like the foaming brush. I've also never had an issue Flash spraying the engine enough to knock the dust off. I generally use the full range spray modes except WAX but including spot free rinse. When I'm done I give it a quick towel dry then hop in and go for a 10 mile drive at highway speed to blow dry the rest The heat from the engine quickly dries out the engine and compartment.

Lately, I've switched to washing it in the driveway with a bucket of hot water and (car washing soap) and a wash mitt.

[Jacko]

Lately, I've switched to washing it in the driveway with a bucket of hot water and (car washing soap) and a wash mitt.

That's what I do. I even use car soap with wax in it ... doesn't do any good but it doesn't hurt as far as I know.
Also, I have a California Duster that I use between washes.

[WelmoedJ]

If you are really going at it with a hose, open the engine cover first and cover the engine with a large plastic trash bag or something similar that will run the water off to the sides of the engine. This will keep you from accidently flooding the valley and/or spark plugs. A strong hose is a LOT more water in there than rain coming through the louvers. BTW, this is not a bad idea if parking the car outdoors for extended periods.

If covering your engine with something to prevent it getting flooded while parking outside it may be a good idea to hang a reminder on your key or steering wheel.
This way you can avoid more damage than heavy rain can do (except in flooded areas like in Europe now ).

BTW, every now-and-then when I'm lazy, I drive my car through a carwash.
No special precautions taken; this hasn't hurt either car or engine in the five years I now own it.
Intake manifold has taken been off 2 during those years (other reasons) and I didn't find anything pointing to water having been in there too long.

I guess it all boils down to regular pre-emptive maintenance, keeping you car in good shape.
The car is not made of sugar, so water couldn't really hurt or damage it.
Neglect to keep it in good condition however hurts it more than water.