How do you wash your Vette?

[LoneRegister]

How do you wash your Vette?
How often?

What techniques do you use?

Here is how I do it:

1) Spray the car down from the hose. Get it wet.
2) Now - hose down the wheel wells with an eye towards blasting any loose/semi loose dirt/rubber away.
3) clean the rear of the car.
4) Now - do a general hose down of the whole car.
5) Fill a mixer with soap - spray down the car with a sudsy spray of soap. then return to the "trouble spots" and blast free with the soapy spray.
6) soak down the car again with water.
7) do the wheels.
8) Mix up a 5 gallon bucket of soapy water, and hand wash the complete car using a microfiber mit. rinsing/cleaning the mit often.
9) hose the car off.
10) use my compressor to blow the "big" water off the car.
11) use a microfiber green towel to dry the car.

What I'd really like to do is get a 25-35 gallon tank and a pressure washer that'll pull from that tank. The pressure washer would need to be able to switch between soap and water. then I'd power wash the dirt off. and then do a hand wash. I really don't like the idea of rubbing any dirt into the finish.

I then use Allen Industries "Tech Sheild" wax for the first coat. Then after that, it'll be a few coats of carnauba wax paste from a can using a microfiber pad.

With my yellow Z06 - I find that I need to wash it pretty much 1-2 times a week. I am sure that as the car get's older, that will tail off. However, the yellow sure does show dirt alot more than my 92 vette did!

Kevin
San Diego

[chjw]

I can't really respond to the poll. I wash it once a week when I'm driving it and once every 4-5 months when we've got what you don't have-freezing weather. I stay out of the wet and use the California Duster alot. The car was new this year so it was subjected to layers of Zaino to get it started off correctly. Of course that was interrupted the Key job, but I'm getting over that.

[1baduramax]

I drive mine daily, got 17,000 miles on it. I wash it depending on the weather. if a clear week, I wash it monday, wed, and depending on what im doing friday or saturday. But I just get it wet and wash it by hand.

[sigung86]

Went to Sears, bought a gasoline powered - power washer with adjustable nozzle. About once a week or so, Wash, rinse and wax in one step... Well, two, actually. The chamois off... And when no one is looking I wax with a one to one mixture of Meguair's Gold and red based Turtle Wax.

Then I go outside and examine the FRC ...

[z62jag]

The right answer for me is: when it needs washing - and that depends on recent weather conditions. During the summer months I've gone for 4 - 6 weeks without washing.

[kgc]

When it needs it. Mine is QS and it doesn't show the dirt a lot -which is good.

My procedure?

1) Take 14 year old son
2) Promise him we'll go "squeal the tires" when done
3) Bucket, car wash.
4) Me, sit back and watch him wash car
5) I dry car while he watches
6) We clean the inside together

7) go squeal tires.

[smook]

wash car down with hose.

soap it up with mothers soap.

wash car down with hose.

dry car with BIG bath towel.

wipe again with new dry BIG bath towel.

put car in garage.

ready for next drive.

*WASH EACH TIME CAR IS DRIVEN*, if possible, before putting it back in the garage.

WASH 1-2 times a month.

In winter. No wash. No drive. PARKED.

Bill.

[blkZ06]

Originally posted by kgc
When it needs it. Mine is QS and it doesn't show the dirt a lot -which is good.

My procedure?

1) Take 14 year old son
2) Promise him we'll go "squeal the tires" when done
3) Bucket, car wash.
4) Me, sit back and watch him wash car
5) I dry car while he watches
6) We clean the inside together

7) go squeal tires.

hahaa! now THAT's the way to wash a vette!

[LoneRegister]

When responding to the poll - consider months where the car is Garaged as non months.

Basically - how often do you wash the car when you are actively driving it.

[PerforminNorman]

Typically once a week.

[bigbadbevo]

Man, you guys are making me feel bad... I wash it when it needs it for the most part. In my opinion, MY hid a lot of dust not dirt per se. Truth of the matter, I try to wash it every two weeks or so and slap on another coat of Zaino. It's not a daily driver though.

My process is simple, hose, bucket, sponge, and Zaino wash. Hose down the car and get rid of any lose dirt or debris. Go at it with the sponge one section at time working top down and rinsing it along the way. Everything below the BSM's is washed with a different sponge. Wheels yet another sponge... I know anal- considering I don't wash it all that often. Dry with 3 of those super absorbant artificial chamois things. Same process with the chamois rotation as with the sponge- I know, ANAL... Finally, ZAINO!!!

What's the deal with pressure washers? I thought they were bad for the finish?

[JoeS]

Mine's a daily driver - that means when it needs it - and it needs it a lot!

I hate . . . love . . . hate . . . love . . . hate . . . love . . . hate . . . love a black car - well you get the idea!

Usually means once a week - may slide to every other week by using the California Duster.

[cbidwell]

I generally wash it when it needs it - about once/month, sometimes less. I usually wash it before car club events. It doesn't get driven daily though.

Carter

[FUBU69]

2-3 times a week.I live in Southeast Fl..it's extra EZ to keep my Vettes clean when they are kept in nice shape all the time due to the great weather.

Fubu

[mdickie]

Once a week, daily diriver half the year, and I've got 44K miles on her in 2.5 years...