new black DD, outdoor parking, can't wash frequently

njm · 07-04-08, 02:22

As of a couple weeks ago I now own an 08 black porsche cayman, which i am enjoying tremendously. Of course I want to take care of it and keep it looking sharp, and some helpful people pointed me to these forums.

I was/am totally blown away by the results you folks achieve. Of course I initially wanted to attempt to do the same, however after reading and searching these forums I realized what a bad situation I am in.

The car is black, has soft paint, is a daily driver parked outdoor 100% of the time all year round in an area with crappy weather (near philadelphia), and to top it all off I don't even have hose access to the shared parking lot I use near my house. There wouldn't be space to do a proper cleaning job there even if I could lug enough buckets of water to it.

However, I can use my buddy's place to do some detailing, I figure once a month for about 6 hours is all I am gonna get so that I don't annoy him - I can't monopolize his garage every weekend. I realize under these conditions, I will have to set a very low expectation for keeping the car looking good. I will keep some quick detailer with me at all times for the damaging stuff, but I have no idea what else I should do. Some of the sealants mentioned here seem to last a while, but needing multiple sessions to apply them knocks them off my options list.

I would love it if some experts could chime in with what they would do in this situation. Is there some product I could use that will give me some measure of protection even if I can only wash once a month? Also, whatever I do will need to be applied in one session of several hours - I can't keep it indoors over night. If I can't keep it looking sharp, maybe I can at least keep it looking okay for a few years?

Please tell me its not completely hopeless.

Thanks to all for this awesome forum. Whatever happens I plan to stick around and offer whatever help / amusement I can.

blownvert · 07-04-08, 02:58

Welcome to the forum. I will chime in on some things. ONR is going to be your best friend for washes weekly or whenever. It is made by Optimum is called No Rinse. No hose, but you do have a kitchen sink! Its black I have black, it will always get dirty but the dirtyness brings out the worse to the eyes.

You can do the 2 bucket method. Get 2 grit guards. 1 bucket you just need water and ONR solution. Other is just water, put 1 grit guard in each bucket and just wash each section then dry and repeat. You can use a MF towel, any wash media is fine. Its very easy. Just a reminder, this DOES NOT replace a regular thorough wash meaning its very dirty/sand on it. Put it this way you do not want to use this method first if its the winter and its covered with sand. You would probably want to power wash the sand off first at a self serve car wash then do your ONR. Well i dont want to lead you in another direction whats right or wrong, the other autopians can handle the waxes and what to do.

tdekany · 07-04-08, 03:23

Put a good wax on it like FK1 #1000 and qew/onr wash it daily or every other way. Otherwise the car will look like crap.

Can you return it and get white or silver?

zoomzoom mazda5 · 07-04-08, 03:33

I would PM Pats300zx. He's in your area and a outstanding detailer! hope this helps you and also welcome to Autopia.

njm · 07-04-08, 03:38

Not returning it, porsche seem to be really hard to find with the configuration you want since they have so many options. But, I probably would have looked for silver had I read these forums before purchasing.

The 2 bucket plan sounds good for washing it more frequently - I didn't think that daily washes were going to be the only way to keep it looking good. Really wishing I had a garage now

If its going to look like crap, so be it, but there must be some way to prolong the inevitable?

blownvert · 07-04-08, 04:42

lol this is what you have to deal with black. Get used to cleaning and if your obsessed bring your SD around in the car along with bug n tar remover with some MF towels.

You will always see the dust with black. I love the color black when its clean and waxed.

99blackSE · 07-04-08, 08:25

For protection either the aforementioned FK1000 (I think this is really a sealant?) or Collonite 476 for wax is what I would recommend. Welcome to the board!

3puttjay · 07-04-08, 08:45

If you put collinite 476S or 845IW on your car (at least 3 layers about a week apart) it should last about 5-6 months outside 24/7. It releases dirt pretty easy so you don't have to do much cleaning in the regular wash. I have a car that just came back from the body shop and I've been waiting to put some wax on it. I tend to wash that car frequently because everything seems to stick to it. My other car has collinite 476S (2 layers) on it and I find I wash it every third week instead of almost every 4 days with the unwaxed one. If you get the optimum no rinse to do your car, you can also use it as a quick detailer(different ratio), thereby extending your detailing dollar further. Congragulations on your cayman, I found it to be a bit better handling around the track than the 911. My brother lives in DC and he has no wife or kids, so he can splurge on a porsche. It was a hard decision, but he went with the C4 (just because of the looks), I thought the cayman was the better driver though.