It`s Raining!!! What do I do???

[derrickm]

I just finished washing my car and of course, it`s now raining. I finished everything except drying it. It`s not pouring down, but it`s a constant drizzle going on. It started right when I finished washing.



My question is, after it stops raining (which it should in the next hour according to the weather man) will it be safe if I hose off the car and then dry it? Or will I have to wash it over again?



This sucks.....I guess I should have watched the weather first....



Thanks for any help......

Every weekend i spend longer detaling my Bentley & Rolls Royce collection mainly outdoors. Here in england, i am use to it pouring down with rain and also am caught in a similar situation - as my garage holds five of the cars - two are always left outside.



When i am preparing my cars for serious deataling - i wash them with autoglyms rain replent solution (simply mix 2 cap fulls with every liter of water). Then lets say it starts raining, and I havent had the chance to apply wax etc.. let it rain and when it stops dry the vechile with a soft cloth and apply the wax, or detail the glass, or alloys first - whatever suits - but whatever you do - dont start washing it again its simply pointless



J.R

[Lemonxxs]

Rinse and dry. You do not know what was in the rain.

[JasonC8301]

If this happened in NY or NJ, or any place with a high acid rain rating/pollution, I would wash again.



After it rains you can check the water by putting your finger on a water bead on the car and tasting it. If it taste off, different from plain water, wash, it may be acidic.



This is true if it is a short period of rain, the pollution in the air will settle onto your car.



The car wash shampoo should bring your paint back to a safe pH level.



Meguiars.com offeres a very cool paint care prescription.



In my area, I would have to wax 11X a year with their #26, and then polish 9X a year with #7. I think this may be off, but its pretty darn scary looking at all the severe ratings....



Just my 2 cents,

Jason

[YoSteve]

jason, I knew you`d be the one to get us to lick our cars! :D



in many years of chemistry in college, the first thing they tell us is not to use the taste test. one of my friends had to isolate a crystal, looked at it for a second, tasted it and handed in his lab report saying it was salt cause he tasted it, haha. He did get an A though :)



I would think that any acid in the water of the rain would rinse off (diluting it off) but don`t let the rain dry, then you might have to use a little soap but I wouldn`t think much rubbing. (course we have clean rain and air in newbury :D)

[DaGonz]

If it starts to rain while you are washing your car, finish the wash, let the rain come down and when it stops raining, hose it down well and dry it.



When I am out driving and it rains, I hose the car down when I get home (my neighbors think I`m crazy, so I might as well convince them! :D)



If you have a good coat of wax/Klasse/Zaino/Blackfire on your vehicle, 99.9 % of the road grime kicked up by the tires and spray from other vehicles should roll off like water on a duck`s back! QD should handle what`s left.