2002 Ford Mustang Convertible

[imported_doug]

I started using these because they are great at cleaning the M5 wheels, which are a pain. They are also great for wheel wells. I don`t use the brush, but I use my wash mit to touch the car. I rinse the mit frequently with the pressure spray.

<font color="red">Important Warning: I once "missed" doing this rinsing and passed the high-pressure spray over the inside of my wrist above the cuff of the mit. Bad idea - the spray will penetrate your skin instantly. I`ve been told this can result in serious infections. I was lucky to get away with a scar. Be careful if you do this!</font>

My technique has been to drive the car right home, with a brief sprint to >80mph where possible, since I`ve found it takes that kind of speed to blow-dry the car. When I get home I mop up the few remaining drops and then QD.

This was all working very well for me until I tried a different car wash one day, and discovered later I had really <strong class=`bbc`>nasty[/b] water spots. These places recycle and presumably filter their water, but clearly this place wasn`t up on their maintenance. Now I am soured on using them at all, but I miss the convenience.

I suppose if I had dried the car right there and then and QD`d it, I might have avoided the spots. Still, I`m amazed they happened so fast. The car DID have plenty of wax on it and the water was all beading like crazy.

Comments?

[dengelson]

Maybe it`s time to look into buying a Pressure Washer of your own. They are handy to have around for a variety of purposes like cleaning driveways, gutters, decks and fences. Not to mention BMW wheels and muddy dirtbikes.

There are a couple of electric models in the above link that are small and reasonably priced.

[jkochis]

You also generally get what you pay for with pressure washers. Buy the biggest baddest one you can afford, and you will find lots of uses for it. A wimpy one will just leave you wishing you bought more power.

[CJ from Granite Bay, CA]

Power spray washing is ok, however, if you get too close to a chip in your paint the sprayer will peel the paint. I`ve seen it happen.

[imported_doug]

You know what, Short Cut - you`re right. That`s what I ought to do! And I will.

[tthomp82]

So my girlfriend`s parents wanted to buy a car for her younger brother and sister. They are 17 and this would be their first car. After they had searched the Austin area unsuccessfully, we helped and found this little car on craigslist. It had about 95,000 miles on it and looks to have been exclusively washed in swirl-o-matics. My girl helped by doing the interior which I did not get any shots of (except the trunk/spare tire area - it was nasty), but she did really well. Started on this around 3pm Saturday (she stopped around 7pm when the cold front came in and the temp dropped in the 30`s :angel: ) and finished around 2am to be delivered Sunday in Austin. The car had already been washed and it was raining when we picked it up hence no full-car before shots. So, my process was as follows:

Clay
M105 Orange pad (5 passes per section)
(I did step up to a yellow to see if it made much difference but I couldn`t really tell so I stuck with the orange)
M205 White (3-4 passes per section)
BFWD
Klasse AIO on the windows and mirrors
Megs Mag/Aluminum polish on wheels
Megs Gold Class Endurance Tire Dressing
Megs Ultimate Shine Plastic Dressing

I was shooting for about 75% correction as the paint was not in great shape and some RIDS needed wet sanding or rotary with wool to correct.

So, on with the pics

Before:





During:





After:

[imported_Roadrunner]

Wow, that thing was the swirl monster... looks GREAT now!

The Meguiar`s 105/205 knockout punch does it again.

Excellent work tthomp`!!:thumbup:

[imported_Indy YZF]

Nice work, I had an 01 Mustang, great car.

[hopsgt500]

Wow, what a transformation. Great job, pony looks sharp ancing Dot:

[Tuck91]

Nice work, the Mustang looks much better.

[Old Pirate]

Great correction work there tthomp! The pony has arrived:hurray:

[imported_Luster]

HIDEOUS Swirls! But great correction! Nice work......:biggrin:

[imported_broker99]

nice turn around.

[bmw5541]

My god, those swirls were sick

You did an amazing job on that Mustang. A true masterpiece:notworthy:

[tthomp82]

Thanks to all for the comments.

Again, I could not have done any of this had it not been for the knowledge available here on this community. Thanks again TID and PAC.