Well, if you can get them to do minor cleanups every once in a while, that would help you when you get back. Other than that, clean it up good before you leave. If you are looking at protecting mostly the exterior, a good sealant could last a good part of the time you are gone. (these sealants include Klasse, Zaino, and one I'm looking into further, Poorboy's EX. One that you can probably find locally is Meguiars #20 polymer sealant...beware, it has cleaners and applying more than one coat doesn't do much good as it does with cleaners which can be layered. ) A Carnauba (nature's hardest wax) that I recently have gained interest is Collinite which supposedly lasts a long time for a Carnauba and is fairly easy to use. This site has been mentioned to buy it from.
http://www.autofanatics.com/collinite1.html When I get around to getting some of that wax, I think I'll try #476 because it sounds most durable, but people here seem to like #915. These waxes also don't have cleaners. Cleaning your paint before applying wax will help it last longer. Using a specially designed plastic type clay bar specially designed for removing contaminance is highly recomended. It takes stuff off the surface. I thought my paint was smooth, but I used a clay bar and could see junk taken off and put in the clay and the paintwork even felt a lot smoother. This can take as much or as little time as you want, but be careful, use lots of lube, and don't use any pressure on the clay. Additional steps can also help prepare the paint for a carnauba type wax. According to an
http://www.epinions.com review of Collinite wax, someone had success using S100 paint cleanser (I forgot the name) before Collinite because it 1.) cleaned the paint and 2.) made application of Collinite much more easy. Collinite's own paint cleanser might work well also.
I know I gave much more info on the carnauba side instead of the synthetic polymer side, but that is because it is easier for me to understand and probably easier for
me to use. Applied properly, a high quality synthetic should outlast a carnauba.
Finally, touch up all the chips in the paint before you leave because they
could lead to rust if bare metal is exposed. Either way, it is a worthwhile appearance thing to do and also prevents wax from getting stuck in the chip which is a nucence.
P.S. I would have suggested posting this in the Autopia University instead of here in the Articles section, but it is here and here is where I will reply unless it does get moved (to the Autopia University). No problem, though...now you know.
P.P.S. What color is the car? (mostly out of curiosity)
