How often to wash car/what to do after short drives?

S

SeaNile31

New member
My 3rd car, new to me, has recently been detailed, waxed, etc and is looking good. Especially in these winter months not many miles will be put on the car but come summertime I hope to use it often. I went for my first drive with the car and put about 30 miles on it and when I put it back in the garage I noticed a bit of brake dust on the rims. So I am wondering, how often should a car be washed? I want this car to look great all of the time but does it really need to be washed after every drive? I doubt any serious mud and real dirt will be on the car but brake dust, road dust, etc will be on it for sure.



Guess what I am asking is how do I keep it looking great without thinking I need to wash it after every trip? (did a search and nothing came up)



--JK
 
if the car itself has light dust you can either use some form of QD (Quick Detail Spray) and wipe it down or you can do something like ONR (Optimum No Rinse) and keep the car looking clean that way.
 
what i do after a drive is, assuming the car is just light dust, spray a combo of dg fc&s and rv & marine detail spray, mixed 50/50, i find it has the best of both worlds, cleaning, fc&s, and the gloss factor, or just waxed look, rv& marine detail spray, this works well for me.:spot
 
ever since i switched to ONR i have no need for a quick detailer....maybe to apply after ONR, but in that case I might as well just use a spray wax and boost the look and the longevity of the wax
 
Warning, Autopian Heresy follows :o



When I take the S8 or one of the other true garage-queens out for a short spin, I seldom do *anything* unless I get some bug splatters or somesuch. I don't bother washing it and I don't ONR/QD anything. Yeah, I just repark it with a bit of dirt/brake dust on it. Naughty naughty I'm sure, but no problems...I just don't touch those vehicles unless I'm doing a full wash.



The closest I come to doing a quick clean-up is after a *very* short trip to refuel after a wash (which knocks the surface rust off the brake rotors); I'll ONR/FK146/FK425 the wheels after a trip like that and carefully QD any waterspots that show up. But after that, I really don't do anything until the car really needs a full wash.
 
....for loose road dust/dirt, I will sometimes use my electric blower or compressed air for the painted surfaces, QD the wheels and then wipe down the windows. If the car is in between the "full wash" and "not so dirty" stage (i.e. dust/dirt is begining to stick, etc.), I might choose to clean it with ONR. It really depends but it's rare that I will wash my cars more than once every 1-2 weeks. ....my weekend car can obviously go longer than our DD (both are garaged).
 
I would go with Accumulator's advice: do nothing until wash. I remove large bug splatters/bird dukey, but even I am slacking on this.



I have to disagree with anyone who ever uses blowers/dusters (and I am ready to defend this argument). They are just stirring dirt around, and making for a risky proposition when it comes time to touch the paint.



I haven't polished my car since 2008. I have washed it many, many times in that timeframe. It is a DD and hasn't gained any noticeable marring since the last polish. Use good wash methods, make sure you wash mitts and drying cloths are ALWAYS washed and clean, and you should be good.
 
AuAltima3.5 said:
I have to disagree with anyone who ever uses blowers/dusters (and I am ready to defend this argument). They are just stirring dirt around, and making for a risky proposition when it comes time to touch the paint.
Click to expand...
....dusters I can understand given the physical contact of the tool and the paint (with debris in between), but I'm not sure I follow your point about the risk involved when it comes time to finally touching the paint after using a blower/compressed air? Can you expand on this? I'm genuinely curious and not trying to be confrontational btw.



Just to clarify, when I use air I'm holding the source/tool at a distance. I do a quick once-over just to blow away the loose stuff. .....similar to a strong wind or air flow you might experience while driving down the highway.
 
Kean said:
....dusters I can understand given the physical contact of the tool and the paint (with debris in between), but I'm not sure I follow your point about the risk involved when it comes time to finally touching the paint after using a blower/compressed air? Can you expand on this? I'm genuinely curious and not trying to be confrontational btw.



Just to clarify, when I use air I'm holding the source/tool at a distance. I do a quick once-over just to blow away the loose stuff. .....similar to a strong wind or air flow you might experience while driving down the highway.
Click to expand...



I totally understand your POV.



I will redact and say that compressed air usually can't move the volume of air, such as from a blower, that can stir up dust and debris on the ground back onto a freshly washed vehicle. I find this a major issue that most people who use leaf blowers seem to neglect.



In most cases the ground is wet and keeping most light particles "weighed down" but on hot days this isn't something I want to risk.



And with that, my name is Michael, and I have Autopia level OCD.
 
AuAltima3.5 said:
I totally understand your POV.



I will redact and say that compressed air usually can't move the volume of air, such as from a blower, that can stir up dust and debris on the ground back onto a freshly washed vehicle. I find this a major issue that most people who use leaf blowers seem to neglect.



In most cases the ground is wet and keeping most light particles "weighed down" but on hot days this isn't something I want to risk.



And with that, my name is Michael, and I have Autopia level OCD.
Click to expand...
.....hmmm. Using air to dry a car is arguable but the purpose here would be to simply blow off light dust from an otherwise clean car. I guess I'm having a hard time seeing how this would be a risky proposition when it comes time for the next wash (which would be the next time it is physically "touched"). ...even with Autopian level OCD.
 
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