Weather and Car

[cx32m4]

I bought my first car few weeks ago.
It's not new but it still shines like new.
I like to keep it that way as long as possible.
I live in a house where there is no garage thus i have to street park..
I've heard rain could slowly fade color.
My friend who has 98' Talon TSI, he washes down his car after every rain.
I live where it rains almost 3-4 days in a week during the summer, so washing car after every rain will be too much work.
Is waxing best way to keep rain off?
Considering that you get rain 3-4 days a week, how often would you wax/wash your car?

Also what do you do to combat direct sun light?
Does heat cuz any damage to the car surface?


any car care products you would recommand?

where i live it doesn't snow much so snow isn't big a deal.


thanks

 

[Ulfwald]

I use California Gold to wax my cars. Or the best is Eagle 1 with teflon in it.

 

[Thegonagle]

Just keep your car clean in general, and wax it every few months or so. It will look great for years, and you wouldn't believe how much it helps resale value.

 

[trulfe]

I've done quite a bit of research on this topic for my new car, and come to the conclusion that Blitz wax is the best for the money and protects well. I searched forums and 3M imperial glaze followed by blitz wax is great. I dont know how often you should wax though. My dad has a 94 GS300 and has never waxed it and it still looks almost new. I still cant believe it.

 

[Muadib]

I live in NJ, and the rain here is very acidic. Waxing is must if you want your car to stay looking good. It will protect your car from both acid rain & the sun. I don't know Canada, but I supect that you also get acid rain. If I lived there, I would polish my car at least once a month, and wash it every other week during the summer. Some might call it overkill, but for an hour to 90 minutes work, I think it worth it.

 

[Soybomb]

<< Or the best is Eagle 1 with teflon in it. >>

I'd be careful with that, teflon is a solid particle and if it has teflon it in, could well be putting very fine scratches on your paint.

Personally my favorite brand is meguairs. I guess if you have very acidic rain that letting rain set on the paint could contribute to its breakdown, but if its waxed right, the rain isn't really touching the paint anyway. To me that seems way anal retentive. Sun can fade paint over time, but its gonna take a while.

 

[bozack]

I used to be an auto detailer for some time and the one thing that will protect your pain the most short of covering your car in a garage or with a cover is by properly waxing it. This if done correctly can also resore highly oxidzed paint to a near new finish, however that usually takes a machine buffer and if your not careful (eg don't know what your doing) you can ruin your paint permanantly.

As for off the shelf products one of the simply best products you can buy is something called Zymol, you can get it at a discount at Costco (least I have seen it there for like 50 which includes the wax and a polish)

for standard any-place type products, Mothers wax is really good...used eagle one before and it is ok not great though, and Meguires also makes a nice product.

However for a really effective job there is more to it than just waxing the car.

You might want to consider washing the vehicle without soap before you wax it, wash once with soap to get the grime off, then use either bug and tar remover or lightly use paint thinner to remove all of the road grime from the lower rocker pannels and such. After doing this wash the car without soap to remove any soap residue before you begin the waxing process.

As for the wax you will want to start with a cleaning compound, remember if doing this by hand make sure not to rub to rough or else you will do more damage than good, always use a nice damp applicator sponge also, moisture is a good thing and makes the job easier.

After applying the Cleaning compound you can then add your wax compound, you can do this right on top of the cleaner, so there is no need to do double the work by polishing it off twice. Apply the wax nice and evenly in a circular motion, also with a damp applicator sponge. After the wax is applied you can begin to polish it off using a nice soft towel. you want the towel to be soft but not so soft that it doesnt remove any wax...a nice bath towel that is soft enough or an old soft t-shirt will suffice (t-shirt being a better option) you can also buy specially made polishing cloths, however these are some money and are not much better than a t-shirt or whatever, least from what I have found.

After you get through all of this you are going to want to add a coat of protective polish, same way as applying wax.

A properly applied wax should last for at least three months, with only a polishing needed every month.

Also remember that you will want to be in the shade when doing this, as sunlight or too much heat drys the wax too quickly.

good luck