I've had my 3rd gen for about a year now. Never once taken it. Instead, I wash it with ICE Turtlewax every Thursday. That stuff does wonders.

I would like to know how you fine folk keep your car looking nice.

 

After investing over $5k in the paint work alone, my Z doesn't even get driven in the rain. It gets washed by hand, always.

 

No carwash place for us!! I hear stories the water filter doesn't get out some of the fine sand, nor does it remove salt from the winter washers!!
Don't know how true, but I don't want to take the chance of scratching & salting our 3 yr old paint job!!
They filter & recycle the water here, but I don't know how often or even if they flush the system!!??!!

Maguire's Gold Class car wash, soft hand mitt (100% wool or terry ), 100% terry towel or micro-fiber towels, or 100% lamb leather shamis ( Not the AutoZone type micro ), Maguire's Gold Class paste wax for the outside, VooDoo " Mojo " for interior plastics & dash.

 

yes, try to ever 2 weeks.

 

no car wash for my formula or gta. always use a mist detailer and microfiber towls. the car gets cleaned about 3 times a week So its stays good and clean.

 

Gonna admit, i thought every week was a bit obsessive. But I can safely if I had a gta i'd be right there with you.

 

Car wash people destroyed my hatch pull down motor. After that, I do all the work myself.

 

I take mine to one of the places with pressure wash bays and do it myself each week, so I guess half and half....

 

this is what i do!!

 

I just do it at home

 

Mine gets hosed off once in a while.. Some days when its lucky I will run it into town and spray it at the car wash..

 

Washing box about once a week.

I do not use the high pressure programs but only the pre wash and afterwash programs.
In between I use a sponge and mild soap.

Whe I get home I then apply wax once a month/once every 2 months depending on how the car looks and whether it was dry or not.

 

I go to get the under side of my cars clean, i shot it with degreaser first then drive through. I wash the exterior by hand. Living in Hawaii there is alot if salt air. I atleast try to wash once a week & wax twice a month.

 

i dont take anything to a car wash. only my truck in the winter to powerwash the salt off.

 

I dont take any of my cars to a car wash. Period.

Third gen doesnt see winter. and other cars get the quick foam cannon and hose in winter.

I dont mind the auto washes, but once the laborers hit the paint with towels they have used 100 times before its game over for me. Car washes ruin paint.

 

Wash it myself at home. Unless Im out and a bird drops a bomb on it thats when Ill run it to the self car wash to spray it down. But its been sitting in the garage since november waiting for me to put the new exhaust on, so i dust it off occassionally haha.

 

I Wax My 3rd Gen With Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax Every 2-3 Weeks And Go Over It Daily With A Micro Fiber Cloth And Detailer Or Quick Wax If Needed. I Actually Wash My Car With Water Maybe Once Every 3 Months Unless It Rains.

 

I go to the car wash myself to use the pressure washer. I go thru a drive thru carwash once in awhile. try not too. only if im in a hurry and dont really have time to handwash it and dry and just want to clean some dirt off. speaking of that. Time to go wash the car now!

 

Never been to a car wash. Always by hand.

Also to the guy above who uses quick detailing spray only, that's a pretty terrible way to care for the car. Every time you do that, all you do is drag dirt across your paint causing micro-marring. Cars need maintenance washes.

 

I wash it by hand, I use Ice also The three step Ice works great!

 

Wash by hand and wax by hand about every 3 weeks. Claybar it about every 6 months. Not going to take any chances with that kind of pressure coming out as much as I'd like to (and I have a pressure washer and a good one at that, actually). Want it done right? Do it yourself and save money at the same time.

 

Ever since a car wash stripped a foot long, 4in wide strip of clear of the bottom of my door in my Silverado; nothing I will have or will ever have will be took to one again.

 

I have been doing this for many years on my car. Never had a problem or seen any micro marring that you say. I should have stated that i use this mist detailer when its has light dirt. if the car is very dirty i will wash it with the hose bucket of soap and good old sponge.

 

I Honestly Can Care Less Because I Plan On Getting It Re Painted After I Do My LS1 Swap Anyway, For Now It Shines Like Chrome As You Can See In The Pictures, I See Nothing Wrong With My Paint & I Get Compliments All The Time & I've Even Caught Some Girl Using My Car As A Mirror So My Car Looks Pretty Happy & Maintained To Me And That's What Counts

 

Yup Exactly! My Car Stays Shiny And I Go Over It Daily So Its Not Even Dirty To Begin With, Maybe Very Little Dust. Since I Always Wax It The Surface Of My Car Is Smoother Than A Babie's Bottom So Anything Wipes Off With Ease And Im Pretty Sure All That Wax Protects It From Micro Scratches Especially If They're That Minor. I Go Over It Once With A Dry Clean Microfiber Cloth Very Lightly To Knock Of Most Of The Dust, Then Use Another Clean Microfiber Cloth With Either Detailer Or Quickwax And I Dont See Any Other Cars That Shine Like Mine Anywhere Around My Area, So Like They Say In That Energy Boost Commercial, It Works For Me!

 

I try to wash it at the DIY carwash every one or two weeks. I just used clay bar last month,polished it & waxed(all Meguires products) it after that. It still beads up good. About to wash it all up in the morning.

 

Yup! Meguiars Products All Day! Forgot To Mention That.

 

Washing it tomorrow? Why you got big plans this weekend?

 

What Is With The Mixed Case? You A Headline Writer During The Day?

 

Hand wash all the time.

I have been buying and using supplies from adams polishes and i have been super happy with the results.

adamspolishes.com

They have tutorials videos on how to propery wash and care for a vehicles paint.

 

Yeah Im A Headline Writer During The Day. My Next Headline Will Be On Engine Bays Just For You Because You Look Like You Might Need Some Help With That!

 

My Trans Am goes to the coin carwash for a soap and spray.

My Camaro only gets a hand wash and Mothers treatment.

 

Your car looks CLEAN....why are you planning on re-painting, changing color?

 

Never thought I'd need sunglassesto look at a pic on the computer screen!! LOL

 

Thanks Man I Appreciate It! Well There's A Few Key Marks In It I Went Over With Touch Up Paint, And There's Still Red Showing Here And There Because The People Who Painted It Before I Got It Did A Half Assed Job & Right Now Its Jet Black But I Figured I Would Go Oil Slick Black Because It's Supposedly A Little Darker. But That's Later For Now I Just Wax It Every Couple Weeks And It Keeps The Shine, Those Meguiars Products Work Wonders!

 

LoL Thanks! I Try To Keep Up With It HaHa

 

my car has never seen an automatic car wash. when i first bought her back in 1997 i would wash/wax every sunday. every 3 months remove wax, buff, polish and wax again. now she stays in the garage and gets waxed once a month wash everytime before wax.

 

Goes nowhere right now. Finally finished what I started like a year ago, getting this thing completely torn down. But if it's a daily driver, I see no problem with one if you find a decent car wash. Me personally I just prefer to wash them at home, by hand.

 

My Camaro went through the car wash once, ONCE. My mom took it there when we got it becasue it was February and to cold to wash it. She took it there without telling me and when it came back the I in Iroc was gone on one side and on the other side half the Z was missing. So I only hand wash it but hopefully this year I will get a new paint job and then it will get washed with better products and hopefully get a garage space.

 

They make a quality product. You may also like my personal favorite, www.chemicalguys.com

 

I did a wax on mine the other night....ahhh I need to do it more often. Also need a paint job though

 

1st and last car wash for my z28 and i got 4 gal of water poured on me from the t-tops

 

I have never taken my car to a car wash since I got her back in 2004. I have always hand washed her. Just recently I learn the correct way to clean, polish and wax her with the Meguiars products.

 

I have a question. I just got my car painted with a single stage enamel, satin black. Can I wax it? And when can I wash it the first time. And how should I go about it. It has been sitting for almost two weeks now. Should I wait three, or a month??

 

Nice! Your Car Looks Really Clean.

 

I usually take mine to one of the DIY Bay's at the local car wash, for the simple fact that I have no hose here at my apartment. But she still looks gorgeous, and almost everywhere I go, I get a compliment.

 

I always hand wash with a compound from rightlook and then dry with the skin towels, break out the polish and carnuba wax every 3 months or so and buff it down, well...used to paint has been taken over by primer but I still hand wash my car regardless lol took it thru a carwash ONCE.....never again