Hey Guys, Do you think its imperative to wash your car ASAP after rain?.. specifically: 1) Does the residue do anything to your paint even if you don't touch it? 2) Have you ever noticed that rain residue is highly abrasive? ..I ask this because someone brushed against the deck of my trunk with either their hand or a sleeve and wham! there were terrible micro-scratches (like running a comb through sand)! ..also, I just barely touched my paint to check a scratch and wham! the same kind of micro-scratches right where my finger was.. I can't believe! this never happens with dust.. I just barely smudged the paint, and moreover, you can't see the residue! FYI: I haven't been able to wash after a couple hours of rain one week ago. Thanks.
Given that you have good quality paint protection, maintenance should be rather easy. When it rains and I pull my car in the garage theres millions of water beads, if I just leave them there then my car will look like a reptile the next day (cause the water spots). My method takes about 8 minutes, much better than two hours on a standard wash. Just pull the house on the garage and lightly sheet all the beads off. If you have enough time, go ahead and do an Optimum No Rinse. Make sure you demonstrate proper use of the two bucket method so you wont instill scratches. My opinion on the rain being abrasive- I personally think good protection should help in a sense. Nice, even layer of a quality sealant (Powerlock) then about two layers of a premium wax (845, SV, Lusso Oro, 50/50, Enzyme etc.).
I pretty much stick to my schedule of washing once a week unless I am in the mood to do it more frequently. Rain is nothing, it's pure water so any spots will just wash off in the next car wash. The issue comes from the dirt your car accumulates from driving in the rain. The water brings up all the dirt from the roads up onto your car, and holds tighter to the vehicle as the rain-water makes the dirt more sticky.
Rain in of inself is non-abrasive, however dust / grid particles could be mixed with it in the upper atmosphere. Environmental damage to paint comes in a varied range of threats; acid rain, road salt, tree sap and airborne contaminants are very detrimental to a vehicles paint film surface. They are all forms of environmental contamination and given the right catalyst; reactivity (heat) plus moisture, they will become acidic. An untimely lawn sprinkler, a springtime shower, or spots that remained after washing, the minerals are white calcium/sodium deposits that are alkaline-based, especially from hard water. If left on the vehicle paint surface they act the same way as acid rain in that they will etch the paint film surface. If you are concered that any of these contaminents are on the paint surface, hose with clean water and thouroghly dry the surface (to avoid water spots)
Agreed. I dont mind the rain, because I know my car is very protected. Once its rained on, I NEVER touch it for fear of dragging any dirt/road grime in the rain across the paint surface. Although it drives me crazy having a dirty car, Id rather wait until I have the time to properly wash the car. I might be alone on this one, but I cant bring myself to pull my car in after a rain storm and wipe it down. Even if using a waterless wash, or a detail spray that provide some lube. Its just not worth the risk of scratches. As for the sprinklers, I have them in my yard. I park in the garage, but my wifes car got hit. The water in NJ is so hard that getting out the water spots is torture. So in that case I might want to wipe off ASAP. For you guys who drive in teh rain and then come home to pull in garage and wipe down, what is your process? What are you using to ensure no paint damage?
My method for drying a paint surface- Drying methodology- provided the paint finish has been rinsed adequately; there should be no dirt residue. Take two 16 x 16 –inch waffle-weave drying towels one soaking wet (a wet towel wicks away more water than a dry towel) and one dry. Wring out the wet towel and use it as your primary drying towel, check and rinse the towel often. Used in tandem with Dodo Juice USA Time to Dry or Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) distilled water solution (8oz / gallon) Wring it out as you go, this will leave smaller wet streaks, which you can remove with your dry towel and it should leave a ‘streak’ free paint surface I always dry the car using a surfactant type (ONR) detail spray (8oz / gallon) and a waffle weave micro fibre towel. Why? A surfactant encapsulates any dirt and will provide lubricity to the paint's surface as you blot the paint to minimize adding imperfections. This method will safely remove any water spots that might occur This drying technique is excellent for black cars (the ones with ‘soft’ single stage paint that show every surface mark) but look so good when they are properly detailed. This process never includes scrubbing, rubbing or applying any pressure whatsoever. The only time that pressure needs to be applied to a paint surface is when you are polishing.
Here in Seattle we do get the OCCASIONAL rain droplets on our cars. Nothing to really worry about, just make sure you keep your car clean. The more often you wash the car, the longer your wax will last. When the car gets really dirty and you wash it, you break the surface tension of the wax, and you can get micro-marring and remove the wax very easily. John
Well, I don't mean wash your car three times a day, BUT when you wash a very dirty car, and break the surface tension of the wax, you can strip even the most durable waxes very quickly. John
If you use something like Finish Kare 1016 or Chemical Guys Glossworkz they might help maintain the shine a a little That doesn't mean that you should wash your car every day though. A good quick detail spray will maintain the shine a lot more than any wash will and you probably could use a QD spray every day if you really wanted to.
That's true, good point, but if you wait a long time, and your car is completely filthy, wax will strip with any wash. John
Generally my method is once the car gets rained on, I don't touch the paint at all. Not like I touch the paint anyway Then I wash it as soon as I can.
