here's a tip: do some regular washin'

LOL, I feel your pain....

My prius is black, and so is my other car. I have no garage. There are TONS of pollen-producing trees EVERYWHERE in my yard and on my street: a washed car today is a dirty car by morning. *argh!* I work in construction (currently on a dirt road)...causing car to be trashed on the first drive to work in the morning.

Like you, I easily loose an hour on my other car, and an hour-and-a-half on my Prius (much bigger than my other car). I try never to wash them both in one day since it takes waaaay too long. LOL.

 

I attended a Meguiar's class on detailing your car and bought a dual action polisher.

I can't do it even once a month. But a few times a year with a good wash and was in between helps.

 

Mine gets a good scrubbing about every other weekend, and gets hosed down and microfiber wiped "as needed" to get the bugs and bird poo off... about every 3 days, really.
I think the initial good washing, and then polishing with Zaino products, and the Clear Seal topper, helps a lot with making the rinsing/wiping go so well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rae Vynn @ Jul 17 2007, 01:09 PM) [snapback]480427[/snapback]</div>

After my front bumper repair I am not supposed to wash the car for 30 days, and not supposed to use any wax or polish for 90 days. This is so the paint sealer will harden properly, they say. It's just the front plastic bumper. I'm more concerned about keeping the body paint clear and clean for the long run. I too am used to running the car through a touch-free car wash every other week. Am wondering how much damage the bumper sealer will experience if I drive it through after a few weeks?

 

Wash it every other week if you can. If you wash it regularly, it won't take as long to finish every session. There's not as much elbow grease required as the interval between washes isn't long enough to have stuff permanently baked/stuck on. Touch free is okay since the Prius wheels don't get much brake dust which touch-frees can't really touch. One of the other issues with touch free is that they will not get any of the stubborn stuff like tar, nor will it do a sufficient job of the sideskirts. As long as there's no forecast of rain for a few days, I'll try to wash the Prius once a week. The wash bucket water doesn't even get dark. Usually it takes an hour to wash and dry the car.

 

Get a California Duster and dust if off every day. Helps to keep it clean a ton longer!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fortheanimals @ Jul 17 2007, 12:38 PM) [snapback]480412[/snapback]</div>

You can try using the Zaino Clay Bar and polish products. I am really sold on the clay bars. They got all the gunk out of the crevices like the ones you describe under the window moldings with not much work. The Zaino polish is a multi step process with one step specifically designed to do away with swirel marks and such.

 

My opinion on car washing has always been this. Why bother? Your car will never be perfect like the day you got it, if new at least. I don't need to, or even want to, show my car off to anyone so it doesn't need to look good, though I don't want it like all sticky or something. It's probably going to get scratches no matter how hard you try not to get them. And for the Prius at least, it won't help gas mileage at all.

If I ever end up selling a car, which I haven't yet, I'd probably just get a paint job done on it right before I sell it. As my Prius isn't the color I wanted it in I plan on getting a paint job when I can actually afford it. Basically whenever I get a job, since on one seems to want to hire me.

I see washing a car as being a waste of time and money. If you don't have anything to do then a quick rinse and dry at your house isn't so bad. But in my experience my car gets just as dirty as it was before after about 2 days.

 

Do you not bother with bathes either? Or cleaning your house? Wiping your bottom? It's just goinig to get dirty agian.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alexstarfire @ Jul 19 2007, 08:57 PM) [snapback]481961[/snapback]</div>

If you'd wash it regularly, you wouldn't have to paint it.

Besides, you've got time on your hands, why not take care of your investment?

Also, anyone who knows a bit about used cars would be *highly* suspicious of a car freshly painted, or that's had the engine bay detailed for that matter. It's pretty obvious that when someone does this, they're trying to hide evidence of their bad habits.

Finally, you may paint the outside, but I'll bet the interior is a mess, too, since you probably don't clean that, either. Dirt wrecks carpet fibers real quick.