Road trip coming up....

[red_slr]

Taking my car on a fairly long trip soon, 3500 ish miles.
I spend a lot of time on the car, so I dont want to ruin the work I have put in so far.
At the mo it gets a fairly good wash every week, so wheels are clean, always a good few layers of wax on the car.

My main concern is fly debris and brake dust.

I plan to give the wheels 3 or 4 coats of PB rim wax before I leave, will this be ok?

As for fly debris... I have no idea?

4 or 5 layers of wax on the bumper / bonnet?

The car is a Porsche 911 btw.

Anyone done something similar?

Thanks!

[tomw2000]

red_slr said:

Taking my car on a fairly long trip soon, 3500 ish miles.
I spend a lot of time on the car, so I dont want to ruin the work I have put in so far.
At the mo it gets a fairly good wash every week, so wheels are clean, always a good few layers of wax on the car.

My main concern is fly debris and brake dust.

I plan to give the wheels 3 or 4 coats of PB rim wax before I leave, will this be ok?

As for fly debris... I have no idea?

4 or 5 layers of wax on the bumper / bonnet?

The car is a Porsche 911 btw.

Anyone done something similar?

Thanks!

I'm in the same boat. Taking 911 over to France in August and wanting to minimise mess made by a long trip (will probably be a bit shorter than yours).

I was just thinking of getting loads of wax on there and then clay bar'ing the vehicle when I get home if the usual woollen washmitt washing job doesn't remove all the squished flies.

Re Brake dust: our 911 is probably due for a wheel recon at some point this year anyway, so not going to fret too badly about that.

[red_slr]

I will probably take some basics with me for washing the car when I am there, but it will be about 1500 miles all in one go (well over 2 days). Then prob 500 ish of pootling (sic?) around for the duration and then 1500 return home again over a couple of days.

Would it be possible to put a layer of wax on the bumper and not buff it off? Or would that make things worse?

[tomw2000]

red_slr said:

I will probably take some basics with me for washing the car when I am there, but it will be about 1500 miles all in one go (well over 2 days). Then prob 500 ish of pootling (sic?) around for the duration and then 1500 return home again over a couple of days.

Would it be possible to put a layer of wax on the bumper and not buff it off? Or would that make things worse?

I also thought about taking some cleaning bits and bobs with me to do the car whilst I was there. But have decided not to bother. Will just get plenty of wax on before I leave, so that flies etc come off easier when get home and wash it.

Did take the Range Rover over to france in April and when I got back the front was proper splattered with a mess of flies and at that stage I hadn't waxed it much and didn't have any clay bar...but it did all come of eventually...after about 3 washes

Seriously, given 911 space restrictions and the fact you're on holiday, don't take any kit with you or wash it whilst your there. Just live with the mess, knowing you're well prep'd to get it back to 'shiny and new' when you get home.

[mneame]

Don't put a layer of wax on without buffing it off. It could end up being harder to remove than the bugs. My suggestion would be to prep the wheels as you say 3 - 4 layers of a wheel wax. Build up a couple of layers of wax all over the car not just the bumper. Then when you stop for the night clean the car down. Spray a microfibre with QD and hold it on the bug areas to soak for a few mins. This should soften then and a quick wash over again should see them gone. By avoiding giving the bugs chance to really bake on it'll make them easier to remove.

When you say basic kit, what are you planning on taking?

[Goochie]

It may be worth considering a vinyl "bonnet bra" for the front end to protect against stone chips. You could either fit a dedicated product for your vehicle or just have the front 1/4 of the bonnet/bumper vinyled by your local car graphics place.

It would offer some protection from smaller stones and allow you to simply peel off the dead flies when you get home.

[belleair302]

Why not just be smart. Clean the car as usual before you leave and then take a garden pump spray bottle filled with water, a collapsible bucket, a washmitt, some einszett insect remover and a drying towel plus some quick detailer.

Each evening or whenever wash down the front of your car, the Einszett insect remover is amazing stuff, then dry and QD. The wax will NOT be removed by the Einszett insect remover.

When you get home spend some time detailing and clay the front of your car before reapplying some wax.

[PJ S]

Einszett Insect Remover is one option, as is Bilt Hamber Surfex HD for the wheels, with a brush.
SHD as a single item, at 5% strength, would take care of both "problems".

[red_slr]

I plan to take, small qty of wash solution, small qty of bilberry, some MFs, wash mitt, 1 spray bottle, some QD, a wheel brush and thats about it - wont take up much space at all.

I dont know how long I will be there - a week or so, but the sun can get very strong in Portugal (my destination) so I dont want the bugs to bake on!

I have hose there, and buckets and general claning type stuff etc so no need to take them with me. I will prob leave everything there when I leave so I can use it all again if I take the car again... assuming all goes well in my own car!!! Jeezz, its a lot easier to just fly down and pick up a rental...

My concern is, having just spent probably the last 8 weeks getting the car upto standard I dont want to ruin it. But that said, I am not going to spend 8 hours detailing it when I get there. I just want a simple solution that will remove the bug debris.... because from past runs I know its going to be a mess and wont shift with "normal" wash "n" go type products. Wheel dust, probably not as much of a problem but just wondered..

Obviously on my return I will have everything to hand so it will be a little easier to clean but if there is something I can apply before I leave then it might make things easier. Also the run back might involve a little detour... not sure yet - but will be similar 1500 - 2000 miles. Just to put this into perspective this car does c.3000 miles a year, and by my maths that means it gets washed every 60 miles... so 3000 - 3500 miles without a wash...

At the moment I think I will put 3 decent layers of wax on the whole car, with a couple of coats of QD on the top. Thinking Last Touch?
Might give the bumper and wing mirrors an extra couple of coats.. then I think I will try rain-x on the screen.

[belleair302]

Empty your washer bottle, stick it in the dishwasher and then refill with Einszett Screenwash Booster.

Don't worry about the insects, these will wash off, the wax will hold and just keep the bodywork clean upon your arrival. take some Bilt Hamber Clay with you, can be used with water as a lube and some ClearKote QD...its the best in the business to help get back that popping flake from your waxed paintwork.

[JayKaybi]

red_slr said:

At the moment I think I will put 3 decent layers of wax on the whole car, with a couple of coats of QD on the top. Thinking Last Touch?

Don't bother with layering QD. 3 coats of a durable wax will do the trick. I don't know what you have but for this job, from my personal bag of tricks, I'd pick out Victoria Concours.