Keep it clean or leave it till spring, which do you do?
Discussion
Just looking at my dirty car and steeling myself to get out and clean it in temperatures just above freezing (not quite cold enough to freeze the water on the ground, I'd leave it if it was obviously).
And I had a thought. I like to keep on top of it so I clean it religiously every week. My thinking is that if you get the dirt off when it's fresh and not too built up you'll keep the car in better shape.
But this time of year it's dirty within a couple of days again. So I find myself wondering, is it really the right thing to do to be scraping (not literally) the dirt off every week? Or might it be better for the paint to just leave it and then give it a really good clean March time?
Probably just looking for excuses why not to get out there with the bucket and hose, but it does make me wonder.
So, regular "keep on top of it" clean, or "sod it I'll do it in the spring when it starts to warm up and there's less crap on the roads"?
What do you do?
And I had a thought. I like to keep on top of it so I clean it religiously every week. My thinking is that if you get the dirt off when it's fresh and not too built up you'll keep the car in better shape.
But this time of year it's dirty within a couple of days again. So I find myself wondering, is it really the right thing to do to be scraping (not literally) the dirt off every week? Or might it be better for the paint to just leave it and then give it a really good clean March time?
Probably just looking for excuses why not to get out there with the bucket and hose, but it does make me wonder.
So, regular "keep on top of it" clean, or "sod it I'll do it in the spring when it starts to warm up and there's less crap on the roads"?
What do you do?
Just wash the windows and headlamps - then you think you're driving a nice clean car! The Fiesta gets a wash by the garage that services it annually.
The Cosworth isn't even working.
When i got the Fiat i vowed to really try and look after it so i have washed it twice
this year already,including today in minor snow flurries.
But the Fiat does have fresh paint and soft top so it would be a shame to let it go bad.
The Cosworth isn't even working.
When i got the Fiat i vowed to really try and look after it so i have washed it twice
this year already,including today in minor snow flurries.
But the Fiat does have fresh paint and soft top so it would be a shame to let it go bad.
. I must have terrible OCD or something 
I've left it in a state all winter because the weather's been so bad as well as my daily route being a lot of B-roads/single track. I started to wash it in january but only did one side and ran out of daylight 
then the snow came down!
In my case it's a £1k diesel pug and while it's in good condition I'm not going to lose sleep if it doesn't see soap until spring
If it's the Mercedes in your profile, you probably want to at least get the worst off to keep it in a good condition/protect the value etc. Maybe at least keep the important bits clean, like the sills etc (how important is that on a modern car anyway)
However, cars these days probably have very resilient paint and therefore you could probably get away with it
then the snow came down!In my case it's a £1k diesel pug and while it's in good condition I'm not going to lose sleep if it doesn't see soap until spring
If it's the Mercedes in your profile, you probably want to at least get the worst off to keep it in a good condition/protect the value etc. Maybe at least keep the important bits clean, like the sills etc (how important is that on a modern car anyway)
However, cars these days probably have very resilient paint and therefore you could probably get away with it
storminnorman said:
If it's the Mercedes in your profile, you probably want to at least get the worst off to keep it in a good condition/protect the value etc. Maybe at least keep the important bits clean, like the sills etc (how important is that on a modern car anyway)
However, cars these days probably have very resilient paint and therefore you could probably get away with it
It is so yes I do. Mind you, I do my partner's Golf too. However, cars these days probably have very resilient paint and therefore you could probably get away with it
Regarding the paint, my understanding is that it's actually much "softer" these days due to regulations insisting it's water based rather than solvent based.
Hence wondering if it's really best for it to keep wiping the dirt off every single week...
I keep it clean. Dirt generally holds moisture which generally leads to corrosion, etc.
I get really picky reagarding dirty hubs and calipers as they tend to corrode badly if left for dirt, etc to build up and then they are a pain/ or impossible to get looking fresh again.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure........
I get really picky reagarding dirty hubs and calipers as they tend to corrode badly if left for dirt, etc to build up and then they are a pain/ or impossible to get looking fresh again.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure........
okie592 said:
Got my current car in September washed it for the first time yesterday after a bird had explosive guts up the bonnet screen and roof.
It was looking pretty Ming too
Beautiful, even when filthy It was looking pretty Ming too
Big fan of the Stilo, and the Abarth with claws is lovely.Used to keep my cars spotless all year round. Just don't have the time to do the same these days, and when I do have a day off, its usually raining anyway.
Not washed my current car since the week I bought it back in November. Was going to the other week but the reasons above changed my mind.
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