Any time saving tips for the lazy guys..

[good_mojo]

This is my first posting in the valeting section and this is not my natural territory…

I like to have a clean polished car – but I’m not keen on the regular effort required. I do occasionally give it comprehensive treatment but usually I’m strapped for time and there are other priorities in my life. [I never skimp on the maintenance, but the cars appearance is not always pristine].

I try to wash my car each week but that is not always possible and with the current state of the roads it is absolutely filthy. I always use the two-bucket method and usually wax it roughly every other wash.

Do you have any time saving tips for keeping cars presentable over the winter?

[Jordan Apex]

If you give it a good Base protection, after a full decontamination and then use spray waxes after a quick clean to top up protective coating making maintenance easier

[klarzy]

We had a red Montego when I was married

when washed I used to go over it with a clean cloth soaked in Havoline air line oil.... very light and clean oil which bought out the colour, repelled water and made the car easy to rinse any crud off...

it never did any damage and the car remained a lovely cherry red...

[good_mojo]

Originally Posted by Jordan Apex

If you give it a good Base protection, after a full decontamination and then use spray waxes after a quick clean to top up protective coating making maintenance easier

The car that I cleaned very thoroughly, de-tarred, clayed, rubbed over with T-Cut, rubbed with Autoglym SRP and finally covered in Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection is definitely keeping cleaner than the other one which I have not deep-cleaned for a long time. The problem is that this took me a few days of solid work.

It looks like the answer is to thoroughly prepare a car so the subsequent maintenance is less time consuming - as Jordan has said.

I need to set aside some time.

I'm still interested to hear of any time saving tips that will make the thorough preparation quicker...

[good_mojo]

Originally Posted by klarzy-dials.com

We had a red Montego when I was married

when washed I used to go over it with a clean cloth soaked in Havoline air line oil.... very light and clean oil which bought out the colour, repelled water and made the car easy to rinse any crud off...

it never did any damage and the car remained a lovely cherry red...

I've never tried oil of any description. Was it not sticky? in my experience oil seems to attract dust. Having said that, after I used White Spirit to de-tar a car it immediately looked better. I'm not sure how long that effect would last as I washed it off immediately.

[klarzy]

Originally Posted by good_mojo

I've never tried oil of any description. Was it not sticky? in my experience oil seems to attract dust. Having said that, after I used White Spirit to de-tar a car it immediately looked better. I'm not sure how long that effect would last as I washed it off immediately.

The oil is very fine and not tacky.
It was a wipe on wipe off job so what was left on the car was only what soaked into the very surface of the lacquer.

It made the paint look wet...

[stevenicks]

No short cuts really, all that is required is a little time and effort and a tiny amount of old fashioned elbow grease