[Panoz]

Hey Guys...do you wax your cars everytime you wash it?
I noticed that everyone is talking about Wax-ing his car.

If not ,how often you (and when) you are waxing your cars??

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by matsarge

how ever long the quarters last at the car wash.

lol--$3 is all i usually have!

[Joop!]

Originally Posted by Panoz

Hey Guys...do you wax your cars everytime you wash it?
I noticed that everyone is talking about Wax-ing his car.

If not ,how often you (and when) you are waxing your cars??

Just waSHing my car..., and 1 time a year a polish

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

lol--$3 is all i usually have!

same here. I really need to start using their credit card payment system where you get a code and charge the credits up front. But then I'd be there too often.

[m3power13]

I generally spend about an hour and a half for every wash/cleaning. Also, every 3 washes I take the wheels off and clean the backside as well as the inside of the fender (and top it off with some Armor-All trim cleaner).

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by matsarge

same here. I really need to start using their credit card payment system where you get a code and charge the credits up front. But then I'd be there too often.

Is there such a thing as too often?!?! The place by my house--u can only use a credit card if you are going to use the automatic/touchless bay, which would be nice but this one has one of those little metal areas where you have to stick your front tire for the driver's side into before it will start washing--I don't want to scratch my rims!!! So....stuck with using the $3 of quarters that I happen to have.

[Hunter399]

Originally Posted by bmwexecutive

Wow. I thought all of you guys took a lot better care of your Bimmer's.

Just because it doesnt take us 2 hours for a simple wash and dry, doesent mean we dont take care of our cars.

[Joop!]

Originally Posted by bmwexecutive

Wow. I thought all of you guys took a lot better care of your Bimmer's.

We (at least I) do, but Bimmer's need to be taken to the road. Not standing there being pretty.

BTW: when you wash the car every week, you probably don't need 2 hours to clean or is it? 15 min. tops.

[BigO1120]

It takes about 30 minutes to clean my car. A week after I got my 328xi I put some Rejex on it and don't have to wax her for about 4 months. I always keep the inside my 3 clean like my A$$!

[BrunoT]

Originally Posted by bmwexecutive

Look at your car under a 500W Halogen bulb and you'll understand why.

After some Z6 and Z8, it's perfect even under the most extreme lighting.

Thankfully the roads aren't lined with 500w halogen bulbs.

The 2 hour guy sounds like my wife. Does everything slow by my standards, but well. I, on the other hand, hit it like a whirling dervish and it looks pretty good but not perfect. On the other hand, a few days later it will have bugs and tar and grime and brake dust all over it again, so you have to do a cost/benefit analysis. I also get a lot more physical workout than most BMW drivers I'd guess, so I don't see it as the fun way to get some excercise and sun like I used to when I had an office job.

Interestingly, ours spent 11 days parked in an airport overflow lot (sand and grass) and when I went to wash it today it wasn't bad at all.

Actually, I'd zaino the car but it sounds like a lot of work and I have a ton of other things to do that require that energy and just can't spare it.

[Hawkshaw]

1 hour to wash and dry, 30 - 40 minutes for a coat of Klasse SG

[FirstClass]

Takes under an hour to wash. If it takes you more than an hour to wash the car I'm 100% certain you are doing something wrong. Stop rubbing off your clear with your wash mitt But seriously, over an hour is way too long. From the time I pull the car out of the garage, get everything out, fill up the buckets, wash it, dry it and pull it back in, its less than an hour. AND I use the over obsessive method detailed in the excellent sticky in the top of this thread.

Zaino on the other hand takes me a few hours. With the 2 or 3 coats of Z5, some Z6 in between, the 30min cure time and buffing, its rather intensive. Luckily it lasts for 6 months. (Or so I hear, I only did it for the first time last week.)

[bmwexecutive]

Since I started this thread I've changed my ways:

I go to the DIY car wash place near my house once a week with about $8 in quarters, rinse it off, apply high pressure soap, rinse again and then spot free rinse.

Once every six weeks I hand wash my car at home.

Then once every ten weeks I Zaino my car at home after a hand wash.

And for the wheels I hand clean once every 5 days or so.

[///Matt]

That's not so bad!

I go to my dealerships wash bay... pressure wash the whole car, soap it down, pressure wash, spray wax, pressure wash, low pressure wash. Then I chamois it dry, including door frames, under the hood, around the trunk seal, etc... everywhere. then, i use a terry cloth to dry every damn spoke of my rims. Then I'll vacuum the inside, and wipe any dust out with very slightly damp terry.

I was doing this three times a week. I've gotten better, I'm down to 2 times. =)

[bmwexecutive]

Originally Posted by ///Matt

That's not so bad!

I go to my dealerships wash bay... pressure wash the whole car, soap it down, pressure wash, spray wax, pressure wash, low pressure wash. Then I chamois it dry, including door frames, under the hood, around the trunk seal, etc... everywhere. then, i use a terry cloth to dry every damn spoke of my rims. Then I'll vacuum the inside, and wipe any dust out with very slightly damp terry.

I was doing this three times a week. I've gotten better, I'm down to 2 times. =)

How long did that take you? The DIY car wash place I use has spray-on wax and even clear coat protectant stuff but I don't use it because I'm worried that it's not all that high quality stuff. I might go for it next time though.

Do the rest of you guys use the wax at the DIY car wash places? How about clear coat protectant?

[///Matt]

Originally Posted by bmwexecutive

How long did that take you? The DIY car wash place I use has spray-on wax and even clear coat protectant stuff but I don't use it because I'm worried that it's not all that high quality stuff. I might go for it next time though.

Do the rest of you guys use the wax at the DIY car wash places? How about clear coat protectant?

Oh, I wasn't specific...

The pressure wash/low pressure wash is the only thing coming out of a hose.
The soap is a wool mitt and a bucket, and the wax is BMW Express Wax spray, available at the dealer. works nicely.

It takes me around an hour, give or take, to wash my car.

[bmwexecutive]

Originally Posted by ///Matt

Oh, I wasn't specific...

The pressure wash/low pressure wash is the only thing coming out of a hose.
The soap is a wool mitt and a bucket, and the wax is BMW Express Wax spray, available at the dealer. works nicely.

It takes me around an hour, give or take, to wash my car.

WTF... How could all of that take you an hour? It takes me 30 minutes just to rinse, high pressure soap (coming through the hose), rinse and then spot free rinse. How do you dry, get at the door jams, apply soap by hand and wax by hand, wash the wheels, under the hood, inside the interior, etc.... all in an hour?

[///Matt]

Originally Posted by bmwexecutive

WTF... How could all of that take you an hour? It takes me 30 minutes just to rinse, high pressure soap (coming through the hose), rinse and then spot free rinse. How do you dry, get at the door jams, apply soap by hand and wax by hand, wash the wheels, under the hood, inside the interior, etc.... all in an hour?

Well....

I kick ass? lol, I don't know that's just how long it takes!

And keep in mind, the wax is a spray on, wash off, no buffing.

Plus, I'm not quite so "picky" as you can be. My car is probably less clean than yours when I'm done, but it meets my standards!

[bmwexecutive]

Originally Posted by ///Matt

Well....

I kick ass? lol, I don't know that's just how long it takes!

And keep in mind, the wax is a spray on, wash off, no buffing.

Plus, I'm not quite so "picky" as you can be. My car is probably less clean than yours when I'm done, but it meets my standards!

Ah, cool. So you just spray on the wax and then pressure wash it off? That really works? I should pick up a bottle of that stuff. How much is it?

So that covers me for wax but what about clear coat protectant? Do you think I should use that stuff at the DIY car wash? It's like a thick pink liquid and its got its own hose for it on the other wall instead of using the main hose for the soap and rinse.

[aapriadi]

4 hours to clean everything and make sure it shines (inside outside)

[ADHD]

Originally Posted by bmwexecutive

Since I started this thread I've changed my ways:

I go to the DIY car wash place near my house once a week with about $8 in quarters, rinse it off, apply high pressure soap, rinse again and then spot free rinse.

Once every six weeks I hand wash my car at home.

Then once every ten weeks I Zaino my car at home after a hand wash.

And for the wheels I hand clean once every 5 days or so.

r u kidding????? damb son if i rember right u seem like the anal one of all of us.. Theres no way in hell id let my car go 6 weeks without a wash!!
I was my car once a week!!! and damb its getting the fine treatment these days..
NO dont use that shit at the pressure wash place! Unless u personally go into that place u know what chemicals they are i would never put that shit on my car...
U guys really need to invest in some GRIT GUARDS and start using the 2 bucket method... and get some souveran:rocks:

Originally Posted by ///Matt

And keep in mind, the wax is a spray on, wash off, no buffing.

matt u use the bmw express wax right?
U should be putting it on after you wash your car once its dry and just wiping it off with a mf towel. Not washing it off!!

[bmwexecutive]

Originally Posted by ADHD

r u kidding????? damb son if i rember right u seem like the anal one of all of us.. Theres no way in hell id let my car go 6 weeks without a wash!!

Keep in mind I drive about 400 miles every month. You guys probably drive a lot more. In the city I live everything is within 5 miles of each other.