Detailing after it rains. What is needed?

[trencher7]

So I reluctantly took my detailed car out into the rain and wondered if it's important to do a quick wash afterwards or at least a quick detail spray job after it's dry. Can rain drops cause water etchings? I was wondering how some of the more experienced detailers deal with a rain soaked car.

[O.C.Detailing]

You could use a hose with no nozzle and low pressure and "sheet" the water off of your paint. Most will say to use a microfiber waffleweave towel to dry any thing that remains. I'd use an absorber if the paint is clean, but go with the waffleweave MF towel if it's a little dirty. You could use a light quick detailer and plush MF towel or a quick wax to get that nice sheen back to the paint as well. Just use low-no pressure when wiping down.

[Wax Gorilla]

Great advice above and yes I always use a AG Ultimate Guzzler Waffle Weave !! Use as many as you can afford (Ialways use 3 or more per vehicle) making only one pass with each fold of the towel to prevent marring. I also like to mist with DODO Juice "TIME TO DRY" see them both at these links --

The Ultimate Guzzler Waffle Weave Microfiber Drying Towel by Cobra is a large drying towel for big SUVs, trucks and vans! Towel-dry your vehicle with


Dodo Juice Time To Dry Drying Detailer,Drying Detailer, dodo juice detailer

[dunston]

On one of my clients cars, I was just able to wash it, clay it and use Woldgang TSR 3.0 before this crazy rain storm hit. Its been three weeks, should I start all over with the clay and the TSR or jump right into finishing the job where I left off?

[killrwheels@autogeek]

I rewash as possible .. never know whats in the rain or blowing around in environment.

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

I took this picture after it rained in the Mojave Desert on my Jimmy...





Somewhere I have shots of the entire hood, I'll see if I can unearth them off my laptop and show what the entire hood looked like.

Granted in the desert it's very dusty and windy and this means that when it rains the dust in the air comes down with the rain but this would be true no matter where you live just to a lesser extent.

[dunston]

So I should be ok giving the car a good wash and then apply the paint sealant?

[joshs09silverbullet]

Originally Posted by dunston

So I should be ok giving the car a good wash and then apply the paint sealant?

If you just washed and waxed it, there's no sense in wasting time washing it again. The wax/sealant that you put on there is on there for a reason; protection against the elements. I would just go out there with a MF towel and some quick detail and wipe everything down.

If you do decide you want to wash it and apply more sealant, make sure you clean the paint with a light polish or paint cleaner to remove the sealant that's already on there.

[dunston]

I just applied the wolfgang TSR, no wax or sealant on top yet.