Any Seattle detailers? RAIN RAIN RAIN obstacle

[animescreen]

So I wanna detail my car close to showroom condition as I'm garaging it mostly. I drive a mazda3 for work etc and then got a new x3 bmw 2019 which I garage and will drive mostly around 5 to 6k miles estimated.

So any Seattle people or anyone living in Rain or snowy places please chime in. I basically have this routine

1. Wash 1x week. (pressure rinse, pressure foam gun, rinse, 2 bucket method, rinse, blow dry, then mf towels. Use clean mf towels.
2. Do quick detailing with meguiars detailer if some debris, dirt, or mud gets on it
3. Try to wash after heavy raining driving with lot of things splattered around (next dry day or same day that is dry if time). I will just use foam gun and rinse though no touching.

So sometimes that equates to 2x wash which is quite a lot and going three times seems too excess (plus neighbors already see i'm doing 2x a week and probally think i'm weird lol

I'll do interior whenever is needed and do all dressing according to reccomended directions in back.

So when it rains consecutive days, I'm sure the rain will help get dirt off etc so need to wash but after few consecutive dry days or even just dry day, I'll do the wash.

4. I'll do wax probally every month or two months.
5. Eventually polish and claybar.
6. Then eventually ceramic coating myself (the non pro kind).
7. Eventually underneath wash and engine bay cleaning

Whow there is a lot of work here and don't get paid. lol

Anyone in Seattle please share your detailing regime and I like to implement it as well or take out things i don't need (i'm questioning 2x washing.. like bad for paint or not necessary etc)

[Belo]

wax every month seems silly. You can get by 6 months or more with a good sealant. longer for ceramic if you're up for it. even the spray on rinse/wipe off products would net you some protection greater than a month. With a good protection, the wash will be easier and you may want to consider the rinseless washes if if it's just grime and not heavy dirt and stuff. extender spray waxes and the like are good every other wash or so and deliver a little protection with the shine you're looking for out of a quick detailer.

i have a garage queen and it typically gets a polish and seal by machine every year or maybe even an AIO if not a lot of correction is needed. Same as you I do interior as needed, which isn't much as I'm generally the only passenger. clay annual with the polish and same with engine bay if needed. Also dont forget to get your glass, wheels and plastics. Products to help protect and make your washing easier for all of those too.

[Jayfro]

I would take a look at Sonax PNS as this is "similar" to a coating, I applied it to my acura about a month or so ago after full decontamination and polish with BF One Step and my wife's white X3 a few weeks ago. The self cleaning is off the charts not to mention the shine/finish (great shine on black but only so much "pop" you can get from a white car). This may also be a good "fix" until you decide which ceramic coating you want to use so that you won't rush into a coating that you might regret after the fact. Since I applied PNS, I've washed both cars several times and now I blow dry my car with a leaf blower in five minutes...followed by a light pat down (acura) on the spots I missed using the blower.

With all the respect in the world to you, you may also have to come to grips that your car is going to get dirty and it may take a few days to wash it...it's alright the sun will rise in the morning plus if I'm not mistaken your X3 is white...which hides dirt very well. The beauty of a dirty car is that you have a good reason to wash it again. Also, my neighbors think I'm a wing nut too washing my car at 7:30am on Saturday or Sunday and drying it with a leaf blower and a ladder...they're just jealous (or they have a life!)!

Jay

[vobro]

It seems to me that it's not the product you put on the paint or how much effort you put into keeping it clean, it's the environment you live in. If I were you I'd learn how to do a rinsless wash- just as safe and takes less time and effort. Constantly power washing your SUV seems overkill to me when it seems it'll just rain again, rinsless washing is the way to go. This method will save you time, saved time means you can actually enjoy driving the SUV

[animescreen]

wax every month seems silly. You can get by 6 months or more with a good sealant. longer for ceramic if you're up for it. even the spray on rinse/wipe off products would net you some protection greater than a month. With a good protection, the wash will be easier and you may want to consider the rinseless washes if if it's just grime and not heavy dirt and stuff. extender spray waxes and the like are good every other wash or so and deliver a little protection with the shine you're looking for out of a quick detailer.

i have a garage queen and it typically gets a polish and seal by machine every year or maybe even an AIO if not a lot of correction is needed. Same as you I do interior as needed, which isn't much as I'm generally the only passenger. clay annual with the polish and same with engine bay if needed. Also dont forget to get your glass, wheels and plastics. Products to help protect and make your washing easier for all of those too.

Yeah if i did wax every month, i'm guessing it will have like wax buildup and get thick right? How bout 3-4 months. Just allows me to do something on a rainy day haha

Spray on rinse/wipe extender wax (have any particular make model to get?)

Rinseless washes you mean those machines you pay like 10-14$ ? Not sure what you mean by rinsless washes..

When you

[animescreen]

I would take a look at Sonax PNS as this is "similar" to a coating, I applied it to my acura about a month or so ago after full decontamination and polish with BF One Step and my wife's white X3 a few weeks ago. The self cleaning is off the charts not to mention the shine/finish (great shine on black but only so much "pop" you can get from a white car). This may also be a good "fix" until you decide which ceramic coating you want to use so that you won't rush into a coating that you might regret after the fact. Since I applied PNS, I've washed both cars several times and now I blow dry my car with a leaf blower in five minutes...followed by a light pat down (acura) on the spots I missed using the blower.

With all the respect in the world to you, you may also have to come to grips that your car is going to get dirty and it may take a few days to wash it...it's alright the sun will rise in the morning plus if I'm not mistaken your X3 is white...which hides dirt very well. The beauty of a dirty car is that you have a good reason to wash it again. Also, my neighbors think I'm a wing nut too washing my car at 7:30am on Saturday or Sunday and drying it with a leaf blower and a ladder...they're just jealous (or they have a life!)!

Jay

Haha ladder and leaf blower. I was gonna go that route but the leaf blower isn't really drying quick. Probally cause i don't have a good coating on it bead off fast.

I always wonder what neighbors think but consider I see them stare I'm pretty sure they think i'm over doing it. But it's ok cause just a friendly hi, all is good.

Just worried about pressure washer. So I work for tech company where i can do work remotely so I'm guessing around 2-5 pm i can squeeze in pressure washer since most will be working.

Its a x3 white and althought it doesn't pop as much (at night with little lighting it seems too). ANyways, you polish once a year? And to get to the polish stage what exactly did you do to get rid of all conatiments to polish .. And did you use a porter cable?

[animescreen]

wax every month seems silly. You can get by 6 months or more with a good sealant. longer for ceramic if you're up for it. even the spray on rinse/wipe off products would net you some protection greater than a month. With a good protection, the wash will be easier and you may want to consider the rinseless washes if if it's just grime and not heavy dirt and stuff. extender spray waxes and the like are good every other wash or so and deliver a little protection with the shine you're looking for out of a quick detailer.

i have a garage queen and it typically gets a polish and seal by machine every year or maybe even an AIO if not a lot of correction is needed. Same as you I do interior as needed, which isn't much as I'm generally the only passenger. clay annual with the polish and same with engine bay if needed. Also dont forget to get your glass, wheels and plastics. Products to help protect and make your washing easier for all of those too.

The other thing is. Since i'm in Seattle and rains a lot, after coming back to my home and car is soaking wet with water. Should I just leave in the garage and do nothing? Or should I basically wipe it down (i have those car drying squeegees (18inch) and thinking I should at least get excess water off each time? (and or mf towel dry?)

I'm guessing leaving water dropletts deposits minerals right?

Is this where iron x comes to play and gets rid of these deposits just a guess

[Coatingsarecrack]

I live down in Auburn Wa. Absolutely do not use that squeegee! Scratch your paint wipe down after rain with a good Waterless wash. Also use this in place of a quick detailer.

Also do not quick detail your car if dirty. Use waterless wash instead. Bucket wash if muddy.

My routine is to bucket wash once or twice a month with rinse-less wash when needed. I use a waterless to maintain through out the week. Look at McKee’s N-914 or Car Pros Ech20 for your rinseless or waterless duties. I use a sio2 spray sealant once a month on my car. Overkill? Yes but I have a lot and i like it shiny AF.

I maintain wheels by bucket every bucket wash and waterless wash. I use Ech20 mixed with a sio2 sealant (3oz sio2 l, 2oz Ech20 and fill rest of 32oz bottle with distilled water) as a drying aid when bucket washing. Air dry when needed and use only Griots PFM’s to dry my car.

Do you live in Seattle or north or south of it? Either way you should check out Griots garage flag ship store in Tacoma. They can instruct and demonstrate how to properly maintain your vehicle and sell you the tools to do it.


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[OMGClayAiken]

I live in Oregon, so plenty of rain here. I enjoy having a ceramic coating as it helps keep the car cleaner for longer and makes cleaning easier. Also nice to have a long lasting protection. I use Carpro UK 3.0 for paint along with Carpro Dlux for trim, plastics, wheels and exhaust. Another nice touch is Aquapel for the windshield, my favorite glass treatment and a real treat when driving in fall, winter and spring in the PNW. Lasts about 6 months in my experience.

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[animescreen]

I live in Oregon, so plenty of rain here. I enjoy having a ceramic coating as it helps keep the car cleaner for longer and makes cleaning easier. Also nice to have a long lasting protection. I use Carpro UK 3.0 for paint along with Carpro Dlux for trim, plastics, wheels and exhaust. Another nice touch is Aquapel for the windshield, my favorite glass treatment and a real treat when driving in fall, winter and spring in the PNW. Lasts about 6 months in my experience.

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So is ceramic coating is now taking over wax as a sealant?

I like the waxing using orbital but seems if I have to choose one or the other for being in Seattle I should check out the ceramic coating

Is ceramic coating quicker then waxing and can be done in tight garage right?

How is shine compare to wax?

Can you put wax on. Top of ceramic?


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[Belo]

Yeah if i did wax every month, i'm guessing it will have like wax buildup and get thick right? How bout 3-4 months. Just allows me to do something on a rainy day haha

Spray on rinse/wipe extender wax (have any particular make model to get?)

Rinseless washes you mean those machines you pay like 10-14$ ? Not sure what you mean by rinsless washes..

When you

there's a boatload. someone already mentioned sonax. theres hydor blue, 10 minute spray. a product called spray and seal that i forget who makes it.

rinseless wash is a product that you fill up a bucket with and wipe the car down. no need to use a hose at all. saves time and water for a car that's not terribly dirty. do some searching and you'll find popular products and more info on it.

[Belo]

So is ceramic coating is now taking over wax as a sealant?

I like the waxing using orbital but seems if I have to choose one or the other for being in Seattle I should check out the ceramic coating

Is ceramic coating quicker then waxing and can be done in tight garage right?

How is shine compare to wax?

Can you put wax on. Top of ceramic?


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ceramic is the newest trend yes. but its not idiot proof and to do it right is expensive and time consuming. however, the results last much longer. I'd argue that wax is kinda dead and that there are some good sealants that can do wonders for less effort and cost then a ceramic. But certainly there's no denying the longevity of a ceramic car. I'd argue that the maintenance washes and other things required for them need to be factored into the process. It's not just coat it and forget if for 3 years like some marketing would lead you to believe. I personally don't believe rain has much to do with a sealed or coated car, other than how long the product lasts. If anything, and I'll probably get some hate for this, but a tough environment would need more frequent applications and you could make the argument for 1 or 2 seal jobs a year is better than an annual coat or even 18 months of a coat.

you can top a coated car with wax yes, but not the other way around.

edit to say that mike has a good article titled "the case against ceramic coatings" that you should read. It specifically gets into the road grime factor that rainy environments deal with.