Keeping a car clean in high desert climate (NM/CO) - tips/suggestions?

[iroc86]

I recently moved to northern New Mexico and I'm having a tough time keeping my cars clean. I read a few posts about detailing in the desert, but the climate here is a bit unique compared to the stereotypical "desert." I'm at high altitude (7000+ feet) with mountains, pine trees, wind, and lots of sun. It also doesn't get super hot here, with high/low temperatures of around 80/50 during the summer. It can be dusty, but the pollen seems worse right now. The humidity is typically less than 10%.

My biggest problem seems to be water spots, especially on glass. I have to use glass polish and a DA regularly to remove the spots that build up, even after a single wash. I know my water is very hard, but this even happens with the small amount of rain we get. As soon as the sun comes out, the spots get baked into the glass and they won't come off without more polishing.

Another issue is the "film" that gets on the paint after a few days of sitting outside. I lightly dust off the cars every morning to remove pollen and dust, but there seems to be some kind of fallout that attaches itself to the finish. A regular wash doesn't remove it, but a clay bar will. This is made worse by the constant sun, which highlights all of the imperfections in the paint and glass. It looks awful, even on a new car with fresh paint.

I'm no stranger to detailing and I've tried a variety of polishes, waxes, and sealants, but I can't seem to find a product that will protect the paint from this environment. I can make the car look good with lots of elbow grease, but claying/polishing/waxing every week is ridiculous. I never would have imagined it'd be so hard to take care of a car here. I used to live in Pennsylvania and would take rain and salt any day over this. For those of you that live or detail in this sort of climate, do you have any suggestions? I'd really appreciate any advice you can offer.

[Eldorado2k]

What’s your exact process for cleaning your glass?

[iroc86]

What’s your exact process for cleaning your glass?

Without polishing:

1. Wash car with shampoo (currently Meguiar's Gold Class).
2. Rinse and dry car.
3. Clean glass separately (currently Sprayway Glass Cleaner, but I bought some Sonax to try the next time around).

With polishing:

1. Wash car as per the above.
2. Rinse and dry car.
3. Polish glass with foam pad (currently Wolfgang Perfekt Vision).
4. Clean glass as per the above.

The glass looks awesome when the polishing is all done, super clear. As soon as water hits it, whether from the sky or from the hose, it's all over.

[DBAILEY]

DG makes a glass cleaner with water spot remover added. (at least they did). It had a strong vinegar smell to it. It may help you with the windows

[The Guz]

How about giving the glass some sort of glass sealant a try. Something that will give that rainx effect. The reason I mention this is that the glass becomes hydrophilic when polished meaning the water just lays flat and sticks to the glass. A glass sealant will add hydrophobic properties and make it repel water. It can spot if the glass is super dirty just like paint that is protected.

Meguiar's makes this one that can be found locally Meguiar?s Perfect Clarity Glass Care Kit

Rainx is also available locally. It may not last long but it may be worth giving it a try.

[DaveT435]

As far as the other fallout, are you anywhere near an airport?? We get a lot of fallout from aircraft.

[SWETM]

What LSP are you have on the car? And what QD or spray wax or drying aid if you use and.

Guz mentioned a glass sealant and I would try that out too. And see if you get to easier clean the glass.

Since you live in the mountains it could be your water is heavy on some kind of mineral. It could be worth to test your water what it contains. Send a sample where they can test it out. Then you maybe could install a water filter to lower the amounts of just that mineral. But different minerals needs different kind of filters that's why a water sample test could guide you the right way.

[iroc86]

Thanks for the ideas so far! I did try a coat of wax on the glass after polishing, but it didn't have any effect. I was using 3M Show Car Paste Wax, which I know is a lot different than a sealant, but I figured it was worth a shot. This is the same wax that's currently on the paint where I'm also having problems with water spot etching. I've also tried topping this with Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer (on the paint anyway), which I understand has the properties of a sealant, but it's no match for the spots here. Literally one day after putting that on my wife's car, she got spots that require polishing out. Both of our cars have less than a thousand miles on them, so I'm confident that the underlying paint is in good shape.

I'm a bit leery of using any sort of product on glass because I had an awful experience years ago with RainX. It caused the worst windshield wiper chatter I ever had and took a considerable amount of polishing to remove. The Meguiar's product looks interesting, but I'm afraid of opening up a new can of worms.

[MarkD51]

What part or town in NM do you live may I ask? Near any Coal Mines, or such like Coal Fired Electric Plants, as I know they have them in the 4 Corners Area-Farmington.

I lived in Alamogordo for a full 14 years. Brutal to keep a vehicle clean with the winds, dust storms, and White Sands just to the west. The high heat and desert sun would take its toll too on vehicles there.

About the only upside was low humidity most the year, and no use of salts on the roads when the rare snows would fall in the Tularosa Basin. Thus vehicles would take eons to eventually rust there.

I take it this is a daily driver? No Garage, and I gather no Carport either? At least a Carport would shield against some of the rains, and protect from damaging Hail. I ask if it's a daily driver, because although a Car Cover would help some with the fallout and pollen problems, it will sure get old very quickly to deal with a Car Cover on a daily basis.

[iroc86]

I must have missed your questions when I responded earlier, sorry!

As far as the other fallout, are you anywhere near an airport?? We get a lot of fallout from aircraft.

Good thought. There's a small municipal airport nearby, but it's just small prop planes. No jets or anything like that. Very low use.

What LSP are you have on the car? And what QD or spray wax or drying aid if you use and.

Guz mentioned a glass sealant and I would try that out too. And see if you get to easier clean the glass.

Since you live in the mountains it could be your water is heavy on some kind of mineral. It could be worth to test your water what it contains. Send a sample where they can test it out. Then you maybe could install a water filter to lower the amounts of just that mineral. But different minerals needs different kind of filters that's why a water sample test could guide you the right way.

For an LSP, I have two coats of 3M Show Car Paste Wax on each vehicle. Probably not the best choice considering my location, since it doesn't offer a lot of protection, but this was before I realized how harsh the environment would be. I've tried three QDs so far: Mothers Instant Detailer, 3M Quick Wax (Gloss Enhancer), and most recently Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer.

The water filter is a good idea. The water here is very hard--if you boil a pot on the stove, it will leave visible marks on the metal that require steel wool to remove. I've already put in a call with Culligan to inquire about their DI water tank exchange. That would at least help with the washing scenario, but not so much for the rain/sun.

What part or town in NM do you live may I ask? Near any Coal Mines, or such like Coal Fired Electric Plants, as I know they have them in the 4 Corners Area-Farmington.

I lived in Alamogordo for a full 14 years. Brutal to keep a vehicle clean with the winds, dust storms, and White Sands just to the west. The high heat and desert sun would take its toll too on vehicles there.

About the only upside was low humidity most the year, and no use of salts on the roads when the rare snows would fall in the Tularosa Basin. Thus vehicles would take eons to eventually rust there.

I take it this is a daily driver? No Garage, and I gather no Carport either? At least a Carport would shield against some of the rains, and protect from damaging Hail. I ask if it's a daily driver, because although a Car Cover would help some with the fallout and pollen problems, it will sure get old very quickly to deal with a Car Cover on a daily basis.

I'm about an hour north of Santa Fe. It's pretty clear up here, but there have admittedly been quite a few forest fires this year, so the air can be hazy at times. I've been through Alamogordo and White Sands a few times and I can definitely believe that it'd be hard to maintain a car there with all of the dust, wind, and sun. I think a lot of people around here have just given up, judging by the condition of their cars, haha.

Yep, these are daily drivers. No garage at the moment, so I've taken to parking in the shade of the house in mornings/evenings to do the washing and waxing.