If you don't have a garage or driveway, what are some good places to wash/detail? And I realize I could just use the street, but I was just looking for some other suggestions. I live in the district (DC) so my parking spots are usually in direct sun.

 

If you want to get away from the sun you could probably detail your in one of the parking lot/picnic areas in Rock Creek Park. But but on the weekends Beach dr closed from the park police station up to East west highway.

 

Buy an EZ Up for shade and you can set up almost anywhere.

 

my buddy that lives in an apartment does his detailing in his parking garage
at work. there's a carwash place near by so he goes there first, then
does the rest in the garage.

 

http://www.ezupdirect.com/ezup-insta...ters/dome2.php

...but a 9 x 11 costs $149.95

Check out the camping section for Coleman awnings at Wal*Mart...you'll probably do better $$$.

http://www.walmart.com/search/browse...=125872.125897

But when it comes to detailing, I'd believe EVERYTHING Octane Guy has to say.

 

Haha. Well I bought my 10x10 EZ UP from Harbor Freight for $79. I've seen similar ones from Big Five and Sams Club and other stores in that same range. The 10x10 is actually a little small for the MINI, but not bad. The worst part about the cheap ones is that 10x10 is measured at the bottom--so because the legs taper up, that means the actual shaded area is smaller. But you could always get two. LOL

Richard

 

Is it possible to ask the dealership to rent or borrow thier car wash area for detailing the MINI? Most dealerships have this area indoors. This could lead to a side job where you could earn extra cash for all that expensive detailing products, and that could also lead to more mods for the MINI. Hmmm....

 

If you can't find a shady spot to polish your MINI, you could use Turtle Wax ICE which is safe to use in direct sunlight according to the info on the bottle

 

do those EZ Ups anchor down at all? sometimes it gets kinda windy
here in chi-town and the last thing we need are those legs hitting the
car.

 

For $70 you can buy the EZ UP bags that fill with sand, or for a few cents, you can take some milk jugs, fill with lead shot or sand, and coat hanger wire and make your own. LOL.

The only way to tether them is by using a stake into the grass, but most of the time I'm not on grass.

re: ICE
Manufacturers tell you that certain products can or cannot be used in direct sunlight. There is a reason for this however. In most cases I can use a wax that's not recommended for use in sunlight on a Pepper white or Pure Silver MINI in full sunlight. Why? Because the surface temperature is cool enough that the wax won't dry prematurely. Try that on a black car and the wax will sizzle and dry up before you can spread it out.

Since this car is a Hyper Blue/Black--my advice doesn't apply to this car--but just thought I'd throw that bit of trivia out there.

 

^^ that's a good idea how you are weighing them down.

 

You're not referring to ICE specifically are you? I don't think ICE will dry that fast even in sunlight due to it's greasy consistency. I can't imagine The Turtle Wax Corporation okaying it's use in sunlight without specifying that it doesn't apply to black cars. After all, I would hazard a guess that statistically there are probably more black car owners who polish than any other single colour. just a guess, but omitting this disclaimer would get the Turtle Corp. in a world of trouble.

 

Like I said, most manufacturers tell you that you cannot use wax in direct sunlight. Ice says otherwise, and that's their marketing angle. However, with your Pepper White paint, you can probably use any wax under direct sunlight, and you aren't limited to ICE.

 

No! No! No! I'm sorry about the overuse of exclamation marks and the perception they may give, but I don't want anyone reading the above and using regular wax in sunlight. It's not the speed of the wax drying that is the issue, it's the fact that car paint softens under sunlight and is damaged by abrasive wax. Granted white paint will not heat up as much, but it will soften enough to be damaged by wax application.
I think we've all seen those cars driving around town where the guy has waxed in the sunlight perhaps months earlier. It's not a pretty sight.

 

I found a 9x11 EZ-up on eBay for $75. The person selling lived 2 miles from my office, so he swung by one afternoon and we did the exchange in the parking lot.

EZ-up sells weights at PepBoys for $25... 5 or 10 pound plates that have square notches to fit on the legs nicely. Vinyl coated, too, so they don't scratch or slide around too much in the boot.

PepBoys also sells a decently priced line of EZ-up tents. If I hadn't found that one on eBay, I probably would have spring for a 12x12 at PepBoys for $130 or so.

 

My old driveway was right next to the house, and as I usually washed after work, the house cast a large shadow that was more than big enough to detail the car in. Keep an eye on shadows if you're looking for a spot out of the sun.

So the rehab is working?

 

Wow, uhm no disrespect here, but where are you getting your facts from?

You are saying that our paints soften under the sun and wax is abrasive and therefore that will damage the paint???

The funny thing about NAM is that people need to use common sense. All too often on this forum, people go 100% in one direction or the other. There is no middle ground. Someone reads about another racing on the streets, so someone else says OMG they should be put in jail.

Here I'm talking about wax application and the reason why its not always true to the label that you can't wax under the sun. It doesn't work in all situations, or paint types, yet there are always exceptions.

re: Waxed cars in the sunlight?
Hmmm, no I haven't. I've seen plenty of botched detail jobs by detailers and dealerships. I've seen plenty of cars that have never been waxed. And I've seen plenty of new cars just off the dealership that still had wax on them. But wax in the sunlight causing paint damage? Wow that's a new one to me.

Richard

 

I go to a local coin-op car wash to detail. Often they have a shaded drying area and you don't look too out-of-place working there. My local car wash has one bay that hasn't worked for years...that's my favorite spot. It's clean, shady, and private.

 

I grab them out of thin air. Sometimes I even make them up.

No, I intended to say I know nothing and no attention should be paid to me whatsoever.

It's funny how different people have different opinions, isn't it.

Well it's quite obvious that I'm ignorant and should be labelled as such.

I bow before you and the superior knowledge you posses

****

 

Now now... let's not get snarky. Richard has contributed a MASSIVE ammount of info to these forums. Honestly, when I read your claim on paint softening in the sun, I had the exact same question: says who? Honestly, I'd like to know your source. I'm not saying that's not true, but I'm one of thiose guys that likes to get info from a few different sources.

Personally, I'd never apply wax in the sun for one simple reason: it's too damn hot!

As for your play on his name... bad form. The first person to start name-calling instantly "loses" the debate, after all.

 

Wow, Hu99 don't take it personal. I read his post and it didn't seem like he was attacking you. Shame on you. I am sure if you had that conversation face to face, you wouldn't have responded the same way. Why do people feel as if the anonymity of the internet allows them the freedom to be disrespectful.

 

The reason I've always waxed in the shade was that the wax dried too fast in the sun.

That being said, it's been decades since I hand-waxed a car. For "detailing" I run my cars through an automated car wash.

-W-

 

!! No!!! Automatic car wash + MINI = bad . Your in Austin too! I run www.windsorautodetail.com and come to your HOUSE to wash or detail your MINI - it doesn't get much better than that .

 

when i waxed in the sun, i had a hell of a time removing it... that was
like more than 20years ago on my dad's Old's.

since then, i waxed in the garage. it seems polymers do okay in the
sun... but natural wax seems to like glue itself or almost drys it self
to a point it's almost looks like egg white dried up in the sun... well, kinda.

 

This is a perfect example of the quality of the lowest forms of life here on NAM. Since you've resorted to name calling, and uhm, shown your true colors, I have only one thing to say:

"My MINI is better than yours! Nya, Nya, Nya, Nya!"

Lighten up.

Btw,
I'm quoting your entire post here, in case you decide to change your original post.

Richard