I'm gonna wash my car today, figured I'd make a thread about it hahha.

I used to have a 944 for about 2 years and I literally only hand washed it 2 times and that was only because I was with my freinds and they were washing their cars.

Now I have my mini and I find myself washing it alot more. But thats just cuz this car is a milion times better.

 

At least weekly, with partial details every 2 months, and full details every 4 months.

 

A couple times a year whether it needs it or not.

 

Average weekly - serious teardown and cleaning once a year.

 

A couple times a month. I'm not freaky about it.

 

Whenever she needs it. She's not too vain, so I haven't had to set a schedule.

 

The best thing about washing the MINI is that there's so little of it to wash. Compared to my old FJ Cruiser and Rav4s, it takes me 1/3 of the time it took to wash. Now I can do the geeky stuff like blacking the tires, giving the plastic parts and convertible roof special treatments, and getting into the tight corners with a toothbrush. I just gotta get me one of those seats with wheels so I can hunker down low enough to get the dirtiest parts.

 

2 times a week and roughly 2hrs to do it, might seem abit **** but its what i do

 

It used to be whenever they needed it, which is just about all the time because of the white wheels and brake dust. The MINIs are the first cars I've ever worried about them being clean.

Now I have a subscription to the car wash which comes to my workplace. I have a wash a week and two MINIs to keep clean, so every other week on average.

 

i try for once a week exterior, once a month interior, wax about once every 4 months. living in AZ the biggest problem is dust not dirt so it makes it a lot easier to keep it clean looking longer

 

I wash the Mini about once a week sometimes every other week. I dust off almost daily with the California Duster.

 

Weather permitting at least once a week exterior. Whenever I feel up to cleaning the interior since I have rubber mats it doesn't real need it that often. And I have waxed the car but once since I got it in Feb so I am trying to plan a day for that.

 

About once a week for me. More frequently now that we are in bug/rain season. I hate the water spots on the black roof.

 

I go one or two times a week... Assuming it's not raining of course.

 

<<emphasis mine>>

+1. Also, if there's no time for a wash, I'll use the Cali. duster.

 

In the warmer months, at least once a week if I can. California Car Duster in between. I get a lot of diesel soot and pollen on the car. The car's size makes it easy. I washed the exterior & scrubbed wheels, put Zaino Clear Seal and Z-8 on it, Black Wow'd the trim, gelled the tires in what, an hour? A lazy hour.
In winter I went to the dealer, now I got swirls to get out. There aren't "wash it yourself" stations around here, so I can choose swirl marks or road salt.

 

The two we use as commute MINIs get washed every weekend. The weekend toy gets washed as needed... probably averages 3 times a month.

They also get QD'd almost every day... clean the windows and either dust with the Cali Duster or hit with the Monster Fluffy and some Speed Shine.

They all get a full detail with clay/polishes/wax twice a year with some Banana Gloss to boost the protection in between.

Interior gets a full detail every three months and a quick detail traffic lights (keep a microfiber towel in the ds door pocket)

Engine bays get detailed every four months.


Hey... didn't earn the OCDetailer label for no good reason.

 

All of my (and my wife's) cars get washed once a week, unless they've not been driven since the last wash. My Commander will sit for sometimes a week or so in the summer (because I'm driving the MINI) so if it's not left the garage, I'll skip. The wife's minivan and my MINI though... Once a week. I used to do full details more frequently but kids and a big yard take up more time than they used to so that's typically twice a year now.

My wife thinks it's odd that I never wash the ATV. It wears the mud proudly.

 

For those of you washing once a week or more often, do you do it at home or at a car wash. Reason I ask is that if at home that is a lot of wasted water. At least at car washes they recycle the water. Fresh water is going to be the next big commodity as there is less and less of it. There are place with water rationing as we type these messages.

And so you know, I wash about once a month at a car wash that does hand washes and recycles the water.

 

Home.

With the proper hose nozzle, it's not all that much water. And when they put a ration on water, I'll cut back.

But thanks for the observation, Al Gore.

 

What? No smiley after Al Gore? makes me think you are serious in calling me that. And what is wrong with being concerned for the environment, not to Al Gore overblown levels, but common sense levels.

 

Can't get political here on NAM. Site violation. So take that comment however you want.

 

That IS a lot of water, ChiliPepperFreak.

Maybe you need to switch over to the new waterless wash technology.



Back on topic...

I wash when the car is dirty. Every week or two depending on how much I'm driving. I use a duster and QD if it's just dusty or buggy. When we have water restrictions here, I use water from my cistern.

BTW, lots of studies have been done here because of our severe water restrictions last couple of years. The "approved" car washes that "conserved" water per the city's requirements actually CONSUMED, on average, 40 gallons per car. I use about 10 for a bucket and hose wash. Yep, I know there are some washes that actually filter and recycle water - but they are very rare here. And even they consume a fair amount of water based on runoff and evaporation.

Edit: After this post, I did a little internet search. There is a HUGE amount of misinformation on the internet regarding how much water is used with a hose and bucket wash... lots of numbers thrown around about using 100 gallons or more, as rationalization for why folks should use "self service carwashes" or automated washes. The vast majority of this info comes from - SURPRISE! - the car wash industry. Try an experiment sometime. With your nozzle set the way you rinse your car (which, for me, is a strong mist, not a big fat stream), time how long it takes to fill up a 5 gallon bucket. It takes A WHILE. Longer than I spend rinsing my whole car.... You can easily wash a MINI with 10 gallons if you're aware of what you're doing.

 

Hey, BlimeyBlokeCabrioGuy...

I once tried to wash my MINIs by using imaginary water but I just couldn't get the shampoo to lather up.

Can't say I didn't try to do my part for our Earth.

 

Touché