Hello,

My daughter will be heading up to western NY for school this summer and will be taking her '15 Deep Blue Hardtop S with her. It will end up sitting outside, day in day out with only occasional usage. She is pretty good with upkeep and wants to keep it looking good.

She won't have access to dad's garage and all the gizmo's and chemicals housed within. My question is what can we do to give it several month's worth of protection until she can bring it back home for re-treatment.

My thoughts:

• Get her sunshade for windscreen
• Multiple coats of Meg's NXT sealer
• BlackWow for plastic trim
• Couple of layers of headlight sealant
• 303 Aerospace sealant for rubber seals (around doors and such)
• Glass sealer all around

I would also give her a bottle of quick detailer and a couple of microfiber to remedy any avian bombardments.

Any suggestions or additions to this list?

Thanks.

 

I think you got it down pretty good. You even thought of some things that I didn't think of.

In fact, I need to go pickup a few things now that you mention it. :-)

 

unless she spends time with the car every weekend

you are fighting a lost battle

now let's rewind and ask

is your daughter, now at college gonna spend a few hours every weekend cleaning the car?

maybe she did this with dad ... now at college

ha ha ha


btw did this with two kids .......

 

Yeah... not really expecting her to do the routine she did at home. She will be on athletic scholarship, so her weekends will be mostly traveling to and fro.

Given that it will be sitting out in an exposed parking lot for extensive periods of time, I'm trying to figure out the best way to limit the deterioration that will occur. It is a car that she loves and I've always stressed the benefits of taking care of things so that they last.

I know that most of the effort will fall on my shoulders when she brings it back home on breaks. I just want to maximize my efforts.

 

Seems like you've covered most of it. I think the key is providing her with the basics she'll need without overwhelming her with products, so that they are actually used. Anything that can accomplish multiple tasks with one convenient product will be key. For instance, I like to use 1z einszett cockpit premium for the interior because you can clean all of the electronics screens without worrying about damaging them (as windex would) and it cleans/protects all of the interior dash and plastics from sun damage with UV inhibitors. An even better option might be something like Optimum Opti Clean. It's a waterless wash that can be used on all surfaces, inside and out that'll leave some protection and isn't greasy. Great for bird bombs while not requiring her to carry a ton of stuff other than a few microfiber cloths.

 

NJ Mini,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely look into the Opti Clean. Having a Swiss Army knife of a cleaner is a great idea.

 

Car is going to be there through the winter? I grew up in Central New York and the winters there are like nothing down in Mason Dixon country. I tell the locals here in in NC that if the Civil War was fought today they might win but only if they do not fight during the winter. Two inches of snow here and schools are closed for a week. Two inches of snow in Buffalo/Rochester is like nothing. The reason? SALT and lots of it. Throw in the sand that is also placed on the road and you can imagine what paint and windshields look like after a while. Carpets get white salt stains on them as well even with rubber floor mats.

I got snowed in for two weeks as a kid, not for 2" but like 80". Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and Binghamton compete each winter for the "Golden Snowball" trophy.

Good Luck.