Just picked up our new NC (our first MX5), and we’d love to try and look after her and keep her looking shiny. However, we live rurally, and muddy single track lanes are a fact of life in N Devon!
So how should we try to keep her looking somewhere near her best?
She’s not a daily and will be garaged when not in use (mainly weekends etc). Our daily‘s get cleaned weekly with a Karcher K5 (medium pressure) to remove the grime, Demon snow foam, washed with a big green bobbly mit thing, then finally rinsed with the Karcher again.
I’m sure many of you will be hanging your heads in your hands, but what should we really be doing, especially to our new girl?
Also in Devon, with the roads round here I’ve been kept on my toes!
Mud guards if you dont have them are a good shout, oem ones are expensive though. I’m about to get some after market “rally” types fitted as I often find myself accidently down a single track road with grass in middle.
Ceramic coating is also worth it, ive used autoglyms UHD kit on mine and I makes cleaning much easier, and no need for frequently polish/waxing just wash with shampoo.
My full cleaning ritrual pre ceramic is something like: wash down with hose, clean with mitt/shampoo 2 bucket method, rinse with hose, apply auto glym magma for iron deposits and rinse, apply tar remover if needed, clay bar, final rinse and dry, polish, seal/wax or apply ceramic. I’ve been using almost exclusively autoglym products but im sure others are just as good.
I am not at all sure if a pressure washer is what you want for regular washing in the long term. I’ll be interested in others’ views on this. If I were you I would use lots of fresh water under the car (wheel arches in particular) to keep salt and agricultural chemicals from getting a grip. This also prevents deposits of mud building up which would otherwise ensure ensure that moisture, salt, animal waste etc would be in long-term contact with the metal. It is important, though, when applying lots of water underneath to drive the car before putting it away to dry off the excess water. As for the bodywork, there is lots of advice in the forums. I just wash regularly with Autoglym shampoo then every few months wax and seal with Autoglym products. You can get into all sorts of rechercé products but you have to decide where the right balance, for you, lies between appearance, protection, cost, time etc.
Just take it easy with the pressure washer on the hood and seals.
If you need to clean the hood get a kit like the Autoglym one.
Never use the pressure washer close range on it, it will mark the fabric.
Is also worth looking at the DIY ceramic coatings as they really do make the car easy to clean. Something like Gyeon can coat spray on is a good DIY start.
No reason why you shouldn’t use the Karsher under the car (wheels/wheel arches) and above but be aware the Mazda paint is soft. Not so high pressure or keep your distance when spraying the body and keep away from the hood seals with the high pressure, even the PRHT version. Apart from that do what you would for any car wash, regular polish, wax and if you like ceramic coat.
If you have mud on the car ideally you want to remove that with pressure washer, snow foam and pressure wash again before using wash mitts on the car as this is how scratches occur, as someone mentioned two bucket method is a good idea as well. Lots of SiO2 coatings and sprays out there which will help a lot with future cleaning
Your basic routine is decent @Timmy_T , although conventionally you apply snowfoam before first rinse so it can work into grime and loosen it, then you then blast off as much as possible with the pressure washer. The most important but probably most overlooked part of minimising microscratches is the pre-wash - the more dirt you can get off before you start rubbing anything across the paint, the better.
Going in with a mit onto unrinsed snowfoam, you’ll drag more loosened dirt across the paint causing microscratches and swirls that will dull the finish over time. It reads like you’re using the snowfoam as the mit shampoo? The mit should be used with a well lubricated shampoo instead, and the mit rinsed or dunked in clean water before going back into the shampoo bucket (this gets the grit out the mit). A decent wash’n’wax (I use Dodo SourPower myself) will offer a bit of wax for a few weeks to help maintain the clean appearance and add a bit of glow.
If you want to do a final protection layer, these days a spray ceramic will help keep it clean and may even provide a little bit of scratch resistance, these are mostly easy spray on and wipe away, well regarded ones include TAC Moonlight, Gtechniq C2v3, Gyeon Wet Coat and Kamikaze Overcoat and all would give over 6 months protection.
[quote=“MX5RF, post:3, topic:127646”]
I am not at all sure if a pressure washer is what you want for regular washing in the long term. I’ll be interested in others’ views on this[/quote]
I’ve regularly pressure washed every car I’ve ever had at full power without issue but as with any power tool you need to be sensible otherwise you can cause damage; keep the jet away from seals, always use a fan jet (never a rotary pencil deathray!), always spray at shallow angles.
For the underside I have a 90 degree angled wide fan jet and I rinse all the chassis and wheel arches during salt season, and more than one mechanic has commented how clean my cars are underneath and corrosion similar to cars with half the mileage/age so it must be working.
Yes it is best to use a wax or a sealant after using Poorboys Black Hole as it will help seal in the fillers and prolong the finish that Poorboys will give. In regards to a wax, i’ve never used it but Bilt Hamber Double Speed wax is highly rated for ease of application and it’s durability
I bought a new car 4½ years ago ( Suzuki Vitara ). I was intending to keep it for 3 years then trade it in for another new car.
Then my job ended in and I had to re-locate ( or take redundancy) , then Covid hit. I decided to keep hold of my current car until things settle down a bit.
I have tried to keep on top of my car however on refelction i wish i had done two things to my brand new new car,
Have it rust proofed/treated underneath to add extra long term protection.
Employ a professional detailer to treat the top of the car with a long term paint protection ( ceramic coating etc.
I did buy a protection product at point of sale,(£250 can’t remember the name ), however I am sure that the garage getting ‘the saturday boy’ in to apply it, probably just before i picked my car up wasn’t as good as getting the pro’s in, post collection from dealer.
Having done some research, and watching several YouTube tutorials, I think I’m going to go down the “Whole Hog” route. Pre-wash/foam/hand wash, tar + ferrous removal, clay bar, polish and lastly wax. I’m a tad nervous but feel it’s probably achievable.
However, I’m not sure if it would be wise to do this outside during the winter. Yes, she’s garaged, but there’s not enough room or good lighting to do this inside.
Is there anything I can do in the short term to give some relatively easy winter paint protection (after a good prewash/foam/hand wash) that won’t store up big problems later in the Spring?
Not looking for miracles and am realistic in my expectations, but would like to do something and not waste my time trying to achieve the Full Monty when it’s not really achievable just now.
Yes it’s difficult detailing this time of year, often too cold.
After a good wash, I would just recommend a quick detailer to give some good protection until next summer.
Something like Turtle Wax hybrid ceramic spray coating
It’s cheap and effective, leaves a good gloss and shine, and water beading.
Just wash thoroughly and dry, use the Karsher if you like but not close with high pressure near the hood or seals.
Polish and wax.
During this process I would make sure everywhere is dry before putting into winter storage. Go for a run (if dry, the roads) to clean off/dry the brake discs and general around the gaps and bodywork panels. You can then store or cover the car if not used during the winter months.
That’s just the bodywork, brakes, if not being used for long periods I’d pump up the tyres, definitely park up in gear no handbrake applied and hook the battery up to a maintenance charger.
I agree with your proposals and go the full hog in the spring.
In the meantime you could go with one of the easy apply sealants like Turtle Wax Hybrid sealant, which can be used on a wet and dry car or which I can thoroughly recommend Gyeon Wet Coat it is so easy to apply and the the gloss and beading is incredible, to give protection through the winter. Once you see and use Wet Coat believe me you will be amazed! Look it up on YouTube
One final wrinkle, if you have a rainwater store (b.u.t.t.) the water in that is free from calc, and does not leave any watermarks on a clean surface. Thus (if uncontaminated by leaves and moss) it is ideal for that final rinse before drying.
