Subaru Crew - Cleaning Interior & Exterior Surfaces

subearu

both vehicles in our fleet, even removed the hood deflectors and washed them.

-Brian

hondafriek

Is spotless right now, but snow is expected overnight, as well as for Friday and Saturday, s o there goes a clean car.

   Cheers Pat.

hammersley

Mine's clean for the moment (only because I *just* washed it), but let's wait & see what the weather gods have up their sleeve. If it stays clean thru the weekend, bonus! Going skiing on Monday, so it'll be trashed after that trip up to Lookout Pass & back.

Cheers!
Paul

amsbear

... and took the Lizard to the car wash this past weekend. I'm already seeing an improvement in gas mileage. My unusually poor MPG (22-ish) is probably a combination of the extra weight and air drag from the exterior dirt and the dirty filter not letting 'er breathe enough. MPG jumped back to 24-ish again.

TLC += Performance;

Alan
98 OBW Ltd

ateixeira

Have not waxed my rims in more than 6 weeks, I'm so ashamed! ;-)

-juice

lucien2

This is the day we've been training for!!! Now get out there!!!

(And who the hell talked me into a black car, dammit!? Frank!? It's all swirly already!! Gaaaah!) :-))

hondafriek

To warn you Loosh, a black car looks great when it's clean but it stays clean for all of 10 seconds:-)

All cars get swirls they are impossible to avoid, dark colours show them more and black is the worst.

  Cheers Pat.

hypov

when I had my '98 OB [Spruce Green Pearl], I put polish on in a back and forth horizontal motion. Kept that direction through its life and, no swirls.

-Dave

lucien2

OMG the car looks friggin AWESOME, swirl marks and all.

I know JVB has its detractors, but it is unique!

subearu

did the dealer do a clean & prep on it at delivery time? could that be the source of the swirls?

IIRC, 3M has a decent swirl remover. Haven't tried it though, even though my Winestone paint has a few areas that could use a little of it.

Pics in my profile were shortly after getting AIO'd last year. I used Zymol Spray detailer after washing as well.

-Brian

kens

Loosh,

Did you go the extra step and use the high gloss sealant from Klasse? It adds a bit more shine but what it really does is make for an even more durable finish.

If the swirl marks do bother you, you can wax OVER Klasse, just not under it.

Ken

lucien2

no fair, you didn't mention sealant before!

I'm pooped. Used griot's machine polish #3 one more time along the path of the pinstriping after giving it a good wash. Then I decided for the first-time Klasse treatment to do it by hand. Easy to do, but still it's a lot of sheetmetal. Then I did the windows, the interior, and the rocker panels. Then the mats and then a vacuum.

hondafriek

Loosh that will keep your OCD membership up to date.

 Cheers Pat.

kens

Loosh:

This stuff: http://www.premiumautocare.com/klasseglaze.html

Klasse AIO = acrylic sealant + cleaning products.
Klasse High Gloss sealant = acrylic sealant ONLY

Also, I use this stuff in between waxes:
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/son-200.html

Happy OCDing!

Ken

hypov

The coat of polish she had on held up - water beading. She looked mirror glossy and radiant so I pass the polishing works till Spring.

-Dave

toboggan

Was going to wash the Subie today. But they were saying rain, then rain & snow. But there is rain to the north, south, east & west. Snow further west. Hate to wash and get the car clean then have the sky puke on it again. Guess I'll just play on the computer for a while. But we did walk down to the mail box and grocery store on the corner. Getting that vitamin D while we can. 50 degrees and a weak sun..... wonderful spring.

MNSteve

damish003

Does running it thru a touchless automatic count as a washing? I'll never make it into the OCD club doing just that, which I did Saturday, but it's hard to justify much more at this time of year. The wife and I are house-hunting (time to leave apartment life) and a private place to wash my OBS is a selling point. Wife thinks I'm nuts, but that's only because she won't keep her car clean. I'm married to a slob! <g>

-Dan-

mikenk

I am just on my last step of my semi-annual application of Klasse to my WRX and wife's Outback: washed both, clayed both, applied coat of AIO and one coat of Sealant glaze to each. I have another 10 minutes to wait before wiping out the last application. Cars look great and smooth as butter. I really like this stuff.

I timed the AIO application on the Outback. 24 minutes from start to finish; the trick to speed is to use no more than an ounce per car.

Mike

kens

Yes, use it sparingly otherwise it gets hard to buff the extra off. I also wet my microfiber applicator with water before applying AIO. Works better.

Ken

subearu

it does not take much AIO at all to do the entire vehicle. more <> better. It was very surprising the first time, but it indeed does work with very little product on the applicator. As Ken stated, it does work better when the applicator is wet, not soaking, but wrung out.

When done, don't machine wash the applicator and buffing towels. Hand wash in some dish detergent and hang dry.

-Brian

ateixeira

Love that weather. Near 60 today.

I'd washed them last weekend so we caught up on the interiors this week. The whole fleet looks good now.

-juice

hondafriek

Can tell spring is just around the corner, the traffic is starting to pick up in this thread:-)IN the high fifties today here.
  Cheers Pat.

fibber2

car wash. Looks nice and clean, but picked up more scratches on the shoulders where the rotating pads run down off of the hood and windows.

Steve

ateixeira

Get a pressure washer. You can do a wash as good as that without ever touching the vehicle.

I rinse first, that alone get 80% of the dirt off. Then I use the detergent attachment to dispense a soapy film all over. Then I use a wool mitt to wipe it down, then rinse again.

You could skip the wool mitt part and it would still get 90% of the dirt, like when it's really cold (but not quite freezing).

-juice

nygreg

for quick washes I use a good old bucket with car wash and I have a brush on a long handle made for washing cars (soft). Rinse, brush, rinse, california squeegy (sp?). This is my winter routine. Summer gets a hand wash and dry (given time). BTW - Turtle Wax applied during the fall is holding up very well on both cars.

Greg

ateixeira

I should get something like that, maybe with a long handle and a wool covered end? My hands get cold! )

-juice

nygreg

It really gets the job done very quickly, before you freeze. If you know you can do a "quicky" your apt to wash it more and your significant other doesn't complain as much.

Greg

kens

My wife works for an analyst that covers P&G. One of the benefits of work is that they get new product samples to try out for themselves. The other day, my wife received a Mr. Clean Auto Dry starter kit from P&G. Her manager knew about my car-washing affliction so he thought I&#146;d be the best person to test it out.

The Mr. Clean Auto Dry is supposed to make car washing simple by providing a unique all-in-one washing device that when used properly, does not require hand drying. The starter kit came in a nicely design box that housed the washing device, a special Mr. Clean Carwash liquid and a filter cartridge made by PUR that goes into the device. The product claims to leave no water-spots from air-drying if one follows the directions using the special carwash liquid and rinses with the filtered water.

Yesterday evening I finally had some time to put this system to the test on my Forester. Since my Forester is black, it would be a very good test to see if the system truly holds up to it&#146;s claims. The first thing I did was fill the device with the carwash liquid and then load the PUR filter. Next, I screwed the device on to the end of my garden hose using the built in thread.

First, the pre-wash rinse: I set the oversized dial on the device to the rinse symbol flick the switch by my thumb and a nice stream of water comes out the end. The stream is somewhere between the &#147;Gentle Shower&#148; and &#147;Soaker&#148; settings typically found on adjustable garden hoses. Not too narrow and intense, not too broad. The device is light but a little bulky &#150; about the size of a large iron &#150; and was a bit awkward when trying to rinse in the wheel wells. It would have been nice if the garden hose coupling was allowed to rotate freely. People with smaller hands would also find it a little difficult to use. The switch that turns water on and off does make it easier than gripping a typical garden hose trigger.

Next, the wash: I set the dial to soap, flick the switch and out comes a spattering of the carwash liquid in a fan pattern. The device mixes in water so the soap is already pre-diluted. I start with the roof and work my way down using my usual washing mitt. The Auto Dry instructions don&#146;t point it out, but I had a separate bucket on the side to swish my mitt between panels. The soap used in the kit is designed to help water sheet &#150; it certainly does not lather up like traditional carwashes. Instead, it foams up a little bit and has a strange, clumpy look to it. If my car were very dirty, I wouldn&#146;t feel very good about using this carwash formula. However, the instructions warn the customer to not use any other formula to prevent clogging the device. While I don&#146;t see how that could happen, I&#146;m sure the carwash has stuff in it that helps to sheet water. With my standard hose and carwash, I typically just drop the hose to the ground while I&#146;m working on a section. Unfortunately, the device being largely hollow and plastic does not seem like it would fare well so I need to keep placing it on the ground.

Next the rinse: After working down the vehicle, switching mitts for my wheels and tires, I&#146;m ready to rinse. Since it was cool and in the shade, I did not rinse after each panel. I turn the dial back to rinse and hose down the car from top to bottom. Again, I&#146;m wishing that the device had a free-rotating hose adapter to allow for a greater range of motion. As the suds move away, I can already see the sheeting action taking place. The water pulls away in a thin film over the paint.

Finally the filtered-water rinse: With all the soap off the car, I set the dial to the third position: filtered water. After a few seconds of the filter priming, a very fine flat spray comes out the end of the device. Again, I move from top to bottom making sure that I cover the car with the filtered water. The water continues to sheet off with very few drops left behind. It looks promising.

And that&#146;s it. According to the instructions, I do not need to hand dry. I fight all my urges to grab my California Car Blade and just let my Forester air-dry in the garage overnight. The total time to wash my car was about the same as if I had gone the traditional route. Was it any easier? Hard to tell given that I was still learning to use a new system.

The verdict: This morning, I turn on the lights to my garage and so far, so good. I can&#146;t see any water drops. I back out into the sunlight and lo and behold &#150; no water spots as advertised. It worked as claimed!

My impressions: The product worked for me, however the water in our area is relatively soft. Folks with hard water probably will not find it as effective (or will need to replace the filters more often). I&#146;ll need to try it a few more times, but I think it&#146;s a good alternative to regular washing for those &#147;quickie&#148; washes when one&#146;s vehicle is not very dirty. A few things that could improve the product would be 1) allowing the hose attachment collar to rotate 2) reduce the size of the device &#150; no self-respecting OCD car washer would go between panels without rinsing their wash mitt. I&#146;d forgo the convenience of the built in soap-dispenser to have a usual bucket with carwash solution. And 3) add some quick-disconnect couplings so I don&#146;t have to keep unscrewing my garden hose attachment every time I want to wash my car. Final comment on cost &#150; P&G estimates that the per-wash cost over the life of the product is $1. I&#146;ve heard that local stores sell the kits for $20. For that price, I might be enticed to have a kit around for the times when I just want to do a quick wash.

Ken

c_hunter

Thanks for the review, I've been wondering about that system every time I see it on TV!

Craig

hondafriek

Excellent write up,but I think I will stick to the traditional way, I get more satisfaction the old way in any case. It just would not feel properly washed If I did not dry it off.

 Cheers Pat.

subearu

a coupon for $5 off if you go to the P&G site and fill out a form. It's under $20 at Walmart, fwiw.

-Brian

p0926

Excellent write-up but then that's to be expected from a charter member of the OCD club!

-Frank P.

c_hunter

So is the soap wax-friendly? I can't believe how much longer my wax jobs last since I started using wax-friendly soaps. I hope the Mr. Clean soap is!

Craig

jfl

Oh, I'm sure it will be wax friendly...provided you only use P&G brand wax. (Do they make auto wax???)

Jim

fibber2

But I usually have to wax it right after washing, or I simply don't get it done. So I guess it is the California blade and chamis for me....

Steve

maverick1017

is wax friendly, universaly. I use Mother's since day one.

Question for those who use Klasse, do I have to remove the Mother's stuff already on the car when I switch over to Klasse or can Klasse go right over it? just want to figure out what kind of car wash liquid I should use when I switch.

Thanks y'all!

Mike

ateixeira

Sounds good, Ken. For a busy body with kids, especially.

I wonder if they'll just come out with a seperate car wash concentrate since I already use my pressure washer to dispense the soap.

-juice

[Deleted User]

When I switched from carnuba to Klasse, I stripped the old wax with a simple Dawn washing. No extra work and guaranteed to remove any old wax.

maverick1017

it will probably be around July before I switch. I suspect I should take the old stuff off, but for some reason I just couldn't get my brain to come to that conclusion.

Mike

kens

Mike,

When I switched to Klasse, I just used an off-the-shelf paint cleaner (Meguiar's Step 1). Klasse All-in-one has a cleaning agent in it so it alone will remove old wax so no need to worry about getting it all off.

A good claying is probably the best thing you can do.

Ken

maverick1017

oh yeah, I clay before waxing everytime. I didn't know Klasse all-in-one will remove the old wax, but I think I'll use tyguy's idea of Dawn detergent to wash first, then I'll use my Mr. Clean thing-of-ama-giggyand then clay and finish off with the Klasse and Pinnacle kit.

Mike

hondafriek

Titan got a hand wash and wax today I am sure you could have heard the sigh of contentment for a 1000 mile radius:-)

 Some Pics.

 
 
 
 

  Cheers Pat.

ateixeira

Tint makes the D-pillar really disappear. Looks nice.

-juice

rob_m

a clean car is a happy car. Nice pic's. Rob M.

rsholland

hypov

and nobody washed their cars?...

OCD Club is in trouble ;-)

-Dave

rob_m

I hand washed the GT and Outback on Saturday. This was the first weekend in over a month that I was not stuck at work, or it did not snow or rain. My car stayed clean on Monday. It has rained on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday ...

hammerhead

Pouring rain here today - not much point.
Went skiing twice last week & had to drive thru a couple mudholes to get to the parking lot, so not much point then, either.
2 weeks vacation coming up - spring wax time, if the weather cooperates.

Cheers!
Paul

ateixeira

It only stopped raining here today. Guess I'm due!

-juice

hondafriek

I have washed Titan at least twice in the last two weeks, including a real good handwash today
  

  Cheers Pat.