Clean or Dirty...........

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

I agree with Pothole, I would love to always have a spotless car, but in the summer I drive it several days a week. I just don't have the time to wash it every week, and I don't have to patience to spend hours polishing it. I have sort of a Monthly cycle, after washing it I'll only drive on dry days, but as it gets a bit dirty I'll drive it rain or shine. I'm very much a "drive it" type, not a "show car" type.

This is simular to my routine & pretty easy to maintain here in So.CA.

One of these days I will install a whole house water filter so I can just spray off the dust between washings to keep it looking good.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by EssexPorsche

PL,
You are talking my language!

I actually spend very little time detailing. For starters my car is silver and it hides dirt incredibly well. Often times I can use just a waterless car wash spray (Optimum, Meguiars, Griot's, etc.) and get rid of most of the surface dust. Looks just washed. Secondly, I'm pretty good at detailing this point so I can do it quickly, usually 10 minutes or less once a week if it hasn't rained at all.
And thirdly, I avoid waxing more than once every couple of months, I use synthetics and not bio waxes like P21S or S100 pure caranuba. The bios have a nicer shine but you'll be waxing it every month and that's going to take its toll on the paint over the course of a year. And Frankly, the sprays with enough carnauba (like the Griot's carnauba spray wax) will produce a shine that only an expert eye can distinguish from a pure carnauba paste wax. Another trick is to simply dress the tires, wipe down the wheels and glean the glass. It sort of gives the look of a freshly washed car. Although this doesn't really work with dark colored cars.

[jgama25]

Best part of an Oreo cookie is the middle.....I drive it daily during the spring, summer, and fall and wash it when needed (usually every few weeks). Then give it a good washing before I store it for the winter.

[Skrapmot]

My car is now 14+ yrs old (yikes! when did that happen?) and worth 1/3 of what we paid for it, and I no longer see the benefit heavy detailing. That being said, it is black, with a light tan interior, both of which require frequent cleaning than I like, so as not to tarnish Porsche's respectability, despite my reluctance (or laziness). My standards as a gearhead also might be a bit more strict as compared to the average person (i.e. my wife), most of whom don't seem to mind driving around in a cesspool of filth and grease, with used napkins and empty water bottle littering the floor.
If you got a 4x4, a little mud can be ok, but anything else, is like going shopping in a dirty tshirt.

[Deserion]

I used to be anal-retentive about washing the car every weekend, waxing often, etc. Nowadays I clean the cars when they look grungy, but do small touch-ups on certain parts in between. Interiors are never filthy or grimy, just usually sandy and dusty. I'll wash the wheels more often than the paint.

That said, I definitely need to give my cars a thorough detailing just to make sure they stay looking sharp.

I think this guy is in the "dirty, drive it" camp...


(Keanu Reeves)

[pothole]

Most of the pictures I've seen of Keanu's 993 have been pretty bloody shiny.

[kjc2050]

I rarely wash my car, but it always looks clean. I don't drive it on rainy/crappy days, and use a quick detailer from Zaino when it gets dusty (which takes all of 90 seconds). Plus I hit the wheels with cleaner about once a week. As someone else noted, silver is about the best color for not showing dirt, so that helps a lot.

[BoxsterSteve]

Man oh man, it's all about time; or the lack of it.
The Boxster is a fair-weather machine, and it's Arctic Silver, so it usually looks good.
The DD on the other hand, I could care less if it's clean.
That, and it's 12 years old too.
Before kids, there was ample time to keep all the vehicles in the driveway washed, vacuumed & detailed weekly.
Now, fuggedaboudit!

[Skrapmot]

In defense of Mr. Reeves, you can see by the Christmas tree strapped to the roof of the 911 and his lightweight coat, it is the usual frigid LA winter and therefore he is excused from washing his car in sub-70 degree temperature.

[Deserion]

Originally Posted by Skrapmot

In defense of Mr. Reeves, you can see by the Christmas tree strapped to the roof of the 911 and his lightweight coat, it is the usual frigid LA winter and therefore he is excused from washing his car in sub-70 degree temperature.

Haha. What I like about him and his 993 is that he uses it. Dirty, shiny, he seems to be spotted with the car quite often.

[Coffinhunter]

Like so many here, I used to be anal about washing my cars, but they were all black and looked like they needed it more often.

Now, she gets wahsed every couple of weeks. Since she is grey I don't really notice how "dirty" the car is, but when I am done washing I always wonder why I don't do it more often.

[Michiganstar]

I really enjoy cleaning my car so its always as clean as it can be, having said that when it goes on a driving holiday it stays as is until it gets home.
I saw a filthy Speed Yellow 968 up in Scotland a few years back in an area of great driving roads - I couldn't help but smile and give him the thumbs up as I knew he'd been enjoying his car as Stuttgart intended.

[wawa]

I think I'm in dirty side! Look at it after a the winter. It so dirty. I'm doing a little bit of maintenance, then clean it up a little. :-)

Layer all
Chris

[EssexPorsche]

Michiganstar,
You get it, I'm a total nut about my car but that pure disposition of high end exotic and filth was such a powerful image.

Anyways guys, I have loved this thread and i look forward to getting mine back. 4 weeks and counting!!!! Full bare metal respray. New splash trims (colour coded), de badged trunk, new nuts, bolts, rivets. Glass out, doors off , trunk and frunk off.

Cost??? Lets not talk about it eh!


Wawa, that's in a different class!

[WhipE350]

I went with Silver and Black on my new 981. I know myself well enough that this would be the best thing for my sanity and I would drive it more.

I want to enjoy more night driving too since it has PDLS and the lights are so good it really makes me more comfortable (I don't see well at night). Driving at night where I live means lots of bugs and I don't want to have to remove them immediately after each drive, it requires a good lubricant to soften them and not scratch the paint. I'm going to get a clear bra so they can be left on and washed off once a week. If the clear bra can be damaged by the bug juice then maybe it isn't worth it. From what I have seen from my friends 911 they easily come off later with warm water and the bra seems just fine.

I had some 997 Porsche black rubber mats and they fit the 981 so I just put them in and don't bother cleaning the dirt for weeks now.

I still really love detailing cars, keep my Guards Red 2000 'S' lookin good and do most of my friends Porsches, but now with a Silver car it is no longer about the bling but more about the beautiful lines.

[j.fro]

When my commute was 15 minutes and I wasn't racing much, I was a detail fanatic. Now that my commute is over an hour and the car is raced 3times a month, there just aren't enough hours in the week to keep up.

[Timco]

Mr. Clean, checking in........

[CoBeerToad]

My next door neighbor used to (about 30 years ago), wash and wax his car every weekend. Me and my friends got a kick out of it because he washed and waxed the paint right off his car.

Concerning me, I guess I could spend more time cleaning, but when I go out to the car in the morning, if the car is not disgusting to look at, I just want to drive it. It gets a quick wash once every 7-10 days. A more thorough wash once a month or as needed. I don't drive in the rain or to my dusty work so that is all that is needed.

ETA: Arctic Silver is an awesome color for this regimen

[paintboy]

Wash when it looks more gray than silver...

[coreseller]

It truly is fun to watch some people (including myself) evolve on this topic, one way or another. One of my boys has a Corolla I bought for him since he made Eagle Scout, in the past 6 months his attention to keeping it clean has grown quite keen. He actually detailed the motor bay 3 times since Thanksgiving, today I came home and he asked to use the lift so he could polish / wax it before Prom tonight. For the first year he drove it i could count on one hand the number of time he washed it, and most of those were with my prodding.