Car wash

[Pilot2519j]

Will the car wash rail damage the alloys of the boxster? Own two set of alloys 17" turbo and 18" carrera.

[Stryke]

Not only would I not recommend banging up your wheels on the rail, but how can you take your car to a full service car wash???

Take it to a hand wash and give it the treatment it deserves. A rag top should not go in a car wash anyways and those brushes will ruin your paint!

[Pilot2519j]

Thanks Stryke never noticed the hand wash places before. Will look for them. I've never had a convertible before any special recommendation in the care of the soft top.

[Stryke]

I have a friend in LI who owns an exotic car detailing place. I don't know what your budget is but they're not cheap. You can go to any competent hand wash place and it'll cost you around $15. I owned one for a few years and my partner bought me out last summer but I still get free details there once a week.

[roadstr468]

The main things that will damage your car at a tunneled carwash are the steel tire brushes, which will scratch your rims, the high instensity wind dryers, which will damage your soft top, the wash brushes, which are guarenteed to scratch your car, and the degreasers that are sprayed on your rims, which will stain you brakes rotors. If you care about your car, take it to a hand wash place, or do it yourself. There is plenty of information on the internet that will teach you how. I think meguiars has a good site. Most importantly, make sure you get a decent wax applied about once a month, including the rims, or else oxidation will take its toll.

Good luck with the search.

[Adam]

I have a question, is it bad to leave your car sitting for a month or two with a very slight(less than 40mi worth) of brake dust on the rims. I usually take a rag and spray it with detailers wax and wipe them down every 100mi or so. I just haven't gotten around to wiping them since last time I drove. Plus I didn't think it was worth it with so little dust is on them. What do you guys do about brake dust? Does brake dust cause oxidation and thus cause the rims to be pitted??

[Adam]

One more thing, is carnuba the best kind of wax to use? I've heard other kinds can soak into the paint and cause problems? Are all carnubas created equal?

[roadstr468]

I usually leave the brake dust on my wheels for about one week(then again I wash it every weekend). I'd say if you left the rims with little brake dust on them, you should be alright, for two weeks, but a month might be pushing it. If there is any bit of chrome or polished metal on the rims, you will really want to keep them clean or else you spend more time polishing them then admiring them. As for your detailers wax, make sure you are using a clean rag every time. (You may even want to use one rag per side, to prevent scratching.)

When waxing your car, carnauba is one of the best. Just make sure its not a watered down version.

[Alienz]

I was in a car wash that doesn't use any brushes ( I forgot what they are called). At the second stage of high pressure water, water leaked inside through driver's and passenger's windows. The water leaked through the first joints where the top bends. Is that normal? I'm not sure if the top is designed to sustain that kind of high pressure water.

[mjbliemel]

I always wash my own car. The Boxster is not that big, doesn't take that long. Never run it through a car wash though. I could afford to have it hand washed, but why pay for it when I enjoy doing it myself. I'm not real anal about my car, so I probably don't spend that much time on washing as some folks do, but it still looks just great. I wash mine about every two weeks or weekly as time permits.

[Pilot2519j]

Mjbliemel I would enjoy doing it myself since I would do a better job of it than guys doing it in a rush. The problem in NY to wash the car after Nov and until April is too cold. I used to take the car to carwash in Bellmore that would cost me about $ 25.00 and the car would be brilliant. I will check around for the handwash wash places.
I live in Great Neck, NY so if anyone knows of any places near Great Neck, New Hyde Park, Williston, Roslyn etc. let me know.

[donv]

If you can't find a convenient place but are desperate for getting the salt off without damage, you can try the cold weather DIY wash trick (for those of us in frozen climes):

- Find one of the places where you use a "wand" sprayer, bring lots of quarters...
- Bring your bucket-o-sudz (warm, not hot water if you can - for happy hands but no cracked glass )
- Spray down the car using the "rinse" setting - water only (no soap, etc. selected), let it run a little before spraying your car (to let out the wheel cleaner in the pipes from the last guy)
- Now all the grit is off, do a quick once over with the soap from your bucket
- Rinse again with wand (6 more quarters!)

Go drive your car fast to dry it , or use a water blade to get most of it off before your hands freeze...

You end up with a clean car, no brush scratches/damage, but just a little less perfect than you'd do otherwise if your hands weren't frozen solid...

Lived in apartments w/out hose access for years and this served me well.

PS: Whatever you do, don't be tempted to use the spray wax - your soft top could end up a real mess! If wax is a must then that might be the time to drive a little further and get the hand detail job...

i got a jet wash from ebay, its a large one from a garage. Most of friends bring there cars over its very good and takes pound coins. It cost £1800 free shipping from southampton. I also got a coke machine off him for an extra £200 which was cool. I love washing my own car, its great. Plus i just flip the catch and bingo my own private jet wash! its great if you see another on ebay snap it up.

I could charge people near me hehe!

[bmweuro]

If you have a good coat of wax you can clean your car with a spray bottle.
I have a spray bottle with water and a second bottle with Eagle One spray on wax.
1.Spray one panel at a time. First water then a couple of squirts of Eagle One. Whipe dry w/ soft cloth.
I drive my Box everyday and once a week I clean it his way.
Here is another of the millions of ways to clean your Boxster.

[Alienz]

After the puddle of water that ended up on under the driver's seat, I dont think I want to wash my car anymore. A car wash has already cost me $2k easy. Just make sure everything is sealed b4 you go ahead and do it.

[QporscheQ]

FYI

I bought one of those "Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash" hose attachments at Wal-Mart this morning for $20. It’s basically a Pur water filter for the kitchen sink that you attach to your garden hose. The idea being that streaks and spots are cause by mineral deposits in the water left behind when drying. Surprisingly, this thing works really well. For $20 bucks, I would definitely recommend it.

[jfmillr]

Well I thought I would add to this by mentioning I just ordered the Zainos Brothers Show car kit and a few other goodies for this spring to keep the ride nice and clean. Hopefully it will look nice and wet all summer considering the new paint job Car kit costs about $85 I think but from what I hear that is the best stuff around for keeping your ride nice. I also got the leather and plastic window restorer while I was there....
heres the link for all of you that dont already use their products...
http://www.zainostore.com

[donv]

Zaino finish products have worked well for me, see http://www.986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=86 .

I love the smell of the "Leather in a Bottle" stuff, but I'm not yet convinced that it is the best product to protect/restore the softness of the upholstery. At least it doesn't clog the seat pores and seams with residue... unlike the Mequiar's stuff .