Mike,
You're very meticulous - are you an Engineer?

-Steve

I thought everyone here drops their Porsche at a detailer everytime they need their car cleaned... :D ;)

Mike,
I'm sure you've heard of this approach but perhaps for others
reading along, using a waterless (No-Rinse) wash for quick
wipe downs siginficantly cuts down on the time to
"bucket and hose wash" the car when you do have to do
the full-on car wash. And its easier on the paint, I'm covinced
that using the high pressure hose has the unintended downside
of requiring too much drying. This is where the swirls come in.
Or you use the safe leaf blower method to drying,
always looks funny though...

I think what I said came across wrong. I'm not downplaying the Boxster. I didn't spend as much time washing it as it is my everyday driver. If I took even a couple of hours washing it, it would be dirty all the time. So a quick wash will make it look decent from a distance, but not close up. Besides, I think if I did the Boxster to the same detail as I did the Firehawk, it would take about 1/3 the time. It's a much smaller car, and doesn't require stuff like cleaning the engine bay. I did take longer cleaning the Boxster wheels than I did on my Firehawk though. They will always take longer as they are the Sport Classic IIs as opposed to 5-spoke chrome wheels.

I love the Boxster. It's a great car. It's fun to drive, and I love the way it looks, sounds, feels. When I talk about it being my winter "beater," I put the quotes on it is because I'm joking about it being a beater in any connotation of the word. My two cars are very different. There are things I prefer about each. One is more a weekend cruiser and the other is a daily driver/DE car. Therefore, the way I treat and think of each one is very different. That doesn't mean I'll mistreat the Boxster. It just means I won't be as meticulous with it as I am with my car that I drive about 3,000 miles per year.

If it sounds like I'm talking down about my Boxster, it's either tongue in cheek (it's my "beater") or it's just coming across wrong.

I definitely use those waterless solutions after a quick dust. I do that all the time. I used to carry it in the car with me. They work great. This needed to be a full wash though as it had some salt on it that splashed from my wife's truck.

I never use the hose at a high pressure. It's always at a low pressure and usually indirectly aimed at the car (above to let the water fall down on the car) where possible. My wife suggested I try the leaf blower method as I HATE drying (especially when the sun comes out as it kept doing yesterday). I can't bring myself to do it though. That's why I take so much care making sure the car is clean before I start drying with microfiber and 100% USA cotton only.

I read on this forum someone that washed his wheels everyday when he got home from work. Routine - like getting the mail. Washed his car once or twice a week and waxed it once a month. I sure wish my car looked like I did that, but I am not willling to go there. I am afraid it would make me nutty.
Thanks for your comment re: Zaino and modern clear coats, PerfectLap.

Cool. My apologies for the misunderstanding. :matchup: