Regular Washing How Often?

[Ed 718]

I have a question maybe some of the vets can help me with. My roomate recentely brought up the fact that I never wash my car but it looks so squeakly clean. I clay, polish and wax her about every 6 months and between waxes use a combination of the Meg's duster, Meg's detail spray or Meg's spray wax. The car never ever sees harsh weather and I never allow it to get dirty at all. However he made me relize that in fact it has been over 5 months since the car has seen any soap and water. I think the last time was when the stealership washed her without my permission. Is this really a bad idea to let her go this far without a wash even though the paint feels smooth as glass? I really don't see the need but he did get me thinking about it somewhat so I decided to post here and see what you guys think.

[yalerd]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

Since you are maintaining the surface constantly with QD and removing dust from it then you are already doing the job.

Read this thread that Michael Stoops did, could give you more information
How to maintain your car's finish in-between polishing sessions

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

While it may strike some people as odd that you haven't washed your car in almost 5 months, that doesn't seem out of line for a car being treated the way yours is.

Meguiar's defines "Washing" as "The removal of loose contaminants
from any surface" and we define "Maintaining" as "The frequent removal
of fresh contaminants before they have a chance to bond or etch into the surface".

Since you car is garaged and never sees bad weather, and you regularly perform the "maintenance" step, it never really has a chance to get truly dirty. So why wash it more frequently than you need to? Obviously folks who's daily drivers see rain and/or snow don't have much choice but to wash fairly regularly. Still others who live in an area where it doesn't rain for months at a time (like here in SoCal) don't bother to perform the regular "maintenance" steps so in a week or two the car is dirty enough that it needs a proper wash to get it clean.

As long as you're "maintenance" process is done correctly and often enough your risk of inflicting swirls and other defects is pretty small (depending on the sensitivity of the paint, of course). The thread that yalerd linked to emphasizes this point. Many of us here at Meguiar's wipe our cars down every other day, some of us do it daily. How often we wash depends on overall exposure, but one of my own cars just got it's first water/soap wash in 4 months over the Labor Day weekend. My weekend toy probably hasn't seen soap and water for 6 months, and there are probably others here with similar cases.

One thing to keep in mind though if you are going that long between soap & water washes - if you want to apply a fresh coat of wax make sure that there is no dust/dirt build up along body panel seams, window trim, lights, etc. These areas don't tend to get really cleaned up with a simple mist & wipe "maintenance" procedure and can accumulate dirt over time. When waxing it is very likely that you'll start picking some of that up and contaminate your applicator. Just something to be aware of.

[gofastman]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

FWIW I try to wash my cars once a week, ether with a rinses type product, or soap and water depending on if i need time to meditate
That said, both my cars are constantly outside because I don't have access to a garage.

[james0509]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

While it may strike some people as odd that you haven't washed your car in almost 5 months, that doesn't seem out of line for a car being treated the way yours is.

Meguiar's defines "Washing" as "The removal of loose contaminants
from any surface" and we define "Maintaining" as "The frequent removal
of fresh contaminants before they have a chance to bond or etch into the surface".

Since you car is garaged and never sees bad weather, and you regularly perform the "maintenance" step, it never really has a chance to get truly dirty. So why wash it more frequently than you need to? Obviously folks who's daily drivers see rain and/or snow don't have much choice but to wash fairly regularly. Still others who live in an area where it doesn't rain for months at a time (like here in SoCal) don't bother to perform the regular "maintenance" steps so in a week or two the car is dirty enough that it needs a proper wash to get it clean.

As long as you're "maintenance" process is done correctly and often enough your risk of inflicting swirls and other defects is pretty small (depending on the sensitivity of the paint, of course). The thread that yalerd linked to emphasizes this point. Many of us here at Meguiar's wipe our cars down every other day, some of us do it daily. How often we wash depends on overall exposure, but one of my own cars just got it's first water/soap wash in 4 months over the Labor Day weekend. My weekend toy probably hasn't seen soap and water for 6 months, and there are probably others here with similar cases.

One thing to keep in mind though if you are going that long between soap & water washes - if you want to apply a fresh coat of wax make sure that there is no dust/dirt build up along body panel seams, window trim, lights, etc. These areas don't tend to get really cleaned up with a simple mist & wipe "maintenance" procedure and can accumulate dirt over time. When waxing it is very likely that you'll start picking some of that up and contaminate your applicator. Just something to be aware of.

I have a question about this topic. Which is better? Maintain your car often and wash every few months, or wash your car often ?

[Tuck91]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

What about the wheels, tires, and wells?

I think you should at least wash it every couple of weeks just for the peace of mind.

[Malo83]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

I wash my car every 2 weeks and UQD,UQW inbetween, just feels like your really getting the paint clean with soap and water than just spray detailing only

[Ed 718]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

What about the wheels, tires, and wells?

I think you should at least wash it every couple of weeks just for the peace of mind.

Well to be honest my vette wont kick up as much as say your truck does but I do clean in and around the wheel wells often.

[cardriver]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

Find a process that works for you...

If I was in your situation, where the car looks great even though it hasn't seen a traditional wash in a long time, I would still wash it...there's just something very relaxing, charming, and enjoyable about giving a car a good 'ol traditional wash . I would do it just because it's fun. And obviously no harm done.

[Blueline]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

Find a process that works for you...

If I was in your situation, where the car looks great even though it hasn't seen a traditional wash in a long time, I would still wash it...there's just something very relaxing, charming, and enjoyable about giving a car a good 'ol traditional wash . I would do it just because it's fun. And obviously no harm done.

Wish MY 12 year old was as so eloquent and had such a desire to wash my car as you do. LOL (age:12)

[BrianPow84]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

I havent washed my car in 2 years. I do the same things as you spray detailer and wipe off the dust.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Regular Washing How Often?

How often you wash vs just doing the maintenance thing has an awful lot to do with what part of the country you're in, whether your vehicle is garaged at night or sits outside 24/7, etc. We are very spoiled here in Southern California because we can go 9 months with no rain so daily maintenance is a piece of cake and it really is easy to go 3 or more months without a soap and water wash. That becomes near impossible in areas like Seattle, WA or Miami, FL where rain is almost a daily occurrence. Once a car has been driven in the rain you really are better off with a complete wash.

As for wheels and wheel wells, a little shot of QD and a microfiber towel and they're clean - provided you aren't driving a European car that produces brake dust measured in kilograms after every drive, no matter how short! And if the wheel wells are starting to look a bit off, a good liberal spray of M40 does wonders!!

All in all though, you won't get an argument here about how much cleaner, overall, a vehicle is after a proper soap and water wash, especially once a few months have gone by. And as stated previously, if you intend to wax or, perhaps even more importantly, machine polish your car after a few months without a proper wash then you probably should completely wash it first.