What do you do right after it rains?

[William_F]

My car is sitting outside right now after a fresh rain. I just gave it a full detail yesterday. The NXT 2 made the water bead like crazy!

Do I just go dry the car off and apply a little QD or should I just leave it alone since it looks clean and shiny and let the water evaoporate on its own and then QD if there are water spots?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

Since you're in an apartment and don't have a hose handy you obviously can't just hose it off prior to drying. That suggestion is based on the fact that some dust has most likely settled on the paint prior to the rain so, unless it was a near torrential downpour that washed any loose dust off the surface, you may have too much dust in those beads of water to just towel dry the surface. Keep in mind that all of this assumes the car was NOT driven while it was raining as that changes everything!

Anyway, you might want to at least throw a couple buckets of water over the surface just to make sure anything loose really is off, then liberally spray some UQD or similar onto the surface while drying with a couple of Water Magnet drying towels. Letting the car just air dry will lead to water spots that may or may not be difficult to remove. You won't know if they're hard to remove until you try, so don't set yourself up for problems.

[William_F]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

Well, I did drive it in the rian earlier and it was already wet when I went out and is still wet now.

Would there be any issues with just laying a chamois on the surface and letting it draw in the water (not moving it around to dry it) and then hitting the car with QD?

[james0509]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

Well, I did drive it in the rian earlier and it was already wet when I went out and is still wet now.

Would there be any issues with just laying a chamois on the surface and letting it draw in the water (not moving it around to dry it) and then hitting the car with QD?

I usually just use UQD and spray onto the wet car and carefully wipe it dry.

If your area does not have heavy pollution it should be fine.

[RGP]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

Cry!!!

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

I actually blot-dried my car this morning after waking up to discover it had lightly rained the night before. Normally I don't worry about rain or morning condensation (dew) since it doesn't form spots the same as hard water. Since my sprinklers overspray onto the driveway and catch the rear door and quarterpanel of my car every Tuesday and Thursday morning, my intention was to merely blot those areas. But then I just couldn't stop.

[captaincog]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

Cry!!!

x2! (It really was the first that that came to mind since I drove in almost muddy rain/yuk today.....)

[dreamps]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

hmmmmm ok what if your car/truck is a daily driver and stays outside 24/7 365 days a year.

after rain i usually hose my truck down and dry with ww towel and uqd. if i'm at work and it rained i drive home, hose it down, and dry w/ ww towel and uqd. is this ok?

if it really rained hard and there is stuff all over my truck that doesnt come off from the hose itself, i don't dry at all and wait for a clear day to wash/dry my truck..

is this process ok? it's a dd but i like to keep it as clean as possible. the interior gets vacuumed 1x a week as well as with natural shine

[Bert31]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

If a car was pretty clean before it rained, what I would probalby do blot dry the car to get most of the water off and then use one of the numerous waterless washes rather than a QD to gently clean up the rest. I used to be really skeptical about the safety of the waterless washes (similar to how I was skeptical of rinseless washes) but when using one to clean up after the rain, I feel a little better about them.

[roushstage2]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

hmmmmm ok what if your car/truck is a daily driver and stays outside 24/7 365 days a year.

I have the same problem. Wash it to be safe. Even more reason to do so because more "junk" can get onto the paint out there.

[Jossy92]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

If a car was pretty clean before it rained, what I would probalby do blot dry the car to get most of the water off and then use one of the numerous waterless washes rather than a QD to gently clean up the rest. I used to be really skeptical about the safety of the waterless washes (similar to how I was skeptical of rinseless washes) but when using one to clean up after the rain, I feel a little better about them.

[dreamps]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

see the only thing is here in NJ it rained sooo freaking much we get rain like 2-3 times a week. i am def not washing my truck 2-3 times a week to have it rain again in the next 2-3 days.

my solution was if hte paint doesnt look too bad hose it down and clean with uqd. i have a gallon of ONR that i will start using for washes as it's getting into the low 50's here

[akimel]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

William, after experiencing severe water-spotting last spring, I now try to wash my car with Optimum No Rinse as quickly as I can after the car gets rained on. Take a look at this article: When you need a quick wash.

[dreamps]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

al what if it rains like 2- out of 4 days do you wash your car both days after rain? can i use onr at qd strength and remove water spots that way after i hose down the truck?

[akimel]

Re: What do you do right after it rains?

al what if it rains like 2- out of 4 days do you wash your car both days after rain? can i use onr at qd strength and remove water spots that way after i hose down the truck?

I just try to do the best I can. I sure don't have the time to be washing my car every other day.

If you are using ONR, there is no need for you to hose down your car, unless your car is particularly dirty. I know that some guys take their vehicles to the local coin-op and rinse them off, and then immediately drive home and do an ONR wash. Use ONR at the prescribed dilution. Also check out the ONR Definitive Thread. ONR sounds like it should not work, at least not work safely; but somehow it does.