Where do you park at work?

[Older Than Dirt]

I think this is a great topic. I am retired but I had no choice but to park in the
sun. I parked in BFE with the rest of the car guys so dings were never a problem.
Work parking lots around here are really varied. My brothers pay $10 a month
for non heated garages at their workplace. This is really great in the
winter, but extends the life of Tech wax in summer to almost six months. I have
a good friend who works at a foundry and the fallout is so bad that frequent
claying is necessary to prevent the finish from feeling like sandpaper. Having a
safe place to park, whether at work or shopping, gives peace of mind that your
pride and joy will be safe. The other option is to get a beater and keep the
beauty in the garage for special occasions.

[RamAirV1]

Originally posted by Older Than Dirt
I think this is a great topic. I am retired but I had no choice but to park in the
sun. I parked in BFE with the rest of the car guys so dings were never a problem.
Work parking lots around here are really varied. My brothers pay $10 a month
for non heated garages at their workplace. This is really great in the
winter, but extends the life of Tech wax in summer to almost six months. I have
a good friend who works at a foundry and the fallout is so bad that frequent
claying is necessary to prevent the finish from feeling like sandpaper. Having a
safe place to park, whether at work or shopping, gives peace of mind that your
pride and joy will be safe. The other option is to get a beater and keep the
beauty in the garage for special occasions.

That foundry fallout is really bad. I used to have trouble with that and the sandpaper finish but the foundry closed. To make things worse, a railroad track goes right by the foundry. So I didn't know who to blame it on. Isn't the foundry responsible the damage caused to vechiles by its fallout?

RamAirV1

[gb387]

Like I said earlier I alway park in the sun at work but when I am shopping I will park WAY out in bfe and hike on in (sun/rain/snow) I went 3 1/2 years without a single door ding in my old truck. Some people look at you strange as you circle the parking lot looking for a spot the is just right (kind of like a shark circling its prey). If there is another well taken care of vehicle way out I park next to or close to it.

As far as I know there is very little fallout here in Iowa... Where is that exactly from? Manufacturing Plants?

[RamAirV1]

Originally posted by gb387
Like I said earlier I alway park in the sun at work but when I am shopping I will park WAY out in bfe and hike on in (sun/rain/snow) I went 3 1/2 years without a single door ding in my old truck. Some people look at you strange as you circle the parking lot looking for a spot the is just right (kind of like a shark circling its prey). If there is another well taken care of vehicle way out I park next to or close to it.

As far as I know there is very little fallout here in Iowa... Where is that exactly from? Manufacturing Plants?

I guess you could call it foundry dust. There is something in the emissions of foundries that leaves the feel of sandpaper on your paint. It can only be removed by claying or very aggressive buffing with a strong cleaner. It could be hot metal particles that land on the paint, as is the case with rail dust. It is one of the worst things that can land on the paint. I guess something like battery acid would be worse since that removes paint immediately from what I read.

RamAirV1

[gb387]

Originally posted by RamAirV1
I guess you could call it foundry dust. There is something in the emissions of foundries that leaves the feel of sandpaper on your paint. It can only be removed by claying or very aggressive buffing with a strong cleaner. It could be hot metal particles that land on the paint, as is the case with rail dust. It is one of the worst things that can land on the paint. I guess something like battery acid would be worse since that removes paint immediately from what I read.

RamAirV1

Thank you that explains it.

[Aurora40]

It sounds like I'm very fortunate in my parking situation. The company I work for has a bit of a campus with about 7 buildings and about 5 garages. When I drive the Nissan, I just park in my building's garage and park in a corner (it's the beater, but that doesn't mean I try to beat on it).

When I drive the Aurora, or soon the next object of obsession, I park in another garage at the building across the street. That was the newest building, and the garage is about twice as big. It is about 6 stories and never fills up to the third, so I park on the third level way in the back. There's usually about 5 or more spaces between me and any other cars. The only other cars back there seem to be semi-permanently parked, or other folks who keep their cars nice. I've never come back to find a car parked next to me, let alone a door ding. And heck, I could go up another level if I had too...

I consider myself very lucky about my parking situation, though. One of the many things I like very much about my job.

[RamAirV1]

Parking far away from the building would help cut down on door dings for sure. But wouldn't that make you more vulnerable to vandalism, such as keying. The vandal is less likely to be seen if you are parked far away from the store or office entrance. This is pure speculation on my part though, and my concern may be unfounded.

RamAirV1

[Aurora40]

Originally posted by RamAirV1
Parking far away from the building would help cut down on door dings for sure. But wouldn't that make you more vulnerable to vandalism, such as keying. The vandal is less likely to be seen if you are parked far away from the store or office entrance. This is pure speculation on my part though, and my concern may be unfounded.

RamAirV1

Hey RamAir, did you mean me? If so, I park in a limited-access garage. You have to badge in to enter. Also, as I'd mentioned, I work on what is like a campus. All the buildings on this large area of land belong to the company I work for. So there aren't really people there who either don't work at my company or have business with my company.

I would have very little concern leaving a very nice/expensive car (if I had one) there over an extended period. Like I said, I consider myself very lucky about this, it would be hard to ask for a better parking environment.

[Aurora40]

Here's what I mean. It's really a safe place to park, unless someone at work hates me or something (in which case I'm better off parking far away, they'd have to hate me enough to **** up the walk! )

[trubluscrew]

Aurora40;

What do you guys really do at area 51?

That really is a trek from the parking lot.

[Aurora40]

Originally posted by trubluscrew
Aurora40;

What do you guys really do at area 51?

That really is a trek from the parking lot.

I work on making mind controlling car wax...

Heheh, it is a bit of a hike, it takes me about 10-15 minutes to get from my car to my desk. However, I only drive the Aurora on nice days, so it's usually a nice walk in the morning and a way to unwind a bit at the end of the day (at least until the oil warms up!).

[RamAirV1]

Originally posted by Aurora40
Hey RamAir, did you mean me? If so, I park in a limited-access garage. You have to badge in to enter. Also, as I'd mentioned, I work on what is like a campus. All the buildings on this large area of land belong to the company I work for. So there aren't really people there who either don't work at my company or have business with my company.

I would have very little concern leaving a very nice/expensive car (if I had one) there over an extended period. Like I said, I consider myself very lucky about this, it would be hard to ask for a better parking environment.

No actually I was thinking of discount store parking lots, like Wal Mart etc. which are notorious for vandalism, at least around here.

That would be cool to have a parking garage with limited access! I do have a parking garage nearby. I do use it sometimes even though it is extra cost. If thunderstorms are threatening I will move my car over to the garage immediately.

RamAirV1

[99saturnsc1]

I'm in the sun...

Im in the sun but there are no land scape sprinklers spraying on me and therefore no landscapers spraying pestiscides grass or rocks on me.. also no one sits on my car at break.

[RamAirV1]

Re: I'm in the sun...

Originally posted by 99saturnsc1
Im in the sun but there are no land scape sprinklers spraying on me and therefore no landscapers spraying pestiscides grass or rocks on me.. also no one sits on my car at break.

Landscape sprinklers are one of the worst things to park or drive near, if you get caught in one severe waterspots are just about guaranteed.

I hate it when they spray into traffic. Next time I get caught in one I think I'll present the owner with a bill for water spot removal. It could require a trip to Irvine to have Mike fix it with the rotary!

On a related note, I drove by the boat docks today, which have a gravel parking lot. But I noticed some paving equipment sitting in that gravel lot! Can it be? My GTO will be very happy (as will the owner) if they would pave that lot! I just wish they would have paved it when I had my black T/A WS6.

RamAirV1

[escape]

Unfortunately, I have to park out in the elements. To make it worse, I park at the end of a runway. So I deal with a lot of industrial fallout on my Escape. And this year there is a lot of construction so it is covered in dust by the end of the day. I am having a hard time dealing with that, but with good therapy I should get through it okay. I just have to wash my vehicle two-three times per week.