Waterless car washes,
Keeping your car clean responsibly during a drought.
California seems to face a drought every year now. Even with the Winter snow and rain the reservoir levels never to fill up to the point that restrictions are lifted. This year doesn't seem to be any different.
Commercial car washes recycle their wash water, this reduces their consumption of municipal water.
Home car washing, even with a turn off nozzle, uses quite a bit of water. The run off usually just goes down the driveway into gutter and into the storm drain. The only thing that is worse than this, is the practice of washing down the driveway and walkways with a hose, using a broom or power blower works even better and wastes no water.
Vintage car owners don't really embrace the idea of pouring a deluge or aiming powerful streams of water at their car. This usually results in water insidiously finding its way through worn and tired weatherstripping and into all the hidden nooks and crannies. Places where rust is just waiting to take hold.
Normal rainfall does not pose as great a threat. It just fall down lightly and runs down the car, instead of blasting through the seams. The occasional "gully washer" is another case.
One strategy for the old car aficionado is to find ways to avoid having to wash your car in the first place.
If you can keep your car garaged when it's not being used, that would be the ideal. The environment is rough on your car. Dust, dirt, bug and bird splatter is always lurking. Rain washes the dirt out of the trees and directly onto your car, as well as roadway splash.
A garage or car port, and covered parking at work is not always available. So what are we supposed to do?
Properly waxing your car at least once a year is a good start. Once a year would be considered a bare minimum.
A car duster is great for removing dust as it starts to accumulates. Best done right away once the car has cooled in the shade. If not dusted off, this light dirt will combine with moisture overnight and form a film on your paint that will build up over time.
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| Yes it is just a smaller version of the dust mop we use on the floor. |
Using a car cover routinely keeps not only dirt off the finish, but protects from ultra violet light damage.
I had some experience with water less car wash years ago.
I found that it was quite effective, though I would hesitate to apply it to a real grimy surface. I decided to revisit these solutions.
It would make sense for me. If I can cover my car consistently, use the car duster to remove light dirt, then I can use the water less cleaner to maintain the cleanliness of the surface.
On most of my cars I don't have a real problem with running them through the local car washes, occasionally.
Then my task is to maintain them as well as possible. With my old cars like my '70 Mustang, my 'XJS, and especially something like my '51 Jag, I would prefer to never point a high pressure water hose at those cars. The weather stripping is old, worn, cracked, and missing in spots.. That's not going to keep out a lot of water.
The first car that I tried it on was my '97 XJ6. This car still has nice shiny paint and I've waxed and polished it in the last year. The car was still fairly clean under the cover. I dusted it off and applied the water less cleaner as per the instructions. It did a fair job cleaning off small stains as well as laying down an additional layer of wax protection. It still looks good even after a few weeks, but I usually keep this car covered also.
There are a lot of people who prefer not to cover their cars at all, because any cover is going to retain a certain amount of dirt and grit within it's fabric. Especially after its been in use. The better quality covers will be more effective in keeping the dirt from penetrating the surface. The cheap ones allow a lot of dirt through them after a heavy rain. Especially if you park the car under a large tree during the first really heavy rain of the season. The one that flushes all the dirt from the branches onto your car.
Then it's time to run the cover through the washing machine. I was successful in doing that at least once with my cheap car covers. I let the cover air dry draped over a bench and table.
Truthfully, using a cover is a mixed bag. I'm willing to accept some micro abrasion of the surface in order to protect the paint and interior from the damage of UV light as well as preventing bird and insect splats. From past experience I know that these can really damage the finish. Keeping it constantly waxed should help reduce the abrasions.
I've done even more aggresive covering utilizing tarps over a car cover to protect the car during the rainy season. It's important that the tarp be big enough to channel the water away from doors and windows. I had my XJS parked at the curb as well as in the side yard with that arrangement. That situation lasted a few years. It wasn't the ideal, and it wasn't what I would have preferred, but it was something.
It worked. After spending several Winters outside, no water ever found it's way into the interior.
As an enthusiast you have to do something. Slowing down the potential deterioration is the primary objective.
As I stated, I first used the car wash on the XJ6. Recently I wanted to try it on my truck. The truck was filthy, not only from sitting under the trees, but the heavy rainfall splashed water up from the gutter onto the wheels and lower sides. I wasn't going to try the waterless cleaner directly on that mess, so I ran it through the local car wash first. Then I used the waterless cleaner as a wash/wax product. It did lay down a shiny layer. It was quick and easy. The last time I had waxed the truck was during the Summer. It really needs to be waxed more often. I haven't used it's new car cover yet. I usually only drive the truck once a week, but it's going to be a hassle putting on and removing the cover. I'll probably wait until rainy season is over.
I had also run the Flex through the wash. The black wheels didn't come out too clean. With all the spokes, and nooks and crannies I'm not too surprised. I hit them with the waterless cleaner and they came out great, this is the first time I cleaned them by hand since I bought it. It makes a huge difference. I used the product on the hood, this was a couple of days after I had it washed. It cleaned off some recent dirt and laid down some extra shine.
The '96 Mustang went through the wash also. Then it went under the cover waiting for it's appointment with the waterless wash. It gets to sit inside the garage so it should remain clean. I'll dust it off then apply the cleaner. This will be a good indication of how well it will work.
I ran three vehicles through the car wash, and even by choosing the cheaper options as well as using coupons, it still cost me 30.00 to wash them all. That doesn't include a couple of bucks apiece as a tip to the operator. Obviously with this many vehicles it's a lot of work and expense trying to keep them all clean, and to preserve them the best I can. Still the waterless system is easy, quick, and convenient, besides reducing household water usage. It smells good too.
The use of water less cleaner is one more option I can use to preserve the appearance of my cars. And as I have always said, preservation is much more important than future restoration. Cheaper too. A new car is designed to be out in the weather, have you ever seen a storage lot full of brand new cars waiting to be delivered to their dealers? Rows and rows of spanking new cars sitting outside exposed to the elements, usually covered in a thick coast of dust!
Modern cars are painted in very durable finishes. The paint will, with minimal upkeep, continue to look great for many years. If you trade your car in every few years, you might never be concerned with paint damage. Once the car reaches the age of six or seven years you're past the "grace period" and gradual deterioration is going to accelerate.
However, if you buy a ten year or older vehicle, you need to stop the deterioration, and reverse the process.
The good news is that it is quite possible to bring most vehicles back to very good cosmetic condition.
For the enthusiast it's worth the time and effort, the condition of a car tells a lot about the owner.
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