# my clean car gets dirty too quickly



## eyeoftheworld (Dec 13, 2010)

hi

I'm not a professional detailer just an enthusiastic clean freak so please go easy on me and would appreciate any advice or recommendations you may have for me. Everything i know i've learnt from experience and the products i use now are based on trial and error...what works best.


Normally when I wash my car I then follow it up with Meguiars NXT wax which is a polymer. In between I will use meguiars quick wax and quick detailer mist and wipe. I also clean my alloys with fuchs off and recently have applied autoglym's wheel wax. The interior is cleaned using armorall(can be used an rubber,plastic,vinyl) or meguiars. My car is a black magic Fabia vRS diesel and it has the off cream/black seats and i've discovered safest way to clean them is using autoglym upholstery cleaner as it doesn't leave water marks.I use micro fibre cloths(green for glass and interior. Blue for waxing) and meguiars round pads for waxing exterior

I washed my car last friday with meguiars gold class champoo, diluting 4 capfuls into a almost 10 ltr bucket of warm water.I used 2 large standard sponges for the application of the shampoo. Normally what I do is I use one sponge for the dirtier lower sills and bumper area and the other for the rest of the car. I dried my car off with meguiars water magnet which I find to be the best when it comes to drying it off. I then cleaned the windscreen using sonex glass cleaner which i believe is a very good product. I applied 3m Stainless steel cleaner (a freebie courtesy of 3M's sales manager) to clean and shine my exhaust. Very good product and easy to apply. I also have meguiars metal polish but its more of a paste than a spray so harder to apply imo.

The following day I took a 110 mile trip to southampton and then in the evening came back home. I noticed many other cars on the motorway seemed to be so clean and even their number plates were devoid of dirt. I inspected mine sunday morning and couldn't believe how much dirt had accumulated on mine and it had white streaks on the bonnet and the rear was the worst. My number plate had black soot like particles on it and the rear glass needed a good few minuts of cleaning with sonex glass cleaner to remove black dirt that was on it.

My questions are this: How come many cars I see out and about are virtually dirt free? number plates fairly clean compared to mine? It could be that they are washing and waxing their cars weekly but i'm experienced enough to know this is unlikely. Most people I work with and others don't even know how to check the oil and seldom check tyre pressures. For joe public washing their car maybe a once a month thing. I check mine weekly and do my own servicing usually. Sorry...i'm not trying to come across as arrogant. Point i'm trying to make is i'm very meticulous when it comes to my car and I have been known to spend a full day cleaning and waxing it. Yet it still seems to get dirty (in this weather only I mean) and the body work covered in black soot, glass and number plate dirty etc. Are these people with clean cars on the motorways using some special unique formulation and have a band of umpa lumpas who apply it to their cars when they get home?:speechles Sometimes it does seem like that to me.

I do consider that I wash and wax my car more fastidiously than the average owner. Many people have asked me whether my car's just been resprayed after i've washed it.

Could I use different(better) products? or should I take mine down to the car wash like everyone else in this current climate?
I tend not to bother with car washes because they are too expensive(£25 and up for a wash and wax) and the ones i've witnessed do not do a proper job. They also contaminate their polishing cloths by using them on pretty much everything else(tables, other people's cars, equipment).yuck.


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## Jonas & Jonas (Nov 18, 2010)

I'm about to buy a pressure washer for the very same reason. The idea being get the car sealed with a good wax and blast it with a pressure washer every time its been out, then it can dry in the garage. 

Thats my solution, I'm sure one of the pros will have a better idea?


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## johnnyguitar (Mar 24, 2010)

Trying to compare your car with another car on the motorway, without knowing the circumstances of the uses of the other cars, especially if you don't know how far/fast/where they have been driven, when they were last cleaned and lots and lots of other factors. You drove your car on a 220 mile round trip on a winter road which was presumably damp, mucky and covered in salt grit, etc



eyeoftheworld said:


> Are these people with clean cars on the motorways....


Doing about 20 or 30 miles per day, at a time when there is less traffic on the road, producing less spray or when the sun (if there is any) has partially evaporated the moisture on the road - there are too many factors to consider. You could try a better sealant that may sheet dirty water off your car more effectively, but if you want to use your car, no matter what you use, it's bound to get dirty.


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## Dixondmn (Oct 12, 2007)

blasting it with a pressure washer every time it goes out might be abit OCD even for this forum! - unless your garage is heated you can forget any idea of it drying in there.... garages aren't the best place to leave a wet car.... especially if you've just forced water into places water has no business


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## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)

another thing to consider is the distance you are away from cars when travelling on the motorway. With your own car you are looking at it very closely, if you walk about 20m away and look at your own car and compare it to the one that its next to your car will probably look cleaner than the other.


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## Millz (Oct 21, 2010)

As above comments. If you drive your car, it's going to get dirty. Sealant/Wax helps, but in winter especially there's nothing you can do but wash it again. There is no miracle solution unfortunately.

As Johnnyguitar has already said though, 220 mile trip is going to guarantee your car will be filthy. Other people will have probably thought "I wonder how his car is so clean" about yours after you just pulled on the motorway as well.


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## Parafilm (Jun 6, 2010)

Yeah I agree with above posters. I washed mine at the weekend then after doing about 50 miles it was filthy again. 
It really depends on how often/far you drive and the sort of roads you drive on. I live in Yorkshire so near me there are alot of little b-roads that are absolutely filthy so i dont have to go very far to get a dirty car. Some people you see may only drive on more main roads that might dry out quicker and so kick up less crud.
At the end of the day all you can really do in this weather is try to stay far back from the car infont kicking up a load of crap, and remember applying whatever products to your car will make it much easier to clean on a week by week basis than it would if you just left it.

Just try not to let it destroy your soul!

And the dirt on a car also has alot to do with the airflow over and around a car, small hatchbacks tend to get very dirty at the back as the airflow pulls the dirt back onto the car. Its very interesting to see the patterns made... if you're into that sort of thing...


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## Tweak (Sep 17, 2010)

I'm in the same boat as you my friend. I just gave up (as painful as it was), I'm waiting for better weather before I put in another whole day cleaning. Freezing my nuts off cleaning a car for it to be dirty again within 2 days just doesn't seem to be worth it to me.
Plus I need more towels and other goodies, so it gives me time to get them lol.


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## eyeoftheworld (Dec 13, 2010)

thanks all for the comments. I see where you're coming from on this and there's alot of sense in it. I just get a bit upset when I see my beloved so dirty. No matter what car I own, I always try to protect the paint.

She's garaged at the moment now but sadly its not heated. Can wax be applied in cold conditions? 

can anyone recommend me a better wheel wax/sealant than the Autoglym? and perhaps a better longer lasting but glossy wax(and easy to apply)? i've heard of names like collinite being mentioned before.

I've heard 3M do a wax where you spray it on and wipe off within seconds. I believe Paul from Miracle detail uses this and claims it is good. It's quite a bit cheaper than most other waxes. Meguiars NXT wax is near on £20 for a 500ml bottle.


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

I would maybe go down the collinite or fk paste wax for this weather. Saying that mine wears glasur all year round. Some waxes I have noticed let dirt cling more than others, no idea why but I have some waxes which I prefer to use in certain weathers. 

I guess the slippery you can make the surface the less likelyhood of cling ? 

Have you done all the prior claying, polishing, cleansing etc ?


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## pete5570 (Jun 11, 2010)

If you want a wax that is easy to use and very fast, try Optimum car wax. It's a spray wax that give a fantastic finish and is the easiest wax i've ever used, you can do a whole car in 10 minutes. Also try ONR for very fast cleaning.


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

Yeah as pete said I would swap to optimum wax it is much better than megs fast wax imho.


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## eyeoftheworld (Dec 13, 2010)

thanks i will give this a go.

I have read that you can use any wax to protect the wheels, so there is no need for a specific product like i'm using the autoglym wheel wax.,Is this true?


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## David.S (Dec 27, 2009)

Live in the country can go a mile down the rd nd the car looks like it hasnt been cleaned for weeks


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## d00bie (Aug 28, 2006)

I recently put mud flaps on my car to try to minimise the mud + tar being 'flung' up the sides of it. I don't think theyve made a bit of a difference tho, I guess it's just something you have to accept at this time of year. All you can do, is take measures to minimise the inevitable.


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

As said above - ONR prob best for the inbetween stuff


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

My favourite is a hot pressure wash, but you really need to wash the salt off as well I believe like others you just kinda have to forget about it in this weather. Just give it the best wash you can at the weekends keep the wax up and your doing the best you can


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## polishyourcar (Oct 2, 2010)

You cant really compare against other cars as there are a lot of different factors.
Maybe give a different wax/sealant like collinite a go.


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## CliveP (Feb 1, 2009)

Look at it like this - if they didn't get dirty quickly, we couldn't have all that pleasure of returning them to perfection quite so regularly! As said above loads of factros why one car can look sparkling clean on the motorway than your own car.....

Regards,
Clive.


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## farhanali89 (Oct 10, 2010)

ah dude i feel your paint its the winter nothing can be done about it. I washed my car sunday, Foam, TBM, applied aqua wax as a top up. I have not used a sealent at all since my respray but just topped it with aqua wax. As soon as i drove home from work 30 miles a day...I had dirt on my windscreen, used the wipers it was wiping dirt all over the place. 

Its now tuesday the bottom of the car is filthy....My rear wheels are filthy and my car a FWD, nothing can be done its just the weather just keep up with washing weekly if you can at best


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## jonjay (Feb 28, 2008)

I dont think any amount of protection can stop a car getting dirty in the winter months. 

Its an unfortunate fact of life we all have to live with. 

We protect the cars precisely for this reason so the dirt doesnt do any damage to the paintwork and its easier to clean.


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## RCZ (Aug 13, 2010)

After giving the car a good clean at the weekend, a short journey had the sides looking filthy; thankfully the splashes were still wet when I got home so I just gave them a quick shower with a watering can. Made a big difference. Wouldn't really work if they'd had chance to dry out though.


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## MilesBetter (Aug 9, 2010)

Another vote for ONR and Optimum Spay Wax as the super easy to apply option. Or put a winter armour jacket of Colly or FKP on - takes a little extra effort but more durabale and last longer. But then Optimum is so qiickand easy to apply and top-up then durability isnt a problem,can do a car in minutes

Previoulsy on my White Evo/ White Wheels I was using ONR / Opti-Seal toped with the spray wax and maintained with OID /ONR QD. I made up my own post wash drying aid/qd and protection top up by mixing a formula of ONR/OID/Spray Wax in a spray bottle. 

I hear they have just released Opti-Clean, so like the PB's Spray and Wipe I guess,and fillsthe gap between ONR QD and OID


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## lingus (Apr 14, 2008)

I would seriously consider you using Megs Ultimate Quik Wax or Prima Hydro if you want to keep that just waxed look, i use it all the time on my Phantom Black TTr, not only does it hide swirls but it saves me doing a full wax a lot of the time.

Jeff


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## athol (Oct 3, 2009)

I've got in the habit of just rinsing the car down when I get to work (luckily they have hose pipes) and again at home at night(again with hose pipe) just to try and rinse some of the light crud/muck of the car. Seems to be working so far, as its still looking fairly clean after a week since its last clean.


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## Nika (Feb 19, 2012)

if you guys are complaining what should i say? i live in Romania and after 50 km the car looks like this:


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Holy old thread Batman! :lol:


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

I don't know the answer to this thread, but the cars you see have properly been washed, but on the other hand others might look at yours and think yours is clean.


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