Paint Protection, Car Washing

[MrMoo]

Hello all, so this is the third thread I have now made about M3's. My apologies I am clearly very excited and lots of questions

Anyways onto business. Can i get a few opinions on

1. Paint Protection
I am probably looking to keep the car beyond the 5 year mark so lets say 5-7 years. Now how essential is paint protection here? I honestly feel the interior of a 5-7 year old car is what will make it feel old rather than the exterior. Is it something I should even be looking into or should I just let it slide?

I am very careful with my belongings but I do not have such an attention to detail that i Notice things like swirls in my paint during dodgy wash jobs. I would think there are more cars on the road without paint protection than there are with.

2. Car Washes
I live in a unit with an underground parking, personal hand washes by myself are pretty much impossible. I know a lot of people on these forums are against hand washes by car wash companies but seeing as I have almost no real option what else can i do? Does anyone think this really matters?

My only alternative is to drive 1 hour down to my parents place and wash it there as they have a house. Then drive back home 2 hour drive all up (Not very scenic) to hand wash my car lol. Thoughts?

[FlagBonz]

mobile hand wash service?

[MrMoo]

Originally Posted by FlagBonz

mobile hand wash service?

1. Wow i did not even know such a thing existed. Thumbs up , learnt something new today =)

2. Would a mobile hand wash service give a similar result as a normal car wash that uses hand wash? I would expect they put in the same amount of effort just charge you more?

[JoeFromPA]

If you live in a warmish climate and are willing to bring a bucket with 3 gallons of water in it (about 24 pounds/11kg to carry) to your car, a really easy way to wash your own car is to mix 3 gallons of water in a bucket with optimum no rinse car wash and a clean wash mitt. You don't need two buckets, nor all 5 gallons, as some on here my advocate - unless your car is absolutely filthy with caked on mud/salt.

[MrMoo]

If i had the option of doing the bucket water thing at home I would but unfortunately its a shared underground parking lot, strictly no car washing allowed there =(

Does anyone live in a unit and have my issue?

[GlobalScientist]

Get a portable pressure washer that can plug from your car...

[///REWO]

How about a coin operated carwash? You could use the pressure washer and bring your own washmits. Just don't use the brushes at the carwash

[MrMoo]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I did lots of research because i read on these forums about the coin operated car washers, where you can wash your own car, hands free washing etc but unfortunately in Australia these things do not exist? or if they do they are very very far and in between.

In the end i decided i'de opt for hand washing the car myself or maybe after a year or two when the initial love for the car had died down just give it to others to wash.

I made a little list of what i will be getting. There is a auto shop nearby which should sell the majority of it. Will be an interesting skill to learn and could be fun to wash the car in the afternoon. Maybe spend some time with the folks.

P.S I looked into a pressure washer but i am slightly concerned at such high pressures it would damage the paint work? There was a post where the guy chipped off some of his front bumper paint from a pressure hose. Scary!

[originalgoods13]

MrMoo

Rule #1 is not to let others wash your vehicle
Rule #2 is not to let others wash your vehicle

anyways, I have a Black Sapphire Metallic and I am strict on 2-bucket method hand wash and blow dry after.

If you are a detailed person, I would suggest getting the front end 3M'ed or XPel, clear plastic film coating, and the rest of the car to apply nano coating like CQuartz, 22ple, Opti-Coat, GTechniq

These nano coats are semi-permanent and can protect your paint against minor swirls and scratches up to 3 years!

[IMMLaw]

Originally Posted by originalgoods13

MrMoo

Rule #1 is not to let others wash your vehicle
Rule #2 is not to let others wash your vehicle

anyways, I have a Black Sapphire Metallic and I am strict on 2-bucket method hand wash and blow dry after.

If you are a detailed person, I would suggest getting the front end 3M'ed or XPel, clear plastic film coating, and the rest of the car to apply nano coating like CQuartz, 22ple, Opti-Coat, GTechniq

These nano coats are semi-permanent and can protect your paint against minor swirls and scratches up to 3 years!

+1 on everything said here.

Got my car on the full-front end with Xpel Ultimate and CQuartz the entire thing. Never looked back, great investment.

[MSPM4]

Originally Posted by originalgoods13

MrMoo

Rule #1 is not to let others wash your vehicle
Rule #2 is not to let others wash your vehicle

anyways, I have a Black Sapphire Metallic and I am strict on 2-bucket method hand wash and blow dry after.

If you are a detailed person, I would suggest getting the front end 3M'ed or XPel, clear plastic film coating, and the rest of the car to apply nano coating like CQuartz, 22ple, Opti-Coat, GTechniq

These nano coats are semi-permanent and can protect your paint against minor swirls and scratches up to 3 years!

What do you use for product ?? I too have the black sapphire and will be doing the 2 bucket/blow dry system once it warms up here.

[originalgoods13]

Originally Posted by MSPM4

What do you use for product ?? I too have the black sapphire and will be doing the 2 bucket/blow dry system once it warms up here.

MSPM4

For washing, you have to use quality shampoo, quality mitt (at least 2 or 3 pairs on 1 wash session) and pre-rinse as much as you can. For drying, I blow dry using a clean Shop Vac, and since my vehicle is coated with 2 layers of nano coat, the water beads so much easier during drying.

I mainly use Menzerna for paint correction and sealant, CarPro Reset intensive shampoo, and GTechniq C1 and top it off with GTechniq EXO V2 hybrid coating

GTechniq nanocoating

I also have 3M full coverage at the front bumper, hood, and fenders.

Approximate for money spent
$900 for 3M paint protection film
$900 for paint correction and sealant

Not bad at all

[MrMoo]

Originally Posted by originalgoods13

MrMoo

Rule #1 is not to let others wash your vehicle
Rule #2 is not to let others wash your vehicle

anyways, I have a Black Sapphire Metallic and I am strict on 2-bucket method hand wash and blow dry after.

If you are a detailed person, I would suggest getting the front end 3M'ed or XPel, clear plastic film coating, and the rest of the car to apply nano coating like CQuartz, 22ple, Opti-Coat, GTechniq

These nano coats are semi-permanent and can protect your paint against minor swirls and scratches up to 3 years!

Thanks for the tips =) I actually did my very first wash last weekend. 2 bucket method. No time to do the rims unfortunately, they are starting to look a little bit bronze rather than black but ill do them in the next 2 weeks + the car again.

White is a bit harder to spot the swirls i think? Couldn't justify the paint protection cost for a non metallic paint =( But ill see how my paint / washing goes. If it does get swirly or worse I will just cough up the extra money for a detail + protection a few months down the track.

I am eager to learn more about this blow dry method? I am using micro waffle towels at the moment. Is the blow dry method just using a leaf blower or something and blowing the water off?

[originalgoods13]

Originally Posted by MrMoo

Thanks for the tips =) I actually did my very first wash last weekend. 2 bucket method. No time to do the rims unfortunately, they are starting to look a little bit bronze rather than black but ill do them in the next 2 weeks + the car again.

White is a bit harder to spot the swirls i think? Couldn't justify the paint protection cost for a non metallic paint =( But ill see how my paint / washing goes. If it does get swirly or worse I will just cough up the extra money for a detail + protection a few months down the track.

I am eager to learn more about this blow dry method? I am using micro waffle towels at the moment. Is the blow dry method just using a leaf blower or something and blowing the water off?

I said the same exact thing last year and I do regret not getting a nanocoat sooner as I have to deal with swirls and scratches (mostly from the dealer) and some RIDS (deeper scratches) I could not polish off.

Every event that you touch the paint surface, whether if you are using the most expensive mitt or shampoo, guarantees minor scratch which can accumulate over the years producing the swirl marks you see on dark vehicles on broad daylight.

Yes, you can use the blow dry method using a Shop Vac, leaf blower, Metro Blaster, etc anything that pushes air.

When you have a nanocoat sealant, it is so much easier blow drying at per the videos I posted.

Here is a good read on nanocoat

http://www.nanoman.com.au/howdoesitwork.html

[MatthewDavid]

What about touch-less car washes? That's just soap and water right

[nikolaos33]

I live in a condo and I use a lot of chemical guys Eco smart. You just spray and wipe off , and then buff for shine. If the car is too dirty I will go first to a touch free car wash just to rinse it off and then use the waterless car wash. You just need few good quality microfiber towels. There are a lot of waxes and sealants that you can apply I use menzerna products they are exceptional.