I go over it with the car duster, then quick detailer with micro-fiber cloth.
I did wash a few times early on but that was more of a PITA because of water spots on the under hood aluminum. Had to go back and polish that again. Double work..

California Duster followed by Meguires Quick Detailer. If I do wash the car (which is very seldom) I use a water deionizer and slowly rinse the car while having my wife hold a rolled up towel around the cockpit area I am washing. The towel will catch the water as long as you go slow.

I use a product from Griot's Garage called 'Speed Shine'. It's water based and works great with a micro fiber towel. I dust it first with a Calif. Duster. Never have to wash it again.

Dri Wash N Guard. I use this on all my cars and the shine is pretty good; better than any detailer IMHO.

http://www.waterlesscarwashproducts.com/store.php

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d.../justwaxed.jpg

Same as you and it works great.

If it has dried on bugs or something like that, I just wet a towel and lay it on them until they soften up and wipe them off.

X3!
For the 18 years this paint has been on the car.

Put the car back on the rotisserie that you used when you put your car together, roll upside down and the water will drip off the low points.

This is exactly what I do!!!! I don't have aluminum but this is what I do with my black Shelby Mustang 'vert too. It worked so well on the Mustang that I've just carried over to the Cobra.

There are some "dry wash" products that I might try.

I use wide blue painters tape to dam off the cockpit. Let it stick up about an inch or so. Doesn't stop all the water,but most.

Windex and old cloth diapers.

If it really needs a wash, I drive it through a good rain storm.

Seriously, the back fender dip into the interior is easily blocked by a rolled up towel for the most part...KISS.

You won't let Hoppy take it through a car-wash ? ;)

One wet towel, followed by the Absorber (in right hand) to get the heavy water and Soft towel (in left hand). No scratches, no water spots.

I wash mine once in the spring to clean off the old WET PAINT, then its just wet paint the rest of the year
joeg

Wow.

No offence guys, but after reading this thread I just want to :CRY: and bang my head against the wall. it's pretty obvious most of you don't know anything about proper detailing, even simple washing.

whenever you touch the paint, you're either improving it, or damaging it (i'm going to let damage be a very broad term here, meaning both scratches, as well as finer micro-marring like swirls and defects that only show up under direct sunlight or under a 3m sun gun/hallogen/fluorescent/brinkman/etc...)

in terms of washing, if you touch the paint without removing the heavily bonded on crap, and loosening the remainder, you're just rubbing the contaminants in and 'damaging' the paint.

one can argue about the best way to wash, but here is a basic way to minimize damage:

- rinse with a pressure washer to remove the heaviest particulates (a garden hose can't begin to compete; make sure p.w. is properly sized, like 2000pis and 2.4gpm; nothing stupid like one for etching concrete)

- foam lance the car to loosen the dirt; let dwell for 5-10minutes

- rinse the car again to remove the loose dirt

- rinse once more

- 2 bucket wash panel by panel (each bucket with a grit guard)

- rinse

- BLOT with a microfiber waffle weave towels. Do NOT use a waterblade, chamois, or anything that requires you to move across the paint. B-L-O-T.

If you have dust/dirt and apply anything, you're going to marr to swirl the surface. Not necessarily scratch, but the other two for certain. When you touch the paint, if there's any contaminants beneath you're just rubbing it in.


you're stripping oils and wax from the finish using that method. only use dish soap like dawn to strip it before you're going to clay and polish. and even then I wouldn't use it because it's going to strip out the oils. just say no to dish soap.

It may loosen the dirt, but you're chance of marring and micro-scratching with the bonded contaminants is pretty high.

If you've PROPERLY cleaned and prepped the vehicle, you can run the towel any way you want (e.g., in swirls, side to side, whatever). your "fine scratches" are VERY easy* to avoid with the PROPER washing technique. If you can swirls and fine scratches (which can easily be polished/compounded out), then you are NOT detailing your car properly.

*Since your paint is single stage black, you'll have a harder time - single stage is naturally very softer (easier to marr) than clearcoat; however, ss black is the worst of the worst, because its' naturally soft, and the carbon black pigment mixed with the resin when it's painted means soft paint diluted = realllllllllly soft final paint.

Originally Posted by Ron61
When I had mine I never used water on it. Most of us around here use a product called wet paint which doesn't scratch if you have some fine dust on it and leaves it slick and it gets a deeper shine every time you use it. And big clumps of dirt or mud, I just wiped off with a damp cloth. The wet paint also works great on the chrome.
Ron

If you have dust/dirt and apply anything, you're going to marr to swirl the surface. Not necessarily scratch, but the other two for certain. When you touch the paint, if there's any contaminants beneath you're just rubbing it in.

I had my car for over 10 years and I used a California duster on it before using the wet paint. I have had many people look at it out in the sun, shade, and every place, including Curt Scott of Cobra Country and they could not find any swirl or scratch marks. They did find the paint chips from the racing where I just touched them up with a rattle can and a toothpick, or in the case of larger ones, a small touch up brush. But being white even they didn't show up very bad. Curt Scott even complimented me on the color combination and said he hadn't seen one yet that he couldn't find some swirl marks or scratches in until then.
Ron :)

To be honest with you (not trying to bust your balls or anything :) ) most of the population, even car enthusiasts, don't know **** about detailing.

I've pointed out SEVERE hollogramming to people who just stare at me blankly and say 'yea, that's normal those markings there'. Since most people don't know how to remove hollogramming, swirls, micro-marring, etc..., over-time they start thinking everything but deep scratches is normal.

Plus your car is white; it's very difficult to find a lot of the defects I mentioned unless you're in the right angle and lighting......that's why I like silvers and yellows for my cars so much - very easy to hide and make look perfect to most people's eyes.

Of course the advantage there is that as long as you arn't looking at it 'properly' (which most people won't) you won't see them.....but I guarantee ya, come into my shop and I"ll use my sun gun and brinkman to make you cry for mercy when you see your paint's true condition =)

efnfast, I agree with you 100% about the proper procedure. I've watched some great detailers do their work and attempt to follow their procedures, though I'm a little gunshy using the pressure washer for fear of stripping or marring the paint.

I'm not an expert detailer, by any stretch, but just reading the thread makes me quiver a little too.

Don't be afraid of the pressure washer - I was until I used it, and saw how essentially it really is to stripping off the initial layesr of dirt which do the most damage to the paint. Just some pointers

- Don't buy an electric one; they crap out all the time and are basically throw-aways.

- Don't go for something 'stupid' (e.g., 3000+psi). Around 2000psi and 2.3-2.5gpm is perfect

- use the widest nozzel possible (I believe it's either 40 or 65, I can't remember). For stubborn dirt I'll go within about 6-7'' from the paint with the widest nozzel. No problems.

For example, using the widest nozzel and my washer (2000psi, 2.2 or 2.3gpm), if I hold the nozeel right up against a piece of wood with 15yr old paint that is flaking away, I can't strip it (paint) off. If you damage your paint on your vehicle, then something was VERY wrong in that area, like a bad repaint

In my view, even if you prefer to wash your Cobra, it's just not practical to use a pressure washer. You'll have water flying everywhere and a soaked interior.

Not really, the water is much better directed and you're actually using less water.
I recently used a pressure washer to remove the sand and dirt from CSX2321 aquired on our Cobra Tour, most of which was in the rain. ;)