Hello all. I’m here to talk about my favorite thing about my 03 G35 sedan which, aside from driving it like I stole it, is washing it!!

My G has 180K, is very stock, and has absolutely no rust. I think storage and washing habits contribute to this. This particular G grew up on the west coast, far far away from snow and salt. When I got her in 2016, she had 79K and I had to introduce her to New England daily driving in Maine.

So, washing. Please tell me how you wash yours, tips, tricks and observations. I never use public car washes and I don’t vacuum the interior. I use a leaf blower to clear the cabin of dust and debris. Open all four doors and blow one side right out the other. It works great.

I wash by hand, sometimes daily, in the early morning hazy Maine sun. I use a power washer hooked up to clean well water. I rinse and then hand wash with hot soapy/waxxy water and a clean sponge; then use the power washer to meticulously rinse and remove grime.

I use a clean bath towel to get most of the water off and then I use the sun and a soft white tee shirt to fully dry the car. I go around and around until it’s perfect with not a drip, or a water mark.

Then I let it bake in the sun for an hour or so before either taking her out or garaging her until I do. I use maguires trim restoration lotion in the interior and wow, what a difference! It also works great on keeping my tires nice and black looking. And it works awesome on the black molding down there by the tires. Mine used to be all faded and oxidized now it looks brand new and completes the “look” of the car.

 

Since you have a leaf blower and seem to enjoy washing your car, you should use a good wax/sealant on the paint and then use the leaf blower to blow dry the vehicle.

It sounds funny, but really works great, and keeps you from adding scratches to the clear coat/paint with a towel.

Just make sure the leaf blower is clean, and try not to hit the car with the blower/cord as you move around it.

 

I use a leaf blower to clean the INSIDE of the car lol, way easier to just blow all the dust off than to go through literally every nook and cranny with a brush. Then wipe it down with 303 Aero protectant

 

The leaf blower also becomes an effective tool in blowing all the pollen off a clean car parked during pollen season. Which is close. No better way to get that yellow off but with a blower.

 

Visit detailedimage.com and refer to their "Detailing Guide"

 

Optimum No Rinse to wash either early or late in the day or in the garage. Only takes a couple gallons of water so it doesn't make a mess. Toss the bath towels, they are horrible for paint. Use good quality microfiber only. I've had my own detailing business for 28 years, almost every car I detail is washed with Optimum No Rinse. My car is ceramic coated, has Optimum Opti-Coat Pro 3 which is only available to certified Optimum coating installers. But they do have Gloss Coat which is available to consumers and lasts 2-3 years. Solution Finish on the trim, typically lasts several months.



6 year old Opti-Coat on this Tesla Model S. Has 122,000 miles on it too so it doesn't just sit in a garage. The front door is unwashed, the rest with ONR (Optimum No Rinse). It cleans way better than you might think it does. Also a lot quicker. Wash a section at a time, move on to the next. You go around the car once. After you get the process down, it shouldn't take more than 30-45 minutes to wash the car and clean the wheels, wheel wells and jambs.

 

I’m sure it’s the best thing since sliced bread but I can’t get into doing no-rinse, low-water washes. I have unlimited clean spring water, Maine sun, a huge driveway, Maguires ultimate wash & wax, and a power washer. I’ve got it down to a science.

 

I didn’t mention this in my OP but I find that the G35 (mine anyway) evacuates water very well and does not tend to trap it, causing rust and rot issues. Just as important as washing is drying. So my G evacuates water well but you gotta help her by keeping those water escape paths clear of pine needles etc. For me the sun is invaluable in fully drying not just the surface (wiping in the sun with moist clean microfiber) but the water logged engine bay, in the door jams and anywhere else the water thinks it can hide hide out from me to cause destructive issues. Final step of course is the clean car cruise where air does the rest of the job leaving your car clean and absolutely bone dry. Oh and I 3m kitted my headlights! 🤩

 

If I had to go back to washing my own and customer's cars with a hose, I would quit the business. Seriously. If you like the way you wash your car, that's fine. But I do this for a living and using a rinseless wash saves me at least an hour on every detail and allows me to spend the time on paint correction. The real results aren't from a really long wash process but claying and then properly polishing the paint. That's what really makes it glow! You asked for input, there ya go!

 

I was going to look into buying a foam cannon but maybe I'll try this instead. What's your suggestion for tire dressing?

 

I was VERY skeptical about it at first, eventually I decided to try it out because I was getting lazy.

I'm not kidding, I should have switched to ONR literally years/decades ago, it's so much easier and does such a better job. Not exaggerating at all, it's literally easier and better... I can never go back to using a hose ever again, and my water only costs me my electricity to pump it out of the ground so it's VERY cheap for me to do so.

 

I’m not opposed to trying it or seeing it performed on a car but it’s my understanding that a process/product like this (no rise low water washes) is for folks with limited space, limited water, and with energy conservation issues. I have none of these issues and there is no watery mess on a sun drenched seal coated driveway. So why would somebody like me forsake the incomparable surface cleanliness that comes with a power washer and extreme attention to detail? Another reason I am not using a product like that is that this is Maine in the summer where it’s extremely buggy. A short drive will gut up your windshield and your front end pretty fast. Grossness. Only a power washer, soap and a sponge can deal with this and restore windshield glass to “like new” appearance from inside.

 

Try a product called "Pinnacle Glasscoat" on the windshield. It's basically a super good version of RainX. Makes cleaning up the bug mess a lot easier.

I also use Opti-Seal on my paint after I wash because it helps a ton with the bugs on the paint.

If those bugs sit for a month though then nothing is going to help, I swear bug guts are the key ingredient in 2 part epoxy.

 

So I’m constantly debugging the car.

Sometimes daily. Obviously not in winter.

But otherwise you can’t call it clean.

 

Ok I should clarify since I literally just washed my car, I do use the hose one time at the start to pre-spray off dirt. Once I start in with the 2 bucket method and ONR though the hose is done done. No need for a final rinse.

I wash about 1/3 of the car, then dry that third, next third, dry, final third, final dry. I don't have the patience to actually wash/dry 1 panel at a time.

Normally I use 1 dip of the mit and wash a section of panel. Then 2 bucket rinse/repeat the same panel, my order is:

-Left half of roof, left half front window, left half rear window
-Left half of the hood, left front fender
-Left side windows and door

Then dry those panels, next is:

-Left rear quarterpanel, trunk lid
-Rear of car, yeah it's sort of a small section but it's always the dirtiest
-Right roof, other half front window, other half rear window

Dry those panels, next:

-Right rear quarterpanel, right door window glass
-Right door
-Right half of hood, right fender
-Grill and front fascia

Final dry of panels.

Overall once I have my buckets full it takes me about 10 minutes to wash, I'm quick, it's not super thorough, I don't care

Then I hit the glass with Pinnacle Glasscoat, INCLUDING THE WIPER BLADES where the rubber hits the window.

Wipe everything non-glass down with Opti-seal.

Go back over the Glasscoat with a microfiber.

Go back over the non-glass with a microfiber very quickly to hit any rainbow haze spots from the Opti-seal, if you use too much it will be slightly streaky and rainbow-y.

Start to finish I can get it all done in just under 30 minutes, it's not a perfect detailing obviously, I just want it to look amazing from 5ft away. Consecutive weeks of using the Opti-seal makes it EXTREMELY easy to keep clean, nothing sticks to that stuff once you have like 3 layers on. The bottle says it's supposed to last for a couple months but it's so quick and easy to apply after each wash and it's cheap, a $20 bottle will last you a full year if you wash weekly.