Washing Cars in MD

weezal657 · 07-07-2011, 07:00 PM

I wonder why I even bother washing my car in Maryland! Every time I decide to spend the extra time and detail my car not 5 hours later it starts to pour down rain. I think that someone is out to get me.

fjpthree · 07-07-2011, 07:53 PM

Where in MD? I am in Bel Air and today was the first rain in 2 weeks.

shadoquad · 07-07-2011, 07:57 PM

Haha I actually took a towel out there to wipe it down while it was soaking wet.

Kirkster · 07-07-2011, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadoquad

Haha I actually took a towel out there to wipe it down while it was soaking wet.

Hopefully a soapy towel... Your car needs a good bath!!!

OldGuy · 07-07-2011, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weezal657

I wonder why I even bother washing my car in Maryland! Every time I decide to spend the extra time and detail my car not 5 hours later it starts to pour down rain. I think that someone is out to get me.

Same thing here, in western Pennsylvania. I check weather channel every night and most nights just shake my head and say, "Well, another rain day tomorrow---yet another day the Z spends in the garage."

Methodical4u · 07-08-2011, 02:38 AM

over on the Eastern Shore Md and it does the same thing to me... just give it a good coat of sealant or wax and when it rains just wash and dry it... all you can really do.

weezal657 · 07-08-2011, 07:40 AM

I live in the Columbia, MD area and I swear it seems like every other day it is raining.

lazywolfe · 07-08-2011, 08:15 AM

Weather here sucks. Now that I have the roadster, I'm hyper aware of weather like when I used to ride motorcycles. And it always seems like its freakin raining here.

weezal657 · 07-08-2011, 08:23 AM

Whats funny is I never noticed how much it rained until I got my Z a couple weeks back, and now that I just spent a good chunk of change on Adams car cleaning stuff I am wondering if its worth spending the time every other week cleaning if the next day it rains.

lazywolfe · 07-08-2011, 10:24 AM

If you can, get a car cover. Definitely keeps it clean longer and once you get used to it, only takes a minute to put on.

shadoquad · 07-08-2011, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirkster

Hopefully a soapy towel... Your car needs a good bath!!!

Kirk, it's been two weeks since you've seen it!

Jeez, I get the point, it was dirty that morning.

weezal657 · 07-08-2011, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazywolfe

If you can, get a car cover. Definitely keeps it clean longer and once you get used to it, only takes a minute to put on.

I have been looking into getting a nice fitted cover just in case for the bad weather, especially snow. Just haven't found one that I like, but I was leaning towards:
Summit Racing Equipment | 1-800-230-3030

lazywolfe · 07-08-2011, 12:28 PM

That's the same cover I have. The NOAH Block-It.
It was around $200 including shipping. I've had it for 2 months or so now.
I don't know how it'll stand up to snow, but it's lightweight and the water evaporates quickly off the surface.
Mine also came with a storage bag, so when I go for a ride, I take it off, put it in the bag, then pop the bag in my trunk and I'm off.

weezal657 · 07-08-2011, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazywolfe

That's the same cover I have. The NOAH Block-It.
It was around $200 including shipping. I've had it for 2 months or so now.
I don't know how it'll stand up to snow, but it's lightweight and the water evaporates quickly off the surface.
Mine also came with a storage bag, so when I go for a ride, I take it off, put it in the bag, then pop the bag in my trunk and I'm off.

Thanks, that's great to know I was wondering how people liked it. How thick is it? Say the area got like a light hail or sleet does it seem like it would offer pretty good protection?

As far as dumb questions go, I know you haven't had it that long, but to anyone:
Say it did snow and I had to cover on would I be able to, using a normal scraper, scrape off the snow off of the cover enough to get it off without hurting the paint or scratching the paint? I guess that would go into how much protection from the snow does it give and how hard it would be to take it off after a heavy snow. I only ask because mine will be an outside car and my primary car so it will get hit with all the snow and weather that may come.

lazywolfe · 07-08-2011, 01:27 PM

It's not as thick as a quilt, but more than a blanket. Only a guess, but if there was light hail that might slightly dent the car if it was just unprotected, then maybe this cover would prevent that from happening.

If it snowed, I'd think you'd just brush the car off, but not use the scrapper, and then peel the cover off the car (assuming it didn't somehow freeze to the car?)

One issue might be if its wet, thick snow and you let it sit on the car, then the cover may not be able to breathe so moisture might build up on the paint underneath. So I plan to get the snow off as quickly as possible. Also because I have the soft top and I'm worried about it caving in, but you dont have to worry about that.

If you come to one of the meetups or go on the Thurmont cruise, I'll show it to you.

07-07-2011, 07:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
weezal657 Base Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: MD Posts: 51 Drives: 09' 370Z PG Touring Rep Power: 13	Washing Cars in MD I wonder why I even bother washing my car in Maryland! Every time I decide to spend the extra time and detail my car not 5 hours later it starts to pour down rain. I think that someone is out to get me.

07-08-2011, 12:28 PM	#13 (permalink)
lazywolfe Base Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: MD Posts: 66 Drives: 2011 370z SR M6 Rep Power: 14	That's the same cover I have. The NOAH Block-It. It was around $200 including shipping. I've had it for 2 months or so now. I don't know how it'll stand up to snow, but it's lightweight and the water evaporates quickly off the surface. Mine also came with a storage bag, so when I go for a ride, I take it off, put it in the bag, then pop the bag in my trunk and I'm off. Last edited by lazywolfe; 07-08-2011 at 12:30 PM.

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07-07-2011, 07:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
fjpthree Base Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Maryland Posts: 67 Drives: 09 Touring/Sport/Nav Rep Power: 13	Where in MD? I am in Bel Air and today was the first rain in 2 weeks.

07-07-2011, 07:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
shadoquad A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: . Posts: 42,608 Drives: . Rep Power: 3886	Haha I actually took a towel out there to wipe it down while it was soaking wet.

07-08-2011, 02:38 AM	#6 (permalink)
Methodical4u A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,393 Drives: 11 370 6mt pw w/sp Rep Power: 15	over on the Eastern Shore Md and it does the same thing to me... just give it a good coat of sealant or wax and when it rains just wash and dry it... all you can really do.

07-08-2011, 07:40 AM	#7 (permalink)
weezal657 Base Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: MD Posts: 51 Drives: 09' 370Z PG Touring Rep Power: 13	I live in the Columbia, MD area and I swear it seems like every other day it is raining.

07-08-2011, 08:15 AM	#8 (permalink)
lazywolfe Base Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: MD Posts: 66 Drives: 2011 370z SR M6 Rep Power: 14	Weather here sucks. Now that I have the roadster, I'm hyper aware of weather like when I used to ride motorcycles. And it always seems like its freakin raining here.

07-08-2011, 08:23 AM	#9 (permalink)
weezal657 Base Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: MD Posts: 51 Drives: 09' 370Z PG Touring Rep Power: 13	Whats funny is I never noticed how much it rained until I got my Z a couple weeks back, and now that I just spent a good chunk of change on Adams car cleaning stuff I am wondering if its worth spending the time every other week cleaning if the next day it rains.

07-08-2011, 10:24 AM	#10 (permalink)
lazywolfe Base Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: MD Posts: 66 Drives: 2011 370z SR M6 Rep Power: 14	If you can, get a car cover. Definitely keeps it clean longer and once you get used to it, only takes a minute to put on.

07-08-2011, 01:27 PM	#15 (permalink)
lazywolfe Base Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: MD Posts: 66 Drives: 2011 370z SR M6 Rep Power: 14	It's not as thick as a quilt, but more than a blanket. Only a guess, but if there was light hail that might slightly dent the car if it was just unprotected, then maybe this cover would prevent that from happening. If it snowed, I'd think you'd just brush the car off, but not use the scrapper, and then peel the cover off the car (assuming it didn't somehow freeze to the car?) One issue might be if its wet, thick snow and you let it sit on the car, then the cover may not be able to breathe so moisture might build up on the paint underneath. So I plan to get the snow off as quickly as possible. Also because I have the soft top and I'm worried about it caving in, but you dont have to worry about that. If you come to one of the meetups or go on the Thurmont cruise, I'll show it to you.