Quote:
Originally Posted by sofrsnsokleen
When I first got my car i was obsessed with keeping it clean and scratch free etc.
Then i accidentally ran over a cement parking brick thing and gave up.
It's a losing battle, and if you drive it daily, you're risking it getting far worse than scratches every single time you drive it.
Just enjoy the car, scratches and dings suck, but they happen, even if you're the greatest driver on earth.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Celica00
Not at all. I typically like to wash my car at least twice a week, but it's more of a therapeutic activity than anything else.
There's nothing wrong with doing what you can to keep what you own in great condition. Just don't be neurotic about it!
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I don't claim to be right but common sense tells me washing too often will erode away the clear coat/paint finish faster than washing less often (if the water you use contains minerals and/or you spray with pressure).
I believe most of the dust that accumulates on my car is rubber tire particles and only wash when a layer is visible. I used to be more obsessed with a previous car. Always kept the paint finish glass smooth using a clay bar periodically. I never used a nozzle on the hose and turned it on only to a low pressure stream. I would hold the hose directly above the area I was washing and let the water flow straight down using only the pressure of gravity. Water would sheet over as if my car's surface were hydrophobic. If any water broke up on the surface and didn't sheet that meant it was time to clay bar again.
Then I got into '90s MR2s where it's nearly impossible to find examples with perfect paint. So my standards went down to accept paint that serves its function of preventing rust and try to maintain the clear coat with a polymer wax just for aesthetics. But I'm ok with letting dust build up so long as it doesn't mix with moisture (atmospheric acids) and not sit so long to prevent etching away of clear coat. And I quit claybarring lol.