550isport

I am very anal about cleaning the car, particularly for someone in CT not southern Cali. My sapphire black 550 is without a doubt the hardest car to clean I have ever owned. Even after you wash it and blow dry it (backpack leaf blower) you can see streaks in the paint etc... There is one issue that is killing me:

How do you prevent/minimize/deal with the water drips on the front and rear edge of the front doors!! I blow the car dry here folks with 100+ mph wind. It gets water out of everywhere, mirrors, gas tank, trunk etc... But without fail drive the car for 30 seconds and water will drip down the side sills at the back and front edge of the front doors. I tried putting a towel in these locations and closing the door for a few minutes to soak up water. Didn't work. If anyone is wondering why this is such a big deal, anyone with a black or dark blue car could back me up. The rest of your car is clean and then this water drip causes a water stains on your rocker panels, which is compounded by the fact that the water picks up dust as you drive, so within a few miles, your freshly clean car has brown skid marks on the rockers. Has anyone overcome this niggling phenomenon??

Sorry for the semantics, but if I can't get any sympathetic and constructive feedback from this board, I can't get it anywhere...

Regards,
DRP

UUronL

Why not just drive up and down the street, re-park... wipe. Repeat as necessary.

Torquey5

jsal

Here is my list of recommendations from having dark cars and talking to many detailers. Of course, there are many options and opinions:

To help prevent the water streak problem - number 1 is use SOFT water. I have a seperate soft water hose bib for washing cars versus watering plants. When you do get minor drips after the fact, most likely you will not notice them. The hard water spots are very noticeable and a pain.

I go back and dry those spots a couple of times. Then if I am going to drive right away, I take my towel with me to hit the streaks if they appear. Or, when I get back home, re-wipe with a damp towel.

Other things to consider with a dark car to minimize the swirl marks (which will come over time), which I apologize if I am repeating things you already know:

- spray car first before hand washing
- use soft wool wash mit.
- wash from top down and use a different mit for rocker panels, bumpers, and wheels
- dry with micro fiber towels (one wet/damp, then hit with one fairly dry

The little bit of dirt or dust that can get on the towels/mits is what will contribute to the swirl marks.

And, lastely a California Car Duster for removing the very noticable dust that will appear about an hour after you wash your car.

Hope this helps.

ALTANertive

Either invest in a soft water unit like mentioned above or an air compressor so you can blow the water out.

aybeesea

ABC

ericdbs

i use a Dust Off, computer cleaner..that has thAt thin straw and the nozzle and i blast air into the creases in a left to right direction... and that gets all the water out ..and if there is any left over after i drive ...i dust then spray wax....hope this helps..ericd

the-oneil

I am exactly like you, so I bought a Silver car and never looked back

tachyon

DRP -

I know exactly what you are talking about: between the doors it runs down onto the side sill. I usually keep the doors open for a while after washing to allow as much water to drain away as possible. Wipe the underside of the doors with a towel - several times. Even then, it still drips some.

I also always have water left over in the side mirrors and it sprays onto the doors too. I just use a quick detail spray (Zaino Z-6) after the first drive on those spots and all is good thereafter.

gpt

I had the same problem. I now open all the doors and wipe down every nook and cranny inside the doors. More often than not it alleviates the problem. I do however, get the water dripping from the mirrors and have to clean that up after I stop. I feel your pain.