Tips on washing the GT

[Derry]

I took delivery of my GT last night and have not stopped smiling, what a car. I do have a question about washing the car with the venting for the engine cover. Any good tips for keeping soapy water off of the engine? Better to wash with cover open? Any other care tips are greatly appreciated.

Derry

 

[bigdan40]

:cheers Congrat Derry! I dry wash my GT. If it has a lot of dust on it I'll blow it off with an air compresser and then wipe it down with a lightly soaped chamois then wipe it down again with a warm water (no soap) chamois. Maybe I'm crazy but it works for me! I then dry it with those micro fiber cloths, they work great. If you don't plan on driving your car in the weather like myself, it should be easy to maintain. Best of Luck and GO BILLS!!! BD40

 

[Neilda]

I have a slightly different routine! Don't we all?! :biggrin

Never wash a red hot car - warps discs for a start...

Wash with the engine cover closed, don't use a jet wash on the GT. Lightly dribble water from your hose onto the front part (as you don't want to jet water into the fans!). Then soap, then dry with chamois.

If the underside rear wheel arches, springs etc are mucky, I keep a dirty old sponge especially for the job to wipe clean (sponge really wet), rinse (with sponge only) and wipe clean again etc.

I don't run water anywhere near the engine bay.

One tip that I always follow is don't use a sponge on car paintwork - far better to use a facecloth type material (not sure what you'd call it over there - flannel type thing). Sponges trap grit - even with a good rinse out.

I would only ever remove dust with a hosepipe and cold water as some is very clingy with static and will scratch the paint.

Hope this helps.

STILL raining in London!! When will it ever end?! :ack

 

[Gierkink]

Neil,

Great washing tips but I'm sure you're not using a hose pipe these days! For the non-Brits a hose pipe is better known as a hose and there's a ban on using them in London right now. As a non-Brit myself I still haven't been able to fugure out how, after forty days and forty nights of consecutive rain, we can somehow be in the middle of a "dought"! Really! Thus we have a hose pipe ban!

Rob

 

[EasyEric]

First of all Derry, Congrats on the GT.

As Neil has indicated first the wet car thoroughly with a low pressure stream of water. This will eradicate most of the dirt and dust.

Next fill a pail with water and a little car washing liquid ( I use Zaino). Wash the car with this mixture, small sections at a time, thoroughly rinsing with low pressure water as you go along.

Dry using 100% made in America cotton towels. Chamois are great for drying but will strip wax!

I (and many other members on this site) swear by the Zaino Show Car Polish system. Go to their website here http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc for comprehensive care instructions for your cars exterior.

Washing my GT is a weekly ritual and a labor of love. Above all enjoy your new ride!

Eric

 

[barondw]

Don't use normal kitchen detergent as it generally removes wax. Use a specially made car shampoo Meguiars or similar (the cheaper the better) or Joy washing detergent found in any super market.

Apply to a wet surface , as Neil indicated. Bucket soap applicator should rest in a screen at the top of a bucket allowing heavy particles to fall to bottom. Change water if it becomes dirty.

USe a spray applicator on the end of a hose, for those that scratch things use a plastic spray tip otherwise metal is fine as it never get close to the car. Wash a section at a time starting with the top and work your way down rinsing section by section.

The engine compartment thing is a personal preference, my feeling is that a little water never hurt anything. Also I use a hose with a strong stream on the wheels wells ensuring they are grit free and then soap them and rinse again.

Dave

 

[Beach-GT]

Car Wash

I have not washed my 67 GT Mustang since 1980 when I restored it. I never run in the rain and all I do is dust it with a magic duster or wipe it with a wet chamois. I polish it (top and bottom) once a year whether it needs it or not. It lives under a cotton car cover in an airconditioned garage. Anyone seen a cotton cover for the GT?

 

[David Gencay]

dont forget to use 1 tablespoon of baking soda it nutrallizes the acid in the water then 1 tablespoon of cooking oil that way you wont scratch ther paint has indicated first the wet car thoroughly with a low pressure stream of water. This will eradicate most of the dirt and dust.

Next fill a pail with water and a little car washing liquid ( I use Zaino). Wash the car with this mixture, small sections at a time, thoroughly rinsing with low pressure water as you go along.

Dry using 100% made in America cotton towels. Chamois are great for drying but will strip wax!

I (and many other members on this site) swear by the Zaino Show Car Polish system. Go to their website here http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc for comprehensive care instructions for your cars exterior.

Washing my GT is a weekly ritual and a labor of love. Above all enjoy your new ride!

Eric[/QUOTE]

 

[Gene Cassone]

Interesting comments on washing. I own vintage Alfas and Ferraris. Italian cars and water don't mix!! Rust begins immediately!! I have always kept a good coat of wax on the cars. For light dust a california duster works fine (yes my GT is black). For light diirt and bugs (i live in the adirondacks therefore blackflies and mosqitoes are plentifull) cleaning with a microfiber rag and a car detailing spray works great (mequires or mothers) I have never had aproblem with scratches. Heavy mud or tar low on the car water will be necessary on the lower body panels. I bought a flanel car cover from california covers. It is much softer than the stock cover and fine for inside. My water is hard so on the rare occasion I use some, I placed an in line water filter from Loews wihich gets about 80% of the minerals out and much cheaper with more pressure than the Mr. Clean filters or the Griot inline filter which is fairly expensive. (Using a synthetic lambs mit for washing)'

 

[KJRGT]

I, too, only "wash" my GT and other cars (and I've owned about 10 black cars) when I get caught in some rain and cannot avoid heavy dirt caked on the paint. I keep a great coat of wax on them (polish a couple times a year prior to wax) and use a duster whenever I can. Next in line is the car detailing spray and micro fiber towels. When it comes time to really clean, I take a wet 100% terry cloth towel and gently wipe down a section of the car, then use a 100% micro fiber towel to dry. Rubbing and drying paint with terry cloth towels scratches paint surfaces, micro fiber towels do not. I even use this method on my 65 Mustang coupe that has two year old Acrylic Enamel Raven Black paint without clear coat, just like when it came off the factory line.

I received a flannel car cover last week from California Car Covers. Fits superb, as does the Ford cover that came with the car, but that's very light weight, nylon I think, and I believe will scratch the paint.

Great hearing all the different methods of how we wash our cars, and they all come out great looking.

 

[dbk]

Great thread.

Truth be told, I went for the white/blue partially because I'm a complete pansy about screwed up paintjobs. Living in Michigan, where orange barrels, broken asphalt, and gravel highways are the norm, you have to wash your car alot or carry around a highlighted map of suitable roads. I love Midnight Blue sans center stripe, and these are great tips to keep any paint job alive. I'm gonna spend a whole preparing the car care materials in the next couple weeks...

 

[TEXAS GT]

Don't worry about getting the engine bay wet. It needs wiping down regularly anyway since dust gets in there just as easy as water. I use the Mr. Clean system and love it. It eliminates the debate of what to use to dry with since it uses filtered water to rinse with and you let it air dry. I was skeptical the first time I used it but it truly does dry perfectly spot free. Don't open your doors or the front hood because water will drip inside the car. If you have to open a door, just wipe the water off the seat quickly and it won't hurt anything. I leather treat my seats so they repel water.

The car is designed to run in heavy rain so spraying water into your intakes and fans won't hurt anything. I do it everytime I wash my car.

 

[eshrink]

This is the procedure I use with exotics:
(Obviously, do everything in the shade on a cold car; Plug your iPOD into the Klipsch iFi system in the garage - :thumbsup
1. Always request that your car is delivered unwashed by the dealership
2. Suds the car up with Dawn Dishwashing Detergent, it cuts all grease and grim from transport
3. Rinse off using copious water, but do not dry.
4. Fill a pale with water and a capful of Zaino car wash
6. Feel the finish with your fingertips...those little particles you feel will not come off with further washing; it is claybar time
5. Claybar the entire car (section at a time) using the Zaino'd water as a lubricant
6. Dry with Cannon/Fieldcrest towels (find them on e-bay)
7. Polish the car using Zaino polish for new clearcoat finishes
8. (If you have a dark car) Wax using Pinnacle Sovereign
9. Finish with Pinnacle or Zaino detailing spray
By the time you are done, you can begin the process again...it is much like painting the Bay bridge in San Francisco

- doc

 

[Derry]

Wow, thank you guys for all the great thoughts! This Holiday weekend will call for some form of cleaning it as it is dark blue and pollen seems to be everywhere. I now have some great ideas on how to proceed. It seemed like a dumb question but the car is just so different than any others I have or have owned that I thought it was worth checking. Great Forum here!

Derry

 

[eshrink]

Derry:

There are no dumb questions.

There are only dumb answers, like this one.

Actually, the art of detailing is truly complex. There is that guy who charges eight-large to detail your car.

Eight grand for a car detail....nice business.

Zaino, Pinnacle...and look at the more common names. This is big enterprise.

You read about people who have never washed their car. Microfiber this. California duster that.

I had my Viper so shiny that I walked into it trying to introduce myself to my own reflection. I found myself to be very arrogant and soon left...insulted.

- doc

 

[Neilda]

Car washing and waxing is a clearly one of the dark arts...!

Gene, yes Italians and water. I used to call it 'the attack of the Italian Tin Weavil' when the rust started!

Yes it's true, we're in the middle of the UK's wettest drought. In my several acres garden where we have no neighbours and cannot be overlooked by anyone, I wouldn't dream of using a hose! :wink

I use Zymol waxes on all my cars - gives a good shine. We can't get Zaino over here.

 

[fjpikul]

Derry, wait till you start finding all those nooks and crannies to wax. It is a royal pain in the a$$, but well worth it in the end.

Neilda, I think you can order Zaino. They pretty much just have a mailorder business as it is.

 

[GJC]

My car is White/Blue stripes. I have solved the engine bay water problem when washing by waiting until the car is completely cool. Then I use 3M 3" blue painters tape to tape the vents next to the rear window, double wide on the louvered vents, and triple width to cover the wide recessed vents on the rear deck. It works great! I just pull it off as soon as I'm done with the hose and sponge. This tape is made to easily pull off of painted surfaces far more delicate that automotive paint. I am very particular about the paint on my vehicles and have seen no ill effects yet. I don't mind if water gets in the side vents it really doesn't get the visible parts wet.

 

[AZGT]

6. Feel the finish with your fingertips...those little particles you feel will not come off with further washing; it is claybar time
5. Claybar the entire car (section at a time) using the Zaino'd water as a lubricant

Just saw the claybar in the detail section at Autozone. Never heard of it before, what does it do?

 

[eshrink]

If you wash the car well, there will be surface level meteorites still on the paint.

Run your hand across your perfectly clean GT. You will find grit.

Scrub it off and you will etch the paint.

The most common of these on a new car is "rail dust" (does not apply to the GT but does to fleet cars).

Some smart entrepreneur realized that you can sell vulnerable people (Cf. "me") a hunk of clay at a high price.

You use a good car wash (like a cap full of Zaino) in a bucket of water and move a well lubricated hunk of the clay across the finish. Keep wetting the bar and keep folding the dirty parts toward the interior of the clay (keeping the external clay clear).

When you are finished, the surface will be glass smooth.

Now you polish the car and then seal it.

These are the first things I did to the GT (insisted that the selling dealer not wash the car at all).

Prior to doing any of it, I used Dawn (as outlined above) to strip off any grease or other manufacturing grime.

New cars should be claybarred, and the darker the color, the more you can see the etching if you do not.

P.S. Clay barring requires very little time or effort. I do it for every wash on the GT.

P.P.S. I use Zaino Z2 Pro polish, first coat activated with ZFX Activator (and/or use ZFX activator when I am using 3+ coats of polish in 24 hours). Then I use Zaino finishing spray. (I am sending the Zaino kids to college apparently). You can get your GT finish truly like a mirror. The downside is that you will unlikely be able to sleep...you can hear the dust.