Wow you added a ceramic coating to a FIRST GEN MDX!?!?! ZowieI'm a north of your state border neighbor. MDX is 1st generation dark blue. I always use a very good local soft cloth auto car wash (not by choice - & yes, arguable if there is even such a thing...) with always undercarriage wash & the recently added ceramic coating (another topic...) & semi-annual exterior detailing. All that works for me. But again, it's 1st generation with battle scars. So, little scratches don't even show...
Car wash
Being in boston in the middle of winter my dark dark DARK purple needs to wash off all the salt.
I realize there are pros and cons to both but any opinions on touchless vs soft cloth automatic car washes?
I realize there are pros and cons to both but any opinions on touchless vs soft cloth automatic car washes?
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For what its worth touchless is definitely garbage. It washed away the salt but boy do i have water spots
In colder climates such as yours aren't there detailers with indoor facilities that can do a hand wash out of the cold? I've never really heard of such but it just seems there should be such places.
Yea but i cant imagine doing that 2 or 3 times a month....In colder climates such as yours aren't there detailers with indoor facilities that can do a hand wash out of the cold? I've never really heard of such but it just seems there should be such places.
I use the touchless car wash and it seems to work just fine. Just have to remember to fold the mirrors in because it's a tight fit otherwise. Washing it on my own isn't much of an option during the winter in Wisconsin.
Salt isn't an issue for me out in NM. If it was, I would get one of those $50 undercarriage sprayers on rollers you attached to a home pressure washer. I have the pressure washer, tankless water heater in the garage with hot/cold connections, and 100ft water hose to spray the undercarriage away from my driveway.
Touchless is better than nothing and for you people in Wisconsin, it is better than nothing. I will be visiting Wildrose in a few more weeksI use the touchless car wash and it seems to work just fine. Just have to remember to fold the mirrors in because it's a tight fit otherwise. Washing it on my own isn't much of an option during the winter in Wisconsin.
Yes.In colder climates such as yours aren't there detailers with indoor facilities that can do a hand wash out of the cold?
Honestly, unless you purchased the car and are planning to keep it for 5+ years, just use an automatic carwash and call it a day. If you're looking at resale value and longer term longevity, then touchless or handwash will best preserve the finish. If it's a lease it really doesn't matter. At the end of the day it's an Acura and not a Bentley, and their resale/residual values will converge for a given model and year of a car. 5 years from now the MDX with flawless paint won't be much different in value than the one with swirls or minor imperfections.
+1Honestly, unless you purchased the car and are planning to keep it for 5+ years, just use an automatic carwash and call it a day. If you're looking at resale value and longer term longevity, then touchless or handwash will best preserve the finish. If it's a lease it really doesn't matter. At the end of the day it's an Acura and not a Bentley, and their resale/residual values will converge for a given model and year of a car. 5 years from now the MDX with flawless paint won't be much different in value than the one with swirls or minor imperfections.
For many of the posters (and I know from prior experience a long time ago) when you get a brand new car you are initially obsessed with every little detail and keeping it perfect. Hence the posts about "OMG there is a 0.5mm paint scratch what should I do before the car immediately and totally rusts away in the next 6 months if rust starts in this scratch?????" and similar
And for many, they have the time and doing the DIY detailing is a hobby and I totally respect that - nothing better than doing it yourself which gives that extra level of satisfaction when you see the final results.
As I typically own the cars for a long time (average 8-10 years it seems, at least) then for sure by that time, it isn't really going to matter whether I washed the car and clayed/buffed/sealed it every Saturday or just ran it through the automatic car wash a few times a year, in terms of any real difference in value. As you said, these cars aren't getting sold at the Pebble Beach auction
There are two items that one can do to help preserve their vehicle's finish that don't involve ceramic coatings or weekly wash/waxes -
- Keep the vehicle out of the sun as much as possible. I live in an area with lots of sunshine and little rain and no snow. If the vehicle can be kept in a garage, covered parking, or under a car cover, the finish on it will last orders of magnitude longer than if parked in the sun. I used a car cover religiously on my car when I parked it outside at work and it keeps it clean and the wax lasts seemingly forever. It also preserves the interior. It took me about 1 to 2 minutes to put the cover on or take it off.
- Don't grab the closest parking space to the door when parking somewhere. Look for spots out further that are more likely to have room around them and walk a bit further. Alternatively, look for spots on the end or adjacent to a parking median or something to reduce the chances of some dufus parking next to you and dinging the doors. If that fails look for an expensive sports car to park next to if it appears to be someone who cares about their car. Avoid parking next to minivans or big pickup trucks.
Using those techniques my vehicles end up with zero to only a very small number of dings. No matter how high tech the space age wonder ceramic coating is or if you wash/wax the vehicle weekly, it won't protect the car from some soccer mom or kid slamming their door open into your car and chipping the paint and even denting the metal.
- Keep the vehicle out of the sun as much as possible. I live in an area with lots of sunshine and little rain and no snow. If the vehicle can be kept in a garage, covered parking, or under a car cover, the finish on it will last orders of magnitude longer than if parked in the sun. I used a car cover religiously on my car when I parked it outside at work and it keeps it clean and the wax lasts seemingly forever. It also preserves the interior. It took me about 1 to 2 minutes to put the cover on or take it off.
- Don't grab the closest parking space to the door when parking somewhere. Look for spots out further that are more likely to have room around them and walk a bit further. Alternatively, look for spots on the end or adjacent to a parking median or something to reduce the chances of some dufus parking next to you and dinging the doors. If that fails look for an expensive sports car to park next to if it appears to be someone who cares about their car. Avoid parking next to minivans or big pickup trucks.
Using those techniques my vehicles end up with zero to only a very small number of dings. No matter how high tech the space age wonder ceramic coating is or if you wash/wax the vehicle weekly, it won't protect the car from some soccer mom or kid slamming their door open into your car and chipping the paint and even denting the metal.
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