Fighting Losing Battle

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KneeDragr

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I feel like I am losing the battle with my daily driver. I used to park in the tree shade at work, but was always battling tree sap issues. I was routinely having to compound out a couple spots on the roof or hood a couple times a year where tree sap damaged the paint. Plus the car was getting so filthy dirty with all the junk coming off the trees.
So I switched to another area that was more in the open but shaded by the office half the day ( during the afternoon ). But the sprinklers would randomly run during the middle of the day once a week or so, leaving awful water spots that required compound to remove.
Recently I moved it again, to an area that has no tree shade, and no sprinklers. The bad side is, no shade ever, so completely exposed to the sun all day. The sun murders LSP to the tune of killing BFWD in a little over a month! First I tried Griots paste wax and it was gone after 3 weeks so I tried FK1000p and then BFWD, each of which lasted only 5-6 weeks.

Im not sure where to go from here - I am thinking of trying a paint coating. My car actually looks much better parking it in the sun all day instead of under the trees, because tree crud stays off it and the rain is much cleaner not being filtered through dirty trees.

I was thinking of giving a collonite wax a shot before resorting to a coating, or maybe Zaino.

Any thoughts?
 
Why not a sealant like HD Nitro-Seal?

Then you can just top it every few months with Poxy.
 
•A 5-6 week time period is about right for Waxes.

•For a more extended time period:
-Start using Sealants and/or Coatings.

Bob
 
Daily drivers just take beatings. Period. For me, it's hard keeping the cars looking great. They always look good, but really only look great right after they are polished and coated. It's a full time job keeping your DD great.
 
Find out who programs the sprinklers and remind them that watering just before dawn is most effective

Give him twenty bucks for his trouble
 
I park my car in full sun all day for the reasons you mention (don't want to park under trees for debris and bird crap). I get 6 months out of BFWD no problem. I do have it topped with 2 coats of Crystal Seal and I finish my 2BM's with MS Instant Detailer and RW's with Polymer Spray. Maybe those post wash toppers help make it last?
 
how are people determining how long their sealant or wax is lasting? are you purely going by the beading or sheeting?? what about when you wash and those wash detergent properties are on the paint over the top of everything else?

what about when you do a quick QD wipedown, you add protection there too... i was always curious where people got their numbers from
 
KneeDragr said:
Im not sure where to go from here - I am thinking of trying a paint coating. My car actually looks much better parking it in the sun all day instead of under the trees, because tree crud stays off it and the rain is much cleaner not being filtered through dirty trees.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I understand your pain, I've owned my DD for 12 years (it's about 14 years old) and it has taken a beating over the years. With DD's, the best thing is to be realistic--they won't be as perfect as a garage queen so don't get too stressed out. IMHO: Protection is what should be your #1 goal.

In my experience, parking under trees is worse than parking in full sun. Not only does it rain debris on the paint, it can cause other issues. I had to fork over $550 to have the dealer take apart my entire dash and clean out my evaporator/condenser unit because it was clogged with tree debris having entered thru the intake vents. It even caused my evap drain tube to back up and leak loads of water into the passenger footwell/carpet.

A lot of the posters have some good rec's. I like the idea of "Active Management" of paint protection with a DD. Make sure your car has a base coat of a very durable protectant (sealant, coating, or Collinite). If a sealant or Colli, then layer a spray wax/sealant on top after washes maybe once/month.

TurboToys said:
how are people determining how long their sealant or wax is lasting? are you purely going by the beading or sheeting?? what about when you wash and those wash detergent properties are on the paint over the top of everything else?

what about when you do a quick QD wipedown, you add protection there too... i was always curious where people got their numbers from
Click to expand...

Good point. I guess the only way to know is to use a shampoo without "gloss enhancers" and a QD without polymers (like Megs Final Inspection).
 
I typically judge the health of my LSP either after a post-wash rinse, or the behavior of rain on a clean car. Even if the car is dusty, you can tell the difference between a car with protection working and one that doesn't.

Concurr that daily drivers take a beating. Mine sits in blazing sun all day long, all year long. It is only garaged when I'm at home. My parking lot at work has no shade at all. Even in those conditions, I've found Collinite 845 and Klasse SG to hold up very well.

The OP's frustrations were one of the prime reasons I left carnauba waxes for a sealant. Sitting in the blazing summer sun or brutal winter conditions, my wax was lasting on a month or two and I was constantly having to re-apply.
 
OK I will give 845 a shot since I have it at home. Not sure why I didnt before.

Still need a good booster product to go with it. I use V7 on my wife's car, but its garage parked at work and at her office so its hard to say how effective it is. Ive always been worried about stories that it kills LSPs, especially waxes, so I have resisted putting it on my DD.

Griots spray wax is easy to use and never streaks. I fear it adds almost nothing to the paint protection however. Its probably what I will use with the 845 since its carnauba based.

Tried OCW, streaked badly no matter how I applied.
 
Oh as far as judging protection, for me its a combination of how it beads and how the paint feels when I dry it off. When the beading is dropping off, and the paint feels squeaky when I dry it, I know its beat.
 
KneeDragr said:
OK I will give 845 a shot since I have it at home. Not sure why I didnt before.

Still need a good booster product to go with it.
Click to expand...

I'd look at Megs UQW and I hear DG's Aquawax go well with Colli845. V7 is a great product, but because of alleged chemical properties, it reportedly doesn't play well with Colli. You could also take a look at Prima Hydro Wax As You Dry.
 
KneeDragr said:
I feel like I am losing the battle with my daily driver. I used to park in the tree shade at work, but was always battling tree sap issues. I was routinely having to compound out a couple spots on the roof or hood a couple times a year where tree sap damaged the paint. Plus the car was getting so filthy dirty with all the junk coming off the trees.
So I switched to another area that was more in the open but shaded by the office half the day ( during the afternoon ). But the sprinklers would randomly run during the middle of the day once a week or so, leaving awful water spots that required compound to remove.
Recently I moved it again, to an area that has no tree shade, and no sprinklers. The bad side is, no shade ever, so completely exposed to the sun all day. The sun murders LSP to the tune of killing BFWD in a little over a month! First I tried Griots paste wax and it was gone after 3 weeks so I tried FK1000p and then BFWD, each of which lasted only 5-6 weeks.

Im not sure where to go from here - I am thinking of trying a paint coating. My car actually looks much better parking it in the sun all day instead of under the trees, because tree crud stays off it and the rain is much cleaner not being filtered through dirty trees.

I was thinking of giving a collonite wax a shot before resorting to a coating, or maybe Zaino.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I feel your pain brother. I have been going after perfecting my daily driver for months now and cannot fix it as fast as nature and careless people destroy it.

I had someone back into my door and fold the edge over. I took it to the body shop for four days with a rental, and when i picked it up she looked great on that door. Literally, and i kid you not, one day later someone damaged that very same door on the bottom half of it. A long white scrape on my black daily driver with MISSING paint. It was just repainted a DAY or TWO ago!

I understand how you feel. I bought collinite. I used the guide on the forums here (awesome) to put it on. Its a great bulletproof wax. It extends the time it takes for the elements and idiots to damage her now. But that's the way it goes for a daily driver. I am going to buy another car and garage it just to have fun detailing where my results are immediately destroyed.

I know this post does not do much to raise your spirits, just wanted you to know that others feel the same way you do.
 
KneeDragr said:
OK I will give 845 a shot since I have it at home. Not sure why I didnt before.

Still need a good booster product to go with it. I use V7 on my wife's car, but its garage parked at work and at her office so its hard to say how effective it is. Ive always been worried about stories that it kills LSPs, especially waxes, so I have resisted putting it on my DD.

Griots spray wax is easy to use and never streaks. I fear it adds almost nothing to the paint protection however. Its probably what I will use with the 845 since its carnauba based.

Tried OCW, streaked badly no matter how I applied.
Click to expand...

I use Meguiars Ultimate Quick Wax every three-ish weeks and it works really well. The post wash shine is noticeably better. These days when I wash my car the Collinite/UQW combo makes the water almost bounce off the car and makes the car very easy to clean. I don't know how much benefit I'm getting from which product, but it works and looks great. I'm happy.

When this bottle of UQW runs out, I'm going to give Duragloss Aquawax a try as it has a good reputation as well.
 
Why not try a coating? My wife has a black DD that sits outside all day at work through blazing summers and upstate NY winters. I applied Ultima Paint Guard sealant last winter and I think it made it about 4 months. I'm hoping to get at least a year out of the Pinnacle Black Label coating with just regular washes every 1-2 weeks and booster every few weeks. The stuff is not cheap but I am willing to pay for convenience and durability.

And I like Allen's suggestion about the sprinkler!
 
Of course it's a losing battle. If nothing else, your car will eventually get in a scrape and that will be that. Entropy always wins.

Several years ago, I noticed a very attractive, dark haired middle-aged woman on a hiking trail. I recognized her as a famous movie actress from the 1960's She was in her middle sixties if she was a day. Good genes and quality, long-term "detailing" were the key. This is what we should strive for in our cars. After all, we are not going to keep them forever.

If I can keep my car looking presentable longer, that's just that much longer I'll have the option of keeping it instead of trading in. My goal is to have the clear-coat fail about the same time it goes to the junkyard.

P.S. Except for maybe a pigeon roost almost anything is better than parking a car under a tree oozing goo. I'd experiment with one of the more durable sealants---we all know which ones they are--I would be conscientious with a weekly maintenance wash (I like the rinseless kind) followed by a little spray wax. Get a windshield shade for the interior.
 
peterhurcos said:
Of course it's a losing battle. If nothing else, your car will eventually get in a scrape and that will be that. Entropy always wins.

Several years ago, I noticed a very attractive, dark haired middle-aged woman on a hiking trail. I recognized her as a famous movie actress from the 1960's She was in her middle sixties if she was a day. Good genes and quality, long-term "detailing" were the key. This is what we should strive for in our cars. After all, we are not going to keep them forever.

If I can keep my car looking presentable longer, that's just that much longer I'll have the option of keeping it instead of trading in. My goal is to have the clear-coat fail about the same time it goes to the junkyard.

P.S. Except for maybe a pigeon roost almost anything is better than parking a car under a tree oozing goo. I'd experiment with one of the more durable sealants---we all know which ones they are--I would be conscientious with a weekly maintenance wash (I like the rinseless kind) followed by a little spray wax. Get a windshield shade for the interior.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. I enjoy detailing my daily driver as much as I do my garage queen. Is my daily driver perfect? No, not at all. Does it look better than 99.99 % of other vehicles that are 8 years old with 199,000 miles? Absolutely. That is as much fun to me as keeping the garage queen perfect.
 
:iagree:

Also, note that you have come to the right place. The info provided by the members here and the products offered by Autogeek should turn this into a winning battle like it starting to for me.

IMO equipment to speed up the process is key. I need much more equipment in my arsenal, but it's fun going through the steps and accumulating things over time.

And remember, nothing truly worthwhile is ever easy. I wish you nothing but the best!
 
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