Help! Sun is in the Wrong Place.... Tips?

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DMark1

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Please pardon the attempt at humor in the thread title. :laughing:

My house faces South, and my front yard has no trees near the driveway, so the driveway gets full sun from about 7am until the sun falls behind the neighbor's house at around 6pm. If I skip eating dinner with the family, I have about an hour at most in the evenings to wash the car before it gets too dark, which is not enough time to get out all the tools and supplies, wash and dry the car, and put everything away again.

This is a problem because my new 2013 Ford Fusion Titanium is black, and it dries too fast in the sun, leaving water spots, or worse if soap dries on the paint. GRRRRrrr!!

I have a pressure washer with a foam cannon, and am trying to wash the car as fast as I can, but the black paint heats up and dries so damm fast! I am NOT an early bird, so getting up at 6am to wash the car is not an option. Also, planting trees along the driveway is not an option. There is no shaded area nearby with access to a water hose, either. I don't trust my paint to an automatic car wash. And, lastly, I can't sell the house and move to one with a perfect shaded driveway for washing cars because the wife won't let me. :-)

Any Tips, Tricks, or Ideas I can try???
 
Option 1 is a rinseless wash, which have less tendency to spot.

Option 2 is tell the kids/wife to get their stuff out of the garage so you can do a waterless/rinseless wash in there.

Option 3 is get a pop-up tent at a sporting good store--this time of year (end of season) you can usually get a good deal.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Option 1 is a rinseless wash, which have less tendency to spot.

Option 2 is tell the kids/wife to get their stuff out of the garage so you can do a waterless/rinseless wash in there.

Option 3 is get a pop-up tent at a sporting good store--this time of year (end of season) you can usually get a good deal.
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Been thinking about rinseless wash, especially since winter is coming and it can get freezing cold here in PA. I am very concerned about possible scratches using a rinseless wash, though. I have to read up on that topic. Any recommendations on the best rinseless products?

Also thought about a pop-up tent, but a normal 10x10 won't give enough shade for the entire car. Also, I'm sure the neighbors would think it very strange watching me set up a tent everytime I want to wash the car!
 
DMark1 said:
Been thinking about rinseless wash, especially since winter is coming and it can get freezing cold here in PA. I am very concerned about possible scratches using a rinseless wash, though. I have to read up on that topic. Any recommendations on the best rinseless products?
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The category leader has been Optimum No-Rinse (ONR), and its new brother Optimum No-Rinse Wash and Wax (ONRWW). The thing I don't like about them is they tend to stain the wash media. The Duragloss rinseless wash is very nice, it has Aquawax in it. There have also been some good reviews of the Pinnacle and Detailer's Pro products.

Whichever you use, technique is going to be paramount, work small sections, minimal pressure to start, frequent rinsing of the media (or use the Bill D method and use a lot of mitts/towels and just go to a clean one when they get dirty). Remember if your drying towel is getting dirty, you haven't gone over the surface enough, all the dirt should be in the wash media. Also pre-rinse can help if the car is really dirty...although I find the NE winter road film is not really penetrated by the pre-rinse, although it may get some loose stuff off.

DMark1 said:
Also thought about a pop-up tent, but a normal 10x10 won't give enough shade for the entire car. Also, I'm sure the neighbors would think it very strange watching me set up a tent everytime I want to wash the car!
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You have to get over the neighbors...besides they are going to think it very strange how often you wash your car, anyway. You have to move a 10x10 as the sun moves and as you move along the car. They do have 12x12 and 10x15. Good luck putting them up, I have enough trouble with my 10x10 (by myself).
 
DMark1 said:
Been thinking about rinseless wash, especially since winter is coming and it can get freezing cold here in PA. I am very concerned about possible scratches using a rinseless wash, though. I have to read up on that topic. Any recommendations on the best rinseless products?

Also thought about a pop-up tent, but a normal 10x10 won't give enough shade for the entire car. Also, I'm sure the neighbors would think it very strange watching me set up a tent everytime I want to wash the car!
Click to expand...

It's a canopy NOT a tent and anybody who sees it will instantly know its for shade. 10X10 is a good size better yet get two if it's in the budget and 20X20 will be even better.

You need to try ONRWW as recommended.
 
DMark1 said:
Been thinking about rinseless wash, especially since winter is coming and it can get freezing cold here in PA. I am very concerned about possible scratches using a rinseless wash, though. I have to read up on that topic. Any recommendations on the best rinseless products?

Also thought about a pop-up tent, but a normal 10x10 won't give enough shade for the entire car. Also, I'm sure the neighbors would think it very strange watching me set up a tent everytime I want to wash the car!
Click to expand...

Where in PA do you live? I'm in SE PA. I use Optimum No Rinse in the winter and it's amazing. Even with road salt on the car I use it but I go really slow and change towels often.

Nothing wrong with using the tent. 10x10 is enough to do 3/4 of the car then move it to hit the other 1/4. Worst part is setting it up and taking it down if you don't have help and also the angle of the sun late in the day goes under it.
 
WRX02227 said:
Where in PA do you live? I'm in SE PA. I use Optimum No Rinse in the winter and it's amazing. Even with road salt on the car I use it but I go really slow and change towels often.

Nothing wrong with using the tent. 10x10 is enough to do 3/4 of the car then move it to hit the other 1/4. Worst part is setting it up and taking it down if you don't have help and also the angle of the sun late in the day goes under it.
Click to expand...

I live just east of Lancaster PA, in a little area known as Ronks. I have Rockvale Square and Tanger Outlet Malls nearby on Rt 30, and an Amish farm behind our house. I enjoy watching the horses in the pasture every morning - very relaxing.

Yes, the pop-up canopy could work, especially the larger sizes, but I doubt I could get my kids or wife to help me set it up. A tree or two along the driveway would be perfect, but I don't want the roots tearing up the driveway. Also, the kids and their friends love playing in the front yard because its one of the few flat yards in the neighborhood, and a tree would mess up their football endzone (AKA, the driveway)

I'll have to get me some ONR to try. The Gary Dean method of soaking multiple MF towels in the ONR bucket and discarding after each panel seems to make the most sense to me for the rinseless washes... I'm reading some threads now...
 
DMark1 said:
I live just east of Lancaster PA, in a little area known as Ronks. I have Rockvale Square and Tanger Outlet Malls nearby on Rt 30, and an Amish farm behind our house. I enjoy watching the horses in the pasture every morning - very relaxing.

Yes, the pop-up canopy could work, especially the larger sizes, but I doubt I could get my kids or wife to help me set it up. A tree or two along the driveway would be perfect, but I don't want the roots tearing up the driveway. Also, the kids and their friends love playing in the front yard because its one of the few flat yards in the neighborhood, and a tree would mess up their football endzone (AKA, the driveway)

I'll have to get me some ONR to try. The Gary Dean method of soaking multiple MF towels in the ONR bucket and discarding after each panel seems to make the most sense to me for the rinseless washes... I'm reading some threads now...
Click to expand...

Well I live in Parkesburg so if you'd like to try ONR without buying it let me know and I'll give you enough for a wash or 2 to see if you like it before you buy it.
 
I wash my car (and customer cars) in the dark quite often. I setup my shop lights and turn on the garage lights and that provides more than enough light for me to see what I am doing. The complete lack of sun makes it very easy to wash the car without the worry of water spots or soap drying (unless you are the world's slowest car washer :) ). Sure neighbors give me weird looks, but let's be honest, I'm more than used to that by now.
 
WRX02227 said:
Well I live in Parkesburg so if you'd like to try ONR without buying it let me know and I'll give you enough for a wash or 2 to see if you like it before you buy it.
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Hi WRX! Thanks for your offer, that is very generous. It looks like you are only about 30 mins away from me! ONR seems to get great reviews, so I know it's a good product. I'll probably just order some anyway.
 
I've always wonder who could benefit from this system and sounds like you might be a candidate for the CR Spotless Rolling De-ionized Water Filtration System,100 Gallon Output.
 
molina67 said:
I've always wonder who could benefit from this system and sounds like you might be a candidate for the CR Spotless Rolling De-ionized Water Filtration System,100 Gallon Output.
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Yeah, I've lookied into it, but it is very expensive, and hard to justify the purchase. Lately, I've just resigned myself to skip dinner and wash the car at 5:30 once the sun has dropped down behind the neighbor's house. It seems to be working pretty well, although I still have to work fast to keep the car from drying too fast and spotting.

If I do end up with a spot or two, I've just been taking it off with some quick detailer.

On a side note, I am loving the leaf blower to dry the car quickly without touching the paint. With my paint sealed with Opti-Coat, the water just runs right off with the leaf blower, and I can dry out the many cracks and crevices on my 2013 Ford Fusion.
 
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