How often should I wash, Wax and polish car ?

Sandy67

Hi Everyone,

I own a 2007 Metallic Carbon Black, BMW 520D M-sport in excellent condition. Im just wondering how often should i wash, Wax and polish my car ? I use Only bmw care products also.

HandsomeDan

Sandy67 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

I own a 2007 Metallic Carbon Black, BMW 520D M-sport in excellent condition. Im just wondering how often should i wash, Wax and polish my car ? I use Only bmw care products also.

Two to three times a year is grand.

Sandy67

Thanks, Do I need to clay my car ?

mad muffin

I wash, wax and polish every week. Tajes me about 5-6 hours to clean my car inside and out (only about half an hour inside )

The sparrows have commenced a bombing campaign and their acid shíte sets like concrete in this weather. :mad:

discombobulate

mad muffin wrote: »

I wash, wax and polish every week. Tajes me about 5-6 hours to clean my car inside and out (only about half an hour inside )

The sparrows have commenced a bombing campaign and their acid shíte sets like concrete in this weather. :mad:

I don't think polishing every week is good for the car and if your using decent wax i'd presume it'd last a lot longer than a week.

MuppetCheck

Once every month to six weeks for me usually for a proper job. It's a job I detest but do it anyway. It's washed every week and topped up with a decent detailer once dried. Cleaned inside weekly as whatever about the outside sometimes I hate sitting in filth.

There's no rule for doing it however but it will make it look better for longer. It's also worth spending it bit on decent products as they will be longer lasting, easier to apply and give better results.

Sandy67

Well my plan is :

Car wash every second week,

polish the car and then let it dry and then after it has been dried, Wax the car for protection against paintwork ? Does that sound ok to do because i dont want to destroy the paintwork ?

Sandy67

Also I forgot to say I will only polish and wax the car every second month.

Jordan5372

discombobulate wrote: »

I don't think polishing every week is good for the car and if your using decent wax i'd presume it'd last a lot longer than a week.

how can polishing a car every week be bad for a car?

discombobulate

Jordan5372 wrote: »

how can polishing a car every week be bad for a car?

I think it can strip the clearcoat. Not an expert though

saabsaab

I'd say about polish 3 time a year about right. Most polishes have a v mild abrasive and would wear the paint down if doing it every week especially a metallic with its topcoat. Wash if you want , bird droppings etc asap.

Sandy67

Exactly because i didn't want to ruin the paintwork.

So basically I'll just get the car washed every 2 weeks, polish and wax it every 2-3 months ?

arleitiss

Any pic of car? description sounds nice.

Scortho

Wash every week.
Do the big jobs (detar, clay, deironise and polish every 6 months) this depends on your driving distances.
Wax every month or sooner If the beading has stopped.
There is a car detailing thread that is a wealth of knowledge.

Ded_Zebra

The thing to do is to wash the car regularly, about once a week depending on haw far/what kind of roads you drive on. For washing the car you'll need at least 2 buckets, good wash mitts and grit guards (not totally necessary IMO as you can change the water in the buckets regularly but they definitely help). Google "two Bucket method car wash". I like to have a third bucket for the wheels too.
Now for the wax. I like to wax the car every 2-4 washes to keep it well protected. The more you wax to car the easer it is to clean as the water and dirt rolls off much easer. Detaring is an optional step that I don't do every wash, you'll need to wax the area again after you detar it.
About once every three months I then do a "deep clean" where I will wash, detar, clay, polish and wax.

Sandy67

Well I dont really drive on motorways, I do more city and local driving so my bodywork stays in great condition as i maintain it a lot. But I'll stick to my original cleaning method.

Ded_Zebra

Sandy67 wrote: »

Well I dont really drive on motorways, I do more city and local driving so my bodywork stays in great condition as i maintain it a lot. But I'll stick to my original cleaning method.

What cleaning method do you use?

Sandy67

Well as i said, I only drive locally.

My method is :

Car wash every 1-2 weeks, Polish and wax every 2-3 months to preserve paintwork.

Richard88

Wash every 1-2 weeks
wax once a month
de-tar every 6 months

As for polishing it, very rarely. Have to agree with an above poster that polishing it too often can damage paintwork.

Iv had the car 4 years and it's been polished once last year. If you keep it waxed regularly it shouldn't need a polish for a long time!

mad muffin

Maybe I don't understand what polish means but I polish with wax. No worries with paint damage.

Victor Meldrew

mad muffin wrote: »

Maybe I don't understand what polish means but I polish with wax. No worries with paint damage.

That is not polishing. Again, I'm no expert, but my lay-man's take on this:

1. Polishing is, by definition, abrasive and taking off some of the paint/clearcoat/lacquer. This smooths out imperfections on the finish. you can mess this up.

2. waxing is applying a protective slippy and shiny layer to mask imperfections on the paint.

3. Liquid wax (spray and buff) is not the same thing as solid wax, but is a bit of a help in terms of water beading but that is it. It is idiot proof.

4. My cleaning regime is the same as yours. I have never clayed a car.

NuckingFacker

I washed, detarred, clayed and Meguiars three stepped me jeep today. Took the whole day..... I now cannot recognise it and am afraid to get in in case I dirty it. Gave it a full service yesterday including all fluids and filters. It will probably break tomorrow.. Have never, ever cleaned anything as thoroughly before in my life - it's an awful lot of hard work if you leave it a long time. Which I had.

Sandy67

Cheers to all replys. Im just also wondering, I drive very locally as i mentioned possibly 6-10 miles a day and It says on my i-drive im getting 28-30 mpg does that sound ok for local city driving ?

challengemaster

Sandy67 wrote: »

Exactly because i didn't want to ruin the paintwork.

So basically I'll just get the car washed every 2 weeks, polish and wax it every 2-3 months ?

"get the car washed"

if it involves either of these, you're already ruining the paint without realising





As for how long to go between washes, waxes etc... how long is a piece of string. Depends on the products you use and your driving. Take a look in the detailing forum stickies for more info.

Also driving 6-10 miles a day you shouldn't even have a diesel, you'll have DPF problems in no time.

Blazer

I wash my car every 2-3 weeks.
Approx every 3-4 months I wash/clay and wax it.
I use Autoglym HD wax (about €60 but lasts well over 3 months before having to reapply it so the tub I bought I'm now into the 2nd year of using.
I also use CHEMICAL GUYS BLACKLIGHT HYBRID RADIANT to give it an extra wet shine and apply the wax on top of this.

MrDerp

I don't bother washing the right way, as people with respect for their car do.

I love my car, don't get me wrong, but the steady stream scratches and dings I get from asshats in my work carpark has killed the joy I had in my car's appearance. Now I don't even get it washed as much as I used to, and for that same reason I will never buy a new car.

mad muffin

MrDerp wrote: »

I don't bother washing the right way, as people with respect for their car do.

I love my car, don't get me wrong, but the steady stream scratches and dings I get from asshats in my work carpark has killed the joy I had in my car's appearance. Now I don't even get it washed as much as I used to, and for that same reason I will never buy a new car.

Yeah it s disheartening.

Every week I find a new ding or scratch from :mad:

Curran

There is a lot of difference of opinion here!

The long and short of it is, that it very much depends on what the car does....
Mileage - pretty obvious, the more you do, the more dirt the car will pick up
Weather conditions - if the car is a classic, for example, it may never be driven in the rain. On the other hand you may drive it to work on rainy days and take the bus on dry days.
Condition of roads - do you drive on pot holed roads, motorway at 120km/h, mainly urban, etc,
Where you park it - is it parked under a tree, near a road with heavy traffic, near construction, etc

So there are lots of variables!

General rule of thumb is....
* Try wash it weekly - two bucket method, with a good shampoo, wash mitt and drying towel - this will keep the car in top condition...perhaps a quick detailer spray after a wash

* Depending on what type of protection you have applied; wax / sealant; and how well you are washing the car (ie: protection safe shampoo), will dictate how often it will need to be topped up. Generally a wax should last 8-12 weeks if applied with 2/3 coats. Sealants tend to be longer.

* Claying / De-Tar'ing / Polishing will be done every 6 months or so. If you've done a good job applying the protection, they paint work should be protected from UV damage and also to a certain degree, bonded contaminants. If the car has been polished by hand, then it will need to be done again, if done by machine, it might not be necessary - again this depends on what way youve been washing the car, roads you drive on, etc, etc. Sometimes its enough just to de-tar, clay and re-protect.

NuckingFacker

And then you drive on a day like today - in places the road was literally pools of liquid tar....and you wonder why you bothered..as the tar splashes up off the wheels of the numpty overtaking you as you carefully drive throught the heat induced mire...

mad muffin

NuckingFacker wrote: »

And then you drive on a day like today - in places the road was literally pools of liquid tar....and you wonder why you bothered..as the tar splashes up off the wheels of the numpty overtaking you as you carefully drive throught the heat induced mire...

And the front of your car is covered in dead bugs ad their guts splattered across your windscreen and no matter how much screen wash you spray all that happens is their guts get smeared even more :mad: