Washing It

[hunslet]

Has anyone else had the joy of washing their NX yet? I was well prepared for cleaning a vehicle bigger than my old GS but i wasn't prepared for it having more nooks and crannies than a victorian dresser! I can usually dry the car with one drying cloth but it took 3 today and i still wasn't entirely satisfied. I will have to get used to this as i can't entrust this beauty to the balcan brothers hand wash or a mechanical wash.

Another issue to be aware of is the fact that the doors go over the sills so a lot of dirt gathers at the bottom of the door. A casual car wash won't reach that area.

I was tempted by the celestial black colour that AndyMJ has. It's a truly beautiful finish but it must be a devil to keep clean.

[rayaans]

Has anyone else had the joy of washing their NX yet? I was well prepared for cleaning a vehicle bigger than my old GS but i wasn't prepared for it having more nooks and crannies than a victorian dresser! I can usually dry the car with one drying cloth but it took 3 today and i still wasn't entirely satisfied. I will have to get used to this as i can't entrust this beauty to the balcan brothers hand wash or a mechanical wash.

Another issue to be aware of is the fact that the doors go over the sills so a lot of dirt gathers at the bottom of the door. A casual car wash won't reach that area.

I was tempted by the celestial black colour that AndyMJ has. It's a truly beautiful finish but it must be a devil to keep clean.

Winter is awful to dry a car in - all the water seems to mist on the surface - very difficult!

Best way to dry a car - providing it has some form of protection on it be it wax or sealant, is to use an open ended hosepipe which results in most of the water just sheeting off and not forming any beads. Makes it so much easier to dry!

I get away with just one microfibre towel on my RX but I do wring it out about 3 times in the winter.

[hunslet]

You know, I often wondered why my neighbour always took off the end of his hosepipe when it came to rinsing his car. That makes sense now.

[rayaans]

You know, I often wondered why my neighbour always took off the end of his hosepipe when it came to rinsing his car. That makes sense now.

Yep, it does look weird to people just passing by but this is what happens:

Im currently using the Soft99 Fusso Coat too and its beading amazing! Had 6 months out of already and it cost me just over £20. Only UK seller is Nipponshine but you'll probably find it on the bay of flees anyway!

[Goggy]

Has anyone else had the joy of washing their NX yet? I was well prepared for cleaning a vehicle bigger than my old GS but i wasn't prepared for it having more nooks and crannies than a victorian dresser! I can usually dry the car with one drying cloth but it took 3 today and i still wasn't entirely satisfied. I will have to get used to this as i can't entrust this beauty to the balcan brothers hand wash or a mechanical wash.

Another issue to be aware of is the fact that the doors go over the sills so a lot of dirt gathers at the bottom of the door. A casual car wash won't reach that area.

I was tempted by the celestial black colour that AndyMJ has. It's a truly beautiful finish but it must be a devil to keep clean.

You are right, lot's of nooks and crannies. The thin strip of paintwork benieth the grill also collects water. I try to wipe it dry but more drops of water are back in no time at all. Also, I can only just reach the centre of the roof. The bottom of the doors (inside) do get very dirty. I've never had that happen before. is it a design fault?

[rayaans]

Has anyone else had the joy of washing their NX yet? I was well prepared for cleaning a vehicle bigger than my old GS but i wasn't prepared for it having more nooks and crannies than a victorian dresser! I can usually dry the car with one drying cloth but it took 3 today and i still wasn't entirely satisfied. I will have to get used to this as i can't entrust this beauty to the balcan brothers hand wash or a mechanical wash.

Another issue to be aware of is the fact that the doors go over the sills so a lot of dirt gathers at the bottom of the door. A casual car wash won't reach that area.

I was tempted by the celestial black colour that AndyMJ has. It's a truly beautiful finish but it must be a devil to keep clean.

You are right, lot's of nooks and crannies. The thin strip of paintwork benieth the grill also collects water. I try to wipe it dry but more drops of water are back in no time at all. Also, I can only just reach the centre of the roof. The bottom of the doors (inside) do get very dirty. I've never had that happen before. is it a design fault?

Yep, mentioned on US forums. It gets quite dirty and needs frequent cleaning

[DanD]

My brother's car has the glasscoat on it. He tells me that he always hand washes the car, rinses it with an open ended hose and dries it... with a leaf blower, effectively blowing the water away as in a car wash.

I have never seen him actually do it, but he swears by it.

(I'll probably find out one day that he's been winding me up all these years!!!!)

[DJP]

As sacrilegious as it may be, I neither have the time nor the inclination to wash my car. I know many of you do, and all power to your elbows!

I've used the same local hand wash guys for the four cars in our household for the last five years or so without any discernible negatives. No grit scrapes or swirls, at least to my naked eye. No alloy corrosion.

Each car gets washed probably twice a month on average.

Now to the Sonic White NX. I am prone to changing my mind (evidence IS being changed so quickly) but I am probably going to keep the NX for between 3 and 5 years. It will need more regular cleaning to keep looking so good and so my question is, with more washes and TFR applications am I likely to see a degradation of the paint work or wheels?

I know I'm not going to suddenly become a car cleaning fan, more likely I'll not have the car cleaned as often as I would like if it looks like I could damage the paintwork or alloys.

Hope this makes sense.

Sent from my iPad using Lexus OC

[rayaans]

As sacrilegious as it may be, I neither have the time nor the inclination to wash my car. I know many of you do, and all power to your elbows!

I've used the same local hand wash guys for the four cars in our household for the last five years or so without any discernible negatives. No grit scrapes or swirls, at least to my naked eye. No alloy corrosion.

Each car gets washed probably twice a month on average.

Now to the Sonic White NX. I am prone to changing my mind (evidence IS being changed so quickly) but I am probably going to keep the NX for between 3 and 5 years. It will need more regular cleaning to keep looking so good and so my question is, with more washes and TFR applications am I likely to see a degradation of the paint work or wheels?

I know I'm not going to suddenly become a car cleaning fan, more likely I'll not have the car cleaned as often as I would like if it looks like I could damage the paintwork or alloys.

Hope this makes sense.

Sent from my iPad using Lexus OC

The perfect solution for you would be a coating on the car. Something like Cquartz UK or the Kamikaze coatings are great as they last for 1-2 years.

But - this coating ideally needs to stay away from TFR. TFR is a quick fix, crap remover. Lots of cars have issues, especially on plastic trim with the TFRs. Car washes tend to stick back to black products to hide the stains it leaves on plastic.

Then, once the coating is on, you can wash whenever you feel like and thats it - no waxing or anything else involved.

[DJP]

As sacrilegious as it may be, I neither have the time nor the inclination to wash my car. I know many of you do, and all power to your elbows!

I've used the same local hand wash guys for the four cars in our household for the last five years or so without any discernible negatives. No grit scrapes or swirls, at least to my naked eye. No alloy corrosion.

Each car gets washed probably twice a month on average.

Now to the Sonic White NX. I am prone to changing my mind (evidence IS being changed so quickly) but I am probably going to keep the NX for between 3 and 5 years. It will need more regular cleaning to keep looking so good and so my question is, with more washes and TFR applications am I likely to see a degradation of the paint work or wheels?

I know I'm not going to suddenly become a car cleaning fan, more likely I'll not have the car cleaned as often as I would like if it looks like I could damage the paintwork or alloys.

Hope this makes sense.

Sent from my iPad using Lexus OC

The perfect solution for you would be a coating on the car. Something like Cquartz UK or the Kamikaze coatings are great as they last for 1-2 years.

But - this coating ideally needs to stay away from TFR. TFR is a quick fix, crap remover. Lots of cars have issues, especially on plastic trim with the TFRs. Car washes tend to stick back to black products to hide the stains it leaves on plastic.

Then, once the coating is on, you can wash whenever you feel like and thats it - no waxing or anything else involved.

Thanks Rayanns. is TFR a crap remover, or a crap crap remover, if you get my drift? Your solution of using a coating wouldn't stop the car from needing washing, and seeing as I'm not inclined to do that myself I'm back to square one. The hand wash guys that I use have been there for years, and run by the same chap throughout, so I'm guessing they are using decent product, I'm just slightly worried that a once or twice a week wash over a 3-5 year period will have an impact on the alloys or paintwork.

[rayaans]

TFR is a crap remover (not a crap crap remover as it does a good job at what its supposed to do) - very strong stuff actually, the cheap ones being rather caustic. These things were originally intended for bus and truck washes as its quick and buses and trucks don't really need to be shiny.

You have to remember that this stuff strips waxes down leaving your car bare of anything on it which is problematic if you get some bird poo or whatever else on. You've just bought a white car, you'll start seeing black spots (tar) and iron contamination (the brown rust spots) after a while and it needs regular maintenance to stay looking good. TFR's will remove some of the tar but they make the rust spots worse.

Onto coatings then, I agree, the car WILL need washing at some point. BUT - these coatings greatly reduce the amount of dirt the car accumulates by shedding some off when it rains, not to mention that they resist light scratching as they're usually made out of silicon dioxide.