Car is always dirty ....?

[joebruin77]

If there is just one area of the car that gets dirty, you may want to consider buying a bag of microfiber towels and a waterless wash, like the ones I referenced in my earlier reply. A waterless wash is like a detailing spray on steroids. Just pull into your garage, spray on the waterless wash, and wipe off with the MF towel. As long as you don’t reuse a dirty section of the towel and as long as the dirt is not heavy, you won’t scratch the paint. I can wash the entire rear area of the car in less than 2 minutes.

 

[jonquiljo]

If there is just one area of the car that gets dirty, you may want to consider buying a bag of microfiber towels and a waterless wash, like the ones I referenced in my earlier reply. A waterless wash is like a detailing spray on steroids. Just pull into your garage, spray on the waterless wash, and wipe off with the MF towel. As long as you don’t reuse a dirty section of the towel and as long as the dirt is not heavy, you won’t scratch the paint. I can wash the entire rear area of the car in less than 2 minutes.

Thanks, I've got some coming - I ordered it last night! Seems logical!

The lack of mud flaps and the wheels protruding from the well make the sides dirtier than necessary. But, I've yet to see a mud flap solution that is worth risking or taking the time to install.

So waterless wash is definitely the way to go - at least until we get to the dry season. After that, it won't be needed often. I suspect that there will not be much dirt then. Thanks again.

 

[mswlogo]

Thanks, I've got some coming - I ordered it last night! Seems logical!

The lack of mud flaps and the wheels protruding from the well make the sides dirtier than necessary. But, I've yet to see a mud flap solution that is worth risking or taking the time to install.

So waterless wash is definitely the way to go - at least until we get to the dry season. After that, it won't be needed often. I suspect that there will not be much dirt then. Thanks again.

Waterless cleaning is more risky than the Mudflaps in my opinion. no way I’d touch that stuff. What people consider a dirty car wildly vary on this forum. 95% of folks that installed the Chinese flaps are happy they did it.

 

[jonquiljo]

Waterless cleaning is more risky than the Mudflaps in my opinion. no way I’d touch that stuff. What people consider a dirty car wildly vary on this forum. 95% of folks that installed the Chinese flaps are happy they did it.

Thanks, I may actually do both. Chinese seem better than most. All the alternatives seem to not improve on things, thought the foam tape idea seems to work.

What do you see as a problem with waterless washes - if someone is careful and does not grind dirt into the paint?

 

[mswlogo]

Thanks, I may actually do both. Chinese seem better than most. All the alternatives seem to not improve on things, thought the foam tape idea seems to work.

What do you see as a problem with waterless washes - if someone is careful and does not grind dirt into the paint?

I like to hose as much dirt off the car before touching it. If there isn't dirt to hose off it doesn't need a bath

Not sure I'd do the foam tape. I thought of lots of ideas before I got them, including foam tape and decided doing nothing is the safest.

The there is no place to put foam tape. It just a narrow edge contacting the car. The foam tape would have to stick out and show to do anything. And if it does seal that tightly (which I doubt) it could hold water. Foam tape won't hold long term either.

PPF is the only logical thing to add. And possibly some way to lock down the tip of the flap better than stock. It does wiggle a tiny bit (like 1-2 mm, not sure it moves with normal driving). But everything I tried just made it worse. The wheel well is not the strongest thing to anchor to. So I left it. The rear clip on the fender isn't much better. That's the only down side of them. I didn't keep it long and sold the car. I have model X now and I put similar Chinese flaps on. But they don't touch paint. And I didn't put rear on. I think Model 3 needs the rears.

 

[PACEMD]

A significant part of the dirt issue seems to be car design. Here is my P3D- parked at work after driving in not so rough snow/ice. I have not seen this with the many rentals I drove for years on the same trip/roads/conditions. You will see the ice/snow/dirt accumulates in the wheel wells, lower sides, often the side cameras, and very much so on the rear of the car. On a positive note, the front does better than many other cars. Here in Montana, all cars get dirty very quickly. In the summer you can wash a car and 10 miles later the windshield is obscured with bugs/crickets, the rest of the car brown. The Model 3 is not as bad at collecting bugs/dirt on the front end and windshield, clearly a design difference. I wonder how the S/X compares dirt collection wise. Mudflaps should help here, many post on the options. I will likely go with flat flaps, will try to post what I'm looking at later.

 

[PACEMD]

Here are the flaps I'm considering, not cheap, however.........

2017+ Tesla Model 3 Black UR Mud Flap Red Logo, Rally Armor

 

[joebruin77]

Here is an informative video from the makers of one of my favorite waterless washes McKees 37 Waterless Wash on the Go: As he mentions, you will not scratch the paint w proper technique on light to moderate dirty cars.

 

[Mayonayze]

PS: Ceramic coat your rims too. My hyper silver aftermarket rims are always spotless.



View attachment 492951

More pics?

 

[jebinc]

More pics?

Carpro cQuartz (original, not UK) DYI for $50 on Amazon. When I first brought the car home in June, I just washed it and applied four coats of this "easier to apply and remove than wax" ceramic coating over a two day period - allowing for cure. Each coat was quicker than the last, as well. I spray BeadMaker on it from time to time after a wash - just for that "slickness" feel.

EDIT: I also later installed "easy to install" mud flaps to keep dirt and rocks where they belong.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

You can see that tire protruding out a lot from that wheel well. A LOT. That alone will give you a dirty car - no mud needed! That spray likely goes all over the side of the car. A mud flap will mitigate this (hopefully) to some extent. The car looks good, but the more I look I see that is not designed to stay clean.

I checked the rear wheel and it is much more recessed in the wheel well, so it does less flinging of dirty water. But the rear still gets pretty dirty. I wish I had taken pictures after 50 miles in a lot of Bay Area rain.

I can't believe I'm analyzing this so much, but it definitely seems to be a major source of the problem.

It should be noted that the front tires will always fling more debris than the rear tires because they turn... as in when you turn a corner. To demonstrate, try taking that same picture only with your wheel turned just a bit.

 

[woodguyatl]

How much would a good detailer cost to do a Model X size car?

Andy recommendations for a detailer in New England?

So many demo's show water repelling after first applying. Well I could put wax and have it repel just as well.

But are there demo's of a dirty car after 10,000 miles wear and how easy dirt hoses off?
I'd be concerned the effect would wear off over 3-6 months and you'd be back where you started.

I am a believer now in polishing windshield and putting a hydrophobic coating (I use Griot's sealer) so that has opened my eyes to seeing what could help the paint.

I have no dog in the hunt. I am at 1 year /12k on ceramic coating. It performs like new.

 

[jonquiljo]

It should be noted that the front tires will always fling more debris than the rear tires because they turn... as in when you turn a corner. To demonstrate, try taking that same picture only with your wheel turned just a bit.

Yes, it does seem that the car’s design kind of makes it dirty. I guess Tesla did not want to make it wit mud flaps because of appearance and for cost, though cost would be minimal if done in manufacturing. I guess you don’t design a car so that it stays cleaner. But it would help.

A significant part of the dirt issue seems to be car design. Here is my P3D- parked at work after driving in not so rough snow/ice. I have not seen this with the many rentals I drove for years on the same trip/roads/conditions. You will see the ice/snow/dirt accumulates in the wheel wells, lower sides, often the side cameras, and very much so on the rear of the car. On a positive note, the front does better than many other cars. Here in Montana, all cars get dirty very quickly. In the summer you can wash a car and 10 miles later the windshield is obscured with bugs/crickets, the rest of the car brown. The Model 3 is not as bad at collecting bugs/dirt on the front end and windshield, clearly a design difference. I wonder how the S/X compares dirt collection wise. Mudflaps should help here, many post on the options. I will likely go with flat flaps, will try to post what I'm looking at later. View attachment 493248

I think we all agree, the cars need mudflaps despite their appearance. Your situation is extreme, though. I have not seen snow like that in ages. I kind of avoid it!

It is telling from your picture that the tires seem to have thrown enough snow onto the sides of the car to make it stick. If it were dirty rain from puddles, the dirt would go higher on the side of the car, just less of it. Thats what I am seeing. Interestingly enough, I am not seeing much dirt on the front and windshield. Whatever may land there would come from a car in front of me.

As for ceramic coating - perhaps it’s worth a try. I’m not too worried about having a shiny car all the time. Given that the Model 3 seems to “soil itself” , mud flaps may be a first place to deal with the problem. I don't drive that much as I work from home, and I don’t like road trips. So, I’ll look at mudflaps and deal with it from there.

My problem with hosing the car off is the high calcium content of the tap water here. It ruins bathrooms quickly and we have special cleaners used to constantly remove limescale. This would make it necessary that I completely dry down a car after hosing it off. The tap water seems to pose a bigger problem than the dirt.

 

[mswlogo]

Carpro cQuartz (original, not UK) DYI for $50 on Amazon. When I first brought the car home in June, I just washed it and applied four coats of this "easier to apply and remove than wax" ceramic coating over a two day period - allowing for cure. Each coat was quicker than the last, as well. I spray BeadMaker on it from time to time after a wash - just for that "slickness" feel.
View attachment 493320 View attachment 493321 View attachment 493322

EDIT: I also later installed "easy to install" mud flaps to keep dirt and rocks where they belong.

Pics of freshly cleaned cars don’t tell me much.

Example:

1 year, never waxed or coated 10K miles.
Sorry, but the wheels make it

3 years, never waxed or coated 40K miles.

0 years, 10 miles never waxed or coated

But they all get dirty fast. I’d only coat one if they truly stay cleaner

 

[webbah]

I have PPF and Ceramic, but it wasn’t until I installed the Rally Armor mud flaps that the car stays fairly clean. I have a ton of rain and snow here and found that the wheels kick up a lot of that to the rocker panels and doors and this also makes its way to the rear via airflow. The Rally Armor mud flaps have more protection than the Chinese plastic ones. I had 2 sets of the Chinese ones crack and break on me so was pleased when Rally Armor released their kit. They don’t require any drilling and also can be removed easily once winter is over (rainy season where you are). Here’s a picture after a week of driving through rain and snow. There is some dirt but overall it’s kept pretty clean. Previously this would have been a very dirty car. I know go to the wash every 2 weeks or so instead of every 3 days.

 

[PACEMD]

Are those the same flaps as I listed above. 2017+ Tesla Model 3 Black UR Mud Flap Red Logo, Rally Armor

 

[webbah]

Are those the same flaps as I listed above. 2017+ Tesla Model 3 Black UR Mud Flap Red Logo, Rally Armor

Yes, but with white logo. Please hit reply next time or I might not see your question if directed to me. I’m not watching the thread.

 

[PACEMD]

Yes, but with white logo. Please hit reply next time or I might not see your question if directed to me. I’m not watching the thread.

Will do, thanks. I am going to order the Rally Armor flaps and will report back how they do.

 

[jonquiljo]

Yes, but with white logo. Please hit reply next time or I might not see your question if directed to me. I’m not watching the thread.

How difficult are the Rally Armour flaps to install? I got the impression reading a few threads that they were not simple to install. Perhaps I misunderstood, however - as there are so many different flaps on the market.

You're right - your car has the typical dirt spray pattern on the bottom of the doors, but lower than usual. It doesn't seem to migrate to the top of the door - just below the handles. The back of the car is immaculate!

Given you are in Geneva, you likely have a lot of snow/melted snow to deal with. I don't think the Chinese flaps would break in the SF Bay Area, because we have no snow here. But the Rally Armor seem to do a good job. Not worth taking them off for summer, unless they are easy on/off as you seem to indicate. Thanks.

 

[Brian's ReX]

I, too, had my X coated with Modesta ceramic, and I'm going on 24K miles/2 years and it works as beautifully as the day it was new! I love to keep my beauty clean, and dirt just rolls off this coating! Many times I'll drive through some cruddy/muddy areas and just hit it for a few seconds with my electric pressure washer when I get home and it looks like I spent an hour washing it. WELL worth the money, in my case!

Professionally done... I had absolutely no interest in DIY'ing.