Fellow car cleaning obsessives...

[DaveW]

I've put together a guide covering off some of the stuff we get up to for those, that before owning a Tesla have probably just had done at the supermarket.

Can you take a look, see if I've missed anything obvious? I've got to the stage of reading it too many times to spot the problems

Cleaning your Tesla - TeslaEV.co.uk

All done just in time to clean the pollen off the car tomorrow, that'll be three washes for about 2 miles of driving!

 

[spon88]

I've put together a guide covering off some of the stuff we get up to for those, that before owning a Tesla have probably just had done at the supermarket.

Can you take a look, see if I've missed anything obvious? I've got to the stage of reading it too many times to spot the problems

Cleaning your Tesla - TeslaEV.co.uk

All done just in time to clean the pollen off the car tomorrow, that'll be three washes for about 2 miles of driving!

Useful. I'd also add that PPF is perhaps the ultimate way to protect your car although the payback is debateable. I felt the need to do it (topped with ceramic "halo" coating) when the local detailer illustrated how poor the Tesla paintwork was compared to other cars in his workshop. Also the threads which show paint wearing away near the sills and wheel arches. The PPF self-heals so I won't be too concerned when tomorrow I clean off the sahara which seems to have accumulated over the last week or so. I have the same spec as you but with the white interior - black (when clean!) still looks best to me

 

[DaveW]

Thanks

If I wasn’t leasing, I think I’d have gone the PPF route, I have a decent amount of battle scars already from under 10k miles when you look up close.

When black is clean, it really does look amazing!

 

[davidmc]

It's a deep hole, this car detailing business is!

One that I have just used but mentioned by others is ONR (Optimal no rinse), great little product that makes a quick wash very quick with great results. Also you can use it as a detailer and clay bar lubricant.

I was looking at ceramic but decided to try a few waxes and came across "Soft99 New Fusso coat dark" (Light for light colours). Great type of wax that you can layer and gives a protective layer. Also makes you car shine like a show room car!

To hide the swirls I use Autoglym super resin polish and this is put on before the was above.

Waxing and polishing only needed once every 6 to 12 months (wax more often if you fancy it).

Clay bar etc as you have mentioned.

Wash regularly with the ONR

Simples!

 

[Chalks99]

I've put together a guide covering off some of the stuff we get up to for those, that before owning a Tesla have probably just had done at the supermarket.

Can you take a look, see if I've missed anything obvious? I've got to the stage of reading it too many times to spot the problems

Cleaning your Tesla - TeslaEV.co.uk

All done just in time to clean the pollen off the car tomorrow, that'll be three washes for about 2 miles of driving!

Each to their own but I find the rubber blades fantastic for shifting large quantities of beaded water; never had an issue with scratching.

 

[M3P8906]

A good read, thank you...in truth it’s made me question the blade I use to get all the water off the car. I always give mine a good rinse in warm water before use, but is there another reason I am missing to avoid using it?

There was just one paragraph in which a couple of words gained an ‘ing’...

Wheel cleanering
Given the lack of actual braking we do, you shouldn’t need one of the specialist wheel cleaning products, I’ve rarely seen any brake dust on my wheels, evening during winter.

 

[DaveW]

A good read, thank you...in truth it’s made me question the blade I use to get all the water off the car. I always give mine a good rinse in warm water before use, but is there another reason I am missing to avoid using it?

There was just one paragraph in which a couple of words gained an ‘ing’...

Wheel cleanering
Given the lack of actual braking we do, you shouldn’t need one of the specialist wheel cleaning products, I’ve rarely seen any brake dust on my wheels, evening during winter.

Thanks for the corrections - that was the last bit I had done, car wash writing fatigue, fixed it now.

In regards to the blade, mainly from what I’d read / seen online and spoke to a couple of detailers about.

Forensic detailing on YouTube says much the same:

Although I guess with the amount of glass we have, it might cut time on the roof which should be fine

 

[M3P8906]

Thanks for the corrections - that was the last bit I had done, car wash writing fatigue, fixed it now.

In regards to the blade, mainly from what I’d read / seen online and spoke to a couple of detailers about.

Forensic detailing on YouTube says much the same:

Although I guess with the amount of glass we have, it might cut time on the roof which should be fine

Interesting watch, and whilst i totally get the logic I can’t help wondering...if there’s dust falling on your car regardless, rubbing a microfibre over it won’t exactly help either; lesser of two evils perhaps.

Either way I agree that glass is certainly the best place for it.

She’ll be getting a wash this weekend so I’ll keep my eyes peeled

 

[DaveW]

Interesting watch, and whilst i totally get the logic I can’t help wondering...if there’s dust falling on your car regardless, rubbing a microfibre over it won’t exactly help either; lesser of two evils perhaps.

Either way I agree that glass is certainly the best place for it.

She’ll be getting a wash this weekend so I’ll keep my eyes peeled

I think the logic is supposed to be (and I’m not saying I’m 100% on this, I’d just rather avoid the risk) is that the hooks of the microfibre bring the dirt into the cloth, not just on the surface. Could easily be BS, but with a black car I’m doing what I can to avoid any more micro scratches / swirls

Already washed here, did it whilst overcast.

Made this GIF too, to put on that page

 

[Gatsojon]

Good information! a couple of points from my experience: -

I always find the snow foam holds better if applied without a pre-rinse.
A modern Iron-out/drop-out cleaner will help before a clay bar. Rinse and clean well after and before the clay bar.

 

[DaveW]

Good information! a couple of points from my experience: -

I always find the snow foam holds better if applied without a pre-rinse.
A modern Iron-out/drop-out cleaner will help before a clay bar. Rinse and clean well after and before the clay bar.

Thanks for that, I’ll call that out

 

[M3noob]

Thanks, DaveW, for the comprehensive summary. However, I note that the Owners Manual says that if you use a product like RainX it will interfer with the auto-wipe function.

I've used RainX on other cars with good results. Complaints abound about the auto-wipe function. So who cares?

 

[DaveW]

Thanks, DaveW, for the comprehensive summary. However, I note that the Owners Manual says that if you use a product like RainX it will interfer with the auto-wipe function.

I've used RainX on other cars with good results. Complaints abound about the auto-wipe function. So who cares?

I’ve used the Gtechniq kit on my car since having it last August, no issues at all (better performance if anything)

 

[ChickenDipper]

Really good read thank you, would be interested to see something on self application of ceramic coating, I know there’s a lot out there already but your style of writing is especially clear!

 

[DaveW]

Really good read thank you, would be interested to see something on self application of ceramic coating, I know there’s a lot out there already but your style of writing is especially clear!

Thanks for that, I’m sure I could put something together on how to apply Exo which is what I’ve done before - I’ll leave out the machine polishing stage though, lot of expense for people for what’s hopefully a one off job (my DA doesn’t get much use these days!)

 

[shthpnz]

@DaveW Thanks for your comprehensive tutorial. Perhaps: instead of using the foam pistols on the pressure washer you could use the 'stand alone' version. Same effect. https://www.amazon.co.uk/GLORIA-Lit...eywords=GLORIA+sprayer&qid=1587928428&sr=8-22

 

[DaveW]

@DaveW Thanks for your comprehensive tutorial. Perhaps: instead of using the foam pistols on the pressure washer you could use the 'stand alone' version. Same effect. https://www.amazon.co.uk/GLORIA-Lit...eywords=GLORIA+sprayer&qid=1587928428&sr=8-22

thanks for that @shthpnz - how effective are they without the pressure from the jet wash?

 

[shthpnz]

The foam adapter on the Karcher is often a hassle. Not enough pressure, the foam too watery etc. No problems with the Gloria. And isn't the foam for lifting the dirt, not for 'pressurefoaming' it?

 

[DaveW]

The foam adapter on the Karcher is often a hassle. Not enough pressure, the foam too watery etc. No problems with the Gloria. And isn't the foam for lifting the dirt, not for 'pressurefoaming' it?

The Karcher foam canon isn’t great to be honest, which is why I got the autobrite one.

I assumed the pressure helped generate the foam, interesting thank you, I’ll take a look into it.

 

[shthpnz]

I assumed the pressure helped generate the foam, interesting thank you, I’ll take a look into it.

You are right. Foaming needs pressure. On the Gloria you pump pressure in the canister