Keeping a model 3 clean: lazy person's guide?

[MaryAnning3]

I bought a white model 3 back in November and I read somewhere that car washes could be bad, both due to the brushes and the water pressure, so, long story short, I never washed the car. That seemed to work okay through the winter, but as spring began I started to accumulate a lot of bug splatter on the front. (Driving on 101 from the bay area to Santa Barbara, there are a lot of bugs in the air!) So then I started to wonder, and I looked online and I learned that: bug splatter is really acidic and really bad for your car. Then I did some more research, ordered some blue ONR and some towels from the rag company and finally cleaned the car.
Anyway, it was difficult and it took a lot of time and I am wondering about easier ways to keep a car clean enough not harm it. Any advice is welcome.

 

[P85_DA]

Ceramic coating or ppf film make cleaning easier ..I have both and use ONR thru a hand sprayer and am able to clean my X in under and hour

 

[OCR1]

Do you have a touchless car wash in your area where they just use soap, water, and hot air without having any brushes or towels rubbing against the car?

 

[MaryAnning3]

Do you have a touchless car wash in your area where they just use soap, water, and hot air without having any brushes or towels rubbing against the car?

Yes. There is AJ's Chevron Mart & Car Wash on Soquel Drive and Park Ave in Aptos. It is touchless. Are those okay? A lot of blue looking water at high pressure. I have heard stories of electrical problems after using a touchless car wash?

 

[P85_DA]

I have heard stories of electrical problems after using a touchless car wash?

No issues running thru even a regular car wash , so touchless should be fine

 

[SMAlset]

White Model 3 here too with full PPF and ceramic coat. Really helps with removal of bird and bee poop while protecting the paint and leaving a nice shine. Don't so much have the bug issues here in the Bay area were we are but yes, driving around the state you'll get them. Heard that the bugs come off fairly easily as well from the PPF/ceramic.

As for car washes, we've only been going with a waterless wash for the last few years and have a few places in the Bay area where we can go (look up Futurewash.com for their locations). I personally wouldn't subject my car and sensors to any pressure wash and you certainly don't want anything that's even a foot out from what I think the manual says. Pressure washers are used to remove paint so be careful. The waterless washes will give you a nice shine and help with bird etc removal as well.

I have some spray bottles of the glass and car body wash from EcoGreen (who use to have a waterless car wash presence in Redwood City but their property got bought and sold this year, but I still use their products), and I keep them handy to spray and remove any bird dropping that I find between car washes. Never did this with our other cars but I love having my Model 3 looking great so kind of laugh at how I've changed since owning Teslas.

BTW some areas of the Bay have hard water. You don't want to be spraying your car with that. Also avoid parking where irrigation systems might throw spray onto the car.

 

[zhu-]

Try the green ONR with wax. It keeps my car clean for weeks and is able to bead off most of the dirt when raining.

 

[ry-ballz]

If you think using ONR is too tough, anything else is going to be way too hard.

Just go to touchless washes. Your paint wont stay perfect, and the car won't get totally clean, but that's the reality of not handwashing a car.

 

[duanra]

Touchless is recommended in the manual.

 

[Dana1]

Yes. There is AJ's Chevron Mart & Car Wash on Soquel Drive and Park Ave in Aptos. It is touchless. Are those okay? A lot of blue looking water at high pressure. I have heard stories of electrical problems after using a touchless car wash?

No brushes is key. Water isn’t great because of minerals left behind (this is what clay barring removes) but distilled water doesn’t do this. The old school car washes approach this with the spot free rinse option. Griouts and Meguires both have a spray wash. It’s a bottle that you spritz onto car and wipe off with microfiber cloth. Super fast. I usually follow up with a detail spray. 20 minutes and she’s fantastic. I do have nano ceramic which helps.

 

[03DSG]

Ceramic coating and a leaf blower

 

[S'toon]

White Model 3 here too with full PPF and ceramic coat. Really helps with removal of bird and bee poop while protecting the paint and leaving a nice shine. Don't so much have the bug issues here in the Bay area were we are but yes, driving around the state you'll get them. Heard that the bugs come off fairly easily as well from the PPF/ceramic.

As for car washes, we've only been going with a waterless wash for the last few years and have a few places in the Bay area where we can go (look up Futurewash.com for their locations). I personally wouldn't subject my car and sensors to any pressure wash and you certainly don't want anything that's even a foot out from what I think the manual says. Pressure washers are used to remove paint so be careful. The waterless washes will give you a nice shine and help with bird etc removal as well.

I have some spray bottles of the glass and car body wash from EcoGreen (who use to have a waterless car wash presence in Redwood City but their property got bought and sold this year, but I still use their products), and I keep them handy to spray and remove any bird dropping that I find between car washes. Never did this with our other cars but I love having my Model 3 looking great so kind of laugh at how I've changed since owning Teslas.

BTW some areas of the Bay have hard water. You don't want to be spraying your car with that. Also avoid parking where irrigation systems might throw spray onto the car.

Wait, bee poop?

 

[Arizona Willie]

There is a car wash not far from me where they have wands and you do it yourself. The wands will spray water or foam.
I thought I would go there one of these days and give my M3 a bath. Rinse / foam / rinse again.
But I don't know what to use to dry it with. 70 mph on the interstate?

 

[Jdcorbitt3]

Wait, bee poop?

Yeah. It is those smelly little yellow spots that can be a pain to get off.

 

[SMAlset]

Yeah. It is those smelly little yellow spots that can be a pain to get off.

Yep, actually in my experience harder to get off than bird poop.

 

[SMAlset]

There is a car wash not far from me where they have wands and you do it yourself. The wands will spray water or foam.
I thought I would go there one of these days and give my M3 a bath. Rinse / foam / rinse again.
But I don't know what to use to dry it with. 70 mph on the interstate?

Would recommend The Absorber by CleanTools. CleanTools | Superior Absorbent Towels for Cars, Home & More kind of like the oldtime chamois but better. Several sizes and absorbencies. Sold all over online and auto stores.

 

[paulsiu]

I would:
1. Use a long lasting synthetic wax like Jesscar Powerlock or Meguiar Fast Finish. Wax it every couple of months or when the water starts not to bead. Do not use a natural wax since they may look better but won't last.
2. Use a touchless car wash. How often depends on how dirty your car get. In area with snow,, use the undercarriage option to avoid rust.
3. Keep a bottle of instant detailer in your car with a rag. Spray and wipe off any bird poop or stuff that stick to your finish before it starts eating into the paint.
4. For bug and tar, use Citrol 266 industrial cleaner and a hose. The stuff can dissolve road tar and bug splatter, but you have to rinse the area and then apply the cleaner and watch it start to dissolve and then try to blast it off with a hose or better yet power washer. You want to try to rinse the tar and bugs off first to avoid scratches. If it's not off, then use more with a rag. Make sure you rinse the area very well afterwards. you are not supposed to leave the cleaner on the finish. Rewax afterwards since it will remove all of your wax. Keep in mind that bug splatter may indent your paint, so even the cleaner may not be able to remove all of it.

Paul

 

[follow.johnny]

Here are the options most owners go with:

1) Handwash only with ONR (Two bucket process) or with waterless spray
2) PPF with Ceramic coating which makes handwashing alot easier
3) Don't care about microscartches and run the car through drive-thru carwash with brushes
4) Touchless wash
5) PPF entire car and use drive-thru (no scratches on actual paint but on PPF)

I personally use method 2 and it's been working out great for me. I use both ONR with two bucket (if car is very dirty) and use waterless spray with ONR in a water bottle and spray and wash each panel. I use this method for weekly washes where this is just a small layer of dust on the car.

 

[Lifeinabox]

What about the interior? Microfiber on the dash and trim and wipe-its for the vegan leather?

 

[S'toon]

Yeah. It is those smelly little yellow spots that can be a pain to get off.

OK. Had to do a web search for images. I don't think I've ever encountered it.