[YMe]

I know this is a rather silly question, but what approaches to you take for keeping your Q3 clean?

I am motivated to ask because the car I have on order is black, and it will be the first black car we have owned. In the past I have washed my cars (mostly lighter colors) by hand when new and precious until I get too lazy a few years into ownership, and then I go to a drive through car wash. However, I know that many car washes can leave swirl marks on black paint and I'd like to keep this car looking as good as possible for a long while. And hand washing is not a good option in winter.

 

[JohnJ]

I've had several black cars and they look great after a wash and wax. They do get "dirty" fast however. Even a little dust will show. My last car was silver and my Q3 is monsoon gray. I noticed a difference in the first few weeks between the two!

Winter car washing at the car wash is just a necessary evil. You might try some wax cleaner in the springtime to remove the swirls. The next step would be compounding.

Years back, I heard of something called a "California Car Duster." It did a pretty good job of lifting light dust off a car and worked well for those dark cars just washed a few days earlier.

I'll probably give mine a wash in the next few days. Our mountain road is still loaded with sand from the winter.

 

[Quatto]

You'll want to Google 'Larry AMMO NYC' he's a professional detailer that shares a lot of useful information that is newbie friendly.

 

[rnlabas]

I can vouch for the California Duster - a real detailer's dream. I have 3 of them, more than 10 years old and still works like a champ. The others are just as old but unused - waiting for the first one to yield. But I'm kinda freaky - wash the cars at least once a week (now with pollen, about every other day) - and use the Duster or a quick detailing spray very regularly. My cars usually look like they were sitting on the showroom, and 2 of them are almost 6 years old - but they're no garage queens nor ever have any grass growing under them, and they know what it means to be driven.

 

[AMILL]

I learned the hard way having a black BMW. Showed the dust all the time.

I got the Glacier White Q3. Takes some getting used to but when I went thru the car wash low and behold what did I see? Rail dust stuck to my paint. I guess it's pretty common because the car wash recycles their water and there's who knows what that comes off other cars and is sprayed onto your car. Anyway, I high tailed it to my favorite detailer. With a clay bar and a good outside detailing my car is as good as new. I'll learn eventually.

In three months I'm getting the Opticoat on my car. That'll take care of the problem for a bit. I know a self serve car wash is a bit safer but I've heard that even the self service can ruin the paint after a while. A $20 wash at your favorite detailer even though it's much more expensive will be a much better idea in the long run.

 

[nickjs1984]

This. In the warmer weather, I hand wash the car about once a week (it's good exercise on top of being the best way of getting it clean). But I'll be at a car wash at least once or twice a week using the pressure washing bays. I don't need the car to be perfect, but it definitely should almost always look as good as when I picked it up.

The best was when I was living in State College and I had a membership to RedLine Speed Shine. $28/mo for access to the hot water/heated bay touchless wash and dry bay up to twice a day. My cars were never cleaner...

I can vouch for the California Duster - a real detailer's dream. I have 3 of them, more than 10 years old and still works like a champ. The others are just as old but unused - waiting for the first one to yield. But I'm kinda freaky - wash the cars at least once a week (now with pollen, about every other day) - and use the Duster or a quick detailing spray very regularly. My cars usually look like they were sitting on the showroom, and 2 of them are almost 6 years old - but they're no garage queens nor ever have any grass growing under them, and they know what it means to be driven.

 

[YMe]

I think I'll wash it by hand during the warm weather and touch it up with detailing spray in between washes. In the winter I won't have many options other than to use the do-it-yourself bay with the pressure hose in the winter.

I have a California Duster somewhere. I used it on the black interior of my last car and it worked very well.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Quatto]

I learned the hard way having a black BMW. Showed the dust all the time.

I got the Glacier White Q3. Takes some getting used to but when I went thru the car wash low and behold what did I see? Rail dust stuck to my paint. I guess it's pretty common because the car wash recycles their water and there's who knows what that comes off other cars and is sprayed onto your car. Anyway, I high tailed it to my favorite detailer. With a clay bar and a good outside detailing my car is as good as new. I'll learn eventually.

In three months I'm getting the Opticoat on my car. That'll take care of the problem for a bit. I know a self serve car wash is a bit safer but I've heard that even the self service can ruin the paint after a while. A $20 wash at your favorite detailer even though it's much more expensive will be a much better idea in the long run.

I know the struggle.
It's a lot of work but pays off as when it looks clean it looks amazing.

For me it was a combination of having my vehicle on consistently scheduled visits to the detailer, learning how to properly wash my vehicle along with using duster. Parking it indoors helped a lot.

 

[Ohio Joe]

Above 40 F. I wash ours as much as possible and we do garage the cars so that helps. In the winter we tend to go with my wifes old car (a Jeep) as much as possible but when winter really kicks in and we end up with all of the cars a mess we get stuck... Our dealer has free car wash Saturdays and its a touchless was set up with hand wash/dry as needed they do a good job but nothing close to what I or a good detailer would do... This works out good for us...

 

[Quatto]

15 minute car wash done by a pro: