Car washing paranoia

I too have a black '04.

Even before I received my Prius I ordered a starter kit from Zaino (www.zainostore.com). I had to wait until the temperature was warm enough (+10 C) before I could apply it. That was Easter weekend.

The Zaino kit comes with a "claybar". After first washing with dish detergent to take off any existing wax, you use the claybar. The claybar takes off fine surface material that doesn't come off with washing. I'm confident it would take off your small particulate material.

The first application of Zaino took a while as it consists of washing with Dawn dish detergent, then claybarring, then washing again. This is followed by one or more applications of Zaino. (I did six layers over two days). Subsequent coats are much easier as they consist of one washing with however many applications of Zaino you want.

After I finished my final coat of Zaino, someone actually came up to me to comment ask what I was using as he had never seen a car that shining.

If you decide to not go the Zaino route, you can claybar anyway. Stop in at any decent place that sells auto cleaning products and waxes. They will likely sell claybar products both alone and packaged with other supplies.

 

I wash my Silver '04 every Saturday. I use a nice are washing soap, but use close to none, not even enough to make sudds on the car. When I am all done, I dry it with two great chamois. They work like a charm. No water spots, whatsoever. I decided to buy that thing from Target, the Mr. Clean Autodry Car Wash. It is very nice for washing and rinsing the car. But then came the test to so called "Auto Dry" the car. I sprayed the water on the car. Went inside, then went back outside and looked nice. When I got close, Terrible. Dried the car, but with spots. Returned it and am now back to my chamois.

 

Please download and read the 60 page .pdf Detailers Handbook from Griot's Garage. It's particularly important for your Prius because Black, like White, does not have a clearcoat topcoat and should have polish and wax applied soon after delivery. All of the other colors have clearcoat, although it's still important to detail them, too.

The Handbook talks about a random orbital polisher. Don't fear these, you can't burn your paint. They work wonders, are available at Lowes (Porter-Cable 6") on sale for $80, and do a better job than any hand technique, IMHO Zaino people. Use the Griot's backing plate and special applicator pads, and you'll be amazed in every way.

Honestly, I'd ditch the sponge now. It's only holding in contaminants no matter how well you rinse, and is probably acting as a swirl inducing abrasive. I use a genuine sheepskin wash mitt from, get this, Wal-Mart. It's the Eurow brand, cost $5, and works well. Get two, one for upper surfaces, the other reserved for lower, dirtier areas.

For polish or wax removal, I use the 100% cotton USA made Cannon/Fieldcrest hand towels from Bed, Bath & Beyond, $2/ea. Wash them prior to first use with a liquid detergent, no softener, remove tags, and buy a half-dozen for drying and shining.

That's it in a nutshell. Read the rest in the link and put on your sunglasses when you're done!

 

I usually wash mine every other week - nothing too fancy at this point - because of the great aerodynamics of the car, it stays pretty clean all by itself.

Typically I just give it a good rinse with the sprayer set to low-power, then go over with two mitts - one for the top, front, back, and upper-side panels, then one to do the windows, lower bumpers, lower sides, and finally the wheel covers.

Another rinse, then I take the nozzle off of the end of the hose and just use a low-power stream of water to remove the water droplets (the stream causes the water to sheet-off as opposed to bead from a spray-head). Then a super-absorbant car drying cloth to dry the car.

All in all, takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to do a good job of it. I usually also clean the door frame out and spray-off the rubber mats inside the car as well.

I've waxed mine once with regular car wax (be really careful to keep the wax away from the black trim/rubber, it can be a real pain to get off). Once it gets a little nicer, I'll probably zaino mine as well.

Dave.

 

Target has some great chamois. There are some in a tube that work real good, after they are wet, though.

 

I believe the Black Prius is clearcoated.

I enquired about that before I ordered my Black '04 Prius. The dealership confirmed that Black is clearcoated.

I had cause to have a spot of body work done on my Black '04 Prius already. The paint price included clearcoating. It looks exactly the same as the rest of the car.

 

Would someone with a Black kindly check the color code? Open the driver's door and look at the build label. The Ext/Int codes are listed. Does it say 202 as the exterior color? If so, it's the classic Toyota black in use for at least the last fifty years, and isn't clearcoated. Please post here with what you find.

I haven't heard of a change in the non-metallic Black formula. I believe it's the same non-clearcoated 202 Black in use throughout the Toyota and Lexus lineup, although Lexus "adds value" by calling it Onyx. If you're brave enough, prove it to yourself with a mild polish and white applicator pad or cloth. The Black paint will transfer to the applicator. Clearcoated finishes won't transfer color.

 

paulisme, yes, that's the code that I called Ext/Int (Color/Trim). That's the 202 code for non-metallic/pearl/mica Black, so there's no clearcoat. Thanks for checking.

This became a BIG topic on other Toyota boards. I researched it directly to the paint experts at TMS, Torrance, who confirmed that Black, White, Red, and Yellow non-metallics don't have clearcoat. Not a big deal if you keep the paint polished and waxed. But, be careful to use a gentle polish and good wax.

I've used different claybars and have come to the conclusion that the possibility for misuse outweighs the potential benefits on a new finish. The exceptions are those vehicles transported by train on their way to you. For me, given that I usually buy Japan produced Toyota/Lexus vehicles in Portland, there's no train rail dust to contend with. They go from ship to truck to the dealer, and are much cleaner than domestically produced Toyota's I've bought coming from Eastern U.S. factories by rail.

Incidentally, if you split the process into separate polish and wax steps using Griot's or some other carnauba products, the trim and rubber will not discolor. OTOH, most combined cleaner/polish/wax products will discolor.

 

Amped,
Are you saying that the Salsa red also does not have a clearcoat?

 

No, Salsa Red, like all other pearls, metallics and micas, has a clearcoat. The only Prius without clearcoat are Black or White.

 

Hello all. Iran into a dealer/owner and we got talking about car washing's. He told me at his dealership they never use Chamois on cars because it removes the wax, They use only Turkisk type towels. Just a thought ..My Prius is on order, I found a dealer where no down payment was needed, As a whole I think Most car salemen are jerks. Sorry guys but you brought it on yourselfs.[/b]

 

I would NOT use a chamois. Use cotton towels instead. I keep 4 or 5 in the car at all times to touch up spots left by the car wash.

 

And you have to be careful what type of cotton you use, since most cotton towels will scratch the paint. Only use microfiber or equally soft material.

 

Before I bought my Black Prius I asked the salesperson at the Toyota dealership where I bought it if the Black is clearcoated. He advised me before purchase that the Black is clearcoated. He had no reason to misrepresent as he had access to all of the colours when I bought mine in November 2003.

I had paint work done last month. The autobody shop said the Black Prius was clearcoated and clearcoated the paint work I had done.

I asked the service department to confirm for me whether the Black Prius is clearcoated as the Zaino product has different formulations for clearcoated an non-clearcoated. He checked with the bodyshop that does their bodywork. They confirmed that the Black Prius is clearcoated.

He then telephoned the Toyota Canada tech support line that is available only to the service departments at Toyota dealerships in Canada. They confirmed that the Black Prius is clearcoated.

I'm thinking that the Black Prius is clearcoated.

 

The first time I washed my Black Prius, and the Mitt started turning Black, I said.... Hmm. I thought it was clearcoated.

Now, based on personal experience, I'm thinking it's not.

It will be interesting to find out for sure, but who is qualified to be the final arbiter since we have a variety of opinions from Toyota?

 

Well, I did some googling on the subject and was unable to come up with what I'd consider a definitive answer.

However, I did find Lexus owners debating the same subject

On the Detailing Sites, I did find an explanation of why Black and White are possibly not clearcoated though.

Even though a clearcoat is 'clear' it still has some degree of 'refractive index'. IE, it bends light.

On Black and White cars, this gives what they call a 'silvery sheen' or 'rainbow effect' which detracts from the purity, depth and richness of the colors.

The consensus seems to be that in order to get a 'pure' black or white color, you can't clearcoat it.