wax shop

Why miss out on all of the fun for yourself? To wax is to bond with your Miata. Treat it as an art form, and take joy in seeing the shine spring forward. Buy a wax like Maguires and appreciate their fine products. I wax about 6 times a year.... and that's probably too much, as I've never seen my car NOT bead up with rain water in the 12 years I've had her. Jim Jim's Miata Web Page

Be careful when having you car waxed "professionally". Those guys can get a little carried away with the electric buffer, burning your paint. The Miata is so small that you can wax it with the Meguiars one step polish/cleaner (purple bottle) in under an hour and get just as good a job as most shops. If your more adverturesome, you can do the multi-step process but IMHO, it's a waste of time. Regular washing and waxing will keep your finish fresh. My 12 year old red, which is about the hardest color to keep up, still has a high gloss and people are amazed it's the original paint and all I've ever used is the Meguiars one step.

Tom

Alan wrote:

Those who rent in Santa Clara don't have access to hoses to wash cars (we pay for H2O in this county) so from Palo Alto south, we need help.

Don't they have car washes south of Palo Alto (self-serve, not the drive through kind)? Wash it, drive it to a shady area, turn up the tunes and wax it. If that just isn't feasible, and if no one here can point you to someone, go talk to a couple of dealers (great way to spend an afternoon!) about who does their detailing on trades. They'll usually have some competent people that come around and do a decent job. As for how often, depends upon exposure, acid rain, smog, etc.. I do mine four times a year but I'm in central Va. where the environmental hazards aren't too bad. If your car isn't clearcoated like many of the M1's, waxing becomes a bit more frequent and scares the heck out of you the first time and see all that oxidized paint come off on your white cotton rags. Good luck with it.

Tom

I wonder if one of those pesticide sprayers would put out enough liquid to rinse off a car..... they aren't that expensive (~20-25 bucks), and they hold a couple of gallons...

Howsabout a "Supersoaker" type squirt gun? Probably put out more than a pesticide sprayer.

DonB