Progress Thread 85GT4V’s “New” 1985 Mustang GT

[FastDriver]

I rinse with distilled water from a sprayer then hit it with a leaf blower. 98% of the water blows off and what’s left of the distilled dries spot free in the garage.

Well, finally got around to trying it. Grover is normally covered, but I got home with a very light dusting on it, uncovered it, and decided to do a waterless wash. Well, fast forward two months, and though it's in a normally closed garage, the dust accumulated a bit. I'd ordered the 2 gallon sprayer you recommended and gave it a shot. Still a no go from me. Guess I'll revisit if I can ever find someone to demo it and can see them do a good job. I'm sure it's my technique or my tools,

but I hit it with waterless wash, followed by higher pressure distilled water, and was left with this:

Better than the dust that had settled on it, but still a far cry from satisfactory. Hit it with waterless wash and used a microfiber towel:

Now, I'm not upset for giving it a try, and knocking 80-90% of the dust off before round 2 with the microfiber towel hopefully saved from some micro-swirls.

 

[85GT4V]

Well, damn. Sorry that didn’t turn out better @FastDriver !! Did you wash it as normal then rinse with distilled or, did you use a “waterless wash” product then rinse? Looks like you’ve got the right equipment, not sure why it didn’t work : (

To review, I:

- Wash the car with a weak ass foam cannon
- Rinse with distilled
- Leaf blow almost all of it off

You could use a wash mitt in there if you want, the key is the final rinse with distilled and then the blow dry.

I just washed my other car yesterday morning using the above scheme.

With pollen season about over here it’s time to enjoy the nice weather!!!

 

[85GT4V]

If your car has a decent coat of wax on it, take the sprayer end off the hose and just let the water flow out of it as you rinse the car... It will take most of the water with it and not leave any spots..

Also, as @limp said, you could rinse with a low pressure hose and then final rinse with your sprayer of distilled.

 

[FastDriver]

Well, damn. Sorry that didn’t turn out better @FastDriver !! Did you wash it as normal then rinse with distilled or, did you use a “waretprless wash” product then rinse? Looks like you’ve got the right equipment, not sure why it didn’t work : (

To review, I:

- Wash the car with a weak ass foam cannon
- Rinse with distilled
- Leaf blow almost all of it off

You could use a wash mitt in there if you want, the key is the final rinse with distilled and then the blow dry.

I just washed my other car yesterday morning using the above scheme.

With pollen season about over here it’s time to enjoy the nice weather!!!

Yeah, I just sprayed on waterless wash and then sprayed the distilled.

Ok... Can try that next time. So, it's really more of a drying technique. Don't have to scrub with dry towels. Still worth it. It's mostly the drying technique that puts the swirls in.

 

[85GT4V]

Yeah, I just sprayed on waterless wash and then sprayed the distilled.

Ok... Can try that next time. So, it's really more of a drying technique. Don't have to scrub with dry towels. Still worth it. It's mostly the drying technique that puts the swirls in.

Yes, I think the drying introduces scratches, albeit small, every time you dry. The car will have to be clean before the distilled can do its job. If the car is clean, the distilled water will dry spot free (as there aren’t any minerals in distilled water).

I’m not sure how the various waterless wash products work but, good ol’ soap and water will rinse off and leave a clean finish after drying.

 

[nicholase]

I'll give the distilled water since a try. Might help with some spots. I use pretty much the same method. Wash, leaf blower, then finish dry with towels. My car is black and I get no swirls at all.

But the towels are super important. The microfiber towels from the parts store scratch it instantly. I use these borderless plush towels from Adam's. No swirls. I do take care of them. I wash them after every use and hang dry to prevent over drying. I use them to dry and also buff off wax / polish.

https://adamspolishes.com/products/adam-s-borderless-grey-edgeless-towel

 

[FastDriver]

I'll give the distilled water since a try. Might help with some spots. I use pretty much the same method. Wash, leaf blower, then finish dry with towels. My car is black and I get no swirls at all.

But the towels are super important. The microfiber towels from the parts store scratch it instantly. I use these borderless plush towels from Adam's. No swirls. I do take care of them. I wash them after every use and hang dry to prevent over drying. I use them to dry and also buff off wax / polish.

https://adamspolishes.com/products/adam-s-borderless-grey-edgeless-towel

Thanks for that... I've been trying to figure out the best microfiber towel approach. They really like to pick up scratchies. So, when I start to notice that, I relegate them to wheel-duty, shop towel duty, or just toss 'em. I've used Chemical guy's towels, but they're pricey. I'll check out the towels from Adam's. Thanks for that recommendation. I think I'll also devote a sealed bin to them, as opposed to my normal garage towels.

 

[nicholase]

Thanks for that... I've been trying to figure out the best microfiber towel approach. They really like to pick up scratchies. So, when I start to notice that, I relegate them to wheel-duty, shop towel duty, or just toss 'em. I've used Chemical guy's towels, but they're pricey. I'll check out the towels from Adam's. Thanks for that recommendation. I think I'll also devote a sealed bin to them, as opposed to my normal garage towels.

Yeah, I keep em seperate. I keep two clean garbage bags in a cabinet. When I'm done with the towel I put it in the black bag. When I need a new one I take it from the white bag. When I start running low I wash em. Hot, extra rince, hang dry.

Then like you, I relegate them to other things. Eventually I'm wiping grease off my hands with em lol. They get a big sharpie X on them once they leave finish duty .

They are expensive though but I feel worth it. I grabbed a 12 pack once a year. I tried the CGuy stuff. Some of it I like, the towels I didn’t.

Sorry for the derail.

 

[DadLife0724]

You guys all talking bout distilled water and whatnot. I don't even have clear coat on the top of my car. One day I'll have nice paint.....maybe.

 

[gkomo]

You guys all talking bout distilled water and whatnot. I don't even have clear coat on the top of my car. One day I'll have nice paint.....maybe.

Ha ha, i was thinking the same thing. The sporadic rain we get is my car wash at the moment.

 

[FastDriver]

You guys all talking bout distilled water and whatnot. I don't even have clear coat on the top of my car. One day I'll have nice paint.....maybe.

Same with Black Jack. It needs a paint job, but it's my daily. What's the point in putting a lot of money into a paint job only to make me nervous parking next to anyone? I also don't mind putting it through an automatic car wash.

 

[General karthief]

You guys all talking bout distilled water and whatnot. I don't even have clear coat on the top of my car. One day I'll have nice paint.....maybe.

Shiny, nice paint is overrated

 

[85GT4V]

Shiny Paint!!

 

[85GT4V]

Finally got her out for the first drive since New Year’s Day for C&C last weekend. Crappy lighting in front of a local landmark : )

 

[rwordenjr]

Finally got her out for the first drive since New Year’s Day for C&C last weekend. Crappy lighting in front of a local landmark : )

Sick!

 

[Rdub6]

Finally got her out for the first drive since New Year’s Day for C&C last weekend. Crappy lighting in front of a local landmark : )

Zoom that in, and that’s a nice garage poster! Awesome!

 

[85GT4V]

Zoom that in, and that’s a nice garage poster! Awesome!

I agree!! I just need it in better lighting conditions. The midday sun was sort of overpowering! I had a good pic of my other car in that spot and had ChatGPT turn it into a 30’s Monaco-themed poster. I was trying to get the same shot of the Mustang there. Hell, AI could probably make it work regardless of how good/bad the original is : )

 

[85GT4V]

Five Foxes at the local car show today. Four 4-Eyes, three ‘85s! What great weather today for a show in my little corner of NC.

 

[Rdub6]

Five Foxes at the local car show today. Four 4-Eyes, three ‘85s! What great weather today for a show in my little corner of NC.

That last pic of the red one, with the 17” 10 holes is the nicest!

 

[85GT4V]

That last pic of the red one, with the 17” 10 holes is the nicest!

Indeed!!! ; )

I was very intrigued by the ASC McLaren Capri ! I talked to the owner, who knew all the high-level stuff about the McLaren collaboration but didn’t seem to grasp how “special” the car was. He’d owned the car for a couple of years and seemed to be enthusiastic about it, but…

It was in rough shape and really could have been brought back to its best life with just a little work (and a little bit of “investment”).

He bought (stole) the car a couple years ago for $5,500 and didn’t seem to think it was worthy of bringing back to life. I’m not a convertible guy but I told him I’d give him his $5,500 investment and a modest profit if he was willing to part with it.

‘85 with a 4V carburetor and auto trans.