Hey everyone! First off, I would like to introduce myself as the proud new (as of a week ago) owner of an '06 Crossfire Limited convertible. She's black with 48,XXX miles, 2-tone grey leather interior and tinted windows and will be my general use car - to/from my (10 min) drive to work and for recreation. I have been browsing the site for a few days and am finding a wealth of helpful information. While I am a woman and don't have much automobile knowledge or experience, I don't want to be helpless as far as caring for my own car. Also, as a young professional just starting out, I am trying to find DIY/ budget solutions wherever possible rather than just bringing my car into a shop for every minor thing. Which is why I am on here to learn.

With that said, I have a few general exterior maintenance questions as a new Crossfire owner:

1) Car Care at an Apartment: Any tips for car care when living in an apartment? My Crossfire lives in an underground "group" garage for my apartment building. While I am grateful to have safe and covered parking for my baby, it also makes regular car care a bit of an issue, since I don't have access to many of the benefits of a "home" garage (outdoor space to work on the car, garden hose, etc). I have family that live about an hour away that I visit once a month or so, and I have washed my old car there in the past on occasion.

2) Ocean Air: My Crossfire's home and most of my driving is very near the ocean if not actually along the coast. I have heard the salty air and moisture can accelerate damage to my car. What precautions should I take to protect from or prevent this?

3) Dents, Dings, and Swirls: My new Crossfire is a beauty but she didn't come without her minor wear and tear issues. There are definitely a few scratches/ divots/ chips in the exterior and paint job. What can be fixed with "touch up paint" and what needs more elaborate measures? And further, what kind of touch up paint is best? Also, after browsing these forums, I have noticed my car definitely has what is called "swirls" in the clearcoat. Wondering if these are issues that need to be addressed right away - will it hurt my car if left untreated for several months?

4) Waxing: I've read a bit about waxing of cars on these forums, but I am still a bit hesitant to go ahead and try it myself on my new car. Is this something I can do with a jar of wax and some elbow grease, or do I really need to buy more fancy mechanical application equipment? My previous car was a '95 LeBaron which I loved dearly and would hand wash and wax with either Meguiar's gold or Turtle Wax. However, I suspect in the long run the waxing may have done more harm than good, as I would see green paint residue come off on the applicators when waxing, and in her later days, my car had many swirls. I washed my Crossfire this weekend at my family's house using method I found linked to from these forums... I am just worried I might do more harm than good with trying to wax her myself. Is this something better left to a professional or someone more experienced?

Thanks for indulging my long winded post... I look forward to the wealth of knowledge and advice you all have to share!

Lady Crossfire

 

First I would like to welcome you to the XF owners community. This is a great bunch of guys with a wide breadth of experiences to draw on. About the only help I can offer at this time is seeing your in the area of high salty humidity, I would not use a car cover as the cover may trap corrosive compounds on and in your vehicle in the covered auto area you live in. With that said, I'll let others jump in on the other concerns you have in this post.

 

I'll throw in my 2 cents on a couple of the questions, and one not asked :

1. clay bar it.
2. I use 'AutoGlym' wax, works good for me, you will of course find differing opinions.
3. to clean the wheels, you GOTTA take 'em off one at a time, clean them real good, let them dry and wax the inside and outside. The wax on the inside will help with the brake dust issue, which leads us to : get some low dust ceramic brake pads.
( wheel bolt torque is 82 ft/lbs ( get yourself a 3/4" torque wrench, a 3" or 4" extension and a 6 sided 3/4" 17mm socket. )

hint : update your profile with location, you might find some folks near you willing to help.

 

Damn you are quick, GG. You win another race.

 

Welcome to the forums! Looks like your car is in great shape, so maintenance will be easy.

Best advice is to search some of the threads by Mike-In-Orange... he's one of our resident detailing gurus and he's very willing to help.

Basic wash will be fine, as both of my Crossfires sat outside at my old condo for years and I was always complimented on the finish. Water baths are great but in between washings, Meguiar's Quik-Detailer is a godsend. It's in a maroon bottle and can be found nearly anywhere.

When my cars were outside, I would clay/wax the car quarterly. Now that mine is garaged, I may be able to cut that in half.

Cheers,

 

He he he, and I was interrupted a few times and re-edited a few times before the post so I didn't look the fool (not say'in I aint, nor am, either).

 

3/4"? we are talking about a Crossfire not a Mac truck. 1/2" is fine and 3/8" is good to have as well.

This lady probably does not need either as a full set of tools is not on many ladies wish list.

 

Yeah... unfortunately I don't see myself taking off my own tires any time soon. Even if I had the skills & tools necessary, I don't have a private garage to do it in.

Just trying to find a balance between what I can do myself and what needs professional care.

 

Welcome Lady Crossfire..
You have GREAT taste in cars, 1st the LeBaron, iv had one & now a BLACK XF. Black is best, once you have a black car you'll eather always have one or never again. That said this forum will be the best place for help on just about everything!!
Mike-in- Ornge will chime in and keep your eyes on your local GTG's

 

Yea, sorry about that, 1/2" is what I meant. ( listen to what I mean, not what I say )

 

I figured you made a slip of the finger on the keys.

 

IHMO the first thing you should find is a "touchless" wash service that blows the car dry at the end. Not some places that have a guy hanging around the exit, with some old towels to dry your car for a tip. If you're concerned about "salty' residue, washing frequently is your answer.
Then never use any products by Turtle Wax or ArmourAll. Any easy-on/easyoff cleaner/wax may be too abrasive if it leaves color on your pad. There are some great products that will remove swirl marks without scratching the gel coat more.. Then a decent "carnauba" based wax. Use of a ClayBar before these steps is recommended to remove all if not most of the dirt that is left on the car, even after washing. Most claybar kits come with a detailer spray, which you'll need anyway later on anyway. Many of us use a Porter Cable buffer to apply and buff, but if you don't have an outlet handy, a proper applicator pad AND Micro-fiber towels (a few of them) will do the job pretty nice with elbow grease. After that an occasional wipe down with a detailer spray and micro clothes will do nicely. I have washed my micro towels frequently with no ill problems. It is not suggested to not use Cotton terri cloth toweling for drying. Some old men's tee shirts (cotton) that are clean and not dried with softener sheets can be used. The trick is to either handwash with car soap or use the touchless car wash.
You may be surprised when you wash or dry your car thoroughly, how many little problems in the finish, just seem to pop up. Don't be discouraged...... Work at it thoroughly the first time, and maintenance becomes easier.
As far as using touch-up paint goes, it all depends on how many and how big the spots are. Black is a pretty easy color to match, and real small spots can be succesfully "spotted" with paint. They'll never be the same level and smoothness as a re=sprayed area, but if not too many, it won't be too bad. I have had pretty good results using a toothpick to apply the paint instead of the brush, by just touching the spot with a small amt of paint. Oh... and be sure to buy an automotive touch-up paint....
One other thought about the touchless car wash. After the wash, you will have a good handle on whether there are any leaks that need to be attended to.
Good Luck and Have Fun ..........

 

Lady C - Nice looking roadster. All of the above info is right on the money, and there is a ton of additional detailing info on this forum using the "search" function.
My input for an apt dwelling XFire would be:

Wax - I know it's blasphemy, but I would clay bar and use NuFinish given your situation. There are lots of boutique waxes out there, but NuFinish wears like nails, whereas the other don't seem to hang in there as long. It's readily available for about $6 and I use it on my daily driver for the Mich winters with great results. Just don't get it on the black trim. A detail spray would help maintain the finish also.
If your apt complex has an outside hose spigot, get a 50' foot hose and bucket to rinse your car down once a week or so to offset the ocean salt concerns.

Trim - Use some type of rubber protectant on the black trim pieces like 303 or Meguiar's. This can also treat the tires. Meguiar's makes handy wipes for rubber protection and for leather care.

Top - Protect it with 303 Fabric Protector or Ragg Topp. If your car is parked outside in the sun for any significant time (like when you're at work) consider buying a California Pop Top Car Covers, Car Sun Shades - California PopTop Besides keeping your top looking like new, it'll protect the dash, leather seats etc... from the sun. I've got one for each of my convertibles and they work!

Probably the best piece of advice is to get to know Mike-In-Orange and have him detail your car

 

Welcome aboard, black can be the biggest pain of a color but also, I think, the best looking

 

Yea, Dave, sorry about the 3/4 - 1/2 inch brain f**t, but you will notice that I refrained from suggesting she buy one of those BrownLine Digital Torque Wrenches, didn't you ?

( I bought one, maxcichon took a look and ordered one also - heck of a wrench, accurate to 1/2 ft/pound. The case even has a place for 3 spare AA batteries, good idea as the last time I wanted to use it, the batteries were dead. )

 

Lady Crossfire
Here is a great place for products & Videos on how to's.
Instructional Detailing Videos
They also have a Fourm you can get great info on your questions.

 

I add another WELCOME! Nice to hear from another female on the site, and I always learn something helpful and useful - and from the responses to your post, it is about keeping up the rubber trim pieces . I needed that info.

Also had a LeBaron, then a Sebring and now the 2008 XF for 2 years. I'm the second owner and the car just turned 1l,000 miles on Sat. I'm thinking this will always be a low-mileage car......

I'm on the other coast and one of my problems is the sand - which is everywhere, and I am 10 miles from the nearest beach. BUT a great place for a roadster!

Alicia

 

Lady C

I've seen a couple of replies to your questions that say to rinse your car often to keep the damage from salt to a minimum (after the initial "deep clean" of the car). As you live in an apartment and don't have access to what home dwellers have, may I suggest you just take your car weekly to a self-serve car wash (I go every Friday so the car is ready for the weekend), put a couple of bucks in the hose spraying machine and give your car a good long rinse with just plain water. Then, wheel around to where the vacuums are (and hopefully in the shade) and give it a good drying with proper towels or a good chamois. No tools to buy (except towels) and only takes about 20 minutes. Fast, cost effective, and gets you ready for the weekend.

Hope you enjoy the car as much as we all do!

RL

 

Also, if there is an electrical outlet handy, get yourself a cheap leaf blower : they do wonders for drying the car, especially around the spoiler and tonneau cover.

 

Yeah a cheap but WINDY leaf blower/shop vac that converts to a blower. Most impressive drying (I refrain from saying anything that'll get me in trouble) if you take your time.