OK so now I can confess My Jag 2008 XKR Portfolio is kept in the garage when I am not driving it. It is my daily driver . I use the 2-bucket method and blow dry the car with a leaf blower and wax it my self I also wax my Red Alcon brake caliper as well as my 20" wheels. It is Celestial Black ans I love the car. I took it to my Jaguar dealer Cherry Hill Classic Cars where I bought it (I Love this Place) to get it detailed and they laughed and said it couldn't get any better. If I ever give this one up I will by my next one from Cherry Hill . OH !! Hey clamdigger Hello back to you but I am 72 still work and do my own car like most of our Jag members I find it therapeutic as well as cycling . I will be cycling 35mile on the 17th to raise money for the cure of diabetes

 

I will admit to taking mine through a brushless carwash three times.

In principle, I'm 100% in the hand wash camp. Part therapy; part, I feel an obligation to keep these machines looking their best. BTW, I 'clayed' my car this past weekend, and then waxed it - very easy, and relatively quick - probably two hours, all in.

I took it through the carwash primarily to get the magnesium chloride (Colorado's version of 'salt on the road' but much more corrosive) off the under carriage - something I can't get to myself. As I did, I was very mindful of how how much wax coverage I had. The soap in automatic washes is not mild. But I knew I'd be giving it a mid-winter waxing soon.

I don't think it's the end of the world if you run it through an auto now and then. Keep it well waxed with a high quality polymer and you should be good.

 

An easy way to clean the undercarriage is with a lawn sprinkler. I use the rotating three arm type and let it run for a while under the front, middle and rear sections.

 

TFlan What a Great idea "An easy way to clean the undercarriage is with a lawn sprinkler. I use the rotating three arm type and let it run for a while under the front, middle and rear sections." I plan to doing that !

 

I do both, car wash and hand wash. Here in Houston it can get too hot to wash by hand during the summer months and the water dries too fast. If I can, I will wash one section, then dry, and keep moving on. The only problem with this is that my 3 yr old son wants to help and he tends to spray the car with the hose just after I dried it!
The car wash I use is new and has good equipment but I can definitely see the swirls in the paint. Therefor I try to minimize going to the car wash. I try to polish the car every couple of months to remove the swirls using a random orbital polisher and a 3M polish for dark cars.

 

You guys all need to stop going to the car wash and start using Optimum No Rinse.

I have used this when it was below freezing, and I've also used it when it was 100+ degrees outside (albeit in the shade!). No excuses!

 

..having never heard of Optimum No Rinse or the like, I've been reading the reviews. I'm sold. It looks like this, a grit guard (a cheap separation tray that sits in the bottom of the bucket that allows grit to separate from the cleaning solution), together with a good drying towel and I'm good to go.

Thanks

 

I remember sitting opposite an automated car wash years ago, a 4x4 that had just come off the beach drove in to be washed. the next car in was a new Mercedes. You can probably guess the rest, the Merc's paint was a mess, those big flaps just sanded it until it looked like those matt finish vinyl wrap jobs. I only wash by hand.

 

Grit guard may not be necessary. I think the most important part unique to this method is to make sure that your wash solution stays clean. You can accomplish this by squeezing out your wash ONTO THE GROUND after each wipe. Otherwise, eventually the wash solution gets so dirty that it leaves a film.

 

Over heer in the UK I use the excellent UK product McGuires Gold seal Liquid shampoo weekly, after a home power wash to remove any sharps. After the shampoo I dry with a large chamois. to finish I wax with McGuires carnuba wax, buffing with a very soft cotton duster. The wax usually lasts 2-3 months, and I live in the cold and wet North West of England! I have also been running a number of classic MGs for the past 25 years, taking them to shows etc. Mcguires outshines the rest in my opinion. So come on you guys, use the worlds best product, made in the US of A, and forget car washes. (only my opinions of course).
Love your Jag and hand wash.