Call Me Mr. Clean

A few days ago a friend commented on how “Totaled” the Roadster was after the trip. “It’s going to take forever to clean that car”. Well, it wouldn’t be forever because of a few tricks I use to make the clean-up a lot quicker.

I found out a long time ago that cleaning a really dirty car is not fun. If you drive across the country when the bugs are in heavy numbers, you will have a mess on your hands in no time. I always use a bug screen on my front grill. There is nothing worse than a plugged up radiator to clean. You will know it’s plugged when the temperature gauge rises and you have an overheating problem. The work involved to clean it is not necessary if you simply used a bug screen. It is easily clean with a small brush while you are filling up with gas. A few quick passes over the surface and you’re done. This will get the screen from getting to buggy.

The other thing I do before any long trip is I cover all my chrome front end part and I cover my grill shell edges with 3M packing tape. I use the clear stuff so it still looks ok at a glance. It is not for show material when this stuff is put on, but it works to protect the paint and chrome from the dirt and rocks that get aimed at the front. I usually leave it on until I can’t stand how bad it looks, then I peel it of and apply a new batch. On this trip I left it on the whole way and removed it when I got home. You simply pull off the tape with all the road grime and bugs attached and your on your way to getting it clean. I follow-up with some “Simple Green” and a foam brush to loosen up the dirt and finish with a spray of clean water and dry with a towel. A coat of wax will be applied when the surface is dry.

Another cool trick I found to really be helpful is to remove the grill from the grill shell and now you can get to the front of the radiator and clean it. What I did was add a “nutsert” to the grill shell that allows me to remove a buttonhead allen at the top and just a stud at the bottom, pull the grill forward and lift the grill up and out. Now the grill can be cleaned and polished on the front and back. When everything is clean you just reassemble. It also comes in handy when you want to repaint the inside of the grill shell.

For cleaning the windshield I use a foam window cleaner that I spray on. I let it sit on the glass to soften the grime and apply another coat of foam and wipe clean with a paper towel. If I still have stuff on the glass I use a razor blade and the foam to remove it.

The last trick I found to make quick work of cleaning is to use a product called “The Glosser”. it is like a wet wipe for your car. They come in a resealable pack with 5 wipes that have a cleaner and wax already on them. The only thing to do is wipe the dirt off and follow behind with a micro towel. After the body of the car is finished I use the glosser to clean the brake dust off the wheels and I toss it away. They are easy to store, will not spill, will not scratch your paint and can be used in direct sunlight. If you know how many days you will be traveling, just take I glosser for each day to clean your car. It takes me about 15 minutes with a glosser to clean all the painted surfaces and the wheels. I bought my last batch of “Glossers”on line.

Hope to see you here soon, Dave

Nasty ! But it just a layer of tape on the chrome to protect it, easily removed

Removing the grill for an easy clean

Everything cleaned and ready to reinstall

After some Simple Green, a foam brush, water, dry with a towel and a little wax.

The front is good as new !

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