This was the one thing I never thought about when I ordered my Boxster. Car care. I have never washed one of my cars. I always went to the car wash. Granted, you could take your Boxster to the car wash, but I would hate to see those nozzles all over my paint and top. So now, I wash the car by hand. So far, it has been fun. Here are some suggestions and FYI's that might not have crossed your mind.

Topics

Stuff to get and
Where to get it

(Alphabetical order)

Cab window haze
Interior dirt
Leather interior
Lint brush
Removing the windstop

I also converted a workbench in my garage to car care product land. Bins below hold all the different types of cleaning towels and our car care stuff on top. Mu husbands stuff is to the right. My CA water blade is our dividing line.

Stuff to get: I had no idea what cleaning products to get my car so I went with the products listed in the 986 FAQ: Car Care. The products cost me about $200.00 total. I also went to purschase diapers becuase people said they were the softest for the car. Trips to Wall Mart and Sears only lead to those 27 by 27 ultra thin cotton diapers. The best place I have found for thick cotton diapers is a diaper service. Most diaper services make car detail packs. I was able to get a 24 pack of 3 different diaper sizes for $20.00. (top of page)

Where to get the stuff: Like a fool, I went to pep boys looking for these car care products. I had my printed list, looked all over, nada. Turns out the car places at least in my area do not carry these items because they are considered high end. Fortunately, there are a bunch of web sites to help.

Larry Reynolds @ www.carcarehttonline.com: Has everything on this list (seeing he helped create it!) His web site also has great how to's for taking care of your car. Larry does not have online shopping but you can download a form and fax it to him or place a phone order.

autosupermart.com: Not the best prices (what's a few $$ anyway), but, has a very large selection and an online shopping car. They do not sell the Sonnax products but plan to soon.

autofanatics.com and autopia car care: Two PPBB sponsors who also offer car care products (at better prices also).
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Beware of Newbie Cab Haze: This is a strange phenomenon noticed by many boarders on Porsche Petes Boxster Board. The windstop and rear window seem to get a foggy haze the first year of ownership more often than the later years. Currently, I have to clean my windstop and rear window once a week. I purchased Plexus for these items and it works great.
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If this is your first convertible, prepare for interior dirt. Makes sense, you drive down the freeway, dust flies in. You park it with the top down, more dust. I probably have to clean the inerior out at least once a week. I have started leaving the top up at night and that helps a little more. For cleaning, I use the California Mini Duster which, obviously by name, is a smaller version of the California Duster. Just a quick glide around and you are set. But, do not glide the duster over you gages, it does have some wax on the duster and it will leave film. Also, keep it away from the carpeted areas or you will get red flecks in your carpet.
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Cleaning the leather interior: As a car cleaning newbie, I ran into some stuff that might help you when you clean the interior. As I mentioned before, your interior will get dirty and needs just as much care as your exterior. Also, with the leather package, you will have doors and areas that are a combination leather/plastic. The first time I cleaned my plastic interior I just used a diaper and brushed over the items. The next morning I realized that some had laded on the leather and there was a noticable difference. You could see the darker clean marks in the leather. So, if you plan to clean your interior, be real careful about cleaning and not leaving any on a surface you were not meaning to clean or, clean the plastic first, than clean the leather. This has worked well for me.
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A lint brush is a must!: This was a great tip from Larry's Carcareonline site. A lint brush on your cab top cleans away all of the lint after a wash.
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Removing the Windstop: You must remove the windstop to clean the rear window. The windstop is actually quite flimsy and the levers can break is abused. The 986 FAQ and PPBB have examples on how to properly remove the windstop.
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