Car Washing Best Practices

[breitlings]

I was wondering -- can you wash your car too much. Then I realized "yes if you do it wrong".

So I began my journey of internet research on washing cars and realize I know nothing.

Double buckets, microfiber drying towels... Tip of the iceberg

What say you car lovers?

[1st amg]

I also would invest in a cute little leaf blower, or they have the car air dryers. They are great for getting the water out of the joints and tight spots, avoiding the streaking.
Look up Chemical Guys as they have some really good products. There are so many products, it can become overwhelming.

[Zoomerang]

Originally Posted by 1st amg

I also would invest in a cute little leaf blower, or they have the car air dryers. They are great for getting the water out of the joints and tight spots, avoiding the streaking.
Look up Chemical Guys as they have some really good products. There are so many products, it can become overwhelming.

+1 for Chemical Guys.. tons of good products, how-to videos, etc.

I use the two bucket method but people love the foam cannons, car filtered-air dryers, etc.

[superdog]

I think MJClark posted a thread on this years back. It was an epic thread.

Wash in the shade. Two buckets with rock guard on the bottom. Use multiple micro fiber towels. Gentle organic shampoo instead of wash gel. Wash and rinse. Wash and rinse. I don’t let the soap sit. I wash a panel and rinse immediately. Definitely a leaf blower to dry and then a micro fiber with a spray wax.

God forbid a towel touches the ground, it’s garbage.

[RatDog19]

Does anybody watch "Auto Fetish Detail" on YouTube? Have bought somebody his stuff, but haven't used it yet. "Seems" like the ultimate guy for the job....debadges, does high-end exotics, etc. However I might not know what the hell I'm talking about.

[Rashid.bk]

Originally Posted by superdog

I think MJClark posted a thread on this years back. It was an epic thread.

Wash in the shade. Two buckets with rock guard on the bottom. Use multiple micro fiber towels. Gentle organic shampoo instead of wash gel. Wash and rinse. Wash and rinse. I don’t let the soap sit. I wash a panel and rinse immediately. Definitely a leaf blower to dry and then a micro fiber with a spray wax.

God forbid a towel touches the ground, it’s garbage.

This and a set of wheel brushes.

[SunTzu]

I detailed cars for years to make extra cash.

Definitely two bucket method, grit guard, genuine sheepskin mitts, foam cannon, quality car was soap, quality soft microfiber drying towels (remove the tags, check edges for plastic-like stitching), quick detail spray while drying.

Power wash loose dirt first. Wash from top down. Use dedicated wash mitts for bottom portion of the car and bumpers, don't mix. Wash the car in the shade. Spray car down with foam cannon to add a soapy lubricity to the surface allowing your mitt to effortlessly glide. Dip regularly in the rinse bucket freeing any dirt from the mitt. I add a few ounces of Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine to the wash water to add more lubricity to the soap and a little extra pop in shine.

Rinse by removing the nozzle and letting a free flow of water sheet over the surface. A nicely waxed car will repel the water especially on the hood.

The quick detail spray (or even a spray wax) while drying is a nice tip to not only make the car shine even more and add a sacrificial layer to your wax base coat; but it adds lubricity to the rinse water to aid in gliding the drying towel and reduce marring the surface.

I like large microfiber drying towels folded in to a square to make a nice cushion, palm it, and gently wipe dry.

Or, if you have the money, a water deionizer system to rinse. Leaf blower works too but I like the quick detailer/spray wax while drying method.

Experiment, have fun! Just think of ways to reduce marring the surface from rubbing hard and use quality washing/drying implements.

[Fat_ninja]

They wash my car every time I go to the dealers lol. That’s all I do

[T4ME]

I start with the rims and wheels and car squeegee

[cm10005]

Go to YouTube and search AMMO NYC. This guy Larry cleans and details million dollar cars. Lots of great tips and has his own line of products. Highly Recommend

[ILuvSubs]

It was Larry from AMMO NYC that introduced me to the world of detailing through his YouTube channel.

Super interesting stuff with all the tips and tricks on how to do it yourself (with or without his own line of products).

Wait until you see the time and effort that goes into shoe shining dress shoes - it's just as laborious as detailing! Just search for it on YouTube.

Originally Posted by cm10005

Go to YouTube and search AMMO NYC. This guy Larry cleans and details million dollar cars. Lots of great tips and has his own line of products. Highly Recommend

[gnuyork]

I use the three bucket method, one for wheels, one for wash, one for rinse...wash and rinse have grit guards in the buckets... I use two different mitts...one for above the rocker panel and one for below...

I do my wheels first, then I use a foam gun to lather up the car, then wash and rinse above rocker panels, then below (with separate mitts)...

I dry the cars with a leaf blower.

Spray wax with a microfiber towel.

Then I do the interior if I'm up for it.

[RobearH]

I wash, wax and paint correct all my family cars so I could go on forever with tips but here’s a few to start.

If a sponge, towel or clay bar fall to ground go straight to hamper or in case of clay bar throw away.
Always use only micro fiber for all washing, drying and polishing.
Never wash micro fiber with other towels and do not use household laundry detergent.

If you want a real education and an easy watch go to Adams Polishes for a selection of products and how to properly use them...link.

https://adamspolishes.com

[TheDon2000]

You need three buckets with grit guards, washpads, tire brush, wheel brush, shampoo, APC, and wheel cleaner to properly wash a car. At the minimum. Then you'll want some good waffle drying towels and a detail spray. This will get you miles ahead of your friends cars. Take it a step further with a strip wash and sealant or ceramic hybrid. Leave everybody in the dust with a clay and polish, then seal/ceramic and maintain with regular washes.

Don't use old towels. Don't use old washpads. Don't use detail spray or rinseless washes to clean a dirty car.

Immediately start watching Esoteric Fine Auto Finishing's videos on YouTube. Adam's Polishes channel is also very helpful.

As for products, Adam's has VERY GOOD products across the board. For certain products, I prefer Gyeon, Carpro, etc. But you can't go wrong with Adam's for 99% of your products. Also, The Rag Company is the best place to source towels and wash pads. Also, check out Obsessed Garage if you want to dive really deep.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

[SPMN]

I’ve found that the best practice is to first make sure my windows are rolled up prior to driving into the drive through wash. That’s the key - otherwise you’re going to get wet.

[Zakalwe]

Don't fall down the rabbit hole of vastly expensive shampoos, waxes and other products.

As alluded to in some of the posts above, good basic technique (several posters above have mentioned the essentials) is 99% of the battle. You can have the most expensive products in the world but if your (lambswool) washmitt is dirty, or you use a single bucket, you will swirl the shit out of your paint.

FWIW my personal regime is:

- Jetwash every panel and wheels thoroughly
- Snowfoam
- Jetwash
- Shampoo using wool mitt and two buckets (leave skirts, sills, bumpers and alloys til the end)
- Jetwash
- Towel dry (pat dry, never rub)
- Clay bar (optional, I probably do this twice a year)
- Polish (optional depending on the state of the paint) and buff
- Wax/seal (optional)
- Dress tyres, seal wheels, deal with trim etc

Full works takes me most of the day, but the payoff is not having to do as much work to keep the paint clean in between full treatments, it's good exercise and quite satisfying.

[beshannon]

Two bucket wash, Foam cannon, heated air dryer, ceramic coating on car and wheel barrels.

I enjoy detailing my cars, plus it is good exercise

[dtwer]

Lots of good info, I love it!

What is the expertly consensus on waxing, do you all wax every time you wash the car? Or can you do just washing in between waxing?

I always wax the car after every wash because I fear the paint will go unprotected after the wax is washed away, but that makes it such a long process each time that I end up not washing my car as much as I would like.

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by dtwer

Lots of good info, I love it!

What is the expertly consensus on waxing, do you all wax every time you wash the car? Or can you do just washing in between waxing?

I always wax the car after every wash because I fear the paint will go unprotected after the wax is washed away, but that makes it such a long process each time that I end up not washing my car as much as I would like.

That depends on what is on the car.

IMHO wax is a top dressing for shine and nothing else.

I have ceramic coat on my car that I maintain. I keep a high quality paint sealant on my wife's car. I have not used wax for years.

[Zakalwe]

Originally Posted by dtwer

Lots of good info, I love it!

What is the expertly consensus on waxing, do you all wax every time you wash the car? Or can you do just washing in between waxing?

I always wax the car after every wash because I fear the paint will go unprotected after the wax is washed away, but that makes it such a long process each time that I end up not washing my car as much as I would like.

Originally Posted by beshannon

That depends on what is on the car.

IMHO wax is a top dressing for shine and nothing else.

I have ceramic coat on my car that I maintain. I keep a high quality paint sealant on my wife's car. I have not used wax for years.

I second what Brian says here - you don’t need to use a wax to get good results and lasting protection. I use Carpro Reload for the wife’s car, which is a water-based sealant. Because it’s water-based it is dead easy to apply and buff off, to the point where it’s impossible to mess up and it requires no elbow grease, basically it’s wipe on, buff off. There are other sealants that are similarly easy. It’s good for 2-3 months protection and it only takes me 30 minutes or so to apply it to the whole (admittedly small) car.

Even if you do use wax, you definitely don’t need to re-apply every wash, though bear in mind that repeated washing reduces the durability of a single coat. A good wax properly applied ought to give you 4-6 months protection minimum even with a few jet wash/shampoo/drying cycles in between applications.

[Chewbacca]

I’m not fussy with driveway cleaning but I do let the car soak with a first rub of Oxiclean and water with NO soap. It lifts dirt faster than letting the water do it alone and NO power washer required. Then I quick rinse. Then soap and wash mitt with whatever is on sale. They all are the same base compositions with some boutique additives, so I’m not into AutoGlym and such. Then rinse and drive dry. All done in shade. Then I’ll add NuFinish car polish every 6mo. I don’t like waxes as they’re soft and I prefer the quick work of NuFinish. That’s it.

Interior is done every month. I’m more fussy about that.

[SunTzu]

I'm old school. I love paste wax. Super thin coats put on with a moistened applicator with a quick detail spray and then removed with a mist of quick detail spray and microfiber.

Right before the VOC laws changed, I hoarded a few of my favorite ones

Probably the longest lasting wax brand for me is COLLINITE. Survives the North East winters amazingly.

I like to wax monthly as it's therapeutic, but stick to hood roof and trunk as they get the most abuse. I like a spray wax as I dry after a hand wash. Sometimes I'll do a liquid wax, my favorite being VANILLA MOOSE

I clay bar and polish twice a year with my orbital polisher. If I'm in the mood before the polishing I'll do a 3 step decontamination.

[mailman]

Originally Posted by SunTzu

I'm old school. I love paste wax. Super thin coats put on with a moistened applicator with a quick detail spray and then removed with a mist of quick detail spray and microfiber.

Right before the VOC laws changed, I hoarded a few of my favorite ones

Probably the longest lasting wax brand for me is COLLINITE. Survives the North East winters amazingly.

I like to wax monthly as it's therapeutic, but stick to hood roof and trunk as they get the most abuse. I like a spray wax as I dry after a hand wash. Sometimes I'll do a liquid wax, my favorite being VANILLA MOOSE

I clay bar and polish twice a year with my orbital polisher. If I'm in the mood before the polishing I'll do a 3 step decontamination.

All I’ve ever used is Collinite. Great product and it’s easy for me to pick up.

[singe89]

When car is new I do it myself. Pressure washer with DI water, car soap, rinse, then blower dry and finish with a gloss spray. Wax every 3 months.

After a year or two the mobile guy takes over every week or two.

After 5 years I just run it through the mobile wash after getting gas then drive fast to blow the water off. Take the mats out and dump them every once in awhile to clean the interior.

[droptopman]

2 buckets with grit guards. I like Jorgens products. I used to be more OCD about the process. Last couple years, I wash weekly but only do wax/full detail every few weeks. I like to do several steps of wax/paint treatment when I do a full detail. Jorgens white carnauba is awesome for finishing a black car. I usually buff about twice a year. Fall and Spring. Not a fan of the sealants. Tried several. I personally get better results with waxes. One of the issues I have with a sealant if something gets under it--irrigation water for example, you have a hell of a time stripping it off.

[othertbone]

When my car gets dirty, usually once a week, I drive to the corner and get it washed by a group of guys running around like a NASCAR pit crew.


60% of the time... it works every time.

[twitch54]

Griot's products for me

[function12]

Get you one of these and you can wash your car in full sun and have zero issues.
https://crspotless.com/

[Dr. Robert]

I go to my neighborhood car wash.....they need to make a living too.

[sco]

I used to hand wash my cars, but I gave that up years ago. These days I have the unlimited pass to my local car wash. Is it perfect? No. Is it good enough for my daily driver Q5, you betcha.

Now, maybe if I had something special in the garage I would go back to the hand wash. If that happens, I'm coming right back to this thread