Chaser27
Greenie N00B Member
I know this sounds like a pretty simple task and I'm sure most of you THINK you already know how to do it, but to keep your paint looking it's best, I'm writing this up to help you avoid imparting more scratches in your paint's finish.
Step 1: Avoid automated car washes like it's your religion. Imagine Billy Ray Ray and his buddy Elmer just went to their favorite mud hole and had some fun in their truck. On there way home, they decide NOT to show off their mud encrusted truck for a week for some reason and actually took it to a drive through car wash. (Maybe they have a date with their cousin at the local waffle house). All that gravel, mud and rocks isn't going to just disappear. It gets caught in those big rotating drum cloth things that slap all the way up and down your car. Not something you want touching your car.
That being said... lets actually get started. I'll do a description for a basic wash that requires the least amount of materials with links to what I prefer and throw in some "upgrades" you can purchase at the end.
Materials:
Car Shampoo - Make sure you use a car specific soap. Something like Dawn will strip your wax off.
2 Buckets w/ Grit Guards - Grit Guards help to keep sediments at the bottom of the bucket when agitating the water.
Wash mitt - Something to lift and carry the dirt away, sponges will often drag it across and brushes will often scratch soft paints.
Wheel brush(1, 2) - These should ONLY be used on the wheels. You do NOT want to get brake dust (metal shavings) contaminated with something you will be using on your paint.
Drying Towel
This technique is commonly referred to as the 2 bucket method. It is designed to limit the potential of abrasive material being dragged across your paint. Best time of day to wash is in the morning/evening hours. You do not want to do this in direct sunlight where the soap can dry on the car.
Enjoy your clean car
Additional Options:
Wheel Cleaner
Tire Dressing
Foam gun
Quick Detailer
Better wheel face brush
Kwazar pump sprayer (I love these things)
Step 1: Avoid automated car washes like it's your religion. Imagine Billy Ray Ray and his buddy Elmer just went to their favorite mud hole and had some fun in their truck. On there way home, they decide NOT to show off their mud encrusted truck for a week for some reason and actually took it to a drive through car wash. (Maybe they have a date with their cousin at the local waffle house). All that gravel, mud and rocks isn't going to just disappear. It gets caught in those big rotating drum cloth things that slap all the way up and down your car. Not something you want touching your car.
That being said... lets actually get started. I'll do a description for a basic wash that requires the least amount of materials with links to what I prefer and throw in some "upgrades" you can purchase at the end.
Materials:
Car Shampoo - Make sure you use a car specific soap. Something like Dawn will strip your wax off.
2 Buckets w/ Grit Guards - Grit Guards help to keep sediments at the bottom of the bucket when agitating the water.
Wash mitt - Something to lift and carry the dirt away, sponges will often drag it across and brushes will often scratch soft paints.
Wheel brush(1, 2) - These should ONLY be used on the wheels. You do NOT want to get brake dust (metal shavings) contaminated with something you will be using on your paint.
Drying Towel
This technique is commonly referred to as the 2 bucket method. It is designed to limit the potential of abrasive material being dragged across your paint. Best time of day to wash is in the morning/evening hours. You do not want to do this in direct sunlight where the soap can dry on the car.
- Wheels
- I listed 2 brushes above. 1 is great for cleaning the barrel of the wheel and the other can be used for the face.
- Use one of the buckets and fill it with your soap mixture.
- Pre-rinse the wheel to help loosen any dust/dirt/etc.
- Take the barrel brush and work between each spoke from top to bottom, focus on the barrel and don't really worry about the spokes.
- Now use the other brush to work the face of the wheel from top to bottom making sure to include around the valve stem and lug nuts
- (Rinse the brushes off with a hose before replenishing it with soap from your bucket)
- Rinse off the wheel, repeat if necessary
- Be sure to empty, clean out and refill your bucket
- Car
- Fill one bucket with water and the other with a soap solution
- Pre-rinse the car to help loosen any dust/dirt/etc.
- Take your wash mitt and agitate it against the Grit Guard in the soap bucket
- Work from the top of the car down, rinsing the wash mitt frequently (every panel)
- To rinse the wash mitt, agitate on the Grit Guard in the Rinse bucket, and then replenish it by agitating in the soap bucket.
- Once complete, give the car a thorough rinsing without a nozzle attached to the hose. (This is called "sheeting" and uses water tension to help dry the car for you.)
- Any remaining water can be soaked up with your drying towel by dabbing. If you want to drag the towel across to dry, I'd recommend a quick detailer to help lube it up. USE A SEPERATE TOWEL FOR THE WHEELS
Enjoy your clean car
Additional Options:
Wheel Cleaner
Tire Dressing
Foam gun
Quick Detailer
Better wheel face brush
Kwazar pump sprayer (I love these things)
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