Wash your car... The right way.

[henrythomas]

Hi to all,

Yes, there is a right way to wash your car. The better you wash your car correctly, the less you'll have to maintain it, polish it, and worry about swirls.
Washing your car is the number one cause of 'spider' swirls in your paint. Guess what's number 2? Drying it.

What you'll need:

* 2 - 5 gallon bucket(s)
* Car Wash Soap (not dish soap)
* 2 - Wool Wash Mitt(s) (DO NOT USE A SPONGE)
* Wheel Brush
* Wheel Cleaner


Wash Mitts can be purchased from walmart for ~$5. Make sure its wool, the one below is definitely available at walmart in the auto care section. The reason we don't use a sponge is because it has holes (porous) which pick up dirt and debris from your car, get stuck, and then get dragged all over your paint the remainder of the wash causing scratches.


If you drop this on the floor, throw it out!

Preparation:

* Pour a small amount of soap into the 1st bucket and fill it with water.
* Fill the second bucket with just water.
* Label the tags on your wash mitts 1 & 2
* Hose down the entire car from top to bottom until its completely wet, Doing this in the shade works better.


Cleaning:

* Starting with your wheels, spray your wheel cleaner on your rims & tires, and scrub with your wheel brush. After each wheel is done hose down all of them starting with the one you started with.
* Take mitt #1 and place it in bucket #1 until its soapy. Start washing your car from TOP to BOTTOM. This means start with the roof, then hood & trunk, then doors & bumpers, then underside.
* Wash ONE panel at a time, just gently dragging the mitt across the paints surface. DO NOT SCRUB. If it doesn't come clean the first time, wash that panel again. After you do one panel, dip your mitt into bucket #2 (clean water) to get all the soap and dirt off, then spray the mitt with the hose, and place it back in bucket #1. Now hose your panel off, and repeat for each panel that follows.
* Do the above until it is time to wash the underside of your side skirts, bumpers, door jams, et cetera... For this part you will wash with Mitt #2. The reason why we have two mitts is because Mitt #2 will get extremely dirty and greasy and it's best that it is saved for extremely dirty and greasy places... not your paints visible surface. Start with your door jams, highest to lowest, rinsing the mitt in bucket #2 after each section, and finish with the underside of your side skirts and bumpers.
* If you are satisfied after hosing the entire car down, the best way to dry the car is with an air compressor, and to PAT dry the remaining water with big clean cotton towels or microfiber cloths. You should never drag anything against your paints surface, unless you are polishing and buffing.

[Corin]

I have a different method:

1) Wait until it starts raining (not a long wait here in Seattle)
2) Drive in the rain
3) Drive back home, park car, crack open a beer

Total time: 5-10 minutes

[Gonzo]

Corin.... too funny.

henrythomas, great idea. Someone had a post with a video of a professional doing as you describe.

I would love to take the two bucket approach but I'll tell ya, I wash the MO enough... I can only image how nuts the neighbors would really think if I had two buckets.

"Wow his car is looking great too bad he is missing a few bricks in his foundation" (And that comment would be from my wife nevermind the neighbors)

[Halwg]

Let's see...My Bill out rate is $135/Hr. The car wash charges $12 to wash my car. So unless this method takes less than 5.33 minutes it's not worth me washing my own car.

[CvUnit]

This was helpful to me, but living in New England I can't do much self-car wash due to snow, rain and time, but during the summer time I enjoy keeping my car clean for the whole summer and I like it to be fresh, and 15 bucks for all the car wash is a little too much when I can have my younger brother do it for 5, lol he's 13 so 5 dollars will do a lot, but he don't do a good job so I usually had to finish it and I myself not a car wash expert the marks at the end is what takes most of the time