Thread: I'm going to wash my car

Someone wanna give me a step by step process and the best products to use?
I've tried so many different things I don't know what to do anymore, thanks.

-Spencer

here is how i wash my car

i use the two bucket method
1 bucket with soap and water
1 bucket with just water to rinse out

i use the meguiars microfiber wash mitt and meguiars wash mitt

i rinse the car
then i wash the wheels first with s100 mixed 50/50 with water (can be bought at harley davidson dealer)
then i rinse car again
wash in sections
rinse again when i am all done
use a leafblower to wick away most of the water and finish off with a good all cotton or microfiber towel

if you dont have a leafblower, use a good all cotton or microfiber towel.

then i put on gloss-it tire gel

In short...

rinse
wash with a soap/water mix
rinse
dry

Supplies:

-car wash soap with high lubricity
-high quality sheepskin wash mitts
-foam gun (optional)
-2 buckets with grit guards for paint
-1 bucket and mitt for wheels
-high quality microfiber towels
-210+ mph electric leaf blower
-high quality sealant and/or wax
-quick detailer

Method:

-Wash wheels/tires/wells first to prevent spotting on paint and glass

-Don't use the same mitt or bucket for wheels that you use on your paint. The brake dust, etc. from your wheels will cause scratches and swirls in your paint.

-Using foam gun, cover vehicle in a thick layer of foam (optional)

-Use two buckets for washing paint. One with a soapy mixture, the other with plain water to rinse the mitt between panels.

-Never use circular motions. Always wash, dry, and wax using front to back and top to bottom motions.

-When vehicle is fully cleaned, allow a slow, steady stream of water to flow over each panel...sheeting the majority of the water off

-Use the leaf blower to blow all water from flat surfaces, mirrors, lights, etc.

-Remove any remaining water with a waffle weave drying towel and detail spray

*The less you touch the paint, the less chance of marring*

I go to the Pressure Wash Station with about 40 Quarters in my pocket.

A money-no-object "best products possible" wash and wax "my way" would look like this:

Wheels and Tires:

-P21s Wheel Gel or Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner
-Boars hair wheel brush, swissvax brush, EZ Detail or generic spoke brush (to get the barrels of the wheels
-Meguiars APC Cut 3 or 4:1
-Stiff brush to scrub tires

Rinse the wheels/ wheel arches down well, spray P21s liberally on the rims, and the megs APC on the tires and wheel wells for a few minutes. Once they've dwelled on the surfaces, scrub them with the various brushes and rinse down throughly.

Wash:

-Two 5 gallon buckets both with a grit guard in each
-A good wash soap to strip prior LSPs (waxes) from the paint such as Chemical Guys' Citrus Wash Clear
-A good wash mitt or a good wash sponge (DD Uber Sponge) or a Genuine Wool Mitt

Rinse the car down, and then fill buckets. About 2oz of the Citrus Wash/Clear in one bucket, clean water in the other. Take the mitt in the wash bucket and dunk it. Start a panel at a time and use back forth/up down motions (not swirls). Once done with that panel, take the mitt and scrub it against the grit guard in the clean water bucket. This way it keeps all the dirt in one bucket, to help prevent marring. Rinse as you go so water doesn't dry on the car.

Then when you're finished, dry it with a quality microfiber waffle weave towel (DD, CG, Gloss-It). Once finished, admire the clean car!

But! You're not done.

If the paint feels rough to the touch, you need to clay.

Any clay bar would do, I would just pick up an OTC kit for the time being, it include quick detailer as lube. Claying scares people, but it's really easy. Spray a panel down with qd, and put the clay bar flat in your hand. Put it on the panel with light pressure and move in back and forth motions. it will start to pick up contaminants in the paint. Once it looks "dirty" knead the clay like those machines that need laffy taffy until the clay bar looks clean again. I suggest kneading the clay AT LEAST after every panel. Also, dry the panel after each claying session.

Once the claying is complete, the paint should feel very smooth to the touch. Once done, it's time for wax.

I recommend Blackfire All Finish Paint Protection or Chemical Guys' Jetseal109. They are expensive--but again this is money-no-object.

Applying these sealants which should give you in excess of 6 weeks of protection is really easy. Take a good foam applicator sponge and apply it evenly and thin to the entire car, wait about 20 minutes and buff off.

Marvel at your hard work, and impress everyone else!!

Hope this helps a bit

This thread is full of great info. Nice to know that others realize how much damage can be done to a cars paint just from washing incorrectly. Thanks to all for posting.

very helpful stuff here guys. . .when using the clay bar, do I spray on a quick detailer first? what other products can you use with the clay bar?

Originally Posted by zbaums

very helpful stuff here guys. . .when using the clay bar, do I spray on a quick detailer first? what other products can you use with the clay bar?

Yes. Clay bar.. is well, exactly that. Clay. it's sticky. I suggest spraying a couple sprays right on the bar its self so it doesn't stick to your hands, and makes it easy to knead. Then spray on a liberal amount on the panel. Don't be surprised if you use 1/4-1/2 of the bottle in the OTC kits.

If you don't want to buy dedicated clay lube (detail spray) if you mix a cap full or two of basic wash soap (such as megs gold class) in a 16oz bottle, that will suffice as lube as well. I use ONR (Optimum no rinse)

There are actually some good videos here:

Instructional Videos