Proper Washing Techniques
 

Proper Vehicle Washing

Many of us enjoy the benefits of a freshly hand washed car. However, without proper knowledge you may be doing more harm than good. Washing a car improperly will induce micro-marring known as Swirls or Spider-Webbing.
The cause of this damage is due to foreign particles trapped in your washing materials. This can happen several ways such as,
A.Improper storage of materials when not in use.
B.Improper materials such as using Dishsoap* (See bottom note), old T-Shirts etc.
C.Improper washing techniques which lead to further damage in the drying stage.

Materials

The following materials are recommended for proper washing.
A.Two regular Wash bucket’s or a single grit trap bucket.
B.Either 100% Sheepskin Wash Mitt, Cotton Chenille Mitt, or a Microfiber Wash Mitt.
C.Sponge, or Terry Towel for wheels.
D.Quality Car Wash Soap such as P21S, or Wolfgang.

Procedure

1. When washing a car try to do it in an atmosphere where the paint surface is not hot to the touch. Shade or Garages are the best atmosphere. Overly high temperature cause’s the water and soaps to evaporate too quickly not giving them a chance to remove the necessary particles.
2. Start by thoroughly spraying the entire vehicle with a nozzled hose or Pressure washer. Pay particular attention to heavily soiled areas trying to remove as much dirt as possible in this stage. If possible work from top to bottom in a downward angle.
3. Use a Soap specifically designed for washing automotive paints. These soaps have special oils and lubricants in them specially designed to lift and remove foreign particles. These soaps are also very low on the PH scale and will not strip previous waxes.
4. Start by washing the Wheels, this will eliminate any brake dust, or harsh Wheel Cleaners from contacting a freshly washed panel.
5. By using two buckets you greatly reduce the possibility of tracking dirt into your wash mitt. Your Soapy water will also stay much cleaner. Simply fill one bucket with your Soap/Water mixture and the other bucket with just water. After every application of Soap/Water dip and shake the wash mitt in the water bucket. This will loosen and clean the wash mitt BEFORE applying more Soap/Water to the mitt. The Soap solution will stay much cleaner and the majority or dirt will stay in the water bucket. You can also use special Grit Trap buckets. These buckets have a screen or false floor in the bottom where loose particles fall beneath. This makes it impossible to come in contact with these particle when re-entering the wash bucket for more soap.
6. Scrub the vehicle from top to bottom, try to follow the contours of the vehicle or any distinct body lines. By doing this and mishaps are much less noticeable. By washing in a circular motion any mishaps will be at all angles and much more noticeable. Rinse often! After every application of soap rinse the vehicle before going back for more soap.
7. After you are finished washing ,do a final rinse on the entire vehicle. For the final rinse remove the hose nozzle. Start from top to bottom and with the flowing water inches away from the surface sheet off any remaining or misses debris/soap. This sheeting rinse will pull materials down and leave much less water on the surface. There will be little water beading with this technique making it much easier and quicker to dry.

*NOTE: Using dishsoap regularly to wash a vehicle will strip your protecting waxes. The high acidity will also dry out any plastic/rubber trim over time. However, there is a certain time you DO want to use a dishsoap! There are times you would like to strip off your current waxes and try a new product; dishsoap will remove these waxes and leave your paint surface bare, ready for another wax application or polish. Dishsoap will not remove synthetic waxes suck as Klasse.

Knew most of it, but good to read it again. thanks.:)

kool to see someone sticky'd these!

knew most of it aswell.

but im glad to see someone is stickying stuff i posted up some stuff hoping some mods would sticky it.... and it never happend.
:dunno

Rag Top Care
 

What is recommended for washing etc re the rag top?


NSStangGal:rolleyes: :confused:

A product called "RaggTopp".

http://www.eshine.ca/search.php?pg=1...any&nobox=true

sponging
 

what about using a real shamois for sponging and eliminating water drops?

Anyone use a cham wow n to dry off ?

Grassy

drying
 

washing is all fine and dandy but i would like to know what the suggested method of drying is - i prefer 165kph on the highway but the RCMP don't seem to think this is a good idea...anyone?

Vert Top cleaner
 

Ragg Topp Cleaner and Protectant, Works wonderful and looks even better

Thats funny, RC's dont happen to like that here either.. haha :laughhard

I'm lucky only 1 wash job so far (friggen sap):banghead:

Drying by your method will still leave wet spots all over the mustang.

Meguair's Drying Towels work better.

thanks for the info.

I use a leaf Blower to dry. The less you touch your paint the less swirls :tup

There mouthpiece creeps me out so no buy from that guy:P:lol Oops meant for Grassy reply

You mean the owner, I think it's Barry Meguiar?

No we (well me) are mixed up as I am thinking about the guy that got arrested smacking a hooker or something like that. lol

Oh the shamwow guy hahaha. I think Barry Meguiar is kinda creepy too actually. lol

^^^thanks and I am laughing for some reason re sham wow dude. Barry forever cuts people off = errrrrr

how powerful a leaf blower do you need to do a good job and one that doesn't take forever?

I have this one Link it does a good job.

^^^that blows tehehehe

The best thing for eliminating water drops is a Meguairs "Drying Magnet Towel."

Were do you pick these up?

As for washing I use the 100% sheepswool mit only, and three buckets of water..one with the car shampoo, and two fresh rinse water buckets, and change the water very frequently. For drying I use a "real" microfibre drying towel, and I softly dab dry...no wiping at all. I do use the leaf blower for the wheels, and all the little nooks and crannies. Then the fun stuff....clay bar, Autoglym polish, and a whole lotta Autoglym wax. The engine bay takes me the longest!

Hmmm reminds me of someone here, but I can't quite figure it out. I think he used to have a Mustang.

^^ I know, the problem is that once you do it and see the results, you just can't quit! It's like a disease :?

exactly

Haha I bet. I'm pretty happy starting with a new car this time so I can have the paint the way I want it without any "restoration". I haven't used the Autoglym polish or wax but I think that's what I'll use this time. I have a few small swirls I need to take out.

Are you going to use the bays at the dealer?

The swirls should be able to be dealt with just using polish, if they arent too bad. My '12 has a few and I will be able to polish them out, but my '10 had swirls that were so bad, and so deep, that I had to use a compound from Maguires to get them all out. Once they're gone, they will stay away providing you keep a good base of wax on it, and carefully dry the car off after washes. :tup

ok , now tell me about that stuff, please. how to use it, how often, etc. thx.

Luckily the car has only been washed once so the aren't bad at all. I shouldn't call them swirls as my guess is they happened during shipping from a dirty pair of coveralls rubbing down the side of the car. It's very light and should easily come out.

Ok well everybody has their own process, but this is what I do. I start with a very good washing & rinse so that you have a nice clean surface to start with, then use the claybar and most, if not all claybar kits come with a spray detailer which you use as a lubricant between the clay bar and your cars surface, and don't be scared to use lots of the spray, as you want it well lubricated so the clay runs across the surface with ease. You want to use moderate pressure, but not too much, and you will feel the difference in how smoothly the clay slides on the surface. This process takes all the oxidization and contaminents out of the paint. I do about 2 square foot sections at a time, and use the microfibre cloth that comes with it to wipe away the excess spray. (I use the Mothers kit).
If you have a lot of swirls, or spdierweb looking fine scratches, your next step is to use a compound, and I use McGuires Ultimate Compound. This is going to be the step that needs the most care and attention, as the compound has very fine abrassives in it, so you you may need to do this step a few times on each section to completely rectify the swirls and small scratches, as you don't want to be too agressive with this stuff, so take your time, and I recomend using a power polisher, as doing it by hand will take a very long time, but you'll look like the Hulk when your done.
:D
Then onto the polish...I use the Autoglym polish, it goes on easy, and comes off just as easy. If you're bypassing the compound step then give it a good moderate pressure polish, and if you are doing the compound, then let the polisher do the work with hardly any pressure.
The the easiest step...Autoglym wax. With this stuff you do the whole car, and then let it sit for 10-15 minutes before taking it off with the microfibre cloth included with the wax. And remember, nice straight swipes with the wax, and do it by hand. The car gets 2 full coats of the wax, and the front bumper and hood get 3 or 4.
Like I said, everybody has their own way, and I'm sure some will disagree with my methods, but the results I get are pretty amazing in my opinion, and when I'm done I discribe like looking into Grabber Blue water...:D:D

I'll probably just use my garage, if it ever gets done. If not I can use our washbay any time.

Couldn't have said it better Dubldee. My process exactly also using AutoGlym products and Maguires compound. My limer is 7 years old and still looks new.

Oh...and props for great writeup.

^^ Thanks Ronnie. Appreciate it. :D

REMEMBER FOLKS IF YOU DROP ANYTHING i.e. POLISH APPLICATOR, TOWEL ETC DO NOT USE IT AGAIN UNTIL IT HAS AT LEAST BEEN WASHED. I throw them out but I have 25 years worth of towels applicators etc