I've been washing my car all wrong all these years.

[1971BB427]

I used to agitate my son by my washing technique. All over rinse, then wash in quadrants, clean roof rinse. Clean hood rinse. Clean trunk, rinse. Clean front left quarter, rinse, door rinse, left rear quarter etc, ALL th way around, top to bottom.

Rinse and scrub each wheel, treat wheels and dont wipe.

Pull car into garage and use electric yard blower to dry off car. Then Invis-glass the windows and detail interior with q-tips, brushes and blower tip from compressor.

Vaccum floor and wipe all door frames and sills.

Except for the fan, that's exactly how I've washed every car I ever owned. I don't use anything in the bottom of the bucket, because I rarely let my car get more than just dusty. On my truck I could care less if I get scratches or whatever; it's a truck afterall.

 

[XxWickedz28xX]

I used to agitate my son by my washing technique. All over rinse, then wash in quadrants, clean roof rinse. Clean hood rinse. Clean trunk, rinse. Clean front left quarter, rinse, door rinse, left rear quarter etc, ALL th way around, top to bottom.

Rinse and scrub each wheel, treat wheels and dont wipe.

Pull car into garage and use electric yard blower to dry off car. Then Invis-glass the windows and detail interior with q-tips, brushes and blower tip from compressor.

Vaccum floor and wipe all door frames and sills.

This sounds exactly like what I do, minus the leaf blower treatment. I use a soft clean microfiber towel to dry the car and it comes real clean! I do this on all my cars with great results.

 

[NotUniqueEnough]

I pay a good local detailer 100 bucks in the spring. then again in the fall. Stays nice the rest of the year all covered up in the garage

 

[yoyo74]

I wash my stuff in sections also.I use two buckets.One with soap and the other just to rinse the brush after each time it touches the car.It works well and costs nothing.When I am all done the one bucket and water are filthy and the soap bucket is just as clean as when I poured it...

 

[ZYAL8R]

I dont wash my show cars either, I use a quick detailer and keep the cars waxed so everything wipes right off.

But you have daily drivers right?

Oh yeah I wash the daily with a hose and if I drop the mit or sponge on the ground I just keep on going with it.

 

[ZYAL8R]

Nothing wrong with washing with water if you do it right.

Just a suggestion- you might want to ditch the spray bottle with water in it and just use the quick detailer. Water doesn't have enough lubricating properties in it, and you run a higher risk of scratching. Also, if you try a good microfiber, you'll never go back to your diapers or terry cloth!

Yeah I use both water and quick detailer and also use Micro fiber rags. The only bad thing about Micro fiber rags is they tend to hold more stuff in the fibers.

 

[DUSK BLUE]

The only bad thing about Micro fiber rags is they tend to hold more stuff in the fibers.

This is so true, I use real cotton baby diapers..
As far as washing my classic cars with water- NO WAY.. I use detailers only..
I see guys all the time washing and using the water hoses on their cars.
Remember: water goes into every unseen areas of your cars: door sills,trunk sills,rockers etc. should I go on and tell you what happens when that water just sits there...
I understand the cars get dirty but if you need to wash them just dont use the water hose like a 4 year old would, be like surgeon and watch wheer your aiming it. keep the water away from the window channels trunk channels etc..
And washing your car only makes those spider web marks you know the ones you can only see in the sunlight that make your expensive paint job look like crap....Though they can be removed with a good DA Polisher and good polish..

 

[Mark80Z28]

And washing your car only makes those spider web marks you know the ones you can only see in the sunlight that make your expensive paint job look like crap....Though they can be removed with a good DA Polisher and good polish..

You're talking about the swirl marks that the 2 bucket method, along with the Grit Guards in post #1 will help you avoid!

 

[SPECTER]

dude 130 bucks for the double bucket system! thats for the guy that already has everything he could possibly want for his car

 

[Mark80Z28]

dude 130 bucks for the double bucket system! thats for the guy that already has everything he could possibly want for his car

You don't need their whole setup. You can buy 2 5 gallon buckets at Lowe's for under $10, a couple of Grit Guards for $25 or so w/shipping, a nice lamb's wool mitt for $10, and another $5-10 for your favorite car wash concentrate, and you're good to go. I'd say $50-60 for the peace of mind of knowing that you're not putting scratches and swirls in your paint is a small price to pay.

That $130 you talked about is for their overpriced buckets with the dollys, lids, and seats. All of that is nice, but you don't need it all to protect your paint.