Car Washing...what are your tips and tricks

[borski]

OCDetailing has a whole page on this: https://bayareadetails.com/after-care-ocdetailing/

Check out their Rinseless Wash videos and products; I really like the Car Pro line of products, fwiw.

I spent ~$200 on various chemicals and soaps and buckets and shammies and whatnot, and it should last me a good long time. The PPF and Ceramic make it *really easy* to wash.

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

Please please someone tell me this is overkill? I washed it once with my standard hose, car detergent, mitt and shammy. If I am as diligent as @hydbod, I’ll never wash my car!

I was actually planning on using this and was actually going to see if I can keep car clean by never using a sponge/rag.

I have this pressure washer https://www.mitm.com/pressure-washers/HSE-1502-0MG10/2157/ use it for my smoker. Heats using diesel

Is there an at home DI kit? I had one forever ago that used filters but they were only good for 2 washes...

I use a small one for fish tank...but

Any thoughts on:

CR Spotless water systems conversion kit

Spot Free Finish supply window washing equipment, RV Mods Di Rinse, Resin Refill Funnel, Norwex bug cloth and more at reasonable pricing.

rv-mods.com

This is serious! Living in Indiana, I'd need the DI Pro-100

Now I have to get a spigot in garage or direct connection. But being in Indiana, need to heat garage...

 

[Maverick]

So a little tip to those who haven't gotten their cars and/or haven't washed them yet. You probably want to wait until the car fully dries before opening the frunk and to a lesser extent the trunk. It had been about 15 minutes since I finished, and I remembered that I had seen some water spots on the interior plastic pieces of the frunk and trunk. The car was completely dry on the exterior, and I wanted to wipe the spots off. Well, the air intakes on the hood of the car can hold a decent amount of water. When the frunk opens all of that water ran down the plastic sides of the frunk as well as the side of the car. Not a huge deal to clean up, but just be aware. The trunk had a little water that rolled off that was sitting in the well where the trunk weather stripping and rear window meet.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

That’s what my craftsman leaf blower is for, to blast the remaining water out of hidey holes. But thanks for the tip, I hadn’t washed it yet and don’t want to wait for them to set up a detailer so I’ll wash it later today and watch out for those hood vents and trunk seals.

 

[Maverick]

Now I know what the leaf blower is for. Others had suggested that but the car was essentially dry when I finished wiping it down, so wasn't sure what the blower would add.

 

[Adnillien]

I just got done washing mine and used compressed air to dry out the edges of the panels. Then I opened the trunk and frunk just like @Maverick and the lots of water dripping on what I had just cleaned.

 

[imran]

Any tips for cleaning the interior ? I just got an AGT wiht Santa Cruz interior and while the white seats look gorgeous I KNOW they'll get dirty quickly so any advice on a a protection spray and the whatever cleaner for cleaning them regular would be great!

 

[BJR]

I generally do not wash a car very often, but this is so pretty, I will be more diligent. Also, dirt on the cameras is annoying!

 

[BradSholl]

Wow…a whole lot more work than I have time for. Much as I love a clean car… my routine will consist of bucket washing with a quality soap (surfactant that releases the dirt from the car) followed by a generous rinse and towel drying in the garage, out of the sun. Oh, and I ordered silver…for this very reason.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Wow…a whole lot more work than I have time for. Much as I love a clean car… my routine will consist of bucket washing with a quality soap (surfactant that releases the dirt from the car) followed by a generous rinse and towel drying in the garage, out of the sun. Oh, and I ordered silver…for this very reason.

Yeah man, if Silver would have been available earlier I would have picked that. It looked so good in the NYC studio. Water spots are the least visible on silver, most visible on black (my car). I do like the DIY detailing though even though it’s time consuming. It’s cheaper and you learn a lot by doing it.

 

[DJL]

Of course that could just be what the powerful soap lobby is telling you to believe.

Love your response! Hey, if just water works for you....do it! But to get down and "dirty" on this subject, soaps are surfactants. Surfactants are: "compounds that lower the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, or dispersants. The word "surfactant" is a blend of surface-active agent, coined c. 1950." Wikipedia
Thus, soap "lift" stuff off of surfaces with less chance of scratching. LOL!

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

I just ordered the MJJC foam canon.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I just ordered the MJJC foam canon.

Cool. I have the regular chemical guys one just cuz the detail shop near me is a chemical guys shop and that was what they had, but the MJCC is probably better.

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

Cool. I have the regular chemical guys one just cuz the detail shop near me is a chemical guys shop and that was what they had, but the MJCC is probably better.

I just hope it works with my pressure washer without too much fuss and purchase of accessories.

One can go crazy, buy second hose, "t" adapter second gun for foam, LOL

 

[Chizle]

With a car as nice as this, there is, at least with me, a desire to make sure that it is clean as much as possible. Having it detailed weekly seems like a stretch, so I'm interested in what others are doing do keep it looking amazing. When I got back from LA, I used a Dewalt low-pressure (1500 I think) sprayer to remove bugs and other stuff. It seemed to do a nice job, but the water spots on the red really annoyed me. I think I got most of them off, but what do y'all suggest for both the glass and the body to keep it looking nice without a crazy amount of effort? Certainly, I think getting the PPF and ceramic will help, but when actually washing, what do you do?

I've always washed cars by hand - lots of classic muscle cars with chrome that shows water spots really badly. Here are a few tricks I've learned.
1. Shade. Park the car in the shade and let it cool down, you can also wait until dusk. When water dries more slowly it dries evenly and the salt buildup that creates spots is minimized.
2. Incline. A steep driveway can help drain water off and allow you to avoid using a shammy when combined with tip #1.
3. Shammy. The shammy is necessary for chrome, glass and trim surfaces to get them to look their best. If you get a really gentle well worked shammy that is kept very clean, you can use it on the body in the large flat areas too. I like to avoid pushing on the shammy against the surface and choose instead to drag the shammy across the surface. Never ring the shammy too dry before taking another pass and always waterlog it well before use.

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

Chamois

 

[chipcaldwell]

Ok. I guess I'm the laziest in the bunch. I'm surprised no one mentioned a car wash. Am I to assume they will harm?

 

[MPawelek]

There has always been a debate over car washes. I personally have used them for years on many cars costing over 100k with no problems though I wash and wax mostly here at home. I would though not use a touch less car wash that uses harsh chemicals over brushes.

I have 3 car buddies that scream all the time that car washes absolutely ruin the paint and they spend tens of thousands of extra dollars on full PPF and ceramic coating. The ironic thing is that they never keep new cars over 2-3 years as they trade in and chase the next “have to have” car or truck. My oldest car is 103 years old and the paint is still fine.

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

My current vehicle Toyota Tundra basically doesn't get washed, where we moved from it's a waste of time. Now that we have moved into a subdivision I'm going back to washing. I've been down many paths in my 56 years, various brands, liked Zymöl. Used clay bar, worked but too time consuming. Now that I have pressure washer I'm planning on hose rinse, foam canon then pressure washer. Second foam with hand wash, rinse and dry. I have to get garage modified to use the dionized water that was recommended early in this thread.

 

[stevelitchfieldpark]

Any tips for cleaning the interior ? I just got an AGT wiht Santa Cruz interior and while the white seats look gorgeous I KNOW they'll get dirty quickly so any advice on a a protection spray and the whatever cleaner for cleaning them regular would be great!

White seats? I didn't know that Santa Cruz has white seats?