Getting Back to the Basics..... Washing Method

[BJClarke001]

When we wash our vehicles, I think I know all the basics (or at least this is what I do):

1) Quality Wash Mitt
2) Quality Car Wash (NXT)
3) Two Bucket Method (one for rinsing the mitt only)
4) Grit Guard in both buckets
5) Work from the top down and work in sections
6) Have plenty of wash solution on the mitt
7) Leaf Blower to minimize the drying towels rubbed on the paints surface
8) Use a quality drying towel (I use Megs Water Magnet)



After reading this thread “New Car..New Swirls” http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...&threadid=8315 , it made me think a lot more on procedures for washing. In the above thread, Mike Phillips talks about the fact that it is impossible to avoid instilling scratches into the paint of our vehicles. And I also know this is a true statement and there is no cure to date. So what it all comes down to is minimizing the amount of scratches we install on the surface of our paints.

The dirt I worry about the most is the dirt we get from driving in rain/snow where this sandy dirt grit sticks to the paint and progressively gets worse starting from the top of the vehicle to the bottom (near the tires). When you blast this “dirt” with a hose (or even a power washer) it still remains there and basically, the only way to remove it is with the wash mitt in a back and forth method and hoping that we have enough wash solution on our mitts to minimize the sand paper effect.

I have read I think on “Other” sites that some people actually use their spray nozzle along with their wash mitt and spritz water above the mitt to add to the whisking away this dirt while washing. I too have tried this but find it dilutes your wash solution and therefore, may defeat the wash solutions properties.

So, after a long winded intro (sorry), I am asking most of you out there: What method do you use to wash your vehicle where you find that you are not introducing (minimizing) scratches into your surface?

[gb387]

I follow your steps 1 - 8. I like to use a ton of car wash solution 4-5 gallons in hopes of minimizing the fine scratches. On a final rinse I like to use the hose (no nozzle) to sheet water off, once that is done there really is very little drying with my Water Magnet, a good coat of NXT really helps this step.

[Ranger72]

Originally posted by gb387
I follow your steps 1 - 8. I like to use a ton of car wash solution 4-5 gallons in hopes of minimizing the fine scratches. On a final rinse I like to use the hose (no nozzle) to sheet water off, once that is done there really is very little drying with my Water Magnet, a good coat of NXT really helps this step.

Somebody give this guy a cookie.

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Here is some more info for washing the paint:

How To Wash Your Car using the Two Bucket
Method

Cheers!

Tim

[BJClarke001]

Originally posted by 2hotford
Hey,

Here is some more info for washing the paint:

How To Wash Your Car using the Two Bucket
Method

Cheers!

Tim

Well, I do use the two bucket method. I was wondering more along the lines on how you guys wash your cars. Kinda like what gb387 said about using tons of wash solution (assume meaning several dips in the bucket with the wash mitt per panel) and tackeling that dirt that sticks to the paint. Maybe I am asking a dumb question here but I like to hear how others go about their washings. Maybe there is no other method and I am already doing it the best way. I sometimes overthink you know. To late to change me now, I am 44, so I guess I have to live with this curse. LOL.

[rusty bumper]

To add to what the others have said, if your car is really dirty (Like in winter time) then I would change my rinse water about half way through the wash process.....Or if at any time it starts to look gritty looking.

[BJClarke001]

Well, perhaps I am already doing what is required based on the responses to this thread. Let me throw out an idea and see what you think.

When we wash our vehicle (at least me), we tend to do a back and forth (horizontal (aka left to right)), starting at the top and working to the bottom approach and perhaps rinsing the mitt in between for each panel on the vehicle. What about washing in a vertical, top to bottom ONLY approach and rinsing with each vertical swipe? Seems to me, that dragging the grit around in the horizontal approach would be minimized going to a vertical approach and running the mitt in one direction. Being that most of the grit is at the bottom, the main scratches would only be contained in the lower region? Does anyone do this? As I said, this is so so basic, maybe no one doesn't want to even think about it. But in my eyes, it is the most important step in regaurd to minimizing the scratches. Any thoughts? I am starting to hear crickets on this thread. LOL.

Am I making any sence here or am I just babbling?

[Accumulator]

Re: Getting Back to the Basics..... Washing Method

Originally posted by BJClarke001
I have read I think on “Other” sites that some people actually use their spray nozzle along with their wash mitt and spritz water above the mitt to add to the whisking away this dirt while washing. I too have tried this but find it dilutes your wash solution and therefore, may defeat the wash solutions properties.

I'll assume that my method is one of those you're referencing above. It'll work if you adjust dilution ratios of the wash. A *far* better method is to shoot wash solution *through the mitt* using a foamgun (as manufactured by Gilmour and sold under the "Butcher's" and "Simple Green" brand names). This is time and labor intensive and requires great care and practice. You have to use a slick LSP and wash frequently so the dirt doesn't really bond to the panels.

This works best with chenille mitts (the soapy foam flows through them well), a high-lubricity shampoo, and boosted water pressure.

Note that if the vehicle is very dirty, you might have to stop and inspect/wash out/change the mitt after a *single* pass, and said mass might only cover a portion of a small panel like a door. If dirt sticks to the mitt you simply cannot keep moving the mitt over the paint. It's easy to go through four-six mitts if the vehicle is really dirty, even if you stop and clean them out.

You have to be careful to not apply pressure against the paint. This is why you have to use a slick LSP, the only friction comes from the strands of the mitt, which gently dislodge the dirt so it can be flushed away.

In the winter, when dirt seems more abrasive, I spray the foamgun through a paint-safe brush. I allow only enough contact (not bending the tips of the bristles, for instance) to dislodge the dirt and use the force of the soapy foam to float it off the panel. I'll only do a short pass before rinsing out the brush with the hose in case some dirt has stuck to the bristles. I use this to remove the worst/most abrasive dirt and then rewash using the mitts. Yeah, this can take a *very* long time, but it sure is satisfying to inspect the vehicle come spring and find you don't need to remove a bunch of scratches from the washing.

When the above gentle methods fail to leave a perfectly clean surface, I'll follow up with a similarly gentle claying. You have to be especially careful when doing this or it'll mar the paint too.

Yeah, sometimes you'll get some marring no matter what you do. But I'm *very* disappointed if I have to (abrasively) polish more than once a year and I don't always polish that often (twice so far on my '01 Audi). And yeah, I'd see the marring if it happened; I use multiple lighting sources to inspect my work and frequently employ magnification.

"Dislodge and flush" works if you take the time to master the technique. But it's sure not for everybody and it takes certain facilities and skills. To do it carefully enough to avoid marring you can easily spend a few hours doing a normal wash on a lightly soiled vehicle. After doing it many, many times I've decided that it's worth the effort for me, but when people watch me do it they just shake their heads and say I'm crazy- they'd rather polish more often or even live with light marring. To each their own.

[Bill D]

I use a variance on Accumulator's method with delightful results. I use only sheepskin mitts and plenty of them. I don't have boosted water pressure so I can't try the foam gun through the mitt thing but I find allowing the foam gun to flow soapy water solution continously over the area I am washing while gently wisking it with the mitt does just fine.

Meguiars fans will be happy to know that NXT wash responds to this technique quite well.