How do you wash yours?

[SpArKy]

OK, so I've always just taken my cars to the local Polish car wash, given them a fiver and driven away in a shiny albeit streaky car.

Not feeling that for this one and gonna clean her myself.

I'm assuming i need a pressure washer, but what else will I need to do a good job. What are your routines?

ta very much

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[stiggy]

Shiny it may appear, but I pretty much guarantee that you will now have a zillion micro scratches on the car as a result.

The good old one bucket/sponge, 2 dozen cars.

Personally, my basic clean routine is:

Snow foam car and leave to dwell
Clean worst of crud from wheels whilst foam is dwelling - using APC or Korrosol depending on how dirty they are
High pressure rinse entire car
Two bucket wash with lambswool mitt (one clean bucket, one to rinse the mitt)
High pressure rinse again
Dry off using plush microfibre towels - sometimes with instant detailer
Check/clean door shuts, bonnet, boot
Dry wheels
Apply tyre black/shine
Clean interior if required

Now, if you want it PROPERLY clean, then it's more this sort of thing:
http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48491&highlight=prep

For as much 'detail' as you can take, go to detailingworld.co.uk and fill your boots

 

[willisit]

That is a leading question that can go one of two ways; the "I drive mine, so it gets a quick hand wash" way or the "I detail the shizz out of it and 10 hours is nothing to me" way.

What do you want? A gleaming example or just a trust thing (i.e. you trust you, no one else?)

Personally, getting a good pressure washer, two buckets (with filters) and a good starter kit (Meg or go specialist - budget is key there) and following some guides from detailersworld or even here, will do you fine.

I wash my daily most weekends. I wash pressure wash, snow foam, pressure wash, hand wash, dry, polish and then do wheels/glass etc every time (as well as a full interior). I spend around 2 hours on that. The garage queen gets clay, pre-wash, wash, post-clean, polish and wax... that's a day, and gets done a couple times a year.

You may also want to get it done professionally once so you have a nice base to work from - then it's mainly maintenance.

The ways and means are endless. Your time is worth something though, and having an immaculate car may mean you don't want to actually use it ;)

 

[Kristian87]

This was my approach (some good info in this thread);

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25175&highlight=washing+car&page=3

Will be doing a full day cleaning/detailing tomorrow in preparation for the NC500 Might try to go somewhere for a quick photoshoot if the weather is kind.

 

[Big_G]

Mine has GTechniq coating so i can be quite quick with it and finish up looking like its had a full polish, seal, wax job.

Bilt Hamber snow foam
2 Bucket wash with grit guards
GTechniq G Wash shampoo
Gyeon Woolie wash mit
2 micro fibre towels to dry (1 to soak up the majority, 1 to buff off the residual)

 

[Manders Mustang]

Everyone washes differently (Think this spurred up a topic before!!)

I pressure do the following
pressure wash
snow foam
pressure wash
three bucket wash (1 fresh soapy, two water, it goes soapy -> car -> water 1 -> water 2) with a mit
then use a chamois cloth to wipe off the surface water (Some people are gonna grill me for that)
then a big micro fibre cloth
and then a smaller to buff down.


If I'm going for a full clean, I've got a spray on polish, wheel cleaner, wet trye look etc things that i'll put on with another small mirco fibre cloth.

 

[RSPcooper]

If you really want to cut down on swirls surface scratches etc try the 3 bucket method. To start you want a pressure washer and a snow foam lance. Does not have to be massively expensive as too much pressure can be a bad thing moving grit particles at speed off the paint.
Covering the car in snowfoam helps lift the dirt before you pressure wash it,let the foam start to drip off about 5 mins then pressure wash it.
IN the 3 buckets are grit guards which keep the grit underneath your water. Use one bucket with a sponge and shampoo on the plastic lower parts of the car where the worst of the grit will be and there is no paint to mark sills undertray etc.

The other two buckets one plain water one a decent shampoo.Get yourself a good wool mit and start from the top of the car working downwards and washing in a side to side motion rather than circular and rinse regularly in your clean water bucket.
Dry with microfibre drying towel or if you have one a leaf blower which also blows the water out of all those places that annoyingly drip down the car when youve finished it. Do the wheels last. Chuck your mit and drying towels in the wash machine regularly.
Sounds a faff but keeps the swirls down to a minimum.

 

[SpArKy]

Everyone washes differently (Think this spurred up a topic before!!)

did a search of forum for 'wash' and found nothing. forgot to search the non UK part of the forum, but since there are actually posts there asking for advice on where to store your weapons I tend to steer clear! :eyebulge:

Personally, my basic clean routine is:

Snow foam car and leave to dwell
Clean worst of crud from wheels whilst foam is dwelling - using APC or Korrosol depending on how dirty they are
High pressure rinse entire car
Two bucket wash with lambswool mitt (one clean bucket, one to rinse the mitt)
High pressure rinse again
Dry off using plush microfibre towels - sometimes with instant detailer
Check/clean door shuts, bonnet, boot
Dry wheels
Apply tyre black/shine
Clean interior if required

this is exactly the sort of thing i was looking for. Easy to follow instructions even a numpty like me can follow :clap2:

 

[Nookie]

Any of those 'car park' car washes (Polish as yours may be, but including supermarket and weekend school/church/community centre and other fundraising/charity washes) should be avoided like the bloody plague... unless you're looking for a cheap way to get you're car sanded down prior to a respray!

Not only do they tend to continually keep dropping the sponges and cloths on the floor and then plant them straight back onto your paintwork, but the sponges they use are generally the cheap synthetic ones that even without the added car park grit will cause damage... as well as using Chamois leathers which are at best pre-historic nowadays.

Paintwork ain't what it used to be (no cellulose or two-pack nowadays)... it's all acrylic (water based) and doesn't have the durability of old.

Next time you're in a Tesco car park, go to the quiet corner where they normally do the 'washes' and drop a wet sponge on the floor - and then have a look and see how much $hit is stuck to it!

At the very least, use a pre-rinse (foam), a lambswool mitt, and proper drying or waffle weave towels.

Get yourself a kit from www.polishedbliss.co.uk - utterly professional, one of the best ranges of products on the net, superb prices (with discounts available) and absolutely un-faulting service... and if you're not sure what to get, just give them a call and discuss a budget with them (£100, £150 and so on) and they'll put a package together for you to suit.

 

[Manders Mustang]

[MENTION=18440]stiggy[/MENTION] is our resident car detail perfectionist, he's got a whole step by step guide on how he did it [MENTION=24944]SpArKy[/MENTION]


I also think the thread about how we cleaned our cars wasn't called 'wash' it was a thread like detailing or something, we often ramble onto the furthest corners of a topic and beyond lmao! Next we'll have people talking about the optimum water softness/hardness that's required for cleaning ;).

 

[Nookie]

Next we'll have people talking about the optimum water softness/hardness that's required for cleaning ;).

Here you go... http://www.carwash.com/the-cold-hard-facts-about-water/

 

[GR11M]

we shower together :love:

 

[Manders Mustang]

we shower together :love:

Shampoo the roof, make sure to get the soap in all the nooks, crannies and panel gaps ;)! :lol::lol:

 

[VertMustang98GT]

I'd highly suggest Adams Polishes Waterless Wash for in between washes and touch ups (if you can get your hands on some Overseas)...

It has amazing results (this was not even washing the car prior, it was driven through rain to the show (300mi's). This wash was with Adam's Waterless Wash only):

 

[SpArKy]

oh, and what care needs to be taken around the stripes? i assume i need to leave it a little while before washing? but being white they are already starting to look a little grubby :(

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