What is your hand wash routine & what products do you use?

[MAGS1]

I agree. I like Chicago Auto Pros and Detail Geek too, very informative videos.

Chicago Auto Pros is good (and they’re local for us in Chicagoland). Apex Auto Detail (Brian, out of the Philly area) is another good one to watch. He does a lot of product reviews, especially in the winter months, and he just came out with his own line of products.

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[Del Griffith]

I repurposed a fertilizer injector, filled with concentrated soap from Chemical Guys for my routine.
It puts the suds on the car w/ street pressure, no need to break out a pressure washer. Im usually washing 2-3 cars at a time, 1-2xx weekly, so no foam cannon for me.
A full tank lasts many months, countless car & boat washes.

Quick connect fittings on the injector fitting, hoses and yard hydrant make the change from bubbles to rinsing real quick.
Proper bucket & mitt, mitt on a wand for reaching truck roofs & back windows, and a homemade PVC wand for under car's chassis.

For drying, I use the small electric blower from Chemical Guys. My gas powered leaf blower shoots its exhaust right at the car, not good.
I may trade for a cordless, 20v blower to avoid the extension cord nonsense.
Pic of the tank I use:

 

[DFB5.0]

My last mustang ended up with light swirls in the paint and I’m not convinced it’s only from taking it to the car wash. I hand washed it 70% of the time but I still always felt like I was scratching the paint. I want to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen on my new mustang, so for those of you who hand wash your vehicles, I’d love to know what products you use (like what sponges, soap, towels, etc). and what your process is like. Do you re-use sponges and towels or do you use new ones for every wash? I ask this because I feel like I could never get my sponges 100% clean and free of debris after washing the car. I also wonder if washing the towels in my washer and dryer was enough to rid of any debris as well.

I’ve also seen a lot of talk about using leaf blowers to dry instead of towels. Is this actually a smart and effective idea?

This is the soap I’ve used.
Three sponges I’ve tried: This one, this one, and this one.
I can’t find the exact towels I’ve used, but they were green, made by Turtle Wax, and sold at target. Probably similar to this.

Are any of these actually good, safe products to use or would you advise against them?

Ok, so you are you ready to spend some money? Because a few choice upgrades will improve your washing experience and reduce the likelihood of fine washing induced scratches.

For Soap, I would be replacing that Meguiar's item with something like Adams Car Shampoo (the blue one), Koch Chemie GSF or Carpro Reset. These clean better, lubricate better and don't leave a residue that can be hard to deal with during the drying process. These will cost more than the Megs, but you won't regret any of those purchases.

For "sponges", look into getting some Cyclone Wash Pads from the Rag Company. Get two so you can cycle through them, wash them in your washing machine with liquid soap. (Buy now as they have a sale on at over the weekend)
Search results: 18 results for “cyclone” – The Rag Company

For towels, again look into the Rag Company Gauntlet for drying, and their Car Wash Towel for general use towels.
The Gauntlet Microfiber Drying Towel | The Rag Company
Car Wash Microfiber Towel | The Rag Company

If you look over my thread here, I list the best towel, product and tool in each category. Buy any of those with confidence. - DFB'S LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF DETAILING 2022 | 2015+ S550 Mustang Forum (GT, EcoBoost, GT350, GT500, Bullitt, Mach 1) - Mustang6G.com

I also cover a lot of procedural detail in this thread - What's In DFB's Cabinet? | 2015+ S550 Mustang Forum (GT, EcoBoost, GT350, GT500, Bullitt, Mach 1) - Mustang6G.com

A couple of other tips to avoid micro-marring -

-NEVER "dry wipe" the car. What I mean by that is don't just grab some detail spray and start wiping a dusty car.

-Use the two bucket method for washing.

-Make sure to wash your wash mitts and towels after each use. Try not to use a detergent with fabric softeners with microfiber. Dry on low heat or indoors, NEVER outdoors as you may end up with unintended debris in the fibres.

-If a car is especially dirty, foam the car with soap and allow to dwell before the contact wash.

-Use a drying aid when using a towel to dry the car. This provides lubrication during this step.

-Consider using a leaf blower to remove as much water as possible before using a towel to mop up the rest. This limits the amount of wiping required.

Just keep in mind that every time you touch the paint, you have the potential to inflict some marring. The key is to be as safe as possible, helping to limit the amount that builds up over time. Having said that, it's all part of the game though, minor marring can/will build up over time, in which case you do a light polish and start again. For me, that's every two years or so.

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