josephpallan

My knowledge on car washing is 💩 ..

This is what I'm thinking of doing to clean a car, hose the car down with water, get a car mitt with car soap, apply on car, wash down with water, dry with microfiber cloths

How do you wash your car?, what is is "wax" , "polish", etc ?

Kind Regards
Joe

dildildil

My freind it will be less expensive and more effective to take it to a hand car wash and get it done for like $10

They could also tell you if your car needs, wax, polish or buffing

Jack88

I wash my car with Meguire's soap in a bucket with a sponge. Sponges are actually easier than mitts, most often. I have a separate bucket with the same soap in it for the wheels, with a microfiber rag for that. Hose it down, wash top to bottom, rinse as you go, and spray off the sponge as needed(at the very least once at the end of the wash.) I dry with a shammy, with a microfiber chaser if I'm feeling picky. The whole bit takes 30-40 minutes, and gives me a good opportunity to check up on the overall condition. I wax it once every year, but nothing fancy, just more Meguire's and a microfiber rag.

I'm going to have to disagree with dil, it cost me about $15 for the sponge and soap(lasts about 2 years with biweekly washes of 2 cars,) free buckets from other stuff, and a $10 shammy. Plus water, I suppose. It's incredibly cheap and it's very easy. The waxing may be worth paying someone else but bear in mind it's going to be a couple hundred at least for a good one. You don't need someone to tell you it needs it, do it once a year and you're good. You can push it out to two, but it'll have lost some luster by then as a result. Twice a year keeps it looking like new.

Edit: Don't dry the wheels with the same thing as the paint. Wheels can get tiny metal flakes on them from the brakes, and you don't want that wiped on your paint. I don't even bother drying the wheels, at most I'll squeeze out the rag I washed it with after rinsing and wipe the bulk of the water off.

andrewmr

Hello Joe,

OK... where to start.

How to wash your car.

You're starting out correctly by wetting the whole car. Use a good quality car soap. Do not use dish washing soap.

You'll want to use two buckets. One with soap and the other with plain water to rinse the sponge. I clean one panel at a time. After I've done the panel I squeeze all the soap and dirt out of the sponge and then rinse it clean in the rinse bucket and then go to the soap bucket for the next panel. Using the two bucket method will reduce the contaminants in the sponge and thus reduce the swirls marks in your paint. Don't forget to wash the door jambs and the areas around the trunk normally not seen until you open the trunk.

As was suggested earlier, it's not a bad idea to have a mitt or sponge dedicated to the wheels.

Use a handful of drying towels. And once you're done, the sponges and towels go into the dirty towel container and are not reused until they are washed.

You should now have a clean, dry car. This is where the fun starts.

You asked about wax and polish. Wax is a protective layer that goes on/over your paint. Polish will smooth out imperfections in your paint. It is not a replacement for wax. They do make cleaner wax combo's but I prefer a wax with no abrasives.

A step you can add to this whole process is clay bar. Claying a car will remove paint over spray.... stuff from trees and other contaminants that get onto the paint. It really is remarkable how much smoother the car will feel after the clay process.

Now we are ready for wax and/or polish. If you can see swirl marks, and most likely you'll have them, you'll want to polish the car before you wax it. Same as washing, one panel at a time. This process, as well as waxing, is better done in the shade. Which polish to use, like wax, is all personal preference. I will say this is not an area to save a buck.

Once the car has been polished the wax goes on and it is the easiest part.

Once the car has been waxed clean the glass with a good glass cleaner.

And then you can do the tires with a dressing.

This does seem like a lot of work. And it is.... but it's worth it if you are a hands on kinda guy. If not, just run it though a car wash. Most Audi dealers will do a complimentary car wash for you. Or course they won't do a comp polish/wax.

How often you wax is dependent on how much time the car spends outside and how many times it gets washed and so on. But once a year is probably a good start.

Oh, and the color of your car makes a difference too.

the_duke

Wish this was possible. I'd be happy if we even had an automatic touchless car wash. But when you live in the sticks you have to give up some luxury.

MP4.2+6.0

I can write about endless products and all. But most basic step was already mentioned. Wash strictly top to bottom with previously clean mitt or cloth or whatever. First thing I tell kids or anyone as they are learning. Roof, then glass, then trunk and deck lid top surfaces, then upper half of or so sides and front and rear bumpers down to where they start to curve under, then lower rocker panels and very bottom of back bumper near exhaust. Finally, wheels and tires.

Going top down avoids the basic grit in cloth/sponge/mitt and water issues. Single most important thing in car washing. Even "touchless" car wash BTW. When (not if, when) they do "touch it" with those drying rags, how many times have they been used? where on car? Dropped or who knows what else? ...

Second most important thing BTW is not washing in hot sun if at all possible. If you are in sun, keep rinsing as you do even just a minute or two of soap work, and keep whole car generally wet until drying step. If you don't, very likely get either dried on soap or water spots, or both.

For drying, I have a "California water blade." Basically a big silicone squeegee. At least it gets rid of big water spots, even if you go quick and dirty in like 3 minutes. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I go to next step... I always try to wash right before a drive. Failing that a few mile spin with some speed to enjoy clean car and scenery. 'Air dry,' literally.

I do all the specialty stuff at times--wax, clay bar, etc. 90% of bang for buck/time is right here though in basic good wash. The rest is the once a year type stuff, or when I have a lot of time on hands or want to make special impression or some such. After the first 90%, besides clean windows, basic vacuum is where the next 20-30 min. gives me best return on time and smile.

Garycw

I agree with Andrew and others above , although I do a little different. I start with clean bucket and separate rags & brushes to wheels first. Whesleys bleach white on tires, rims soap & elbow grease.
Then I clean bucket out, new soap water & rags to do rest of car wetting it down first. A trick I learned is a soft natural silicone squeegee" California water blade type" to remove excess water then dry with chamois or micro fiber designed for drying.to back up even more I usually clean & detail inside before washing. That all being said I've started taking to hand wash for $11 & $16 for inside and outside.
I still need to touch up when I get home though.
I'm sure there's better out there, but I've been using Mequires Gold Class with goo results

Garycw

Check in the detail forum under general car discussion.

Return For Deposit

Adams makes a car wash soap that is amazing. Almost just as good is the Maguiars Gold Class Wash and Wax.

josephpallan

Woah.. I just researched about the clay bar process, it seems like the best thing ever. Thanks for all the advice about general car cleaning. One question though, would there be a huge difference in cleaning the car if I put a vinyl wrap on it? Also does vinyl prevent some stone chips?

In the Middle East, having a good tint and a white wrap makes all the difference in comfort as soon as we get in the car (it's usually so hot in the car that the seatbelt metal part can burn your finger)

EDIT : you wrap a car white since black cars absorb heat and white cars don't as much

Thanks
Joe