Improper car washing and drying can cause Swirls, micro marring, and water spots that result in a reduction in that beautiful shine we all know and love about our vehicles’ paint. Car detailing, specifically exterior detailing can be a great way to bring your vehicle back to life again. Below is a list of tips that will surely help you and all your car washing needs.
1. Shade, Shade, Shade.
Our first car washing tips is to avoid direct sunlight and find a shaded area to wash your vehicle. The shade will aid in preventing your soap, water, and other products from evaporating in the hot sun before necessary. Why does this matter you might ask? Because when your products evaporate, you find that your final result can end up subpar and littered with water spots, streaking and Drip marks. Sometimes, this damage cant be removed without a machine polish. Now if you find yourself with no other option to wash your vehicle, there are other options and methods such as heat friendly soaps and products that make your life a little easier. By doing some research you can find that there are a handful of great pH neutral, natural, and wax friendly products that will help you avoid those pesky residue markings and water spotting. These
2. Trust The Car Washing Process
To be clear there isn’t always just one way wash you’r car, there different processes depending on environment and type of wash. However, the most common and efficient way to Wash you vehicle is sequenced below.
- Wheels first: Use a separate/dedicated bucket. (overspray from wheel cleaners is inevitable, no need to back track.)
- Pre-Rinse: Use a Foam cannon and/or clear coat safe degreaser or APC. (Spray foam or degreaser on heavy saturated areas, let sit for a couple minutes, then rinse the loosened dirt and grim before your wash-mitt even touches the paint. perfect for the bottom of half of vehicles and eliminated bugs from the grill/front bumper.)
- Wash: Start from top to bottom using the two bucket method and/or Gary dean method to ensure as little marring/scratching as possible. The reason you start from top to bottom is because there is less dirt at the top of your vehicle leaving less of a chance to collect that dirt into your washing apparatus and/or your wash buckets.
- Rinse: Rinsing with an even flow of water is all you need to ensure your rinse is thorough and ready for drying. Again, it’s great to start from the top to bottom for all processes.
Techniques:
- lubrication, lubrication, lubrication; use dedicated car soap and/or lubricating agent to aid in removal of contamination whilst preventing it from scratching your paint.
- Hand-Wash from top to bottom; Less road grime and dirt reside at the top of your vehicle, start here and make your way to the bottom. This will prevent the build up of dirt in your wash buckets and the risk of marring paint.
- Two bucket methods– Fill one bucket with your wash soap of choice and just water. Everytime you’re ready to reapply your mitt with new soap, dip it in clean water to rinse your mitt and watch any dirt or contamination fall into dirt traps below.
- Multimedia method; Only have one bucket? Using several MF towels and fold in half then in half again. use each side of MF until saturated with dirt then flip to a new side. once the all sides have been saturated toss aside and grab a new towel out of your bucket.
Pro tip: add a little extra lubrication with polymer technologies and more wash to prevent contamination build up.
3. Dry Right or Die Tryin
Properly drying your vehicle is an important part of the car washing process. So don’t skip this part of our car washing tips. If this step isn’t done right, damage such as water spotting and micro marring can occur. This can happen when your water and soap products evaporate and leave mineral deposits on your vehicle. Not only is soaking up that water important, making sure you have the proper drying towel and techniques while using it is too. When shopping for a drying towel, look for a reputable microfiber towel with a high GSM rating, and enough microfiber to soak up a vehicle or two’s worth of water. It’s also important to ensure your vehicle is completely free of dirt after your wash so that your towels don’t pick up any unwanted dirt during the drying phase. Believe me, you don’t want any stubborn debris to get caught in your drying towel and dragged across your paintwork. Finally, when you’re ready to start drying, begin from top to bottom or whatever side of your vehicle is exposed to the most sunlight, (to avoid water spotting) and apply little to no pressure by guiding the towel and letting it do all the work. You can use blown air to help rid the water and soaps from badges, trim, and mirror arches.
Noted Techniques;
Dry from top to bottom of the vehicle applying little to no pressure allowing the towel to do the work.
Pro tip: lubrications like spray waxes/sealant help in speeding up the drying process whilst adding lubrication and protection at the same time.
4. Wax on Wax off
Apply your favorite or reputable wax/ sealant/ Coating.
Because there are many options on the market today, it can be confusing on what product or method works best for you. Along with the car washing tips provided, I asddvise you do some research on the following different types of protection applications because there are many, for example; liquid wax, paste wax, Spray wax, Sealant, Hybrid Ceramic and Ceramic coatings. Below are some tips as to how to apply.
instructions:
- Work in a shaded area and out of direct sunlight if possible.
- Use an applicator provided by the manufacturer or a quality microfiber to apply your protectant.
- Work on one area at a time, around 2 to 4 square feet. Some products may allow you to coat the entire car before buffing off. However, most do not.
- Follow the instructions on whether or not to allow the protectant to dry (haze) before buffing.
- Use a small amount of protectant at a time. Dont use too much wax and you’re wasting the product and your time.
- Switch to a clean MF towel if the residue does not buff off easily.
- Apply your protectant in a back-and-forth motion, not in circles. You need to replace your applicator or towels if you are creating swirls.
Car Washing Tools/Products
- 5-gallon bucket for 1 for wheels and 2 for paint.
- Dirt guards for wash buckets
- plush microfiber wash mitts (one for top half of vehicle other for bottom half or wheels)
- bug sponge
- Detailing brushes to get in between badges, wheels, tight corners, grills, etc.
- car wash soap
- High powered blower; this is a great way to ensure water is removed from panels and specifically tight areas and creases that water often builds up in. (Mirrors, trim, tight creases, etc.
- And/or
- Large plush microfiber drying towel
- medium plush drying towel to dry excess.
