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To wash or not to wash.....

Ptabi

Well-known member
Joined
12 Nov 2016
Messages
82
Afternoon,

I saw my car had lost its shine. Therefore I took it for professional detailing.

The guy asked me if I wash the car myself and I repeated not always as I sometimes use the car human wash. He suggested I wash it myself because depending on where you go often you don't get a professional outcome.

I have promised to wash the car myself moving forward.

Just was curious what we all tend to do.
 
Wouldn't let anyone else near mine to wash it. Especially some of these modern day slave outfits that do a full wash & valet for a tenner, etc.
 
Nice edit :thumb:
 
alex yates said:
Wouldn't let anyone else near mine to wash it. Especially some of these modern day slave outfits that do a full wash & valet for a tenner, etc.
+1 :thumb:

I think the thing here is that no matter how good the detailing by a professional, all his/her good work can be wasted in a matter of seconds by poor washing practices. That is the reason that I never will never go to any of the high street hand-wash outfits. :nooo:

In terms of doing it yourself, good practice should be always exercised to avoid swirling/scores, such as :-
- pre-rinse with a hose to remove the grit, dust and other contaminants sitting on the surface
- a snow foam all over to loosen everything up
- another pre-rinse
- always wash the car from top to bottom with a good quality wash mitt which is kept scrupulously clean before, during and after washes
- use a separate wash mitt/shampoo for the sills/below and the wheels
- wash using the two bucket method with grit guards at the bottom of each bucket (one bucket with the car shampoo and the other to rinse the wash mitt each time before going back into the shampoo)
- rinse off with hose
- dry with microfibre cloths
- add top-up wax or nano coating like Gtechniq C2 v3 spray

Despite sounding long-winded, it isn't. With practice, can get all the above down to about 30 minutes.

Really does stand the best chance of minimising any washing damage to a well detailed paint surface. :lol:

Hope this helps.
 
As above. The more dirt you can remove before your wash media comes into contact with the bodywork the better. www.detailingworld.com is your friend when it comes to products, advice and expertise.
 
As above and above - only other thing I do is use a Metro Blaster to dry the car. Brilliant bit of kit.
 
Sadly I think it's true those places offering car washing for a tenner probably are doing more harm than good. Picture of my car after it's detailing yesterday. Moving forward I shall be washing it myself offcause after taking on board some of the pointers some of you have shared with me.
 

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In the correct weather I find cleaning my car a cathartic experience. Some people Yoga....i clean my 911
 
Don't make the mistake I did by using hot water. :eek:

 
Hot water!! , whats wrong with hot water ?? took me a while but i eventually got it :grin:
 
KP964 said:
Hot water!! , whats wrong with hot water ?? took me a while but i eventually got it :grin:
But when you chamois it off it's coooooold
 
OP - The trick is to do a really good job of it twice, maybe three times a year with good quality products, including a very good carnauba wax, and then every time in-between just becomes a gentle wash down with a pH neutral shampoo and a dry with a microfiber cloth.

Jet wash.
Snowfoam.
Rinse.
Shampoo.
Clay bar.
Polish.
Wax.

It takes a while, but it's worth it.
 
alex yates said:
Wouldn't let anyone else near mine to wash it. Especially some of these modern day slave outfits that do a full wash & valet for a tenner, etc.

Only one other person has ever been trusted with cleaning my cars , my favoured detail guru.....

I wouldn't trust anyone near it ....

I wash myself and know that if I drop the mitt it goes in the bin , not back in th3 rinse / wash buckets ....
 
arry said:
OP - The trick is to do a really good job of it twice, maybe three times a year with good quality products, including a very good carnauba wax, and then every time in-between just becomes a gentle wash down with a pH neutral shampoo and a dry with a microfiber cloth.

Jet wash.
Snowfoam.
Rinse.
Shampoo.
Clay bar.
Polish.
Wax.

It takes a while, but it's worth it.

Sorry ' arry But I don't agree with the jet wash first .....

Snow foam first THEN rinse off .....
 
NEVER EVER use a chamois leather on it , that very out of date use a microfibre cloth with any label on it ripped off.
Ideally buy a snow foam attachement for your presure washer
Snow foam first leave for 5 mins rinse off with pressure washer then use two bucket method to wash it with shampoo, pressure wash it again , dry it with microfibre cloth only , then apply a quick detail spray to keep the just polished look for longer.
Every 6/8 weeks replace the quick detail spray with a coat of wax or polish use a good quality hybrid or high canuba content one.
this method should keep you good until your annual or by annual mop at your detailer .
or in my case I have a pro detailer who does this process for me every week on his site using my prefered and supplied products ,presently using blackfire wet diamond shampoo and quick detailer. but there are also lots of other very very good products out there Gtechnic crystal are good I use their trim restorer on my black bumper lips etc.

AVOID AT ALL TIMES the Polish hand cars washes and the likes , unless you want the grit from the previous dirty truck or 4x4 scrubbed into your paintwork and then the paintwork beaten with a cheap plastic wiper thingy followed by a dirty chamois to dry it.
 

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