How does everyone wash their cars

stateproperty3423

stateproperty3423

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Since summer is around the corner its time to start washing your car everyday again. My question is how do you wash your car. I use a tradtional soap bucket sponge and spray hose but, how do you dry your car off letting it dry on its on will cause water marks, my father uses a squeegee on the whole car but i think that will scratch the paint... anyway any suggestions?

THANKS
 
I use the "absorber" type shamey on mine.One for the paint/glass and one for my chrome wheels.
 
traditioinal soap bucket with turtlewax car wash, and a hose/spray nozzle. i wash the car with some car washer glove thingy that i got at autozone for $10. then to scrub the bugs off the front, i gotta use something tougher than that soft car scrubber, but not tough enough to scratch the paint.a good cotton towel, some bugoff, and a LOT of elbow grease works for me..

for the wheels, use a wheel brush, and LOTS of elbow grease too.

i use a cotton towel to dry, i just use 100% cotton beach towels. its VERY absorbent.
first i use one to quickly soak up most of the water off the car, then i use the second one to really dry each section nicely.

in the summer, i wax once a month. (MY CAR, of course!!! :) ) and use some $7 wax-as-u-dry stuff every wash in between real waxes. it takes 45 minutes to wash & dry, 20 minutes on the wheels, another 30 minutes to clean the inside & wash all windows. by the time im done with that, i'm usually too tired to spend another hour & a half waxing the damn car too! but its gotta be done at least once a month in the non rainy weather... :L


right now it rains every week, so i have only hand washed the car once since winter...until rainy season is close to being over, the cheap $6 drive thru wash works for me... no sense in handwashing the car when its just gonna get dirty 2 days later. teh only way i'll handwash it is if i know it wont rain for a MINIMUM of 3 days. way too much work for it to get yucky in 2 days!
 
oh yeah, a squeege shouldnt scratch the paint. they are pretty soft & flexible. just be careful when doing that, so you dont tilt it & get the hard plastic part to scratch the car... that WILL scratch the paint. but if your not careless, it should be fine. :)
 
I use the Mr. Clean auto dry system once in a while, when I'm lazy, but usaully just use the soap in the kit with a bucket and mitt. Dry with a squeegee and beach towel.

I use the Meguir's 3 step system about every 2 months, works like a charm.
 
I am lazy so I pay a local detailer for a hand wash. I have never used auto car washes.
 
stateproperty3423 said:
Since summer is around the corner its time to start washing your car everyday again. My question is how do you wash your car. I use a tradtional soap bucket sponge and spray hose but, how do you dry your car off letting it dry on its on will cause water marks, my father uses a squeegee on the whole car but i think that will scratch the paint... anyway any suggestions?

THANKS
Click to expand...
First thing I do is to spray the wheels, tires, and wheel wells with some degreaser (as in simple green or something like it) Then I take a brush and scrub the tires, take a bug sponge and do the wheels, and then spray them off including the wheel wells. Then I wet the car down and wash it with some car soap and a mit. I then spray the car off and use a water blade to get the water off. I use a leather chamois to dry my car off but the absorber will work too. I then dry the door jams (including trunk, engine, and gas because water will come out of those and look like crap otherwise. Then it is on to the tires. I use armor all for the tires and wheel wells and then wipe off the wheels. Some people prefer to use other products but I find armor all washes off in water so it doesn't tend to brown the tires or make them difficult to clean. Plus, i like the look of natural leather instead of the greased up look some tires have..........its personal preference. After that, I use window cleaner (not windex) to do the windows......run a vac through it since my car never needs much more, and wipe down the panels. I detail cars for a living and this usually takes about an hour to do. It may seem like a lot of time but it really isn't. Hope this helps...

PS. To make getting bugs off the front of your car easier.........wax your bumper every time you wash your car and then wax the rest of your car once a month or so. It really cuts back on the amount of scrubbing (and scratching) you have to do.
 
I use a car squeegee for large areas and the absorber for detail and smaller areas.
 
waterblade makes getting most of the water off really easy and fast, then a shamoise takes care of everything else.
 
i go to the place i used to work every saturday and get a free wash i do it all myself on the side lot, than after i used all their products i go home and wax it with mcguires wax, usually wax weekly but have been busy lately. theres nothing better than a clean car right.
 
Bucket/sponge. Dry enough, then use Mequires Quick Detailer and detail the whole car with a nice microfiber towel. No waterspots and a wonderful shine.
 
I am usually at the car wash for about an hour with pre soak.. then wheel and tire cleaner.. the high pressure soap, high pressure rinse, then a multi colored foam clearcoat conditioner, high pressure rinse then low pressure spot free. If its within a few weeks after waxing i'll take the car out on the highway and cruise about 80 for about five miles and its completely dry with no water spots, but if i don't feel like driving it i will use the absorber, then i always after every car wash will use microfiber cloths and wipe out each of the doors and trunk lid on the inside of the frame around the door seal and such. Just keeps it looking new i guess. Little overkill maybe.. lol And sometimes if i feel the wax could use a little extra glimmer and use woflgang quick detailing spritz.. with microfiber towels..
 
StraDog said:
Bucket/sponge. Dry enough, then use Mequires Quick Detailer and detail the whole car with a nice microfiber towel. No waterspots and a wonderful shine.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine and I both had bad experiences with microfiber towels. Mine was from Meguires too. I guess they are pretty easy to collect contaminents. If that happens...game over. What do you do to keep yours clean?
 
I wash mine just as luckieleo has described

Just remember to dampen cotton cloths before you dry, as it cuts down on swirl marks...less work during your polish/wax :) The best way to do this is to toss a few in the wash machine while their soaked, then put it through a spin cycle. Spraying them down with a water bottle also gets the job done. Damp towels don't streak or leave as much lint as a dry cloth.
 
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