[Rob K]

So I've been using car washes for the past several years. From what I gather, that's a big no-no with these nice cars.

Can someone share some info on what you use when you clean your car?

I saw somewhere on here about having everything needed to do brushless at home.

I need help!

 

[2mopars]

So I've been using car washes for the past several years. From what I gather, that's a big no-no with these nice cars.

Can someone share some info on what you use when you clean your car?

I saw somewhere on here about having everything needed to do brushless at home.

I need help!

At the VERY LEAST, make sure that you use 2 buckets. First bucket for clean soapy wash water, the second for rinsing your wash mit/cloth etc. NEVER put dirty wash mit in your clean water. This helps cut-down on scatches on clear coat dramatically. Work from top to bottom. Tons of vids on you tube on washing cars properly. I should gave said that in the beginning of this long drawn out message...sorry

 

[SRT_HC_707]

There is no one right way to wash a car. Different scenarios call for different approaches.

I live in the NE. It's cold and our cars get really dirty. I wash twice a week in the winter. I do touchless as the less I touch the paint the less chance for marring.

I prespray with a waterless wash to loosen dirt, and spray wheels with Sonnax. Then I wash with pressure washer to get the big stuff off, foam bomb, rinse and then rinse again with a water deionizer hooked up. Washed, rinsed and no need to dry (no spots either this way).

Takes like 20 minutes. Great when it was 35 degrees yesterday.

Here is a pic. of my wife's car in the off topic post section yesterday early evening...
Really I mean Really Page 2 SRT Hellcat Forum

 

[Rob K]

There is no one right way to wash a car. Different scenarios call for different approaches.

I live in the NE. It's cold and our cars get really dirty. I wash twice a week in the winter. I do touchless as the less I touch the paint the less chance for marring.

I prespray with a waterless wash to loosen dirt, and spray wheels with Sonnax. Then I wash with pressure washer to get the big stuff off, foam bomb, rinse and then rinse again with a water deionizer hooked up. Washed, rinsed and no need to dry (no spots either this way).

Takes like 20 minutes. Great when it was 35 degrees yesterday.

Here is a pic. of my wife's car in the off topic post section yesterday early evening...
Really I mean Really Page 2 SRT Hellcat Forum

Haha, thanks! Your post yesterday is what got me thinking. Do you have brands for the stuff you use? Do they sell the things you mentioned at local auto stores? Waterless wash? Foam bomb? Water deionizer? Never heard of any of them.

Thanks for the help.

 

[noboost4you]

There is no one right way to wash a car. Different scenarios call for different approaches.

I live in the NE. It's cold and our cars get really dirty. I wash twice a week in the winter. I do touchless as the less I touch the paint the less chance for marring.

I prespray with a waterless wash to loosen dirt, and spray wheels with Sonnax. Then I wash with pressure washer to get the big stuff off, foam bomb, rinse and then rinse again with a water deionizer hooked up. Washed, rinsed and no need to dry (no spots either this way).

Takes like 20 minutes. Great when it was 35 degrees yesterday.

Here is a pic. of my wife's car in the off topic post section yesterday early evening...
Really I mean Really Page 2 SRT Hellcat Forum

Deionizing systems are no joke...and not cheap. What system do you have and how many washes can you get out of it before it requires maintenance?

 

[SRT_HC_707]

Haha, thanks! Your post yesterday is what got me thinking. Do you have brands for the stuff you use? Do they sell the things you mentioned at local auto stores? Waterless wash? Foam bomb? Water deionizer? Never heard of any of them.

Thanks for the help.

I'll post up some of the products this week. Right now I've got a crappy connection (I'm on a flight right now). Most of the good stuff isn't available locally but it's easy to get... Once you get the detail bug it's all over . I love cleaning my cars.

 

[SRT_HC_707]

Deionizing systems are no joke...and not cheap. What system do you have and how many washes can you get out of it before it requires maintenance?

I use the CR Spotless DIC-20. I purchased it through Costco online about 8 years ago (if I recall).

I have ridiculously hard well water and acid well water. I soften it and run it through an acid neutralizer. PH is perfect but the softener only exchanges one mineral for another.

The DIC-20 has a TDS (total dissolved solids meter) with an input and output reading. On the input side I'm 650 to 720 PPM (that is INSANELY high). It's 0 on the way out.

The resin doesn't last long for me but it's because my water is so abnormally hard. I work smart with it. I only use it for final rinse and with a pressure washer. How long the resin lasts really depends on how much you use it, if you use a pressure washer (slow down the flow) and how hard your water is.

I also us the DI water when mixing detailing products. I always buy concentrates and mix my own here possible. Huge savings and with DI or distilled water you get a great final product.

 

[SRT_HC_707]

So Rob... Some suggestions. Keep in mind EVERYBODY has their own favorite way, there are tons of products out there etc. etc. You have to find what works for you.

Before going out and buying any crazy equipment I'd suggest starting simple.

Go with the tried and true two bucket wash method. You can google it but basically it works this way. You get two 5 gallon buckets (used or new but very clean -- I get new ones from the house paint store for $1 each. One bucket you mix water and your car wash soap. The second bucket is only water. Dip your wash mitt (I like a microfiber mit or a good sponge), wash the panel and then dip the mitt in the other bucket to shake out the crap, wring it out and back into the clean bucket.

Here is some simple things you will need

• Two five gallon buckets
• Two grit guards (optional) Google this but they are plastic mesh things that you put in the bottom of the bucket. The idea is the sand falls to the bottom but the guard keeps your mitt from ever getting down that far to pick the sand back up Amazon.com The Grit Guard Insert Red - Fits 12 inch Diameter Bucket Automotive
• Car wash soap. There are dozens of different types. One I really like that is not boutique or hard to get is Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo Amazon.com Meguiar s G7164 Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo Conditioner - 64 oz. Automotive You can usually find this locally somewhere
• A good wash mitt or sponge. I like this style Amazon.com Carrand 45133 Microfiber Chenille Wash Pad Automotive or this style

Google the two bucket wash method and see what you think. I would start there before getting to crazy. See if this is something you want to start doing regularly or not.

 

[SRT_HC_707]

One more suggestion...

Get a third bucket that you only use for wheels. Also, have wash media (microfibers are fine or even a wash mit) that you only use for wheels.

You get a lot of iron dust from brake pads. You don't want this in your car wash buckets ever. Wash the microfibers or mits separately from your paint towels for the same reason.

I wash my wheels with wheel brushes and a microfiber and then I throw the towel out. I use an old microfiber. Could be just about any clean towel (even cotton).

One thing I would recommend buying ASAP is Sonnax wheel cleaner. This stuff is fabulous. You can google it and get better information than I'll give you here but Sonnax won't hurt your wheels and it will clean them well.

 

[Rob K]

Very helpful. Thank you! I've had nice cars for a long time now but always do brush car washes. I don't have any problems with them and my car looks great. But it seems like It could look better from what I see and hear on this forum. Not sure I'll have the time to wash it twice a week like a do now but I'm going to try to baby my baby for as long as I can.

With my past 4-5 cars I didn't care too much about long life since they were either leased or cars I knew I'd only have for 3 years max. This one I'm going to keep for a long time.

 

[darrvao777]

So Rob... Some suggestions. Keep in mind EVERYBODY has their own favorite way, there are tons of products out there etc. etc. You have to find what works for you.

Before going out and buying any crazy equipment I'd suggest starting simple.

Go with the tried and true two bucket wash method. You can google it but basically it works this way. You get two 5 gallon buckets (used or new but very clean -- I get new ones from the house paint store for $1 each. One bucket you mix water and your car wash soap. The second bucket is only water. Dip your wash mitt (I like a microfiber mit or a good sponge), wash the panel and then dip the mitt in the other bucket to shake out the crap, wring it out and back into the clean bucket.

Here is some simple things you will need

• Two five gallon buckets
• Two grit guards (optional) Google this but they are plastic mesh things that you put in the bottom of the bucket. The idea is the sand falls to the bottom but the guard keeps your mitt from ever getting down that far to pick the sand back up Amazon.com The Grit Guard Insert Red - Fits 12 inch Diameter Bucket Automotive
• Car wash soap. There are dozens of different types. One I really like that is not boutique or hard to get is Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo Amazon.com Meguiar s G7164 Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo Conditioner - 64 oz. Automotive You can usually find this locally somewhere
• A good wash mitt or sponge. I like this style Amazon.com Carrand 45133 Microfiber Chenille Wash Pad Automotive or this style

Google the two bucket wash method and see what you think. I would start there before getting to crazy. See if this is something you want to start doing regularly or not.

Are the rinse-less wash products like Optimum any good or is the old fashioned 2 bucket method better?

 

[SRT_HC_707]

Are the rinse-less wash products like Optimum any good or is the old fashioned 2 bucket method better?

Optimum No Rinse (ONR) is an outstanding product. For me it's another tool in my wash arsenal. Sometimes I do waterless washing, sometimes I do rinsless washing and sometimes a full water wash two bucket method.

For me it depends on time of year, how dirty the car is, where I am weather etc... ONR is really good stuff once you get the technique down.

 

[PHPD7102]

Okay so I do the wheels first, then I use this foaming gun to soak the car in soap.
Adam's Polishes Foam Gun | Foam Gun Cannon

The nice part about the Adams stuff (maybe others too I don't know) is that once you give it the suds soak it wont matter if it dries on the car while you clean because it wont water spot the car. They have a ton of videos on their site, you can seem them wash the car in the Arizona sun with no issues..

I use these to wash the car down once its suds'd up.

Car Wash Pad | Car Wash Detailing | Car Wash Products

Usually unless the car is just filthy I use their waterless wash to keep it clean with an occasional wipe down using the detailer spray. They warn that overuse of any detalier spray will eventually cause a buildup and loss of shine, which is why I use the waterless wash more often.

Adam's Waterless Car Wash Collection | No Rinse Car Wash | Adam's Polishes

There are a ton of products out there, Adams is not the cheapest nor really the most expensive, but I have had great success on my old ZR1 with it and now with my Hellcat. I'll stick with them unless someone shows me something with way better results.

 

[Dino]

I've had good luck with products from Car Wash, Wax, Polishes, Microfiber Towels and Best Auto Detail Supplies - Chemical Guys Professional Car Care Products - Wholesale and Retail

Lots of instructional videos on their site too.