Best way to clean your pride & joy?

[Farsider]

A bit controversial perhaps but I'm about to wash my new vRS for the first time this weekend. I'm not big on detailing but I want to do a good job, not wreck the paintwork and not spend >2hrs doing it.

My methodology:

Hose down

Shampoo with good sponge

Jet wash body

Soap up the Geminis

Jet wash Geminis

Dry with drying cloth / good chamois

Hoover seats and floors

Wipe down cabin with damp microfiber cloth (water only)

My main concern is the jet wash. Used responsibly (ie 1 meter away) I've never had a problem.

Thoughts?

[skovirg]

Looks good to me. However, I'm never pleased with the finish after pressure washing so I use a bucket and sponge with auto glym car body shampoo, dry with a blade and then chamois.  Every two or three months I wax.  That wouldn't work for some but it keeps my chariot in good order with a relatively small time commitment and I'm happy with that. 

[sworrall]

Have a read of the two bucket method.

Jet wash first to get the muck off

Bin the sponge and buy a wash mitt or noodle from Asda.

Bin the chamy and buy a drying towel from Asda

Cheap as chips. 99p buckets, £3 for the drying towel (orange one) and a few quid for the mitt

And

Www.detailingworld.co.uk if you fancy a longer read

Jet wash is fine as long as you keep your distance but watch the rear sensors

[banksie]

Never used one of these wash mitts.

What's the advantage over a brush?

[sworrall]

Never used one of these wash mitts.

What's the advantage over a brush?

it's usually to replace a sponge. The sponge keeps the scratchy crap on the surface by your paint. The wash mitt takes the scratchy dirt into the fibres so they don't scratch your car

[jdh780]

I use a clay bar twice a year to remove traffic film etc before polishing and waxing.

[littleade]

+1 on Swarralls comments

I can do the following clean in 2 hrs. A 6 month complete clean and rewax takes about another 1-2 hours

Get out cleaning kit, hose & jetwash (I use a nilfisk which has a broad softer nozzel specifically for washing cars)

Snow foam all of outside of car inc wheels and wheel arches

Fill up 2 buckets while snow foam does it's stuff, one with ag shampoo conditioner (or your choice as long as its ph neutral) the other with clean warm water

By now snow foam has done its thing

Jetwash off

Apply bilberry wheel cleaner diluted 1:9 on wheels. Leave to soak while:

Shampoo paintwork using 2 mits and 2bm. 1 mit for most of paintwork, another for the sills and other areas that get the most dirt

Jetwash off again.

Respray wheels with more bilberry wheel cleaner. Then use good quality wheel brush/mit you've used on lower sections of car (I have one of the ones that looks like its got dreadlocks for this)

Jetwash wheels off.

Use good quality mf towel to dry off in conjuction with a quick detailer. I use a wolly mamouth on the main paintwork first then have a number of large kent ones I use rather than wasting time trying to wring just 1 towel out. The first kent is normally enough to finish off the main paintwork and I then use others to do the inner doors/jams/inside the hatch and another for the engine bay followed lastly by the wheels. Hang mf towels up to dry in garage unless they are dirty. Hoover car. Put stuff away.

[banksie]

it's usually to replace a sponge. The sponge keeps the scratchy crap on the surface by your paint. The wash mitt takes the scratchy dirt into the fibres so they don't scratch your car

But is this any different to a brush?

Always up for trying better ways of doing things so trying to find out if wash mitt is better?

I'm off to a detailing forum!

Edited 11 December, 2013 by banksie

[pixor]

Never use a brush on paintwork - it scratches.

I used to do 'amateur' detailing, and would recommend what's been said here.

I.e. Jet wash off first, then use the 2 bucket method with a wash mitt.

I used a clay bar twice a year followed by a wax. The clay bar removes the build up of grit and tar, but it did do a lot of miles in full Scottish winters, so it made a noticeable difference.

Of course, now I have a young family, I have to fit it in in 15 minutes once a month (I'm talking about car washing)

[AndrewWarren]

Seems like an ok method....BUT....replace the sponge with a micro fiber one. That's all I'd do for a basic wash!

[SC03OTT]

Sponge, chamois and blade = bin.

Replace with microfibre wash mitt and drying towel/cloths.

If you're going to clay, best practice would be to use some sort of tar solvent first. Save dragging large lumps of tar over the paintwork.

I'm no expert btw. That's just stuff I've picked up from reading.

[Guest Cossiecol]

My preferred method:

 

Pressure washer rinse.

McGuire's bodywork shampoo

Rinse on low setting

Dry

 

If polishing is needed

McGuire's 3 step 

(Auto-Glym) only if a time is an issue.

[vrs1986]

+1 for 2 bucket method and washing mitt.

I usually use meguiars gold class shampoo and lamb wool mitt.

I usually like to give the car a wax every few months but as said above, its near impossible to find the time now with a young family!

[Sparkly]

Sponge, chamois and blade = bin.

Yes, yes, yes - bin the blade, nothing will match it for adding scratches to your paint

 

Never use a brush on paintwork - it scratches.

More Yes

 

But is this any different to a brush?

Big Yes, brush is too harsh

 

+1 on Swarralls comments

I can do the following clean in 2 hrs. A 6 month complete clean and rewax takes about another 1-2 hours

Get out cleaning kit, hose & jetwash (I use a nilfisk which has a broad softer nozzel specifically for washing cars)

Snow foam all of outside of car inc wheels and wheel arches

Fill up 2 buckets while snow foam does it's stuff, one with ag shampoo conditioner (or your choice as long as its ph neutral) the other with clean warm water

By now snow foam has done its thing

Jetwash off

Apply bilberry wheel cleaner diluted 1:9 on wheels. Leave to soak while:

Shampoo paintwork using 2 mits and 2bm. 1 mit for most of paintwork, another for the sills and other areas that get the most dirt

Jetwash off again.

Respray wheels with more bilberry wheel cleaner. Then use good quality wheel brush/mit you've used on lower sections of car (I have one of the ones that looks like its got dreadlocks for this)

Jetwash wheels off.

Use good quality mf towel to dry off in conjuction with a quick detailer. I use a wolly mamouth on the main paintwork first then have a number of large kent ones I use rather than wasting time trying to wring just 1 towel out. The first kent is normally enough to finish off the main paintwork and I then use others to do the inner doors/jams/inside the hatch and another for the engine bay followed lastly by the wheels. Hang mf towels up to dry in garage unless they are dirty. Hoover car. Put stuff away.

Gets my vote for best answer.

 

prewash - check

TBM - Check

Multiple mitts for different areas of the car - check

Good drying technique with QD to lube and assist drying - check

[baz555]

My preferred method:

Get someone to do it for me ....  

[ChrisRs]

Already said by knowledgeable guys in this Thread ....but this is worth a read:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/safe-washing-and-drying.html

[Guest Cossiecol]

Already said by knowledgeable guys in this Thread ....but this is worth a read:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/safe-washing-and-drying.html

 

Some good info in the link

[Farsider]

So Jet washing......safe?

[Sparkly]

So Jet washing......safe?

I guess so......

[SC03OTT]

So Jet washing......safe?

If you're smart about it then yes. Obviously if you blast the car from 1/2" away then you might run into issues.

[David 8]

Moved.

[pipsyp]

Lots of people who love detailing on here but my firm favourite thats never done me wrong is hose rinse, warm bucket and sponge with half decent car shampoo, rinse and chamois off.

When the weather is nice and I can spare the time (rare and cant remember the last time I did it now) I might give it a polish with some Auto Glym Resin polish but thats as far as it goes. Dont use tyre gel as if you kerb a wheel and it needs a smart repair makes it a ballache for the smart repairers to get a good finish as it binds to alloys like grease in a chip pan

[littleade]

So Jet washing......safe?

Yes as above don't point it straight at bearings or electrical stuff under the bonnet and use a wide fanned nozzle and you'll be fine

 

Lots of people who love detailing on here but my firm favourite thats never done me wrong is hose rinse, warm bucket and sponge with half decent car shampoo, rinse and chamois off.

When the weather is nice and I can spare the time (rare and cant remember the last time I did it now) I might give it a polish with some Auto Glym Resin polish but thats as far as it goes. Dont use tyre gel as if you kerb a wheel and it needs a smart repair makes it a ballache for the smart repairers to get a good finish as it binds to alloys like grease in a chip pan

Oh no not the sponge......only use it to put tyre dressing on or on your other half in the bath/shower (but not both) and don't kerb your rims. Sorry Pipsyp chamois is so last year! Give it to your neighbour or chuck it in the bin. No offence intended. I blame ChrisRS its his fault I only had a dirty rag until I joined Briskoda

[Farsider]

So when jet washing the body, keeping about 1 meter away seems to be the way to go.

When it comes to rims (anthracite Gemini's on my O3 vRS), is it safe to get in there close to get the muck off or is that a no no too?

[Sparkly]

So when jet washing the body, keeping about 1 meter away seems to be the way to go. When it comes to rims (anthracite Gemini's on my O3 vRS), is it safe to get in there close to get the muck off or is that a no no too?

If you are using appropriate cleaning products this is totally unnecessary.

If you need to get that close, then you probably aren't using the right products.

PW is not a shortcut

I'm even not keen on using full pressure to rinse off a car prior to washing, just fires grits across the paint surface.