I know it's probably a dumb question but a 2bm wash is?

 

Two bucket method

 

One clean wash water bucket and a second dirty water wash bucket.

 

Take clean wash water from the first, wash a panel or appropriate size area.

 

Rinse the mitt in the second bucket to remove the dirt, some favour using grit guards to wipe the wash mitt against and to cause the dirt in the water to settle to the bottom and not be disturbed.

 

It's not completely fail safe, you need to keep tabs on the condition of the rinse water.

 

Probably the most important bit for a good safe clean is selecting a good lubricating shampoo and appropriate wash material (mitt, pad or in some cases grout sponge, generally not the usuall bone shaped flat face sponge often seen)

2 Bucket Method. Generally so dirt from the Wash Mitt/Pad or grout sponge doesn't go back into the clean water you're using to wash the car with.

 

Just because someone else would have said something.

 

Beware the Sponge police

Spoilers etc are OK, I once went through car wash with a towbar box carrier mounted behind the boot and it was fine too.

 

I've washed my mk1 Superb at least every 2-3 months for the past 8 years in an automated conveyer car wash (Imo-Arc, in various countries), no swirl marks, no damage from car wash. Most damage to paintwork is from stones and sand, sand also is slowly making headlamp lenses matt. You can wash the car better by hand, I used to do it for Mk1 Octavia, but it is a lot more effort/time. Unless you are into it, I would not bother.

 

Some conveyer car washes have also a nice added bonus of washing/waxing the underside of the car (not all car washes do that, worth checking). Great for winter protection against road salt.

 

Just my 2 pence...

Edited 9 September, 201411 yr by dieselV6

I get that a sponge could attract dirt and grit but wouldn't most cloths ect do the same?

I get that a sponge could attract dirt and grit but wouldn't most cloths ect do the same?

 

The critical point is that a dense sponge will hold the dirt on the contact face with the paint.

 

A lambswool, synthetic wool or microfibre pad or mitt will lift the dirt and carry it away from the contact face and hold it in it's fibres, reducing the risk of inflicting scratches and swirls.

 

Of course, regular rinsing of the mitt to remove dirt as you go is important otherwise they could potentially clog.

 

This leads onto talking about pre-washing or snowfoaming, (take a look in the styling and care care section), these are ways to remove a lot of the dirt before you even touch the car.

 

If you can dramatically reduce the amount of grit and dirt on the bodywork before your bucket wash then the whole process is gentler on the paint.

 

This is really how a car care routine comes together, great fun when you get confident enough to tackle quite poor condition cars and take them back to looking factory fresh.

 

No mystery or magic to it either, just a decent bit of learning, build up your kit and with only a modest kit bag you can really surprise people and yourself

Thx for your patience sparkly, so when I've 2bm d the car and dried it down with the correct cloths what's next is it clay barring and what is it, sorry for the dumbness lol.

Thx for your patience sparkly, so when I've 2bm d the car and dried it down with the correct cloths what's next is it clay barring and what is it, sorry for the dumbness lol.

 

Not at all.

 

The world and their dog are obsessed with clay barring, it has become the big status symbol for anyone wanting to say "I am detailer" lol

 

You need to assess the contamination on the paint.  I prefer to lead with a chemical decontamination - google CarPro Iron-X and Tar-X, they both spray on and lift off the relevant contamination.  This may leave you with very little left on the paint making claying safer or not necessary.

 

The idea of the clay bar is to "shave off"/remove any bonded contaminants and is a very good process, but not without it's pitfalls which many forget about, if not done correctly this stage can inflict marring and bad scratches if you get it wrong.  A clay mitt is an option but it is also not fool proof, if you intend to do this, drop me a PM and I will talk you through.

 

Google an image of someone with heavily contaminated clay showing how much they have lifted from the paint, then think to yourself, the second before they lifted that from the paint, they were dragging all of that along their bodywork.

 

Once you have done this, get a plastic supermarket bag put your hand in it and run your hand over the paint, it should feel very smooth.

 

With all the decon done, you can think about polishing.

 

Will carry on in a few minutes - off for my lunch

A new car shouldn't need clay then just a good polish after clean and dry, where does the sealing and waxing come in then?

A new car shouldn't need clay then just a good polish after clean and dry, where does the sealing and waxing come in then?

They usually do need a good claying and decontamination with Iron X type product...prior to polishing

Prior to sealing and/or waxing

Ive seen transport film glue still on...so a spray with Tar & Glue remover is needed too

They have been on a train, on a ship..in compounds at the Docks, and in this country, then in the Dealer compound..for, in some cases, several weeks

When the Dealer Valeters get them after the PDI.....How long do you think they work on them?

Can see where you're coming from chris it's a shame you're 70 miles away, by the time i got home she'd be covered in dead flies again lol.

They will wash straight off though...due to the protection on the paint

A new car shouldn't need clay then just a good polish after clean and dry, where does the sealing and waxing come in then?

 

It's hard to say for certain whether the car will or wont need it but it is likely to have some contamination on the paint, what you don't want to do is to pick that up on a polishing pad (remember dense foam) press them against the paint and work them up against it whilst polishing as you could inflict scratches .

 

The plastic bag and hand trick is usually a very good indicator to test the condition of the paint.  Then the beauty of Iron-X and similar products is that they require little physical contact and give a visual indicator turning purple as the active ingredient removes the iron contamination,  Tar-X will cause hard black tar spots to melt and bleed down the paintwork you will need to look close for other glues and residues, rinse it all off and dry then from that point if the plastic bag trick feels good, I would be happy to move to a paint cleanser and check the results you get.  If your paintwork isn't feeling silky smooth, then proceed to gently clay the car, if you use a bar, consider going for a softer less agressive clay bar for your first go.

 

One of the best lessons I have learnt in detailing is always start at the least aggressive option and then slowly move up the scale if results aren't forthcoming.  This becomes vital when you move to machine polishing.

I wouldn't worry about snow foam. From my experience with auto finesse snowfoam and valet pro, I've used it thick and thin with a lance but it never removed any more dirt than just pressure washing it anyway. Maybe I need to try some different stuff?

After your 2bm get some nice big microfibre drying towels and pat the car dry don't use a chamois. There are loads of options and opinions.

Thanks for all the help guy's but i think I'm gonna just pay for it to be done, with my limited motor skills I'd have been pushing it anyway.

I wouldn't worry about snow foam. From my experience with auto finesse snowfoam and valet pro, I've used it thick and thin with a lance but it never removed any more dirt than just pressure washing it anyway. Maybe I need to try some different stuff?

After your 2bm get some nice big microfibre drying towels and pat the car dry don't use a chamois. There are loads of options and opinions.

A foam lance doesn't remove dirt by itself, however it does loosen it considerably, so when you pressure wash it off, more dirt comes off. It's one part of a thorough cleaning procedure, and like all the parts, works best in conjunction with other things (sealants/waxes, 2bw, microfibre mitt/ towels).

A foam lance doesn't remove dirt by itself, however it does loosen it considerably, so when you pressure wash it off, more dirt comes off. It's one part of a thorough cleaning procedure, and like all the parts, works best in conjunction with other things (sealants/waxes, 2bw, microfibre mitt/ towels).

I would foam, dwell for 10mins or so and the jetwash... I tried to test its effectiveness by jet washing a door then foaming and jetwashing the next door... The non foamed one was just as clean? I conclude it does very little that just jet washing it doesn't already do. Even tried two snow foam applications with a jetwash between. I just haven't seen foam remove anymore dirt than jet washing.

However......You can always make time to wash your car, even in the rain, IMO

When people say they cant, they really dont want to.....in most cases

 

Just for interest, in some countries (such as this one), it is usually against the rules for those who live in apartments or link-houses (mainsonettes) to wash their car in the car park or yard. That covers 50% of the population. For those living in detached houses, it is possible to wash their car in the yard but only with "plain soap". Fancy cleaners are not allowed. This is to look after the environment and ground water.

 

Car washes here are about 20€ a pop. Luckily we use a lot less salt (per road Km) than the UK, so for a lot of the year washing the car is simply not needed. In fact going through the car wash when it is very cold can result in your doors being frozen shut 

Regarding what has been said about foaming, I've found that on well protected paint, it makes a fair bit of difference and can remove a lot of the surface dirt once jet washed off after sufficient dwell time.

 

In addition to what Sparkly said about Carpro products, try TRiX, which I believe is a combination of their Tar and Iron remover products. I bought this recently and it worked a treat on mine.

I think it's really interesting what you guys get up to and full credit for it if you've got the time and the inclination to do it. I care about the car but don't have much time.

 

You will probably gasp in horror I just use a bucket sponge and washing up liquid. Then throw a few buckets of water over because I can't stand getting the hosepipe out. I leather the windows and if it's lucky the worst of the bodywork.  Despite this, I do it every couple of weeks, or whenever it gets noticeably dirty, and I consider my car to be considerably cleaner than the average car in the street!

 

I polished a car a couple of times once but it although it made the next wash a bit easier, it still needs another wash just as fast and it takes bloody ages so there didn't seem much point.

 

Mine's new and although probably not exactly showroom shine; I don't go to too much trouble and usually seem to be able to keep it 3 years or so without getting scratches like top gear somehow allegedly managed with one wash?

Edited 11 September, 201411 yr by Dr_Pepper

I'm interested to know what happens to a new car between the time it leaves the factory paint shop and you are handed the keys. What do Skoda do at the factory; what is done during transportation; what does the dealer do?

 

I've just ordered my Mk3 and would like to keep it looking 'as new', but is 'as new' as good as it gets? I can imagine a dealer giving the car to a spotty apprentice who washes and polishes it badly putting loads of swirly scratches all over it before you even get to touch it yourself.

I think it's really interesting what you guys get up to and full credit for it if you've got the time and the inclination to do it. I care about the car but don't have much time.

You will probably gasp in horror I just use a bucket sponge and washing up liquid. Then throw a few buckets of water over because I can't stand getting the hosepipe out. I leather the windows and if it's lucky the worst of the bodywork. Despite this, I do it every couple of weeks, or whenever it gets noticeably dirty, and I consider my car to be considerably cleaner than the average car in the street!

I polished a car a couple of times once but it although it made the next wash a bit easier, it still needs another wash just as fast and it takes bloody ages so there didn't seem much point.

Mine's new and although probably not exactly showroom shine; I don't go to too much trouble and usually seem to be able to keep it 3 years or so without getting scratches like top gear somehow allegedly managed with one wash?

Washing up liquid strips any wax/sealant you have on the paint. So that would be why you don't notice any lasting effects from polish/wax. Proper car shampoo won't do that.

Regarding what has been said about foaming, I've found that on well protected paint, it makes a fair bit of difference and can remove a lot of the surface dirt once jet washed off after sufficient dwell time.

In addition to what Sparkly said about Carpro products, try TRiX, which I believe is a combination of their Tar and Iron remover products. I bought this recently and it worked a treat on mine.

All my cars are well protected with either dodo blue velvet or autofinesse tough coat and still I just don't think it works any better than getting the car wet then jet washing.

Snow foam

There are two points I want to make here:

1. Its a small part of the cleaning process..NOT a stand alone cleaner.

It will not remove all dirt, it will remove the larger particles and salt, before the rest is removed with Hand washing with a mitt/pad and car shampoo

2. If the car is well protected with a good sealer and/or wax, the snowfoam will work better due to dirt not adhering to the paintwork as easily

At the end of the day, if not using snow foam is not for you, fine

IME it does work..why would Pro Detailers use it if it didnt?

Snow foam

There are two points I want to make here:

1. Its a small part of the cleaning process..NOT a stand alone cleaner.

It will not remove all dirt, it will remove the larger particles and salt, before the rest is removed with Hand washing with a mitt/pad and car shampoo

2. If the car is well protected with a good sealer and/or wax, the snowfoam will work better due to dirt not adhering to the paintwork as easily

At the end of the day, if not using snow foam is not for you, fine

IME it does work..why would Pro Detailers use it if it didnt?

It could just be the ones I'm using but I can't see any difference between jetwashed panels and snow foamed panels. I'm not expecting it to leave the panels spotlessly clean just cleaner but don't see any difference.

I also know loads of pro detailers that don't use snowfoam as they equally think it does very little...

Horses for courses use what you will. I'd rather save the money and spend it on tar remover.

Edited 12 September, 201411 yr by V6Jules

Can you recommend a snowfoam I can try that is going to perform as I'm willing to try a new one. I've tried valet pro pH neutral and autofinesse avalanche...