Washing Technique

[Conan_the_Librarian]

My 2d worth

The prime aim when washing is to clear the dirt with minimal contact with the paint work. It is contact that cause swirls.

Your friends when keeping that just detailed look are your layers of product. Anything that breeches those layer is your enemy. Anything you do to intoduce forien bodies to your paint is helping your enemy

Other enimies to your just detailed look:

Hot water. What!!!! Don't belive me? Put a bit of candle into a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Give it a couple of minuts and if it hasn't melted it will be very soft. Heat is the enemy of wax. Heat the wax that makes up your last stage protection (LSP) and you will soften it; eventually removing it. Use cool water.

Detergent not designed for car washing and cheap car detergent. It breaks down contaminents like road film by chemical reaction and will strip your wax and other layers of protection.

A Sponge. It will drag a foreign body over your paint should it pick one up. Lambs wool mitts will reduce the effect by absorbing foreign bodies into the fleece and only expelling them during a rinse.

Mechanical Car Washes - worse than beating your car with a big beating device specifically designed to cause swirls.

Eastern and Western European hand car washes - You get all that the £5 will get you and you deserve it for going.

Boy Scouts and your naibours kids and your nephews - Tie them up by their hands and feet and pop them in a sack when they get within 100yds of your car. they are leathal.

Sart with a rinse to get the car wet and float off an loose muck

Using a pressure washer of garden hose and foam lance a genourouse coating of foam. Wait 5 minutes but don't let it dry.

Use Muc off on your wheels, agitate but don't let it dry.

Fan shaped lance and pressure washer, go over the car from bottom to top a panel at a time and clear the snow foam and all visible muck.

If the dirt is light that will conclude a touchless wash.

Drying with a ultra soft Waffle Weave Micro Fibre Drying Towel and some Speed Detailer as a lubricant and shine enhancer.

If washing is needed then using your lambs wool mit, one panel at a time (roof and bonnet count as 2) using a single stoke of the glove touching lightly from top to bottom wash the car. If it is warm enough that the car starts drying while you are washing, rinse the panels you have done as you go


Once complete dry as above.

The sticky has some great info

HTH