first wash help

[Thanntos]

Have a hose and all, but could I just get a spray attachment for the soap?

[jogooba]

If you have a hose, you can purchase a foam gun attachment for about $50 from autogeek.net (or other places I'm sure). It screws on to the hose just like any other hose attachment would and will do the trick for ya.

[911fanatic]

Originally Posted by Thanntos

Have a hose and all, but could I just get a spray attachment for the soap?

Gilmour Foam Master is what you want.

[makalaka]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

Now for the first wash if you're doing it yourself there are a couple changes. Wash the car as above, but use a strong dishwashing soap to get any wax and oils off the paint.

For the first wash, do you use dishwashing soap instead of the car wash soap or in addition to the carwash soap?

Thanks!

[911fanatic]

For the first wash or any wash where you will be applying a wax or sealant for protection, wash with dishwashing soap. Use a strong mixture but make sure to rinse very well to ensure all soap residue is removed.

[Perfections]

Originally Posted by makalaka

For the first wash, do you use dishwashing soap instead of the car wash soap or in addition to the carwash soap?

Thanks!

1 oz of dawn per gallon of water, no car wash soap, pre rinse car first to remove as much grit as possible, then wash away

[David-Fermani.com]

I've been using a powerwasher to pre-rinse my cars for decades. My wife's BLACK minivan is still in pristine condition and lasted 3 years before showing any wash induced marring. The key to washing it reducing your touching of the surface as much as possible. And when touching it, it should be as clean as possible. Powerwashing removes all the damaging abrasives so that hand washing is not evasive.

Secondly, a leaf blower will also reduce touching too. I'll dry the entire vehicle with it and then only need to use a spritz of QD as a floow up.

Originally Posted by Ashley

I didnt think there was such a process to wash ur car...

There's not actually. People go waaaay overboard with their washing etiquette. Keep is simple, not overcomplicated.

Originally Posted by 911fanatic

-the MOST important part of the wash is the pre rinse. I don't care if you use 10 buckets, a $50 mitt and the worlds most expensive soap, if you don't remove all the grit from the paint before washing, you will leave swirls in the paint.

I totally agree and this is extremely valueable info.

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

This is why a foam gun is a great thing to have. All those tiny bubbles help lift grit off the paint so your wash mitt can pick it up easier. It's also why the lambswool wash mitt is so important.

It also lifts copious amounts of $$$$ from your wallet too. Car Care resellers love foam guns!! Remember, car wash soap is a cleaner. The more you allow it to dwell on your sealed up finish,the quicker it will stripe your wax/sealant. IMHO it is totally not needed and is more of a hinderance.

[911fanatic]

Originally Posted by David-Fermani.com

It also lifts copious amounts of $$$$ from your wallet too. Car Care resellers love foam guns!! Remember, car wash soap is a cleaner. The more you allow it to dwell on your sealed up finish,the quicker it will stripe your wax/sealant. IMHO it is totally not needed and is more of a hinderance.

I agree that in the long run, it may cause your LSP to fail sooner ( by a very small margin ), but I'd rather use every precaution available if trying to avoid swirls. There are a lot of things we use that by themselves won't make a huge difference, but as a system, does wonders to maintain the finish we want. And if foaming your car once a week with soap is killing off your LSP too quickly, find another LSP.

[David-Fermani.com]

Originally Posted by 911fanatic

I agree that in the long run, it may cause your LSP to fail sooner ( by a very small margin ), but I'd rather use every precaution available if trying to avoid swirls. There are a lot of things we use that by themselves won't make a huge difference, but as a system, does wonders to maintain the finish we want. And if foaming your car once a week with soap is killing off your LSP too quickly, find another LSP.

Do you use a powerwasher? If so, are you using heated water? Does it utilize a system that sprays soap though the wand while in use? If not, then you're leaving mitigation on the table.

My point is, to what point are all these pre-cautions overkill?

You can pre-soak with foaming soap all day long, but it isn't going to release dirt like a powerwasher blast. The only thing that should remain after doing so will mostly be road oils which isn't *that* harmful when following up by hand.

[911fanatic]

Originally Posted by David-Fermani.com

Do you use a powerwasher? If so, are you using heated water? Does it utilize a system that sprays soap though the wand while in use? If not, then you're leaving mitigation on the table.

My point is, to what point are all these pre-cautions overkill?

You can pre-soak with foaming soap all day long, but it isn't going to release dirt like a powerwasher blast. The only thing that should remain after doing so will mostly be road oils which isn't *that* harmful when following up by hand.

I totally agree that even a small pressure washer utilizing nothing but water will do a better job prerinsing than a low pressure ( Gilmour ) foaming. No argument there. Is there a benefit to spraying soap through the wand while in use even after a thorough pre rinse or would that be one of the overkill pre cautions we are discussing? I will be having a new pressure washer built soon. Should I have it set up for hot water?

[David-Fermani.com]

Originally Posted by 911fanatic

Is there a benefit to spraying soap through the wand while in use even after a thorough pre rinse or would that be one of the overkill pre cautions we are discussing?

Go to a coin operated / self serve car wash with a dirty car and do this test:

Wash 1/2 the car using their high pressure soap concentration through their wand.

Wash the other 1/2 using just the final rinse.

See which one comes cleaner....

The combo of heat, pressure & chemical will do wonders as a pre-rinse.

Is heat needed = NO
Is chemicals going thought the wand needed = NO
Is a pressure washed needed = HECK YEA!!

[911fanatic]

Will do. Thanks for the tip.

[knaa]

I'm having trouble deciding on on whether to wash my car myself or get it detailed. I found a good cheap place in my town for a basic $40 interior/exterior detail (without shampooing the interior). I've read a couple of these threads and found that the moral is "you get what you pay for," but I don't have any of the recommended items which seem a bit pricey in addition to time consuming.

Should I just go ahead and invest in doing the wash myself or go ahead and get it detailed.

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by knaa

I'm having trouble deciding on on whether to wash my car myself or get it detailed. I found a good cheap place in my town for a basic $40 interior/exterior detail (without shampooing the interior). I've read a couple of these threads and found that the moral is "you get what you pay for," but I don't have any of the recommended items which seem a bit pricey in addition to time consuming.

Should I just go ahead and invest in doing the wash myself or go ahead and get it detailed.

Get it detailed at least once so you know you are working from a clean slate as far as the paint goes. Once the paint has been cleaned and corrected you can work on taking care of it yourself.