How Do You Wash Your Car?
 

Do any of you guys enjoy taking the time to wash your own cars? If so, how do you wash your car? (including detailing).

or

Do you guys just go to a car wash and just use the water spray and just hose down your car?

I detail cars as a side job for some extra cash. I could care less about my own POS car since the paint is already so horribly scratched but usually I use a 2-bucket method with a grit guard in the water bucket to catch all the dirt coming off the car. If you are seriously interested in learning how to really maintain the paint of your car, check out autogeek.net. I learned so much over there it's not even funny. However, I am way too tired to give a tutorial tonight.

Spring, Summer, Fall: Hand wash my car (Bucket o' soap, soft hand mit, and Mr. Clean for the final spot free rinse.) Very therapeutic...at least for me it is. :bonk:

Winter: Run my car through the automatic car wash every 2 weeks to get the underside washed. Too cold most of the time to do it any other way.

Ok, I'm going to have to do a tutorial because what you just wrote makes me cringe. I can just see the scratched appearing.

Standard 2 bucket wash and rinse when the weather is in my favor.

When its too cold i wash my car with no rinse wash and shine from optimum car care.

Just use a small amount in a bucket of water (2 bucket system) and do your car section by section with it. Just dry with a cloth as you go and easy as that. Does a great job and i can do it inside my garage with it closed. Not a drop on the floor :)

I have never driven through a car wash, I always wash on my driveway. I use a different bucket and different scrubbers for the wheels and the body. I dont want the rocks from the wheels to scratch the paint. My nice scrubbers have never touched anything but the paint of the cars and the inside of the nice bucket. I wash one body panel at a time, wet, scrub, wash, dry. I do this technique for the BMW and the Porsche.

Now that's what I like to hear! Optimum makes some great products, I use ONR for no rinse, on my motorcycle, and as clay lubricant, works nicely. I have to say, I am a complete Meg's lover though.

Haha! Manny the cringe inducer...that sounds about right.

Yeah my car is swirl city. :( the fact that it's black doesn't help.

Thanks for the site btw. Some good how-to articles in there. I look forward to your tutorial.

With rain. :D

This is what I like to hear! :thumbsup:

Dammit.. I've been doing this wrong all along.

1 large bucket. 2 different sponges. In the shade

I also use a pressure hose to rinse off dirt and a microfiber towel to dry. :x Good thing its just my Yaris. Lol

I use 2 bucket wash but seems I get scratch no matter what. But I keep doing it hoping I am having less scratches than if I didn't :(

My method:

Thoroughly rinse any wash mitts/sponges/brushes you intend to use!
Spray car with water (hose on spray setting)
Blast car with water (hose on high/stream setting)
Working from roof down - roof, hood, trunk/hatch, rear bumper, then work my way around the car:
Wash with MF wash mitt, rinse each panel after washing it. Use 1 bucket for soapy water, 1 for just water - dunk and shake wash mitt in just water before you put it in the soapy water bucket.
After finished washing the body, clean the wheels (I use the same mitt - they're only stock wheels, along with a lot of chips, etc.)
Drive car into garage, chamois water off, not missing the door/hood/boot sills
Vacuum if the car needs it!

Detail:
Claybar w/ soapy (detergent) water
Rinse car off
Chamois
Very light cutting on anything that needs it.
Polish
Wax

Obviously the detailing is done after a normal wash, to make sure you're not detailing dirt! :D

2 Bucket method: Water, Suds, Then Water. Dry, inspect.

Then I Use a rubber tip and a small brush to take of any wax/small dirt.

Then I do interior clean, vacuum.

Then I do wheels with water/my super awesome FW1 Magical Cleaner Spray.




Every ~2 months I will do this, and remove my wheels to clean and brush the inside wall. Then I will check if the paint needs clay barring, then polish/sealant the paintwork, wax if necessary.

I will NEVER take a car through an auto wash, those things are terrible.