Washing and Waxing Tips
 

There are a few things that makes car enthusiasts tingle. One of them is looking back at their car as the they walk away after parking, and another one is looking at it while you walk away, and the car just shines with glory. If you love the latter a little more, or you would like to experience it, I got some tips for you.

One thing to get out of the way from the get-go, there isn't a wrong answer when it comes to choosing you paint care products.



If you can afford it, professional ceramic coating is a great way to protect the clear coat of the 86/BRZ. You can also go with PPF. Both have their own strengths, but with a mutual goal of protecting that fragile clear coat.



So you decided to finally wash you car, crack a cold one, and get to work. Went on YouTube to look for videos but you get greeted with an obnoxious teenager overly exited to attract more subscribers. We don't do that here.



Lets talk about the tools that you will need. I'll post links to the products to make it easy on you, so you don't stand at your local Autozone staring into the hundreds of choices looking like you have no idea of what you're doing. You could also save 15% or more money by switching to spcmafia's car care guide.




1-6 will be you basic tools for a car wash, everything else after that is optional. But this will give you a clean slate to apply your preferred wax/sealant. Like I said, there isn't a wrong answer on cleaning products, but I'm sharing what has worked for me so far.



1. Two Buckets and a dirt trap (Home Depot/Lowes $5)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Home...LHD2/100087613


2. Preferred Soap, I personally like to use Meguiars Gold Wash whenever I'm about to do a deep cleaning.

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Shampoo-Conditioner-2Units-conditioner

3. MICROFIBER Towels
https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-MIC_506_12-Professional-Microfiber
4. MICROFIBER Sponge.

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-MIC_495-Microfiber-Sponge


5. If allowed, pressure washer with a foam cannon.
https://www.amazon.com/Tool-Daily-Cannon-Connector-Pressure


6. Wheel/Tire Brush with favorite Wheel/Tire Cleaner.


7. Preferred Wax (Graphene, Ceramic, Carnauba). Personally, I use Graphene in liquid Wax form.
https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Wax-53479-Solutions-Graphene/

8. Preferred Sealant

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Mirror-Glaze-Synthetic-Sealant


9. Preferred orbital Buffer and pads, it is very important to use the right pads. A CUTTING pad is for, you guessed it, cutting which is mostly for paint restoration. A POLISHING pad, is also for paint restoration, it is not recommended to CUT and POLISH often. Maybe once every blue moon. A FINISHING pad is to apply your preferred products, and applicator pad works too, but the FINISHING pad will probably give you best results when attached to your orbital buffer.

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-HEX_3KIT_5-Buffing-Fluid_Ounces

10. Clay Bar, no, not your kid's Play-Do.



11. Preferred Tire Gel with applicator pad.

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G7516-Endurance-Tire-Gel


12. Misc items: Headlights Cleaner, Trim restore, Rain-X Window Cleaner





Now that you have your tools, lets get to work.

• Fill you first bucket with water and place the dirt trap, the second with a mix of soap and water
• Apply a small amount of soap to your foam cannon, make your adjustments for how much foam you want, mix with water, turn on your pressure washer/hose, cover that baby up.
• I like to Apply the foam to a dry car, you can rinse it first too, the main purpose of covering the car with a thick layer of soap is to loosen up all the dirt particles and contaminants from the surface, makes it a whole lot easier when it comes to using you MICROFIBER sponge. Make sure you get every crevice with soap.
• Let the foam sit for about 5 minutes, depending on weather. (Try not to wash you car under direct sunlight unless you want to rush before the soap dries up).
• Take care of your wheels while you wait, apply your preferred wheel and tire cleaner and get to work.
• Rinse
• Grab your MICROFIBER sponge and work a panel at a time, making your way from the roof down, with your soap bucket and MICROFIBER SPONGE, after the panel is done, rinse your sponge in your plain water bucket. Microfiber sponges are great at attracting dirt and are gentle on the surface, it is imperative to rinse them between panels to make sure you're not rubbing dirt onto the new surface. The dirt trap with help keeping the dirt at the bottom of the water bucket and preventing it from going into your sponge.
• Don't forget about your trunk creases! A lot of dirt can accumulate near the taillights and the trunk shocks. Give it a quick spray with the pressure washer.
• Did you forget a spot? Are you sure? Okay then.
• Rinse again, make sure you get every crevice and underneath the car. Use this tool for the undercarriage (https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-Pr...1211/300701617)
• You can go about this two ways, use a leaf blower to dry your car, or your MICROFIBER towels. Or a third option is drive at 100MPH to dry it, probably the funnest way, but not the safest.
• Car is dry, and if you're satisfied or tired for the day, call it and enjoy a very clean car.
• After your tires are dry, apply your gel. Best results if you let it sit for while.
• Apply any other optional products like glass cleaner and trim restore products.

Not tired? Want more shine and an even sexier car? I GOTCHU FAM.

• Take that clay bar and start folding and applying it against the car, keep the surface properly lubricated with a spray bottle with water. This will remove any old chemicals such as wax and sealants, and will also lift dirt lodged in places not appreciated by the human eye.
• Clean the surface.
• Take your orbital buffer, and your FINISHING pad, read the instructions for your sealant and get hot. It is worth mentioning that after sealing your paint, it is technically protected against water, and dirt, but the more layers of dirt protection you have, the better. You want to let your sealant properly cure. About 24 hours. Can't wait? skip the sealant, but I don't recommend it. Were trying to give you the best result possible.
• Has your sealant properly cured? Good, now take another FINISHING PAD and apply your favorite wax, read the instructions, and get on it.

You should have a dazzling looking vehicle, if you read the instructions on the sealant and wax. Finishing a car is a labor of love, no pun intended, you dirty minds. It takes patience, like the one your wife/husband will need to tolerate you being outside working on the car for a few hours.

Sit, stand, take your phone out, snap a few pics, and admire your clean ride.



Now go get your wife/husband some food because he/she probably mad at your for spending so much time outside. Food fixes most problems. If you're single go get some food, you earned it.





The good thing about having two layers of protection is that it makes things easier for following washes. You can use a wash/wax mix soaps for your next washes to keep things sparkly clean, no need to re-do everything listed above. The sealant should hold for about 6 months or so, even more if you keep using your wax between washes.

• NEVER EVER bring your car to an automatic car wash that uses brushes. The Clear coats on the twins is very fragile and those brushes will leave you more marks than a map. Use touch-less but be wary of water pressures.
• NEVER EVER use brushes on the paint surface. NO, just NO. Only MICROFIBER products.
• Avoid washing the car at hot temperatures, under direct sun, do it early in the morning, or close to sunset. It is also quite a workout, I don't want you passing out.
• If you're using a pressure washer, don't use more than 1800 psi. If you cant hold your hand about 12 inches away from the nozzle without getting hurt, is probably bad for your paint.
• I personally try to stay away from water-less washes, you're just rubbing dirt against the surface no matter what. Nothing beats a good hand wash with water.
• Applying a good sealant and wax will give you an advantage in the winter months, when washing a car becomes tricky, touch-less car washes will be your friend, just again, be wary.

Personally, I apply a sealant twice a year. One in the fall for the winter months, and one in the spring, to leave me set for summer and fall months. Everything in between I use the Gold Wash soap prior to car meets and wash/wax mix soaps for commuting weeks.



That's all I got folks! Feel free to add any more tips. Also feel free to ask any questions on things you feel I didnt cover.

What about bug guts?

Having a properly sealed/ waxed surface will probably prevent a degree of bug genocide. My biggest issue is pollen at times, and the Graphene/Sealant does a great job at preventing it getting attached to the clear coat. It flies off whenever I go on the highway and is very easy to wash off with plain water.


Same thing with bird droppings, dries at the very top and falls off with a cloth. I recommend keeping a bottle of quick detail and a microfiber towel inside your trunk at all times. As results may vary.

Getting them off the paint ASAP makes removal simple. Hose works for me if I remove them same day.

Any decent bug and tar removers that can help break up bug gunk if bug guts start to dry on the paint and regular soap isn't working.
I like Foaming bug removers. In my experience you use Less product compared to regular sprays.

If it is a fresh bug strike, I'll use a quick detail spray or waterless wash diluted to a QD ratio. On most of my cars I use CarPro's ECH2O because I've ceramic coated them.

If the bug splatters aren't fresh, let's be honest, we can't always get them off right away, I like to use Poorboys World Bug Squash. Most of the time that softens them right up better than car wash soap. If the mess is really bad I'll use the Bug Squash and then gently go after the splatters with a Sonax bug scrubber pad.

While we can all agree that cleaning the bugs off right away is best, that isn't feasible living in TN and commuting to KY for work M-F. I can't detail the cars whole front end every morning when I get to work.

Well, could be worse.

https://rightwristtwist.com/wp-conte...gs-600x320.jpg

I'm no stranger to that. Have to plexus the helmet every day during the summer months.

I've stopped bothering with the 2 bucket method and just use one bucket. Fill it with microfiber towels (5 or 6 usually works fine). Fold em into 4ths. And just use these towels until each side has been used, and toss em aside for cleaning. So you have 4 cleaning surfaces per towel. There's no need now for a using a rinse bucket or using your 2nd bucket. I saw someone do this on a youtube channel and felt dumb for never having thought of it.

Rinseless washes are awesome too, respectfully disagree with you there. I just spray the car down with a hose beforehand. If the car isn't too dirty i juse use one of those sponges that has cuts in it and it traps all sorts of gunk inside (i think it's called the Big Red/Black Sponge).

One other point of contention and i know people differ on this, but i'd never clay a car i wasn't planning on polishing. No matter how gentle you are it's going to cause marring or scratches here and there.

I'm also confused on why you are using a graphene wax and then putting a sealant on top of that? The graphene wax should be plenty, and these products are much better than the traditional sealants that we've been using for years before they came onto the market. That Turtle Wax stuff you reference is excellent and you can get upwards of a year off it, which is nuts. I haven't tried the non-spray one.

Anywho, not trying to sound like a know it all.

My only point is that a clay bar comes out n handy whenever you want to remove old sealants and waxes. Either that or using Dawn dish-soap but results may vary.

As far as Graphene goes, you might of misread my steps. I use a sealant first, then use a layer of graphene. I believe Turtle Wax makes a 2 in 1 graphene sealant/wax but I haven’t gotten my hands on it.

The sealant acts as a primary barrier with the clearcoat, the graphene adds more water bending and ease of upkeep.

Haven’t tried your bucket method, it makes sense, always open to trying new things.


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Huh, do you find the Turtle Wax lasts long when applied on top of a sealant? Have never tried it.

AFAIK traditional sealants are pretty much for the dinosaurs now with these ceramic spray waxes. Like Griots and Turtle Wax.

To be honest I’ve never tried to remove all the layers and stuff only use the graphene. But before I made the switch, I used Meguiars Ceramic Coat Wax. It lasted quite a while. The Graphene Wax lasts me all of winter with minimal washes.

I like the Meguiars 2.0 Sealant because it does a great job of getting rid of tiny swirl marks and gives the car good water protection. I’ll probably try to use the Turtle Wax 2 In 1 and see how it works out. So far I got nothing but good things to say about Turtle Wax and their graphene.


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Ahh that makes sense now! It's a cleaner sealant, so it has some polish built in to remove scratches and it leaves sealant behind. Probably a great all in one product but have never tried it, my apologies.

If it were me i'd try just a regular polish (Griots Perfecting Cream is great imo) and then put the turtle wax on and see how you like it. I bet it lasts longer going directly on the paint versus a sealant. But layering detailing products is like black magic, who knows.

Is almost about time to give it another polish for the summer season so I'll give it a try with the Graphene 2-in-1 and a Meguiars Polisher. It might not need it just yet since I did a pretty good job at avoiding road salt, or salt in general, by commuting with the boss lady's car instead after a snow day.