Washing Your Car
Taking your car to a car wash is one of the worst things you can do for your car. Some car washes are brushless, touchless, even hand washed.
The problems with car washes are many and include the following:
1. They have to recycle water. How clean is that water that is sprayed on your car? This can lead to scatches.
2. They use harsh soaps to clean the car (especially touchless units). The wheel cleaner they use is even worse. These can remove the wax and even damage the paint.
3. Machines are harsh on your car. Have you ever been inside your car during a car wash. It is brutal.
4. People are harsh on your car. They don't care about you or your car. The result could be dents, scratches, you name it.
5. Hand washes (ie the kind with men with soapy mitts on either side of your car) rarely rinse and clean the mitts they use on every car. This leads to scratches.
6. Car washes can be expensive.
My suggestion is to do it yourself. It can be done correctly in 45 minutes, start to finish.
The first thing you need is the right equipment. The following are my suggestions:
1. Water hose with an adjustable nozzle.
2. Two water buckets.
3. Two sheep's hair mitts or similar.
4. Car wash soap. Do not use dish soap or anything other then soap specifically made for washing automobiles. You can use dish soap if you want to remove the wax from your car.
Now that you are ready to wash the car, try to park the car in the shade. It is much easier to wash in the shade. Washing in the sun poses some problems. The heat from the sun will dry the car before you are complete. It can even cause the soap to dry, leaving marks on the car. Also a hot car surface suddenly sprayed with cold water is not the best for the paint. If the car had been in the sun, before you wash it, take it for a spin and let the air cool the car down. If the finsh feels hot to the touch, cool it down. Also remember to let the brakes cool down before spraying them with water. You do not want to have warped rotors.
If you must wash in the sun, cool the car with a drive then rinse it off (avoiding the wheels). You will have to constantly rinse the car so the car does not dry or get too hot.
Washing the car:
1. Fill one of the buckets to the top with water. This is your rinse bucket.
2. Fill the other bucket with soap and water as per the instructions on the soap. This is your soap bucket (duh).
3. Rinse down the car with a relatively strong stream of water. Start at the top and work your way down. Try to get as much dirt and grime off with the hose as you can.
4. Soak one of the mitts in the soap and begin washing the car from the roof down. The dirtiest parts of the car will be the lower parts and the rear of the car.
It is important to rinse the mitt often to avoid scratching the paint because of a dirty mitt.
I recommend dividing the car into sections. Do the roof and windows then rinse. Next do the hood then rinse. Next do the trunk then rinse. Then do the front and front fenders then rinse. Now do the sides and rinse. Finally do the rear of the car and rinse. In each step, when you rinse, make sure you run water all over the car, not just where you just washed. This will prevent the car from drying. This is especially true if you are in the sun or it is hot outside.
Now you can clean the wheels. Use the second mitt for the wheels and tires. Start with the tire and the rim. Then do the face and then inside the wheel. Get as far inside the wheel as you can. You do not want any grime or brake dust to remain. Remember to rinse, squeeze and soap the mitt often.
Rinse each wheel after washing it and hose down the car as well.
Now take a look in the rinse bucket and notice how dirty the water is as you pour it out.
When you pour the soap bucket out, you will notice that the water is clean. This is how you prevent swirl marks and scratches when washing the car.
Now it is time to dry the car. Click here.