What is YOUR washing method?

Still waiting on a few materials to arrive (and school to end :giterdone before I can start my first detail, and I was wondering what's your guys' washing method? I want to get into a good washing method habit right away.

Thanks in advance for the feedback

 

heres my steps:

-rinse down with karcher PW
-Foam with foam cannon via karcher PW, let dwell for a few min.
-wash with 2 bucket method and a foam wash mitt/sponge.
-rinse with free flowing water from hose.
-lightly mist QD over entire car and dry with a waffle weave.

I find that my WWs work better when theres a light spray of qd mixed in with the remaining water on the surface.

 

My process:

1) Foam the car with the Gilmour Foam Gun, let ie sit for 5-10 minutes
2) Rinse with free flowing water from the hose
3) Foam the car again
4) 2 bucket method with a grout sponge
5) Rinse with free flowing water from the hose
6) Rinse the car with the PW (This is also when I spray down the wheels after cleaning)
7) Pull the car into the warehouse
8) Mist with QD
9) Dry with WW and drying towels

The second foaming may be overkill, but I like using the foam gun..lol

 

Is there a difference between a foam gun and a foam cannon? Think I should pick one up or is it not really neccessary as a beginner?

 

foam guns hook up to hoses. foam cannons hook up to pressure washers. After getting a karcher PW and a cannon, i'll never go back to a foam gun!

 

I have a gas PW, but no foam cannon. I have to find out what connection mine uses and order one.

 

and then I will buy your foam gun from you!!

 

Pick one up. It doesn't matter what your status is and it's alot of fun too...:thumb:

 

1. Foam the vechicle up with a foam cannon and snow foam (any high foaming shampoo of your choice, I like CG CWC, Megs Hyper Wash, DP Xtreme Foam formula)
2. Let it dwell for 5-10 minutes
3. Rinse it off very well
4. Proceed onto washing stage (1 still use 1 bucket method, after this type of foaming, there is no need for 2 buckets).
5. Rinse very well with a pressure washer
6. Spray on your favorite drying aid QD (I like Optimum QD, or FK425)
7. Dry with a MF WW towel.

 

I've just started detailing this year too but its not that hard to learn the wash, more importantly getting good at it! But here are my steps...

1) Degrease the bottom of the car to loosen up the tars, insects and such.
2) Rinse with water for a good 10 minutes (To me the first rinse is the most important one, its where I try to get out whatever I can with the use of water so I do spend a lot of time on this step)
3) With a microfiber wash mitt I apply soap to the entire car working from top to bottom.
4) Rinse it down again.
5) Dry with a waffle weave.

 

At least 8-10minutes of high pressure rinsing BEFORE foaming. I want everything off the finish as best I can and then I foam with CWG, then more pressure rinsing. Then my 2bm hand wash. Usually megs last touch of 425 as a drying aid... and I now use a leaf blower to aid the process.

 

1) Inspect vehicle
2) Spray degreaser/tar remover/bug squash on all bits that require it
3) Hose vehicle down to get loose debris off
4) Cover vehicle in CG Citrus Wash 'n Gloss foam
5) Rinse off
6) Wash vehicle with Zymol sponge
7) Rinse
8) Dry with WW towel

 

Spray down vehicle/panel with ONR quick detailer mix.
Wipe panel with MF chenille mitt aith 2 bucket ONR method - Wipe with MF plush towel for small spots and hard to clean spots.
Wipe dry with waffle weave.
Enjoy the shine.

 

1.Foam Vehicle
2.Pressure Rinse Vehicle
3.2BM wash vehicle
4.Rinse with free flowing water
5.Dry with WW

 

black car here,

Washing wheels first using drum sticks "discontinued" Adam car wash soap and swissvax bruch
1. Foam with Canon 2oz soap, Adams or CGW plus ONR 1Oz in the canon
2. Rinse off with pressure washer using CR SPotless
3. 2 buckets method with BMW wash mitt and CGW + 2oz ONR
4. Rinse off with pressure washer using CR Spotless
5. Free flow CR Spotless water
6. Dry using Vac'blo air dryer
7. Dry using pakshake towels + FK425 as drying aid

Sticking the pressure washer in the buckets after adding soap for wheels and also body makes
a nice foamy buckets < I enjoy this for some reason lol.

 

1. Spray down wheels and wheel wells
2. Spray P21S or Griot's wheel cleaner on wheels
3. Spray CG Grime Reaper (5:1 ratio) in wells
4. EZ Detail brush wheels (inside and outside)
5. Various brushes used on wheel wells
6. Rinse wheels and wheel wells
7. Spray down car
8. 2 bucket approach using Griot's Car Wash and Griot's MF wash pads
9. Rinse entire car again
10. Lightly mist car with Griot's Spray on Wax
11. Dry with WW MF drying towel

That is the typical wash method used on our 3 cars. Depending on the degree of dirt/grime I might refreshen the soap bucket during the process.

 

1. Rinse wheels/wheel wells
2. P21S Gel on wheels
3. P21s TAW on wells
4. Agitate with brushes
5. Rinse + dry
6. Apply Poorboys wheel sealant if necessary + buff (Also apply CG Barebones to wells, but I don't have any right now )

7. Rinse entire car
8. 2BM with either ONR or Maxi Suds with Zymol sponge
9. Rinse if using Maxi Suds
10. Mist with ONR mixed QD
11. Dry with WW towel
12. Bask in the cleanliness

 

I do not recommend using a pressure washer to rinse a car. If there are any chips in the paint, or any paint peeling, or chrome peeling on the wheels, the pressure washer could potentially aggravate the peeling and make it worse by pushing its way underneath the paint and lifting it off. Especially if the car has been repainted, because if done cheaply (you never know) it is more prone to peeling because they did not prep the car correctly. If you still decide to use the pressure washer for a rinse, make sure you allow plenty of space between the nozzle and your car. Remember they use pressure washers to clean graffiti off walls.

After reading a lot online, I have come up with this method. I'm still relatively new to detailing, but this seems to work very well for me.

Also, I have a soft water connection to two quick disconnects. One for a regular hose, and another for my pressure washer. So I can have both hooked up at the same time to soft water.

1) foam the car with cg cwg (karcher and autobrite foam cannon hd)
2) wait 5minutes for it to drip off with the loose dirt
3) rinse car w/o the pressure washer
4) foam again
5) mitt the car (i only use 1 bucket method, i try to wring out the mitt before i put it in the bucket though, so that somewhat helps)
6) dry car (i have some costco microfiber towels that are super absorbent, it came with 3 mf towels and a mf wash mitt for only $5, hah)

now if you haven't detailed your car before, this is what I would do,

drive the car into the garage or a nicely shaded area, unless this is at night i guess. but the sun/heat makes is impossible to detail the car since it dries up the chemicals you have to use.

clay bar entire car, depending on condition this could take hours, so you might have to split up your detail, clay bar one day, then polish the next. the polish, depending on condition of paint, can take hours too if you're doing a big restore on mildly oxidized paint, so set time away for that. heavily oxidized means the paint is pretty damaged and cannot be fully restored, but polishing it will certainly help out a lot.

take your time. if you know you have to be somewhere later that day, just keep it garaged and drive another car. or last resort you can still drive the car, but you have to wash it when you start the detail again. there won't be a whole lot to clay bar since you already did it, it takes a long while for the contaminants to stick. but there still may be just a bit on the car, so clay bar if as necessary. then wash the car again, like above, and then start the polish in a shaded area. I just got a porter cable and it helps out tremendously.

then apply a sealant and then a paste wax. paste waxes are supposed to last a lot longer than a liquid wax and are easy to apply. just wipe on then wipe off. then optional you can apply whatever liquid quickwax you have for a boost in the shine.

 

- Liberally pressure wash every panel, and crevice of the vehicle. Like DSMS I do this for several minutes
- Foam Cannon entire exterior –let dwell until most/all foam has fallen to ground
- Liberally pressure wash
- Vehicle is treated with P21S TAW or Surf City Grime Destroyer and left to dwell
- Liberally pressure wash
- Foam Cannon entire exterior
- Washed with 2 bucket method
- Blow water out of crevices
- Pat dry with large MF using last touch as drying aid


* wheels & wells are done first and have their own process*