what happened to using a bucket and a sponge?
Discussion
I thought precisely the same when washing the cars at the weekend.
It's the same as when you could just buy a pair of trainers and not shoes for jogging, shoes for tennis, shoes for walking, shoes for casual etc.
It's marketeers making you spend money on s
t that does the same thing.
Quite happy using a bucket and sponge. Detailing is a term that shouldn't even be used here- it is an Americanism.
It's the same as when you could just buy a pair of trainers and not shoes for jogging, shoes for tennis, shoes for walking, shoes for casual etc.
It's marketeers making you spend money on s
t that does the same thing.Quite happy using a bucket and sponge. Detailing is a term that shouldn't even be used here- it is an Americanism.
TopTrump said:
I thought precisely the same when washing the cars at the weekend.
It's the same as when you could just buy a pair of trainers and not shoes for jogging, shoes for tennis, shoes for walking, shoes for casual etc.
It's marketeers making you spend money on st that does the same thing.
Quite happy using a bucket and sponge. Detailing is a term that shouldn't even be used here- it is an Americanism.
I wouldn't fancy hill walking in a pair of tennis trainers!It's the same as when you could just buy a pair of trainers and not shoes for jogging, shoes for tennis, shoes for walking, shoes for casual etc.
It's marketeers making you spend money on s
t that does the same thing.Quite happy using a bucket and sponge. Detailing is a term that shouldn't even be used here- it is an Americanism.
I still use a bucket and sponge on my old Land Rover. I use a hose to spray it down afterwards, then dry (smear) with a knackered old chamois. I’m not particularly precious about the bodywork, it was painted with a roller a decade ago and every single panel is bent.
However I do admit to using a snow foam thing on my daily driver, along with a wash mitt and dried off using a micro fibre cloth and Aqua Wax, as it does look much better afterwards than being done with a sponge and old chamois.
However I do admit to using a snow foam thing on my daily driver, along with a wash mitt and dried off using a micro fibre cloth and Aqua Wax, as it does look much better afterwards than being done with a sponge and old chamois.
Use two buckets to wash your car once - you'll not go back to one bucket. Carry on using sponge, I do.
When you see how utterly filthy the rinse water gets, you'll realise that all you're doing with one bucket washing is spreading dirty water over your car. Dirty water that's full of grit...
Everything else is pretty much the same as it's always been, just with more choice. I recall the days of the 'annual tcut' performed on the family car, prior to autoglym polish.
None of that is different, yes there's some new products (such as iron x, which makes such a difference on silver wheels) but ultimately it's merely clean/correct defects/protect in varying levels of care and effort/cost.
When you see how utterly filthy the rinse water gets, you'll realise that all you're doing with one bucket washing is spreading dirty water over your car. Dirty water that's full of grit...
Everything else is pretty much the same as it's always been, just with more choice. I recall the days of the 'annual tcut' performed on the family car, prior to autoglym polish.
None of that is different, yes there's some new products (such as iron x, which makes such a difference on silver wheels) but ultimately it's merely clean/correct defects/protect in varying levels of care and effort/cost.
For some people, cars are the second most expensive thing they’ll ever buy after a house, and so they’re understandably keen to keep them in good condition.
Things move on, progress and improve. What does it matter if some people wash cars in a different way to how it used to be done?
It’s not as if it’s not illegal to use a bucket and sponge with some fairy liquid in it, it’s just that there are now other options.
Things move on, progress and improve. What does it matter if some people wash cars in a different way to how it used to be done?
It’s not as if it’s not illegal to use a bucket and sponge with some fairy liquid in it, it’s just that there are now other options.
Using a bucket is still a part of things.
Part of the advent of "detailing" as we know it now is that paint is so much softer nowadays, which as a result means it takes much more care to keep in in top condition. If you can't see the difference between a machine polishing finish and a swirly/scratched finish due to much being rubed in tot he paint whilst washing then just carry on. Its quite horrific the state of paint on some cars that are only a few years old wen you look around a car park.
Part of the advent of "detailing" as we know it now is that paint is so much softer nowadays, which as a result means it takes much more care to keep in in top condition. If you can't see the difference between a machine polishing finish and a swirly/scratched finish due to much being rubed in tot he paint whilst washing then just carry on. Its quite horrific the state of paint on some cars that are only a few years old wen you look around a car park.
Depends how much you care about the paintwork.
If you don't care, then a sponge does a really good job rubbing grit over the paintwork before you rinse it off. The car will be 'clean' but over time will look faded, faster.
If you do care, then you either use a technique that doesn't allow grit to rub over the paint, or you don't wash it at all.
Compared to the price of buying a new/nearly new car of any description, spending an extra £30 on some cleaning products to keep it looking nice is nothing, really...
If you don't care, then a sponge does a really good job rubbing grit over the paintwork before you rinse it off. The car will be 'clean' but over time will look faded, faster.
If you do care, then you either use a technique that doesn't allow grit to rub over the paint, or you don't wash it at all.
Compared to the price of buying a new/nearly new car of any description, spending an extra £30 on some cleaning products to keep it looking nice is nothing, really...
Um I use a pressure washer to rinse. Then I use car foam. Then I use the pressure washer again. Then I use shampoo (sponge and the ubiquitous B&Q orange bucket), then pressure wash that off. Then shammy. Then possibly wax. But I also tend to have a 5 year old who "helps" so it needs a few extra steps to ensure it doesn't end up dirtier than before I started....
Lots of answers...
-Washing a car yourself is seen as job that's beneath most people these days.. So anyone who doesnt care for the job gets it washed at a local place... Majority of those were probably bucket and sponge type people...
-oem paint is now a 25million stage layered process, as opposed to the thick hammerite stuff of the 80s.. So more care needs to be taken to protect the finish imo. Paint seems to be thinner than in the past (weight saving / cost saving etc), so again, easier to damage.
- only people washing cars themselves now are enthusiasts.. So the enthusiast way of DIY washing will seem mainstream on the Internet..
-Cars these days tend to be leased and/or are difficult to fettle/modify, so the only thing left for some is to spend their disposable income on washing their car (or getting it wrapped etc). So the market for detailing products seems to have grown.
By all means, wash your car with a bucket and sponge, but with microfibre mits, buckets with grit guards easily available as soon as you walk into any auto store.. Why would you not use them now knowing there are better methods which don't require any more effort? Other than "well, it's not how we used to do it".
The tvr gets far different treatment to the crv, but I still would never sponge wash the crv.. The top coat is so annoyingly soft.
Not to mention, things like plastic trims and headlights are prone to having the top layer scraped off over time leading to the horrible yellow oxidisation..
Essentially times change. Things change.. Nothing magic about it.
-Washing a car yourself is seen as job that's beneath most people these days.. So anyone who doesnt care for the job gets it washed at a local place... Majority of those were probably bucket and sponge type people...
-oem paint is now a 25million stage layered process, as opposed to the thick hammerite stuff of the 80s.. So more care needs to be taken to protect the finish imo. Paint seems to be thinner than in the past (weight saving / cost saving etc), so again, easier to damage.
- only people washing cars themselves now are enthusiasts.. So the enthusiast way of DIY washing will seem mainstream on the Internet..
-Cars these days tend to be leased and/or are difficult to fettle/modify, so the only thing left for some is to spend their disposable income on washing their car (or getting it wrapped etc). So the market for detailing products seems to have grown.
By all means, wash your car with a bucket and sponge, but with microfibre mits, buckets with grit guards easily available as soon as you walk into any auto store.. Why would you not use them now knowing there are better methods which don't require any more effort? Other than "well, it's not how we used to do it".
The tvr gets far different treatment to the crv, but I still would never sponge wash the crv.. The top coat is so annoyingly soft.
Not to mention, things like plastic trims and headlights are prone to having the top layer scraped off over time leading to the horrible yellow oxidisation..
Essentially times change. Things change.. Nothing magic about it.
Edited by Ice_blue_tvr on Sunday 28th March 18:03
Edited by Ice_blue_tvr on Sunday 28th March 18:05
Snow foam to.start which removes a lot of the surface dirt with no effort, leave for 5 mins and rinse off.
Then 2 bucket method for washing, a clean bucket and a rinse bucket so I'm not putting the dirty water back on the car.
Final rinse with the pressure washer and dry off.
Will also spare some wheel cleaner on between stage 1 and 2 and just blast the dirt off the wheels and a quick wipe over those too.
When I had more spare time I could spend a full day cleaning a car.
Then 2 bucket method for washing, a clean bucket and a rinse bucket so I'm not putting the dirty water back on the car.
Final rinse with the pressure washer and dry off.
Will also spare some wheel cleaner on between stage 1 and 2 and just blast the dirt off the wheels and a quick wipe over those too.
When I had more spare time I could spend a full day cleaning a car.
TopTrump said:
I thought precisely the same when washing the cars at the weekend.
It's the same as when you could just buy a pair of trainers and not shoes for jogging, shoes for tennis, shoes for walking, shoes for casual etc.
It's marketeers making you spend money on st that does the same thing.
Quite happy using a bucket and sponge. Detailing is a term that shouldn't even be used here- it is an Americanism.
Look at my beading...It's the same as when you could just buy a pair of trainers and not shoes for jogging, shoes for tennis, shoes for walking, shoes for casual etc.
It's marketeers making you spend money on s
t that does the same thing.Quite happy using a bucket and sponge. Detailing is a term that shouldn't even be used here- it is an Americanism.
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