How do you wash your car?

[TheBurgerKing]

Ive always taken mine to a car wash in the past but having recently purchased a brand 330d i decided i wanted to do it at home by my self and buy lots of detailing goodies however after a few months im seriously not enjoying cleaning the thing its taking the enjoyment out of driving it.

After a weeks driving its already dirty 2 weeks and the wheels are black from brake dust are are a pain in the arse to clean.

Cleaning it has now become a choir that i dislike but at the same time i want to look after my car. I don't want have to arrange somebody to come and detail it every week either i wish i had never stepped foot on detailing world website

What the hell does everybody with a nice motor do? do you all really clean it at home by your self every week or so or pay somebody to do it for you? I feel like taking it to a local hand car wash every week and giving it a good polish and wax every couple of months my self but having spent a while on detailing world im now lead to believe that hand car washes are going to ruin my car which i don't want .

[Andehh]

Good wash down with the hose, then 2 buckets of hot water with the standard car shampoo in it. Half of the car, then wash off....then other bucket for the other half...wash off.

Dry with two big car towels, then wax and admire.

[sday12]

I don't. I thought that's what Lituanians were for.

[Snowboy]

I drive it to the car wash where a group of Polish polish it with Polish polish.

[McWigglebum4th]

There is a ford close by

I stop in the middle


Or i wait till it rains


Or very very rarely

I give someone some money

[R1 Indy]

I take it to my local polish car wash, chuck them £3.50 and do a much better job than I could!

[sgtbash]

Every other week:

Snow foam the car
Rinse with pressure washer
Using a wool mit and 2 buckets wash the car
Rinse with pressure washer
Dry with Chammy

[richs2891]

Clean the alloys first, while the pre wash does it bit on the body work, rinse off, then 2 bucket method, one bucket with car shampoo in one, the other to wash the wash mitt in, then back into the bucket with car shampoo in.
Use open ended hose to wash the shampoo off and to sheet as much water off the car as possible - easy on a well maintained car.
pat dry with a quality drying cloth and a bit of drying aid.

Have a look on here but prepared for your wallet to be well and truly raped.
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

[A500leroy]

Every week, wash with a MICROFIBRE sponge ( can't stress that enough) ,make sure you spray under the wheel arches, dry with a MICROFIBRE towel inc inside the doors. I use polish to spray on the wheels after they've been washed to make sure there clean, water/vinegar mix in a spray bottle and newspaper to do all the glass, bumper gel on the exterior plastics and tyres, then every other week a spray with quick detailed as well, every three mths a proper wax

[Crafty_]

The trick is to get the car properly clean and up together, then washing it isn't a chore.

I have previously had the car to the point where it hardly got dirty, because of the build up of wax on the car most dirt didn't stick, what did was easily rinsed off and then the car dried.

If the car is left with no protection the dirt can stick to the car, tar spots etc and its much harder to get it looking presentable.

[hman]

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...


its all you need to know.

[philmots]

I quite enjoy it, specially doing interiors!

Having a new car or a freshly detailed car makes it so much easier as you can keep on top.

[jwo]

Take it to one of those hand car washes and paintwork will be b@ggered and you'll see all those swirl marks glinting back in sunlight.... If you can't wash regularly get it properly protected and wash less often..

[MajorProblem]

Blast it with the jet wash at ASDA the put a 600 page thread on detailing world about it.

[Nuttah]

I go to my local BP which has a jet wash with all kinds of settings, such as wheel cleaner,soap,wax etc, Instead of using their washing broom thing which is usually lying on the floor i take a bucket and wash mitt.

[anonymous-user]

Just wash it the same way as your dad did his every week, 30 mins tops.
If you call washing a car 'detailing' you have gone too far!

[stewjohnst]

I lend it to anyone at work that wants to borrow it for the weekend on the conditon they wash it.

Otherwise, rain.

[cerb4.5lee]

MauiJim said:

Wash it with a bucket of water and some car shampoo and sponge
Rinse off with a bucket of water
Chamois

Stand and admire

Sporadically I'll wax it

Very rarely I'll polish and wax it.

This is exactly the same for me, years ago I used to love polishing and waxing cars but I just don't do it anymore for some reason.

[Riley Blue]

jwo said:

Take it to one of those hand car washes and paintwork will be b@ggered and you'll see all those swirl marks glinting back in sunlight.... If you can't wash regularly get it properly protected and wash less often..

The trick is to go first thing in the morning when all their clothes have been washed the previous evening.

[Martin_M]

I never use an automatic car wash or indeed, hand car washes having had previous bad experiences with my car being scratched. These days I do it myself.

1. Jet wash whole car to remove as much grime and grit as I can.
2. Snow foam applied and allowed to soak in.
3. Jet wash again.
4. Wash with a cotton mitt. Bucket filled with Turtle Wax wash n wax, autoglym shampoo and demon shine detailing liquid.
5. I wash the sills, insides of the doors, boot and bonnet with a sponge.
6. Jet wash
7. Apply bilt hamber wheel cleaner to wheels and wash with a sponge.
8. Jet wash wheels
9. Chamois dry
10. Wax with Meguiars wet look spray wax.
11. clean windows with kitchen towel and Mr Muscle glass cleaner or similar.
12. Polish/hoover inside.
13. Stand back and admire.
14. It rains...usually the next day...
15. Repeat 1-13.

• I usually clay bar the car three or four times a year.