Wash Routine - Have I been doing it all wrong?

[GE90]

Hi All

So just a weekend warrior here, soon to have both family cars professionally ceramic coated by a very well respected detailer.

The question is, I’ve never jet washed or foamed. Is this something I should really be doing? The only time I’ve used a jet walk is at the petrol station when a one of the cars has a good coating of Swissvax (pre-ceramic) and was covered in grim, and the result was disappointing. It no doubt tool some of it off, but still required a similar to usual two bucket wash after.

This is prompted I guess by the fact that the second family car it this year going to be replaced by an SUV sized black car, with intricate alloys!

Many thanks.

[Belle427]

Pressure washing helps to shift most of the surface grit etc to avoid rubbing it in with the wash.
It may not remove traffic film but does help minimise paint marring.
I don't bother with snow foam personally, I find it a waste of time.
I don't break the pressure washer out every time as I try to keep the cars on a weekly routine as they are much easier to clean.

[Summit_Detailing]

As above, you want to be removing as much dirt/grime from the car before touching it with a wash mitt.

A pressure washer should definitely be considered as an essential part of the process.

I too don't bother with snowfoam, you are much better off with a pre-wash (such as Autosmart Prestige XLS) through a pump sprayer, pressure rinse off then crack on with the 2-bucket method of washing.

You should notice once the cars are coated they are much easier and less time consuming to wash and maintain.

Cheers,

Chris

[Mezzanine]

Summit_Detailing said:

As above, you want to be removing as much dirt/grime from the car before touching it with a wash mitt.

A pressure washer should definitely be considered as an essential part of the process.

I too don't bother with snowfoam, you are much better off with a pre-wash (such as Autosmart Prestige XLS) through a pump sprayer, pressure rinse off then crack on with the 2-bucket method of washing.

You should notice once the cars are coated they are much easier and less time consuming to wash and maintain.

Cheers,

Chris

Thanks for this advice, I am in dire need of a smarter and quicker way to wash my vehicles and am stuck in the garden hose and bucket/sponge era still.

Was thinking of looking into this snow foam business as it looked to be an easier way of shifting dirt but seemed expensive and over the top for normal daily cars.

Will invest in a hand pump and some decent TFR as a pre-wash instead and see how that goes

Anything I should avoid doing particularly? I assume TFR is safe on all areas of the external car (providing I don’t muck up the mixture ratios)!

[Summit_Detailing]

Mezzanine said:

Thanks for this advice, I am in dire need of a smarter and quicker way to wash my vehicles and am stuck in the garden hose and bucket/sponge era still.

Was thinking of looking into this snow foam business as it looked to be an easier way of shifting dirt but seemed expensive and over the top for normal daily cars.

Will invest in a hand pump and some decent TFR as a pre-wash instead and see how that goes

Anything I should avoid doing particularly? I assume TFR is safe on all areas of the external car (providing I don’t muck up the mixture ratios)!

No worries, yes assuming it is diluted to the correct ratio you can spray anything.
However, I'd avoid spraying the wheels if the car has been driven and is hot, same goes for the bonnet in the summer - just common sense really!

At this time of year I usually spray from the door handles down, in the summer/autumn it is usually just wheel arches and sometimes lower sills.

Cheers,

Chris