Discussion
Just looking for a quick consensus of how people wash their cars. Mines totally filthy at the moment and was wondering what the best way of cleaning it is. Its difficult to tell what colour the car is from the rear and as for reading the number plate...
Anyway, do people use sponge, mit, cloth, brush? Im aware the advice is to not pressure wash the car but why is this? Something to do with the adhesion of the paint on the fibreglass perhaps? (Most fibreglass bodied cars advice against pressure washing for some reason?!) Obviously wanting to avoid swirl marks and scratches etc, which might be tricky considering the car is filthy. Any thoughts much appreciated. Thanks y'all.
Jonny
Anyway, do people use sponge, mit, cloth, brush? Im aware the advice is to not pressure wash the car but why is this? Something to do with the adhesion of the paint on the fibreglass perhaps? (Most fibreglass bodied cars advice against pressure washing for some reason?!) Obviously wanting to avoid swirl marks and scratches etc, which might be tricky considering the car is filthy. Any thoughts much appreciated. Thanks y'all.
Jonny
The way to do it is to use:
Lambs Wool Mit
Good Quality Car Shampoo
Two Buckets
One bucket is for the shampoo and water, the other is to rinse the sponge. The idea is, the shampoo bucket water stays free of dirt and grit, hence limiting the amount on the sponge, therefore less scratches on paint work. You then use a microfibre cloth to get all the water off, not a chamois leather.
In all honesty, I use a sponge, a bottle of Zymol and one bucket, then use a chamois to dry off if I can be arsed.
Id never use a jet wash on a car after watching my mate take a slice of paint the size of a sheet of a5 off his bonnet when trying to get rid of a particularly troublesome fly smear. It was just like he had put a scraper under it and scraped it off. DO NOT USE JET WASHES ON CARS
Lambs Wool Mit
Good Quality Car Shampoo
Two Buckets
One bucket is for the shampoo and water, the other is to rinse the sponge. The idea is, the shampoo bucket water stays free of dirt and grit, hence limiting the amount on the sponge, therefore less scratches on paint work. You then use a microfibre cloth to get all the water off, not a chamois leather.
In all honesty, I use a sponge, a bottle of Zymol and one bucket, then use a chamois to dry off if I can be arsed.
Id never use a jet wash on a car after watching my mate take a slice of paint the size of a sheet of a5 off his bonnet when trying to get rid of a particularly troublesome fly smear. It was just like he had put a scraper under it and scraped it off. DO NOT USE JET WASHES ON CARS
Bucket of water, sponge and a chamois. If you must buy a wool mitt or microfibre cloth fair enough, but if you dick around with two buckets, clay bars and 6-stage waxing regimes, then you might as well have a piece of sculpture in your front garden, 'cos you'll never have time to enjoy driving.
Have been washing mine regularly and do tend to either hand wash or jet wash, just simply to get the dirt from around the inside of the wheels and the car needs a respray front, back and passenger side anyhow due to stone chips and the other superficial signs of wear and tear. Roll on the summer.
Ops Just Spent a ££ on Zymol Clay, HD Cleanse etc etc
Trouble is went to Spa on the 24th Dec & around and felt the car needed some TLC!
My excuse is done some good miles in the car - wanted to give it a treat.
But agreed better to Drive than Clean !!
Trouble is went to Spa on the 24th Dec & around and felt the car needed some TLC!
My excuse is done some good miles in the car - wanted to give it a treat.
But agreed better to Drive than Clean !!
kevin ritson said:
Bucket of water, sponge and a chamois. If you must buy a wool mitt or microfibre cloth fair enough, but if you dick around with two buckets, clay bars and 6-stage waxing regimes, then you might as well have a piece of sculpture in your front garden, 'cos you'll never have time to enjoy driving.
mine hasnt been washed since ive had it because the weather has been crap so there is no point. In the summer it gets washed weekly.
When i eventually do wash it i will take it somewhere that costs a fiver for others to do whilst i sit in it and wait.
I know a lot of people frown upon this on here but i have always used this place and they love washing sporty cars so much so that they have a board with photographs on it of their best cars that they have washed. They photographed my last Lotus for their hall of fame so im expecting this one to get the same treatment.
When i eventually do wash it i will take it somewhere that costs a fiver for others to do whilst i sit in it and wait.
I know a lot of people frown upon this on here but i have always used this place and they love washing sporty cars so much so that they have a board with photographs on it of their best cars that they have washed. They photographed my last Lotus for their hall of fame so im expecting this one to get the same treatment.
beware of pressure washers, I made a monumental fcuk up about 6 weeks into ownership, I see a spot of dirt that won't budge so I move the jet closer and hey presto a big shard of lacquer comes flying off the front clam, on closer inspection the said bit of dirt was actually a stone chip and the jet had got into the side of it and flicked the top coat off boo hooo !
crackthatoff said:
beware of pressure washers, I made a monumental fcuk up about 6 weeks into ownership, I see a spot of dirt that won't budge so I move the jet closer and hey presto a big shard of lacquer comes flying off the front clam, on closer inspection the said bit of dirt was actually a stone chip and the jet had got into the side of it and flicked the top coat off boo hooo !
Ding! Not on my Lotus but on two other cars (why did I not learn the first time 
)Pressure washers are for wheel arches and under-body washing only
cleanyourcar.co.uk :~)
Get a few wash mitts, drying towls and some Meguiars Ultra Wash.
Use 2 buckets, 1 for your wash liquid and another with plain water in for cleaning off the dirty mitt.
A good wash liquid like the Meguiars stuff will literally lift off the dirt with no fuss or scraping and so won't damage the paint.
Get a few wash mitts, drying towls and some Meguiars Ultra Wash.
Use 2 buckets, 1 for your wash liquid and another with plain water in for cleaning off the dirty mitt.
A good wash liquid like the Meguiars stuff will literally lift off the dirt with no fuss or scraping and so won't damage the paint.
Annually my car gets a wash/clay/deep clean/wash/polish/wax.
Thereafter a regular wash and wax every second or third wash.
I use Megs Gold Class shampoo and Gold Class wax and other bits from the Megs range. Does a good job at a reasonable price. If you saw the state of the lanes around me then you'd understand why I don't get too anal about it.
Thereafter a regular wash and wax every second or third wash.
I use Megs Gold Class shampoo and Gold Class wax and other bits from the Megs range. Does a good job at a reasonable price. If you saw the state of the lanes around me then you'd understand why I don't get too anal about it.
Jet washers. Commercial ones - avoid like the plague. DIY ones (Karcher etc) can be ok as long as they are used sympathetically. NEVER have them on full pressure. For more information on this subject, check out some of the passionate posts on the Bodywork and Detailing foruum elsewhere on this site.
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