How do you wash your car.

[Fraz]

 

 

 

[Harvs11]

What a lot faffing about!  Who's got that much distilled water to tip over your car.  A quick squirt with a hose to flush off the loose dirt, followed by the 2 bucket method with a good microfibre mit then dried with a thick microfibre towel works well for me.   I always wipe front to back, progressing from top to bottom so grit from the dirtiest, lower parts of the car isn't dragged over clean panels. 

Larry K demonstrates this process here (along with a load of other cleaning tasks)

http://youtu.be/uWmtLSQYbys

 

[Fraz]

Agreed distilled water is a bit much and yes the method at first glance may appear over the top.

However, I think it does have some merit for dark coloured cars getting lightly scratched from grit in wash buckets or stuck in your wash mitt. God my car shows dust straight after washing.

I use it, only pain is washing all the micro fibre cloths.

 

[Peter M]

 .....I always wipe front to back......

[LeeM]

 Hose off dust. Bucket of suds. Suds soaked sponge applied to car. Hose off suds. Chamois applied to remaining water (not sudsy). Quick towel off with microfibre cloth (definitely not sudsy). Have a beer

[ByronBayChris]

 Hose off dust. Bucket of suds. Suds soaked sponge applied to car. Hose off suds. Chamois applied to remaining water (not sudsy). Quick towel off with microfibre cloth (definitely not sudsy). Have a beer

how do you clean your engine......oh wait.....it's not dirty yet. 

[LeeM]

how do you clean your engine......oh wait.....it's not dirty yet. 

 

Theres always one in the crowd :-)

 

I wiped some dust off of the tinware just yesterday!

[Harvs11]

 Hose off dust. Bucket of suds. Suds soaked sponge applied to car. Hose off suds. Chamois applied to remaining water (not sudsy). Quick towel off with microfibre cloth (definitely not sudsy). Have a beer

Sponges trap dirt. Dirt scratches new black paint. ? Chamois adds more scratches with grit trapped in cloth. ? Use microfibre towel to wipe tears.  

Forget the beer, go straight to scotch.

[LeeM]

 Don't tell Chris, but I haven't even washed it yet. Still waiting on a mate to do the machine polish. Only used a duster and a microfibre cloth so far ;-)

 

[Harvs11]

Now's the time to break old habits.  Bin the sponge and invest in a good wash mit and a couple of wash buckets.  Start fresh with your "new" car.  The little bit of extra effort will keep that gleaming black paint looking beautiful for years.  

[StevepGT3]

This will send shivers down the spine of the OCD brigade.9 times out of 10 I clean with just Maguires quick detailer and about 20 microfibre cloths.My 993 only got the bucket and hose treatment 6 or 7 times in 10 years when it was muddy.Paint was perfect with zero swirl marks.Mr.Sheen on the wheels and other places that get tar spots. GT3 gets the same treatment and has zero swirl marks.

[espskk]

A very important topic, let me share a pic of how I like it done!!  

[StevepGT3]

A very important topic, let me share a pic of how I like it done!!  

Always check for jewellery and piercings first 

[hugh]

I only use water, no cleaning product/suds - if your car has been polished and has protection any cleaning solution will just take it off. 

+ 1 on the microfibres. 

[espskk]

Always check for jewellery and piercings first 

it would be my pleasure. 

[Niko]

 

I use it, only pain is washing all the micro fibre cloths.

 

https://www.cleanipedia.com/gb/laundry-washing/wash-microfiber-cloths-towels

There appears to be a lot of different ideas on how to wash them, this one sounds reasonable and easy enough.

[Airhead]

I get my wife to do it.

[spiller]

I only use water, no cleaning product/suds - if your car has been polished and has protection any cleaning solution will just take it off. 

+ 1 on the microfibres. 

you're not serious are you hugh? well i guess your 964 is white so you might be able to get away with that.

[Mike737]

I only use water, no cleaning product/suds - if your car has been polished and has protection any cleaning solution will just take it off. 

+ 1 on the microfibres. 

True, but washing it without any lubrication (eg. Detailing spray, liquid wash) has increased friction and nothing to even out the impurities of the water (unless you're using unmineralised water).

As spiller stated, I think you would have trouble with a dark coloured car. Still surprised you haven't noticed anything on your red car.

@Fraz have you tried the no bucket techinque? You spray water using a garden hose directly into your wash mitt which has wash applied inside and out and use a catchers mitt style to the mitt. I find it particularly good when the car is heavily soiled or there's graphite on your car and you don't want dirt caught in your mitt at all. The downside is I find it harder to get the car perfectly clean and you need to deal with the hose over your shoulder.

[hugh]

you're not serious are you hugh? well i guess your 964 is white so you might be able to get away with that.

True, but washing it without any lubrication (eg. Detailing spray, liquid wash) has increased friction and nothing to even out the impurities of the water (unless you're using unmineralised water).

As spiller stated, I think you would have trouble with a dark coloured car. Still surprised you haven't noticed anything on your red car.

 Now you have me worried..................

A very well know Porsche guy whom is also a paint specialist advised me to always keeping the car polished & with good quality protective sealants etc. His advice was that any car wash product would remove this (like when you shampoo your hair it removes product), so just to wash with water only. Not that my cars get that dirty, more dusty than anything but I'm worried now!

Maybe time for an intervention! Mike, Spiller - I'm all ears. 

[spiller]

Hugh, I think you were given the wrong advice. There are certainly shampoos out there that will strip the paint of wax and other forms of protection but if you're using a good quality shampoo this should not be the case. They are designed to keep the protection in tact and actually these days a lot of them add further protection as you wash. My car is sealed with Opticoat which is a ceramic sealant and even I would not get away with washing with just water. 

 

On another note, im interested to know what some of you are doing for drying the car? I think this is where most of the fine marks are occuring with my black car. I have been using a leaf blower to blow out the majority of the sitting water then going over it with a microfibre cloth but I cant help but feel that some lubrication is needed for drying too. I like the idea of Larry Ks product that he sells for drying but its cost prohibitive to be buying that from the US as id imagine you;d use quite a bit. Is there a product locally available that can be sprayed on to the microbfibre cloth as you dry the paint that wont cost the earth?

[Niko]

Hugh, I think you were given the wrong advice. There are certainly shampoos out there that will strip the paint of wax and other forms of protection but if you're using a good quality shampoo this should not be the case. They are designed to keep the protection in tact and actually these days a lot of them add further protection as you wash.

My car is sealed with Opticoat which is a ceramic sealant and even I would not get away with washing with just water. 

 

 

http://opticoat.com.au/opti-coat-pro

I know someone who has just applied this onto their car, and are also extremely happy with the results.

Think I will be following Spiller and my friends lead shortly, certainly before our Canberra trek.

 

 

[spiller]

http://opticoat.com.au/opti-coat-pro

I know someone who has just applied this onto their car, and are also extremely happy with the results.

Think I will be following Spiller and my friends lead shortly, certainly before our Canberra trek.

 

 

its very good stuff Niko, the water beads right off, and things like road tar, bugs and birdshit come off with ease. No need to rush for the cloth if a bird shits on your car and no need to add additional waxes although this doesnt hurt for shine. I had it applied 13 months ago but after a year of washing my black finish has a few fine marks in places once again and im not sure if hand polishing will remove the opticoat or not. So from this point of view, i'm not sure if I would do it again. In my car being a black car paint protection film is the only answer for swirl mark elimination.

[Harvs11]

 im not sure if hand polishing will remove the opticoat or not. 

Hand polishing can certainly remove the Opticoat.  I had a couple of areas around the rear fascia where the paint was scuffed by grubby mechanic's hands .  I carefully polished out the marks with a good quality swirl remover.  It's only obvious where the Opticoat rubbed off when the car gets wet.

[Coastr]

I've been using the Bowdens own auto body wash gel for a while now after getting a sample at a show.  Great stuff, suds nicely and cleans well and after several uses the smooth finish from clay and wax is still good - so good it's a pita to get the car cover on as it slides right off.  I also use the hose on a spray rather than jet pattern, unless there is some stubborn dirt that needs squirting off.

i haven't tried the microfibre finish after chamois, might give that a go.

still trying to work out the best method for regular under wheel arch scrubs, both for the Porsche which is paint finishes, and for modern cars with black plastic splash liners.