Black Knight
New member
Thanks for all the info. Does anyone think it is likely I will need to compound right off the bat? And can I use ultimate polish without compounding first?
First new black car
- Thread starter Black Knight
- Start date
Black Knight
New member
If I wax it properly after all of the other steps will that provide protection from the wash mitt marring the paint during in between washes?
Dan
Well-known member
Accumulator said:
I can't wait till you do. You might be able to wash a car in under an hour! The AR is still doing fine, though I keep getting more annoyed that it stays running. Maybe I need in get a clapper so I can clap to turn it on...lol.
Kean
New member
....a bit off topic (and I'm glad Accum brought this up), but do you (or anyone else who might have knowledge) know if running DI water through one of these machines will cause issues? The reason I ask are the problems I have heard about DI water and some metals (like you might find in household plumbing). More specifically, I have been eyeballing the AR630 but I would likely be hooking up my CRS DIC-20 at least once in awhile for rinsing. Depending on how well it goes, I may be using it more often than not for "DI duty". Obviously, if corrosion is a valid concern, then I will need to rethink my decision.Dan said:
....sorry for the detour.
Dan
Well-known member
I'd ping AR and see what they have to say on the subject.
Kean
New member
thanks Dan. I may have to do just that (and maybe ask CRS as well). Couldn't find much about it in my past searches.
Accumulator ... Have you seen Larry's video from AMMONYC regarding the technique of using the foam gun to constantly feed the foam from the foam gun into the wash mitt? Probably takes some time to perfect since the foam gun in one hand and the mitt in the other hand. Is that the way you do it?
Cool method IMHO.
Cool method IMHO.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Black Knight said:
Not really, though a dirt-releasing LSP will help since you can be more gentle and still get the dirt off.
But as far as "the wax protecting against marring"...nah, IME that only works (and to a quite minimal extent) with *heavily* layered Klasse Sealant Glaze.
Dan said:
Well, as best I can figure the pressure washer would only cut maybe 30 minutes off the wash time in the winter, less the rest of the year :think: The pressure washer would basically replace the first step of the wash proper, more likely to save effort than time. And I still think that even with all my craziness, the "regular part of the wash" just doesn't take me all that long.
And remember, the first and last hours are gonna be spent on the undercarriage/underhood/etc. anyhow. I always think that's where sooo much of the time goes.
Glad to hear the AR is still working OK! I'm pretty sure that's the one I'd get.
Kean said:
I've wondered about that too! I think I'd risk it and just see what happens. My pressure washers always die so quickly that the internal corrosion issue would probably never catch up with me. But that's just me and I'm death to pressure washers for some reason
Lexi65 said:
No, I haven't seen that, but I bet our techniques are quite similar. Glad to see somebody's put it on the internet, maybe more people will start washing this way :xyxthumbs
Heh heh, yeah...it *does* take a while to get everything dialed in! I did maybe, oh...I dunno...several dozen washes with the foamgun before I figured out just how it oughta be done, and then even *more* getting my technique just right. I fully understand when people say "it's just not worth it! I'd rather polish now and then or even have imperfect paint. Too much trouble.." But now that I'd done it a zillion times it's no biggie for me.
A recap of my technique follows, compare it with that video-
Rinse the panel off. Spray it with foamgun output at a pretty strong setting (I use 6 oz./gallon for the concentrate that I fill the gun with, then always use one of the three strongest settings on the foamgun). Note that I keep numerous spare foamgun containers handy, with a spare gallon of concentrate nearby too. I use one foamgun on each side of the washbay, along with a separate hose for rinsing.
I spray foangun output at the point of mitt/paint contact, lifting/angling the mitt enough that the foamgun output does in fact get to that point. I work the mitt *towards* the output so a) I don't touch the mitt against "unfoamed" areas, and b) so everything's working "in concert" as far as direction/flow goes.
I move the foamgun around enough to cover the whole width of the mitt's pass.
I move the mitt is very short, jiggling motions, lifting it off the paint as needed to maximize the flushing effect. Don't keep it pressed against the paint because the dirt might not "flush away". Don't move in long, sweeping motions because if you *do* get marring that would result in a long, hence obvious, scratch. Similarly, work in straight lines, front-to-back, so any marring that does happen is less obvious.
Rinse, inspect, expect to repeat; if you're very gentle, it's unlikely that one pass will get everything off.
And remember that-
a) I've already done the panels with the foamgun/BHB combo to get the "big stuff"; by the time I switch to the mitt most people would say the panel's already clean.
b)I'm keeping the mitt full of shampoo mix, which seeps out as I work.
c) I have boosted water pressure so my foamgun sprays "harder" than usual, which allows me to skip a lot of mitt-rinsing as the foamgun output will pretty much "rinse everything clean" with its flushing. Absent the boosted pressure I'd be rinsing the mitt out all the time (and rinsing even more often during the initial BHB step- note that the foamgun/BHB combo is quite self-rinsing with boosted pressure).
Kean
New member
Accumulator said:I've wondered about that too! I think I'd risk it and just see what happens. My pressure washers always die so quickly that the internal corrosion issue would probably never catch up with me. But that's just me and I'm death to pressure washers for some reason
Well, if I end up buying that AR630 I've been eye-ballin, I sure hope it will last. $700 is a chunk of change. ....that's if I don't buy the VX5000 steamer on my long-time wish list first.