how many of you only use one bucket for conventional/traditional wash?

B

BigAl3

New member
i was curious... how many of you use only one bucket (with or without a grit guard) and not two, for a conventional/traditional (not ONR) wash?



p.s. don't feel guilty, no one is here to criticize if you do... ;)
 
i am guilty of using only one bucket. No grit guard. Just water and soap. I use the garden hose for fresh water to rinse with.
 
I use one bucket ,too. But I snow foam my Z4 first to clean it with pressure washer (Karcher 7.85). That way there is no need for the 2 bucket method because no dust left on the car. I am checking my bucket when I finish and th water is clean!
 
I use the single bucket method, but my car never gets that dirty and I always have a very gentle hand when washing. I also bought a grit guard but haven't really seen a use for it. If the bucket gets significant grit or dirt in it, the water should be changed. Lighter grit would also float back around when the water is dispersed by dipping the mitt into the water. And realistically, with all of the ONR users out there (myself included), are people really that concerned with using two buckets?



However, if I were doing top shelf detailing of show cars and the like, I probably would use 2 buckets just to CMA.
 
I use a 5-gallon with grit guard alone in the summer. 2 mitts, rinse if needed. My cars really only get dusty in the warmer months, no real apparent need for a rinse bucket. I will rinse the mitts after cleaning the lower panels before dipping back in.



Then again, this is me washing a silver company car, not a black personal vehicle.
 
I used to use only one bucket to wash, but never again will I use anything less than two buckets now that I understand the advantages of the "two bucket method."

For the cost of 5 gallons of water and the time it takes your rinse bucket to fill up, as well as the 10 seconds it takes to rinse your mitt, you get an awful lot of insurance against scratches.
 
For ONR, I use 1 bucket with no grit guard. When you're working with just 2 gallons of water, the grit guard just gets in the way of the water. I've not had any marring issues using this method, so that's why I only use 1 bucket.



For a traditional wash, I still use 1 bucket but I'll throw in a GG.



One reason that I don't do 2 buckets is because I'm typically not working on a level surface so keeping 1 bucket next to me is hard enough. Once I move into my shop next week (with a pretty level floor), I'll probably start using 2 buckets.
 
1 bucket / NO grit guard. My claim to fame is a good powerwasher. That, in it self, will loosen and remove 99% of harmful debris that could cause damage when rubbed across the finish. I still rinse off my GS after wiping down each panel.
 
I use two, five gallon buckets with grit guards in both. Even if the car only looks dusty or if it is a swirled up customers car that I will be polishing, I still use 2 buckets. It just *feels* right to me, I guess.



I might remove the grit guards (I honestly don't feel these do much anyways, more of a psychological thing, IMO) if the car isn't too dirty.
 
I have always used one bucket, no grit guard and never had any issues. Like David, I use a good pressure washer to rinse before I wash.
 
Good point about the pressure washer rinse. I'm always amazed at how much dirt comes off with PW'ing (especially around nooks, crannies, and wheel wells) prior to doing a traditional wash.
 
Again have to agree with Dave on this one. I paid about $3000 for a heated power washer and it does almost all of the work for me. Having the right tools for the job saves tremendous amounts of time... Even if it can be done other ways I'd rather let the power washer take care of most of the back breaking work so I can concentrate on other things.
 
One bucket, no GG. I'm conscious of washing similar panels with the same side of the mitt, i.e. bottom/rockers get one side, top surfaces another. I wash the mitt out pretty well when I'm done, for the next wash.
 
Since I got the electric Karcher I've refined my wash technique. I now PW, presoak w/ a hose end sprayer, rinse, then reapply (hose end) wash to each panel before using my wash mitt from the soap bucket. I then rinse my mitts outside the buckets w/ the fireman's nozzle using wide dispersion and medium pressure. Since doing this I have found no grit in the rinse bucket and will more than likely eliminate its use.



On a tangent - how are you guys washing your sheepskin mitts? My wife banned them from the machine since one came apart last washing :hmph:
 
If my car isn't very dirty sometimes I'll use just one bucket after a foam gun pre-soak. I still rinse the mitt out with the hose quite often and use a grit guard.

citizen arcane said:
.........On a tangent - how are you guys washing your sheepskin mitts? My wife banned them from the machine since one came apart last washing :hmph:
Click to expand...
I've always just used the car wash soap, rinse it out well, and hang to dry in the garage.



At a car show a few weeks ago I did a quick ONR wash at the hotel. That time I used the hotel hair shampoo (non-conditioning) and it did a remarkably good job of getting my sheepskin mitt clean. The terry towels I used for the wheels didn't come out quite as clean. I always wonder what the maids think when they see my wash bucket, sheepskin mitt, and various MF's hanging up to dry ;)
 
Now that I see how dirty my second rinse bucket is, and how clean my soap bucket is in comparison, I am sold on two buckets. The rinse bucket is full of grey soot at the end of every wash. And I keep my car very clean.
 
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