More noob questions (washing)

bennylava

bennylava

New member
Got some more noob questions for you guys. I love reading the responses around here so even though this stuff could be looked up somewhere, I trust this forum a lot more. So here they are:

1. Which car wash do you use? I'm referring to plain car washing liquid, where you use two buckets, one soap and one water. Which one should I use? This will be for washing a car before polish and wax.

2. What do you actually use to wash the car with? Back in my detail boy days, they had me just using a mitt of some kind that went over your hand. Is that still used?

3. Not washing related, but I was looking at all the videos about Optimum Power Clean. It seems that its mainly used as tire cleaner. Is that anything I should be concerned about, when it comes to using it on seats and carpets/floor mats? Do you guys dilute it when using it on the interior? Or do you just use it straight?

4. Also not washing related. DA polisher pads: Is the color coding universal across all brands? Would an orange pad, be for the same job regardless of brand? Thus far I've seen orange, white, black, and red. Not real sure what the difference is in these pads, although I've heard some are rougher, for polishing or compounding, and some are finer, for finer polishes or (waxes?)

5. What do you guys think of the tornador? If I did end up buying one, I'd be buying the Tornador Black. Is this particular piece of equipment, worth the expense?

Thanks for reading.
 
1, There are a lot of good soaps. Most anything sold here is very good. The preference is about brand, scent, cost, added wax, ease of rinsing, etc.

2. I think the noodle (dreadlock) is the best bang for the buck (inexpensive, durable, low maintenance).

3. Optimum Power Clean is an all purpose cleaner and can be used on a variety of surfaces and generally safe for most surfaces if you do not allow it to dry. The dilution is usually at 1:3 for general use (full strength ok too but why waste it if not necessary) but you can vary it. I would not use it on carpets since it requires good rinsing. It is not the cheapest all purpose cleaner but I find it is reliable.

4, Color coding is not standard., Buff & Shine, Griots, Lake Country, Rupes, Meguiars all use different colors. You have to rely on the name (like finishing, polishing, etc) but usually people will give you advice on which one.
 
Agree with Al.

1. Too many to mention. I like CG, BlackFire and OPT the most AT THE MOMENT.
2. I do not 2BW but use 660 GSM Eurow MF towel in a modified GDPWM. Excellent price and durability.
3. Would need to substantially dilute OPC for leather - and would only use on coated leather. (Note - tried ONR on my DD leather and plastics this week. Would highly recommend.) It goes without typing: TEST IN INCONSPICUOUS SPOT FIRST!!
4. Yep. RUPES Blue = cutting. LC Blue = no cut. RUPES Yellow = polishing. LC Yellow = Cutting. Megs even throws in Maroon.
5. Tornador needs a bigger compressor than I have room for. Otherwise.....
 
Some sorta-random thoughts follow, and/but note that I'm awfully extreme about avoiding wash-induced marring ("WIM") and that I'm leaving the foamgun out of the discussion:

-While others find differences in shampoos to be minimal and of no consequence, I find that high-lubricity shampoos make it far easier for me to avoid WIM. I've found some shampoos to be incredibly harsh on LSPs while others seem to have virtually no effect on them at all

-I finally tried the "dreadlock"/"muppet" type MF and I utterly hated it and can't for the life of me understand why somebody would prefer it over something with finer/lighter strands

- Other than long/fine/soft-strand mitts, I'm a *BIG* fan of *high-quality* Boar's Hair Brushes. AFAIK, the only good ones on the market these days come from Universal Brush (others sell their one model under the "Montana" name). IMO you simply *must* use some kind of BHB to get into tight crevices, I've never found anything else that can access and clean some spots

-I've done fine with cotton, MF, and sheepskin mitts, but the sheepskin seems best with regard to not retaining gritty diry and being the easiest to rinse out

-I never wear a mitt like a glove, but rather: fill it with shampoo solution, hold it shut at the cuff, and gently whisk it across the paint while the shampoo seeps out

-OPC is probably my favorite APC for aggressive cleaning. Undercarriages, engine compartments, interiors...when I have a nasty cleanup to do OPC is what I reach for. I use it straight/undiluted, if that's more potent than I need I use something else instead

- While I do find some great uses for my Tornador Black, I somehow suspect that a lot of people would consider it a waste of $, a pricey gizmo that just sits on the shelf. FWIW, my primary use of it is to rinse/dry areas like jambs. If dealing with nasty interiors/floormats it might be great, but that's not something I do very much
 
Just my two cents and if this bad practice call me out but...

1. I really like ONR right now but historically the Megs Gold Class that target sells has worked ok for me.

2. I bought the 3 pack of these Shine & Buff Waterless Wash Towel and I really like them. I just take extra care to really "scrub" the dirt out of the towel before returning to the soap bucket. I haven't noticed any marring but my car also never gets more than a little road grime before washing.

3. Can't help you there as I am new to them as well (just got the griots garage polisher this christmas) so I'm taking notes. I do know they ain't cheap! So get it right the first time!
 
Accumulator said:
-I finally tried the "dreadlock"/"muppet" type MF and I utterly hated it and can't for the life of me understand why somebody would prefer it over something with finer/lighter strands
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I had the same experience. I hated it, and don't know where in the garage it was sent to.
 
Some follow up questions on the portions of the replies that I didn't understand:

mjlinane said:
1. Too many to mention. I like CG, BlackFire and OPT the most
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What is CG, and OPT?

mjlinane said:
2. I do not 2BW but use 660 GSM Eurow MF towel in a modified GDPWM. Excellent price and durability.
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I assume you are referring to these? (hope the store here doesn't sell them. Its kind of annoying to have to hunt through the store first and make sure its not being sold there, just to avoid posting a link to a competitor)

Amazon.com: Eurow Microfiber Double Density Towels 12 X 16 in 660 GSM Eurow Shag 10-Pack: Automotive

Accumulator said:
I use it straight/undiluted, if that's more potent than I need I use something else instead
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What is the other thing you use, if OPC is too potent? Maybe an APC from meguiars? I know people around here do seem to like their super degreaser for engines.

Accumulator said:
If dealing with nasty interiors/floormats it might be great, but that's not something I do very much
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I'll be dealing with some that are pretty nasty lol. Found a pair of thong panties in this recent car I bought, that I accidentally grabbed with my bare hands and carried halfway to the trash can before I realized what it was. Yeah...

FIDOAG14 said:
Just my two cents and if this bad practice call me out but...

1. I really like ONR right now but historically the Megs Gold Class that target sells has worked ok for me.
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I'm afraid I don't know what ONR is.

Thanks all for the replies!
 
CG = Chemical Guys
OPT = Optimum Polymer Technologies
2BM or 2BW = 2 Bucket Method/Wash
GDPWM = Garry Dean Perfect Wash Method
ONR = Optimum No Rinse (Rinseless Wash)

Yes, those are the towels I use.

Reference:
My wash technique (note - this as a full decontamination so more extensive that a weekly wash. Pick up from where I'm getting the towels out of the bucket for roughly a weekly wash)

For dirty interiors, I would recommend Ultima Interior Shampoo Gel
 
Bunky said:
I still do not understand the dislike of the noodle style mitt.
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For one thing, the thick strands don't get into areas that thinner ones do, they're just too fat (eh, guess that's a "my vehicles-specific" complaint). More importantly (again, on my vehicles) the strands don't conform to contours as well as my other media, at least not without far more pressure than I'd ever apply. And it seems to me that there's less overall uhm...."wash medium surface area" in contact with the vehicle (a few big strands rather than a lot of thinner ones). And finally, though I discount this concept rather heavily, *if* dislodged contaminants migrate up into the nap and get safely trapped there away from the paint (big "if" IMO..) then it seems more likely to me that lots of thin/fine strands will facilitate that compared to fewer thick ones.

Note all the "seems to me..." qualifiers in the above!

Heh heh, you and I might just end up on different sides of this particular fence; I can't understand why anybody would *like* them! Just one of those personal preference things I guess, and I'm sure that wash technique factors in bigtime along with the vehicle(s) in question.
 
bennylava said:
Some follow up questions on the portions of the replies that I didn't understand:




What is the other thing you use, if OPC is too potent? Maybe an APC from meguiars? I know people around here do seem to like their super degreaser for engines...
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I'm not current on today's APCs as I'm still using up my stash of Einman Fabrik Hi-Intensity. But the green-colored APC from 3D (or is it from HD, I can't seem to keep their product lines straight :o ) also works well for me. Whatever's working for you is OK in my book.
 
Bunky said:
I still do not understand the dislike of the noodle style mitt.
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For *me* - It didn't feel all that great in my hand, err, with my hand in it. And doing the 2BW with Grit Guard, I saw some dirt on the mitt that I couldn't seem to shake off. After several minutes of trying, I gave up. Since I couldn't get it as clean as I would have liked, I preferred not to use it again.

Accumulator said:
But the green-colored APC from 3D (or is it from HD, I can't seem to keep their product lines straight :o ) also works well for me.
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That's the same one I am using, i have bottles mixed in light ratio and heavy ratio. hehe.. You're not the only one, Accumulator. I think that's why people refer to them as 3D/HD :)
 
Also speaking of pads, I got a Griot's garage random orbital buffer.

Do you guys ever wash out your buffing pads when you're done using them? Or do you just throw them away every time? Seems like throwing them away, might get pretty expensive.
 
bennylava said:
Also speaking of pads, I got a Griot's garage random orbital buffer.

Do you guys ever wash out your buffing pads when you're done using them? Or do you just throw them away every time? Seems like throwing them away, might get pretty expensive.
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Wash every time. They can last awhile if you clean them right. I use snappy clean and have used Wolfgang pad cleaner and conditioner in the past and love both.

Snappy Clean Pad Cleaning Powder 3 Pack
Wolfgang Pad Werks Pad Cleaner & Extender
 
Ronkh said:
Welcome to the addiction.......... It only gets worse. :cool:
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Yeah it does. I'm trying to not spend. It's so damn hard to do.


And yes on regular water (if you're talking about washing pads). I wash mine by hand in the bathroom sink. Others have used water hose pressure, and others throw them in the washing machine.
 
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