These are my impressions - First wash

nitronic

nitronic

New member
After I got all my goodies, I finally gave the new car its first hand wash last night. Here's what I learned, observations, what I did, and some questions.

  • I'm short. It's a 4Runner and I realized I needed a step stool to be able to wash the top. A lawnmower sized bucket lift vehicle would be nice.
  • The cargo rails are a pain to clean around.
  • It took me way longer than I planned, about 2 and a half hours. Since I haven't hand washed a car in many years and probalby never the "right way," I hope that as I practice I'll improve the time little by little.
  • The foam from the foam gun didn't last long. If I sprayed a vertical panel (most of the vehicle) and didn't wipe it almost immediately, the foam had slid down and off within 10-15 seconds. I used Meguiars Gold Class car wash shampoo & conditioner in the foamer. Would using a different/more appropriate product produce foam that sticks better and doesn't fall off?
  • I wonder how neccesary the foam gun really is if I essentailly have the same stuff on my wash mitt so seems like double duty there.
  • Using the 2 bucket method I went through 3 or 4 buckets of rinse water and 3 or 4 buckets of soap water. Before I rinsed each time I squeezed out as much as I could on the driveway and then rinsed, and then squeezed out again on the driveway, not sure if that's really neccesary.
  • Grit Guards-I understand they are intended to allow crud to settle in the water below the top of the grit guard and minimize stirring it back up. Is it also intended to use as a "scrubber" for the mitt every time I dip in a bucket? Also... at what water level above the top of the grit guard is too low? Seems like if there are only a couple of inches of water above the top, it would still be easy to stir up crud underneath it.
  • I started too late and ran out of daylight, so I didn't get past washing.
  • I used 3 different wash mitts. (1) Sheepskin mitt for pretty much all the body and windows until about the bottom 3-4 " that taper towards the road and have the most dirt (2) A car parts store microfiber mitt for that bottom 3-4" section (3) Yet another car parts store microfiber mitt for the wheels. My intent is to keep those separate and only use as indicated here.
  • Overall the car looks better--every swipe I took made an obvious contrast between clean white paint and dirty white paint. A lot of the bug guts I still couldn't get off, even with the Bug eliminator (actually the store subbed a different product). I hope clay can help get rid of those stuck-on bugs.
  • I'm not going to polish anything yet...it's brand new and not in aweful shape yet and I think I should practice on something else first...another thread will be about that.

Any comments, tips, words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Nic
 
Cool. Time will get shorter as you get more used to doing it.

Bugs = Hopefully they haven't etched into the paint. Suggest you get something like bug squash to aid in the removal.

Step stools are almost a necessity for any larger suv/truck.


Enjoy your journey to more shine and gloss.
 
nitronic said:
[*]I'm not going to polish anything yet...it's brand new and not in aweful shape yet and I think I should practice on something else first...another thread will be about that.


Any comments, tips, words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Nic
Click to expand...

Practice makes perfect, keep doing what you're doing. If you already have your polisher, it won't hurt anything to start with a mild polishing pad or finishing pad and a cleaner-type wax, or something like Klasse All-in-One, which has no abrasives and is a chemical cleaner. This will give you some practice with the buffer without putting your paint in danger.
 
nitronic; said:
Any comments, tips, words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Nic
Click to expand...

Practice makes perfect!...and you should be able to reduce your time as you become more proficient.
Almost any soap will create foam from a gun/cannon. Play with the soap/water ratio and/or the gun settings. Remember, the whole purpose of the foam is the slight 'dwell' to loosen and encapsulate dirt. With a pressure washer, many will rinse, foam and rinse again and call it done. This works when there is a good LSP on the paint so stuff (crud) just doesn't stick well.

Unless you see marring, swirls or scratches, there's no need to polish. Compounding and polishing removes a thin layer of clear coat that protects the paint - only polish when needed. Of course I'm assuming this is a driver or even daily driver as the rules would be slightly different for a garage queen/show car. But for my $.02, I like to keep the clear coat on the car and only polish when I see signs that warrant it. Having said the above, using clay to remove contaminants and using a chemical cleaner either pre 'waxing' or an all-in-one product does have benefit as you'd be surprised what washing just doesn't get.

As for the two bucket method, I've never run low in either (2 gal) bucket...but I don't bother to wring out the mitt between buckets. Although some use the grit guard like a scrub board, I merely swish the MF mop in the upper portion of the bucket and allow any grit to fall to the bottom.
Oh, I have a full size pickup truck, so I use the MF mitt on a telescoping stick so I don't need a stool and it makes for far less bending over.
I use the same mitt for the entire truck, but use a brush for the wheels, rims and wells....and do these last.

Once you get a good LSP on there, you should consider a no rinse product. Optimum and Duragloss both make excellent products and you can do a no rinse wash 'n wax much quicker than the two bucket method. Note: you don't do a no rinse without a pre-rinse if you've say been off-roading, but you can do a no rinse wash much of the time for a typical street ride.

For bugs it's not a bad idea to have a bug/tar remover on hand. Again, with a good LSP, bugs don't stick as easily. You might also get a nylon mesh wrapped sponge to apply a gentle abrasion to remove them.

-Mike
 
I have never been a fan of gold class. I don't think it foams well, suds disappear fast and not slick. The foam in the gun is just to be foamed on the car and rinsed off. A better soap will stay on there longer than the 15 seconds though (which I have noticed with gold class too). The foam gun is double duty like you say but we use it in hope to loosen up as much dirt and debris as possible and blast it off before we ever touch the paint with a mitt. The wash process will get quicker but with that size vehicle it'll still take a pretty long time doing it up right. As for the bugs, an all purpose cleaner at 10:1 left to dwell for a couple minutes mixed with a bug and tar sponge and they will come off effortlessly.
 
If you multiple mitts, you end up using a lot more water since some mitts can suck of a lot of water initially. You should be able to wash with 4 gallons of mixed soap solution. If the paint is really dirty, you can add a little extra soap.

I may squeeze the mitt before going into the rinse bucket and I do try to remove excess rinse water before going back into the soap bucket.

You should always pre-treat areas (front bumpers, mirror houses) with bug remover or other similar product to soften them up if you always tend to have them. Of course, you can spot do these at the end if something did not come off.

You may need to clay to help remove the bugs but you could also be seeing some etching and that would take polishing to minimize or reduce.

A foam gun usually does not generate suds that stick for any length of time. You can increase foam by just increasing soap and sometimes your water quality can affect suds.

You need to work out an efficient routine on how you do it. Once you get it clean and protected, it will clean much easier the next time.
 
Some sorta-random thoughts follow:

-Unless somebody's gonna use the foamgun the way I do, I don't think it's worth using.

-I'm 5' 9" and I need several work platforms to wash my Tahoe or even to do a proper job of washing some cars

-Yes indeed, the roof rails are a PIA, especially IME getting all the water out/away from them

-I too think that GC is a mediocre shampoo

-I don't consider foam in-and-of itself to be of much benefit especially when doing a conventional TBM-type wash

-A better LSP and a better Bug Removal product (preferably one that's LSP-safe) can help immensely

-My Bug Sponges did not pass the CD-test and I don't touch my paint with them

-I can't wash much of anything properly in only 2.5 hours but then I do a lot of "extra" areas
 
Accumulator said:
-Unless somebody's gonna use the foamgun the way I do, I don't think it's worth using.

-I too think that GC is a mediocre shampoo

-A better LSP and a better Bug Removal product (preferably one that's LSP-safe) can help immensely
Click to expand...

What is the 10 word or less version of how you use a foam gun?
What is a shampoo product and bug removal product you like?

I may try the foamer out on the side of the house.
 
nitronic- Hard enough for me to do it in ten *sentances* :D Here's the most concise version I can come up with right off-the-cuff (limited time for this stuff today):

-Rinse vehicle down

-Spray foamgun output on panel

-Hold foamgun in one hand, Boar's Hair Brush ("BHB") in the other

-Spray foamgun output at point of BHB-to-paint contact

-Move BHB in short, jiggling motions (not long sweeping ones) while spraying foamgun output just ahead of it (yeah, takes a little practice)

-Minimal pressure on BHB (don't bend bristles over)

-Do small area (not a whole panel), rinsing out BHB as needed (foamgun might do it automatically but YMMV)

-Rinse and inspect

-Repeat as needed until panel appears clean

-Repeat process with foamgun and mitt (to get more tenacious "road film" off, BHB used properly is too gentle for that but does get the "big stuff" off)

-Blow most water off vehicle

-Use QD/rinseless wash/Spray Wax as drying aid and dry with MF, avoiding long, sweeping motions

I use a mix of Griot's Car Wash and 3d Pink, abot 3.5 oz Griot's : 3 oz 3D : water to make a gallon. Fill foamgun with that and also use this mix to do wheels/wells/undercarriage.

Bugs rinse right off FK1000P, need a little agitation to get them off the other LSPs I use but nothing aggressive ever needed.
 
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