Washing Methods

M

mikebai1990

New member
I'm using a washing method that I don't think I've seen others use: Before washing a vehicle with car shampoo, I always rinse it with water while I use my hands to wipe off the dirt and have the water rinse it onto the ground. Everybody else seems to just apply the shampoo right onto a dirty vehicle. Does anybody else use their hands while rinsing with water to get rid of the grime and dirt on the vehicle? Will my hands scratch the paint finish? Should I try to CD test with my fingers? :) Thanks!
 
wait.. what? before you put soapy water on the paint you rinse it and while you rinse it your rub the dirt thats already on their with your hands?!
 
Woooooohh... you are majorly marring youre paint by rubbing the dirt all around the finish.... the soap before the wash is to provide lubrication to prevent marring.
 
I don't press hard or anything, and every 2-3 wipes, I pick my hands up rinse my hands with the water. Am I heading for disaster?
 
Yeah...I've done that before lightly...but just on a small part of a panel (usually the hood or trunk) to feel the paint to see if I need claying or polishing or waxing. Never induced marring that I ever noticed. If you do the whole car with your hand prior to a wash well then you can induce cc scratching. Its not the MF or hand that causes the mar but the trapped dirt particle between the MF or hand.
 
Get a foam gun if you want to use a hose. if you dont want to use a hose then get Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine
 
mikebai1990 said:
Everybody else seems to just apply the shampoo right onto a dirty vehicle.
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I think pretty much everyone rinses first before using shampoo just to get loose dirt off the car. However, using one's hand while rinsing to remove dirt before applying the soap is pretty unusual I would think. The whole point of the wash solution is to help remove dirt/grime that can't be removed by the rinsing process alone.



Just curious, is there a particular reason you prefer washing this way? :)
 
The whole idea behind car wash soap is that it lifts the dirt, lubricates and encapsulates the dirt prior to you using a sponge, mit or whatever to remove the dirt. Your hand could be the worst thing to remove dirt without soap as your hand would just trap the dirt between it and the paint marring or scratching the finish.
 
blackrex said:
The whole idea behind car wash soap is that it lifts the dirt, lubricates and encapsulates the dirt prior to you using a sponge, mit or whatever to remove the dirt. Your hand could be the worst thing to remove dirt without soap as your hand would just trap the dirt between it and the paint marring or scratching the finish.
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quoted for truth
 
I like to spray my truck with the foam gun before I even get out the buckets, etc. I don't particularly care if it even dries up a bit, 'cause I give it a second soak anyway. I always shake up the 50/50 soap/water mix in the foam gun and go for max suds. By the time I'm ready to start washing, I give it a flood rinse, and suds her up again with the gun. Now the only dirt left on the truck is a layer of surface film that's pre-lubed with the foam. When I get around to the front end, the bugs just float away with a light swipe.

I'm not one of those guys that think a foam gun is magic, but it sure helps in getting the truck ready to actually put a mitt against it.

Another thing I've learned here is to do everything in a back and forth motion...not circular.

With the above foam gun method and lots of soap in a bucket, and a sheepskin mitt, it's so slick when you wash you'll think you're floating the mitt over an air cushion.

I guess the point here is that letting even a mild soap dwell for a while takes a lot of work out of the actual physical part of the wash.
 
Pennypacker said:
Just curious, is there a particular reason you prefer washing this way? :)
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Well, my (distorted) reasoning was that my hands wouldn't scratch the paint when I rinse it. If I used a wash mitt with the shampoo, I was thinking that if I pressed down and "scrubbed" some dirty areas, then the dirt would scratch the surface. Well, I'm glad that I asked you guys. Thanks so much! You've just saved me from destroying my cars!
 
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