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  • HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

    How To Properly Wash Your Car

    Hello everyone, Im going to start posting up How-To's on proper car care. Mostly the detailing aspect of care. This first segment is on how to properly wash your car. Washing the car may seem to be the easiest thing to do, but if done wrong, you can swirl and scratch your cars paint to hell and back. Im here to to show you guys how to minimize and prevent swirls and scratches from being inflicted on your cars finish.

    Here is what you will need.



    2 Buckets
    1 Grit guard, (2 if you want)
    1 Plush wash mit (NOT A SPONGE)
    1 Waffle Weave towel (Not a regular towel)
    A good hose attachment,
    and finally a good car wash soap,
    There are many out there, I prefer to use Meguiars NXT Wash

    Now let me explain this technique. There are two buckets, one filled with water and the other one with the Suds. The bucket filled with water is your first stop when washing your mit during the wash because this removes the heavy grit from the mit. The second bucket is your suds bucket. You want to have a ample amount of suds because the suds act as a lubricant which helps transfer the dirt from the car to the mit without scratching the paint.


    Having a Grit Guard is important because this is a barrier that prevents your mit being intagneld with the light debry and dirt.


    Place the Grit Guard in the bucket with the suds because right after being rinsed, this is the last stop for the mit before it goes onto the paint.


    Go ahead and add the soap into the suds bucket and fill it up.



    Before washing the car, you want to be parked in a shaded area and to allow the paint to cool down to prevent water spots from form, especially on black cars.

    First rinse off the car top to down, you can use a Foam gun or a pressure washer with a wide nozzle. Do not make it a constant stream because it can remove paint. This removes the heavy derby from the car which prevents the mit being containmented with heavy items such as rocks and other hazardous particles.

    After that is completed go ahead and get your mit from the suds bucket and start the wash process. Start from the roof and work your way down, panel to panel, rinsing off the soap after each completed panel.


    I personally break down each panel into fourths, after each quarter is done, the mit goes into the rinse bucket to remove heavy debry and then to the suds bucket with the grit guard to shake off any lighter particles and to also get more suds. And then rinsing off the panel with water.




    Just for fun, I will show you what the mit will pick up just from one panel.

    All those black specks are small rock particles, all of them are responsible for swirling up paint

    I proceeded to do the a small part of my trunk with the contaminated mit to show you what happens. While the swirls are light, a constant wash like this will cause the car to begin to look like crap, filled with scratches and swirls





    After washing the entire car, the next step is drying. Drying can the the easiest while being the hardest at the same time. Do NOT use a regular towel like this.


    The fibers of the towel are way to stiff which can just scratch the paints surface horrible. I did not do a experiment on the car because sometimes the scratches can be so severe, a heavy polish will have trouble removing them.

    I opted for a waffle weave towel because these towels soak up the water better and do not have the sharp fibers like regulars towels do. Instead of wiping the towel across the paint, blot it. This soaks up the water and prevents any kind of particles on the towel to scratch the paint.

    There are other ways of drying your car like flooding each panel with water. This works but only if the car has been waxed in the previous week.

    A video of this process.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtoWk9thSEI


    After the car is done drying, grab a good detail spray and go over each panel just to make sure you didnt miss any dirt, water blobs or water spots.

    I used M135 Detail Spray with a Ultimate Touch Microfiber Towel.

    Next HOW TO is going to be on proper Wax technique.
    Be on the look out.
    Make me a signature and ill put it in here...

  • #2
    Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

    i use one of these




    kidding

    its more like this one



    Remember if "the" and "and" are spelled right its not a genuine Ahuhn post


    Dear God, please send clothes to all those poor ladies in Daddy's computer. Amen.
    Originally posted by snowmanG6
    you would try to tape a poptart to her then give her a bag a skittles and tell her to fart a rainbow

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    • #3
      Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

      Nice! im looking out for the wax technique
      A whole lot of mods and a freakin lesbo after me....
      Originally posted by 08blackgt
      hahaha i fukin love Darlene

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      • #4
        Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

        as the karate kid said himself "wax on, wax off"
        ............... My cardomain page ................. My facebook page ...............

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        • #5
          Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

          For waxing...

          Code:
          import meguiarsNXTPaste;
          import microfibreCloth;
          import hands;
          
          applyWax();
          do
              wait 600
          while swipeTest() != noSmudging;
          polishWax();
          That's the method I take.

          I guess so far you covered only the washing aspect of the whole paint care cycle. I'd love to see proper techniques on how to use rubbing compounds and polishes. I still haven't got a full grasp on those. Nice work on the how-to.
          <-- Gray G6? Click!
          2006 G6 SE V6 3.5L Sedan "Sharon", Stealth Gray Metallic, 1SA+CF5+PCM+PDX - Sold but will not be forgotten... will always have a special place in my heart.
          2006 Solstice 2.4L I4 "Kristin", Shadow Gray Metallic, 1SA+JL9+G80+PCQ+ZQ2+ZQ3
          Life moves fast, don't miss a thing.

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          • #6
            Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

            nice How-To been washing my car like that for about a year now, wish i knew about that 3years ago

            Mods- VMS ECM/TCM Tune, Custom Magnaflow Cat Back, Full CRAB Intake, Racing Line Motor Mounts and Strut Tower Brace. Tinted Windows & Tails. EBC USR Rotors Front and Rear running YellowStuff Pads
            Originally posted by ahuhn
            so i just realized there a drawer in my room that has nothing in it but tequila, condoms and a blow up doll. cant figure out if thats a good thing or not

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            • #7
              Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

              Originally posted by ToniCipriani
              For waxing...

              I'd love to see proper techniques on how to use rubbing compounds and polishes. I still haven't got a full grasp on those. Nice work on the how-to.
              Thats coming up after Waxing.
              Make me a signature and ill put it in here...

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              • #8
                Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

                Question, for drying the car is it bad to use a shamy or similar???

                Originally posted by BAMBAMM
                I'm about the best wingman in the San Joaquin Valley...........I'm the guy that will hit on the ugly friend, so you can swoop in and bag the hottie friend.

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                • #9
                  Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

                  Some are and some arent, it depends on the quality of the product, What I would do is do a small test panel on a inconspicuous area and see if any swirls are caused.

                  Many products work, just check the shamy every panel to make sure you did not pick up any light debry of sorts.
                  Make me a signature and ill put it in here...

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                  • #10
                    Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

                    Im pretty sure my entire car is covered in swirls and scratched, although unnoticed to those who don't look for it, very irritating -_--that's what i get for rushing my washes... How do I remove swirls without dulling the paint (i.e. Polish)???
                    2008 Carbon Black Metallic G6 GXP Street Edition Sedan: Colour-Match Front and Back Arrowhead Overlays, Debadged, Carbon Fibre Dash Kit, 35% Front Tint, 15% Rear Tint, Tinted Tails, cool white SMD LEDS in map, dome, trunk and License Plate lights

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                    • #11
                      Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

                      You probably need a fine swirl remover. Heard good things about SwirlX but haven't used it myself. Always start with the weakest compound then move on to the more aggressive stuff if it doesn't work (ScratchX, Ultimate Compound).

                      Yes, I'm a Meguiar's fanboy.
                      <-- Gray G6? Click!
                      2006 G6 SE V6 3.5L Sedan "Sharon", Stealth Gray Metallic, 1SA+CF5+PCM+PDX - Sold but will not be forgotten... will always have a special place in my heart.
                      2006 Solstice 2.4L I4 "Kristin", Shadow Gray Metallic, 1SA+JL9+G80+PCQ+ZQ2+ZQ3
                      Life moves fast, don't miss a thing.

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                      • #12
                        Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

                        i dont get what a grit guard does...and where can i get a washing mit / does it come in pink? =)

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                        • #13
                          Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

                          grit guard keeps the stones and small stuff that will scratch ur paint underneath so that it doesnt get on your mit when you are washing ur ca.

                          here is one with pink AND lime green:
                          Paying someone to install parts on your car, and bragging about it being fast is like watching someone SMURF your wife, and being proud to raise the kids
                          sigpic
                          Progression Page
                          Four Door Mafia

                          Forever Pontiac
                          Sponsored by: Negrotis™ Racing

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                          • #14
                            Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

                            Great How to

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: HOW TO: Properly Wash Your Car.

                              OH AND how to i do it so i dont get those annoying fucking water spots all over my windshield and shit

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