Best Car wash

TomMc

Power washes are best left for under wheel arches, mudflaps etc. Over time, the force of these can even weaken tyre sidewalls. A strongish jet from a garden hose is best for the paint.

The force of a power wash will pound dirt and grit into the paint for sure. Even lesser quality microfibre or cotton cloths can scratch paint so blasting dirt and grit with a pressure washer is only going to increase the risk of marring greatly.

You want to dampen the caked on dirt first with water from a garden hose to soften it somewhat. Then use a lance or sprayer to cover the car in a layer of active foam (highest foaming solution is best) for 5/10 minutes which will soften & loosen dirt from the surface. Then rinse off the lot with with a hose. Only then start a proper wash, touching paint with lambswool mitts using the 2 bucket wash method and so on.

Not much point in using a non cleaning wax like Harly's, without first preparing the surface with a polish or paint cleanser. Otherwise you are just sealing in contamination.

vectra

TomMc wrote: »

Power washes are best left for under wheel arches, mudflaps etc. Over time, the force of these can even weaken tyre sidewalls. A strongish jet from a garden hose is best for the paint.

The force of a power wash will pound dirt and grit into the paint for sure. Even lesser quality microfibre or cotton cloths can scratch paint so blasting dirt and grit with a pressure washer is only going to increase the risk of marring greatly.

You want to dampen the caked on dirt first with water from a garden hose to soften it somewhat. Then use a lance or sprayer to cover the car in a layer of active foam (highest foaming solution is best) for 5/10 minutes which will soften & loosen dirt from the surface. Then rinse off the lot with with a hose. Only then start a proper wash, touching paint with lambswool mitts using the 2 bucket wash method and so on.

Not much point in using a non cleaning wax like Harly's, without first preparing the surface with a polish or paint cleanser. Otherwise you are just sealing in contamination.

Power washers are fine once you dont act the muppet and hold the lance too close to the paint. Use the nogging and stand back to give it a nice spray to allow the heavy dirt run off the paintwork.
I agree with the foam but most people dont go to the "Detailing" extremes, Remember, we are only talking car washing here.;)

As for the Harly wax.!
Why would I not use it?

My car is only 10 weks old :cool:

prospect

vectra wrote: »

Rubbish.
I can just picture you arriving hime with muck and grity stuck to your paint and you rubbing it with a sponge.. Talk about creating scratches.

Power washer first for me all the way.
And no,You dont cause scratches by using one.
I would Never wash my car unless I give it a good 5 minute blow down first with the power washer to remove all traces of grit.

You may 'think' its rubbish.....

An open ended hose will soften and remove much without issue. Always works/worked for me, including washs after being off-road.

Then biggest bugger to get rid of is birdsh.t. The key to getting that off is not to let it dry in. However if that does happen, I put some car shampoo on it neat and let it soften it up first.

vectra

prospect wrote: »

You may 'think' its rubbish.....

An open ended hose will soften and remove much without issue. Always works/worked for me, including washs after being off-road.

Then biggest bugger to get rid of is birdsh.t. The key to getting that off is not to let it dry in. However if that does happen, I put some car shampoo on it neat and let it soften it up first.

Power washer works and has worked fine for me with 20 years or more and never had an issue with it. so "Whatever floats your boat" It is all down to either using it or abusing it.
That is the trick.

As for bird droppings.. i am just glad elephants dont fly
Yeah, The trick there is not to allow it dry in.;)

alpina

Use your heads and there will not be an issue.
Whole purpose of water is to soften the dirt so it drips from the car prior to sponging, power hose does this fast, open ended hose does this slow.

Personal preference, open ended.
Maybe it will not damage a car's paint job in this day & age with the quality it leaves the factory, minimum standards, QC & all that larky, but it will without doubt lift off that wax you spent hours applying & buffing if you go and point a power hose nice & close!

Happy washing & don't forget to chamois dry...:)

vectra

alpina wrote: »

but it will without doubt lift off that wax you spent hours applying & buffing if you go and points a power hose nice & close!

Happy washing & don't forget to chamois dry...:)

Hot water will lift off the wax.
Plain old cold water just will not stay on my paint out of my power washer.
It simply runs off it and leaves a nice beading effect on it until I chamois it off :cool:

alpina

vectra wrote: »

Hot water will lift off the wax.
Plain old cold water just will not stay on my paint out of my power washer.
It simply runs off it and leaves a nice beading effect on it until I chamois it off :cool:

That's my point....

Many convenience stations power washers give out warm to hot water resulting in disolving the wax, which leads to my point of wasting hours of application & buffing

vectra

alpina wrote: »

That's my point....

Many convenience stations power washers give out warm to hot water resulting in disolving the wax, which leads to my point of wasting hours of application & buffing

OH.
Sorry, I misunderstood your point.
I would NEVER use the service station power washers. Its anyone guess as to what is used in those to make the "FOAM" Probably cheap wash up liquid along with hot water :eek:
There goes my wax as you said

Seperate

I stand about 4 or 5 feet from the car and angle the lance at about 60' to the car. It rinses it down without major pressure. I then spray APC under the door strips & on the bumpers, rinse off again...then foam the car and rinse again. Then out with the two buckets and a final rinse.

Dry using a microfiber towel. A chamois will scratch the surface, so they're best left in the bin.

vectra

Seperate wrote: »

I stand about 4 or 5 feet from the car and angle the lance at about 60' to the car. It rinses it down without major pressure. I then spray APC under the door strips & on the bumpers, rinse off again...then foam the car and rinse again. Then out with the two buckets and a final rinse.

Dry using a microfiber towel. A chamois will scratch the surface, so they're best left in the bin.

What products do you recomend ?
If you cannot say on here then PM me
I assume you have something to do with the link in your sig? :pac:

Alz®

I havta agree that Texaco on the Lucan Bypass is pretty cool, and that garage on the Walkinstown side of the Greenhills road is meant to be very good...

I wash my car once a week pending the weather if not every two weeks....

Mike...

Alz® wrote: »

I wash my car once a week pending the weather if not every two weeks....

Had my car since December, washed it once, I always clean the interior weekly, just prefer the muck outside.....shud I hang my head in shame

irish.rugby.fan

vectra wrote: »

What products do you recomend ?
If you cannot say on here then PM me
I assume you have something to do with the link in your sig? :pac:

Loads of help here www . detailingworld . com

stratos

Thanks mercmad you make me look a little sane, I think a power washer is needed in the countryside.

I can hose wash my car and a shower of rain will wash all the muck under the trim pieces down onto the body. the power washer gets this stuff off.

My personal opinion is I would never use a car wash. The 2 bucket idea is excellent and I learned of it here. The wash mitt was mentioned here, I never heard of one, so i bought one I,ll let you know.

OCD obsessive car detailing. Its not washed unless you needed a tooth brush.

washing a car beats hoovering.