How To: Wash Your Car the right way! Lots of pictures inside (56 K, NO NO NO)

[drdellorama]

Hi fellow member, i decided to do a write up on how to wash car, i hope my writeup answers all your question about washing car.

Here are the products i used today: (and place where you can get em)


Meguairs NXT car wash soap (any autoparts store, pepboys, walmart, etc)
Meguairs Gold Class car wash soap (any autoparts store, pepboys, i haven't seen this at walmart lately though)
Simple Green (same as above, i got em at walmart)
2 buckets
Shmitt (autogeek.net)
Cobra Guzzler (autogeek.net)
Armor All extreme tire shine (pepboys, walmart, etc.)
Stoners Invisible Glass(pepboys, walmart doesn't sell the aerosol type, they have the sprayer type)
Meguiars Quik Detailer (any autoparts store)
Armor All Tire Foam (any autoparts store)
Foam Gun (lowes, $10)
and lots of microfiber towels (costco)

Ok, i dont have any before pictures, but my car was fairly dusty and kind of dirty also,

I decided to try two different soap with the foam gun,
Here are the foaming/sudsing action of Megs NXT:




As you can see, it produces fair amount of Suds/foam.
I let the suds sits on the car for 3-4 mins to let the soap do it's thing and then rinse off.
By this time, the car was already clean  :D   i didn't see anymore dirt on the car.

Here are the foaming/sudsing actioin Meguiars Gold Class on the foam gun:




As you can see, it kinda produces more suds than the NXT,
and the megs gold class smells so good!!!
i let the soap sits for another 3-4 min then rinse off,

here's what you get after:




yes, the car is already clean without me even touching it!!

Here's what i use for the Wheels:
Simple Green in the foam gun


Rinse the wheels first


Then spray it on:




Don't forget to spray the Wheel Well also

Next step is to agitate the dirt with a brush:
the brush i'm using is Meguiars



Rinse:



OK now we get to the washing part:
Fill Two buckets with water,
in one bucket, add soap, i use the gold class in this one. (RED BUCKET)
the other one is just plain ol water. (GREEN BUCKET)


here's the Shmitt:


and here's the Shmitt in action:


After each panel, rinse the mitt in the green bucket, after that, dip it the the bucket with the soapy solution, and proceed to wash another panel








Remember to wash from top panel to bottom.

Rinse:


Then rinse with NO nozzle, this is called Flooding the Paint, drying will be so much easier with this.



Compare this image to the one before the flooding, now you see why it is easier to dry off the car with flooding?


Next step is to dry the car with the Cobra Guzzler:
See the Size of that thing??????
i didn't wring the towel at all during the drying of the car.



All nice and dry now:






Drying the wheels and tires is the next step, i just use OLD microfiber towels for this:


Then i dry the engine bay, which i washed it earlier but i didn't take any picture:
then i used the armor all TIRE FOAM on the engine bay (plastic part only)



Next step is cleaning the windows:


Streak Free Finish!

Next, i applied some tire dressing:


BEFORE:


AFTER:




i decided to break out the DP max Wax and applied it to the hood only:






FINAL STEP:
Put her in the garage, yes, that is Duct tape on my headlight, i just didn't want to risk any fogging inside it when i washed my engine bay.


All comments / Feedback are welcome!

[Midnight_Speeder]

Sweet Jesus. I need a lot of those products.. namely the .. dare I say - Armor All Extreme Tire Shine, and the DP Max Wax.

Looks frigging amazing though, wow.

[asbal88]

nice write up.

i need to try that two step wash method i only wash my car once and then dry it.

that Armor All Extreme tire shire is the best!

u didn't use the quik detailer. why?

[drdellorama]

nice write up.

i need to try that two step wash method i only wash my car once and then dry it.

that Armor All Extreme tire shire is the best!

u didn't use the quik detailer. why?

thx!

oo i forgot to take picture of the quik detailers in action.
i basically spray quik detailer after the initial wash, and while the car is still wet.
supposedly it provides you with extra lubrication and helps with the drying

The best thing is, that you can get most of this stuff from your local stores!

[kyasa]

You have a chunky hand. And you are wearing a LA Dodgers shirt 

But on a serious note, your hood works better than the mirror in my bathroom. Your car looks damn good. My car is over three years old and I have never waxed it. 

[drdellorama]

You have a chunky hand. And you are wearing a LA Dodgers shirt 

But on a serious note, your hood works better than the mirror in my bathroom. Your car looks damn good. My car is over three years old and I have never waxed it. 

yes my hand i a bit meaty! hahahah
i'm not really a dodgers fan, but i am an angels fan ( 2002 world series winner against you know who.....  )
i just got the shirt cause it was so cheap, hahahah

you should definetly take the time and wax your car man! it's gonna be worth it!

[ramosdominicano]

Sticky!!!

[zoom_craigy_zoom]

Any insight into how you washed your engine bay?  Did you use the hose, or were you strictly doing it by hand with the armor all protectant?  I'm curious, because on my old car, I washed it at the carwash in the bay, with the pressure washer and it worked awesome.  I simply applied simple green, and then blasted it.  However, on this car, I have more components I would be worried about doing that... (HID ballasts particularly). 
Nice job though.  Very detailed write up, and thanks for sharing the products you used.  I have never seen a cobra guzzler before, but I'm thinking I may need to get one!  That's pretty pimp!  I used to use the old fashioned chamois, but those get really sticky and are hard to drag across the finish of the car.

[DragoZERO]

I use Mr. Clean Auto Dry and it works wonders.

[bossboy]

Great write up!
Good to follow ppl! 

Handwash > automatic car washes!

[drdellorama]

Any insight into how you washed your engine bay?  Did you use the hose, or were you strictly doing it by hand with the armor all protectant?  I'm curious, because on my old car, I washed it at the carwash in the bay, with the pressure washer and it worked awesome.  I simply applied simple green, and then blasted it.  However, on this car, I have more components I would be worried about doing that... (HID ballasts particularly). 
Nice job though.  Very detailed write up, and thanks for sharing the products you used.  I have never seen a cobra guzzler before, but I'm thinking I may need to get one!  That's pretty pimp!  I used to use the old fashioned chamois, but those get really sticky and are hard to drag across the finish of the car.

The best way to wash/detail the engine bay is to use the pressure washer, but i don't have that at home, so i just used the megs NXT in the foam gun with the Center setting on the nozzle, it did the job, my engine bay now is as clean as a whistle, and all of my electronics still works.

you should definetly get the Guzzler, it makes drying a breeze.

[drdellorama]

Great write up!
Good to follow ppl! 

Handwash > automatic car washes!

NEVER go to those automatic car washes, the brushes in that thing will give you micromarring and scratches.

with handwash, at least you know you got the job done right!

I use Mr. Clean Auto Dry and it works wonders.

i don't really trust those thing, but i have never tried it, so i can't say anything about it.

[changes13]

Very nicely done.  Where did you pick up the foam gun?  Does it clean the trunk area too (hardest area for me to clean without scratching things up back there.)

[drdellorama]

Very nicely done.  Where did you pick up the foam gun?  Does it clean the trunk area too (hardest area for me to clean without scratching things up back there.)

i got the foam gun from lowes for 10 bucks!
it'll do for now untill i got the real foam gun.

what do you mean by the trunk area?
just remember to use a wash mitt also, don't just rely on the foam gun.

[randomlinh]

interesting foam gun, I might have to get me one. 

and I'd say do the tires/wheels first... just so if any crap from that gets on the car, it will be cleaned off. 

I'm far too scared of spraying my engine bay.. it's so dirty.. especially since I have no cover any more (freakin mice apparently like to make their home in there in the winter...).  Add a really fidgety MAF sensor ... yeah. heh.

nice and clean though, I just wash/clayed/wash/waxed the car yesterday.  Now to add a layer of klasse every day I can this week...

[zoom_craigy_zoom]

Any insight into how you washed your engine bay?  Did you use the hose, or were you strictly doing it by hand with the armor all protectant?  I'm curious, because on my old car, I washed it at the carwash in the bay, with the pressure washer and it worked awesome.  I simply applied simple green, and then blasted it.  However, on this car, I have more components I would be worried about doing that... (HID ballasts particularly). 
Nice job though.  Very detailed write up, and thanks for sharing the products you used.  I have never seen a cobra guzzler before, but I'm thinking I may need to get one!  That's pretty pimp!  I used to use the old fashioned chamois, but those get really sticky and are hard to drag across the finish of the car.

The best way to wash/detail the engine bay is to use the pressure washer, but i don't have that at home, so i just used the megs NXT in the foam gun with the Center setting on the nozzle, it did the job, my engine bay now is as clean as a whistle, and all of my electronics still works.

you should definetly get the Guzzler, it makes drying a breeze.

So you aren't afraid to just blast that sucker with the pressure washer in there?  I'd be afraid that the electrical components from HID's and angel eyes (if you have them) would malfunction afterwards. 

[drdellorama]

pressure washer is basically 75 % air, so it's the safest in the engine bay,
my HID still works after that,
my angel eyes is a different story, the connectors got kinda wet, so it wasn't working for like a couple of minutes, so i just take my pressurized air inside a can and just blow air into that connector until it dries,
it works fine now.

my buddy club grounding wires are still fine,
my CAI works fine also.

so go for it, it will not hurt your electronic if you're careful
you can wrap your ballasts with plastic and some tape before hand, just to be safe.

[drdellorama]

interesting foam gun, I might have to get me one. 

and I'd say do the tires/wheels first... just so if any crap from that gets on the car, it will be cleaned off. 

I'm far too scared of spraying my engine bay.. it's so dirty.. especially since I have no cover any more (freakin mice apparently like to make their home in there in the winter...).  Add a really fidgety MAF sensor ... yeah. heh.

nice and clean though, I just wash/clayed/wash/waxed the car yesterday.  Now to add a layer of klasse every day I can this week...

yea after i cleaned the wheels and tires, i wash the car with the wash mitt, so it's all good.

give your engine a bit more credit than that, just use a pressure washer, it's not gonna hurt the maf

to save time, do wash,  rinse, and clay while the car is still wet, you don't need to worry about water drying up on your paint, cause the clay will take that right out

[randomlinh]

my bigger fear is getting water into the plugs.  friend's dad got some in an altima they had... it was running on 3 cylinders for a while, heh.

I don't clay while it's too wet mainly because the last time I did that I fumbled the bar too much

[Danger Mouse]

I use Mr. Clean Auto Dry and it works wonders.

i don't really trust those thing, but i have never tried it, so i can't say anything about it.

it works pretty good, especially on black cars, since the autodry setting doesnt leave any water marks. The only problem is that the soap used strips wax

Nice writeup!

[drdellorama]

I use Mr. Clean Auto Dry and it works wonders.

i don't really trust those thing, but i have never tried it, so i can't say anything about it.

it works pretty good, especially on black cars, since the autodry setting doesnt leave any water marks. The only problem is that the soap used strips wax

Nice writeup!

thx!

yea i just prefer good ol handwashing technique

[Wolverine313]

yea after i cleaned the wheels and tires, i wash the car with the wash mitt, so it's all good.

give your engine a bit more credit than that, just use a pressure washer, it's not gonna hurt the maf

to save time, do wash,  rinse, and clay while the car is still wet, you don't need to worry about water drying up on your paint, cause the clay will take that right out

Great Post! 

I am new to this forum... and this is my first post. 

I am planning on buying a Mazda3 Hatch in late November.  I live in Michigan and as you probably know we get snow here which brings out the salt trucks.  Salt can be pretty harsh on a car.  Do you have any tips to protect my Mazda3 (when I get one) from salt and all the other garbage stuff.

Also, what is claying your car? 

Thanks!

[drdellorama]

yea after i cleaned the wheels and tires, i wash the car with the wash mitt, so it's all good.

give your engine a bit more credit than that, just use a pressure washer, it's not gonna hurt the maf

to save time, do wash,  rinse, and clay while the car is still wet, you don't need to worry about water drying up on your paint, cause the clay will take that right out

Great Post! 

I am new to this forum... and this is my first post. 

I am planning on buying a Mazda3 Hatch in late November.  I live in Michigan and as you probably know we get snow here which brings out the salt trucks.  Salt can be pretty harsh on a car.  Do you have any tips to protect my Mazda3 (when I get one) from salt and all the other garbage stuff.

Also, what is claying your car? 

Thanks!

welcome!
to protect from salts in the winter, just give your car a good wax job before winter time.

a detail clay is design to take out the grime, dirt, industrial fallout, water spots that is embedded in your car paint.
it will make the paint smooth.

[mshu7]

Awesome write-up drdellorama!  You're car looks amazingly reflective!  Thanks for posting.  This will sure help a lot of people when it comes to washing the correct way.

[drdellorama]

Awesome write-up drdellorama!  You're car looks amazingly reflective!  Thanks for posting.  This will sure help a lot of people when it comes to washing the correct way.

yep that's why i made this write up.

the neighbors were looking at me all funny while i was taking the pictures of me washing the car, hahahah 

[Wolverine313]

Thanks drdellorama!

Do you have any suggestions on how to clean (or even keep protecting it) the wheel well?

Also, if a brand new car is clean are there any benefits for claying it?

Thanks!

[DragoZERO]

I use Mr. Clean Auto Dry and it works wonders.

i don't really trust those thing, but i have never tried it, so i can't say anything about it.

it works pretty good, especially on black cars, since the autodry setting doesnt leave any water marks. The only problem is that the soap used strips wax

Nice writeup!

thx!

yea i just prefer good ol handwashing technique

It doesn't strip the wax.. if it did they wouldn't have sold as many as they did. Also, I spray the car and use my sheep mitt and give it a good scrubbing.

[drdellorama]

Thanks drdellorama!

Do you have any suggestions on how to clean (or even keep protecting it) the wheel well?

Also, if a brand new car is clean are there any benefits for claying it?

Thanks!

oo yea i forgot to put this on the write up, i sprayed the wheel well with the simple green in the foam gun, and then i brushed it good. Then i applied Armor all tire foam, it keeps the wheel well nice and black

and yes, you can go ahead and clay a brand new car to get all those grimes/rail dusts that may got on the paint during delivery

[wrathchild613]

it's been raining so much, i haven't had a good day to wash her...

first chance i get, i'm polishing her up and givin' her a good wax  :D

[Wolverine313]

I am assuming you are not using a polish, sealant and wax every time you wash.  I am assuming you are doing this only once every few months.  So is there something that you always use everytime you wash your car to protect and keep it shinning?

Thanks!

BTW... this needs to be a sticky!