First car wash; Do I need to do anything special?

[Submariner]

I hate to break it to you CJ, but your car is going to suffer scratches at one point or another, it's that simple.  There are preventative measures one can take to minimize scratches (from driving or washing) but eventually, you will need a good polishing to remove the scratches that inevitably form.

Heres what I would do.

1.  Rinse off the car throughly.  Use either a hose (or high pressure washer with soap) to rinse off as much dirt as possible without using a cloth.
2.  With a microfiber cloth, wash the car with a good detergent.  Ring out the towel in another clean water bucket to minimize dirt transfer.  Switch sides frequently.
3.  Rinse frequently with a good amount of water.
4.  Use a drying agent, clean cloth, or water blade to dry
5.  Have a good import or local micro brew

[JWC]

I'd tried to wash and polish my VW.  The paint is faded to a flat red.  The wax just soaked into the pores of the paint and turned the car almost pink. 

Last Monday night, while having a beer and decided I couldn't take it anymore.   I took a two dollar bottle of STP Son of a Gun and sprayed the whole car down and wiped it off.  I didn't even wash it first.  The car looked great.  My wife couldn't believe the difference.   I told her it would last till the first rain, but hey, it looked good for now.

Then, it did rain, Wednesday.  I drove the car to work.  Rain was beading on the paint like it had just been waxed.  The next day was sunny and it was still shining...as well as it is going to shine.

I'd spent almost 75.00 on cleaners, waxes, and a buffer.  A $2 bottle of STP from the dollar store did more in 45 minutes than three to four hours of screwing around.  It looks better than when I bought the car.

[giant_mtb]

I'd tried to wash and polish my VW.  The paint is faded to a flat red.  The wax just soaked into the pores of the paint and turned the car almost pink. 

Last Monday night, while having a beer and decided I couldn't take it anymore.   I took a two dollar bottle of STP Son of a Gun and sprayed the whole car down and wiped it off.  I didn't even wash it first.  The car looked great.  My wife couldn't believe the difference.   I told her it would last till the first rain, but hey, it looked good for now.

Then, it did rain, Wednesday.  I drove the car to work.  Rain was beading on the paint like it had just been waxed.  The next day was sunny and it was still shining...as well as it is going to shine.

I'd spent almost 75.00 on cleaners, waxes, and a buffer.  A $2 bottle of STP from the dollar store did more in 45 minutes than three to four hours of screwing around.  It looks better than when I bought the car.

[JYODER240]

I'd tried to wash and polish my VW.  The paint is faded to a flat red.  The wax just soaked into the pores of the paint and turned the car almost pink. 

Last Monday night, while having a beer and decided I couldn't take it anymore.   I took a two dollar bottle of STP Son of a Gun and sprayed the whole car down and wiped it off.  I didn't even wash it first.  The car looked great.  My wife couldn't believe the difference.   I told her it would last till the first rain, but hey, it looked good for now.

Then, it did rain, Wednesday.  I drove the car to work.  Rain was beading on the paint like it had just been waxed.  The next day was sunny and it was still shining...as well as it is going to shine.

I'd spent almost 75.00 on cleaners, waxes, and a buffer.  A $2 bottle of STP from the dollar store did more in 45 minutes than three to four hours of screwing around.  It looks better than when I bought the car.

Usually the cheap synthetic products are bad for your paint in the long run. But in your case it sounds like you've got nothing to lose.

[Byteme]

I'd tried to wash and polish my VW.  The paint is faded to a flat red.  The wax just soaked into the pores of the paint and turned the car almost pink. 

Last Monday night, while having a beer and decided I couldn't take it anymore.   I took a two dollar bottle of STP Son of a Gun and sprayed the whole car down and wiped it off.  I didn't even wash it first.  The car looked great.  My wife couldn't believe the difference.   I told her it would last till the first rain, but hey, it looked good for now.

Then, it did rain, Wednesday.  I drove the car to work.  Rain was beading on the paint like it had just been waxed.  The next day was sunny and it was still shining...as well as it is going to shine.

I'd spent almost 75.00 on cleaners, waxes, and a buffer.  A $2 bottle of STP from the dollar store did more in 45 minutes than three to four hours of screwing around.  It looks better than when I bought the car.

I knew a guy in high school who worked in a full service gas station evenings and weekends.  One day an old farmer brought in his car, an old green chevy, probably early 50's model and wanted a wash and wax.  My friend couldn't get a shine on the car with polish and wax so he rubbed the car body with motor oil.  Worked it in and buffed it and the cr actually looked pretty good.  Didn't last though.

[JWC]

I knew a guy in high school who worked in a full service gas station evenings and weekends.  One day an old farmer brought in his car, an old green chevy, probably early 50's model and wanted a wash and wax.  My friend couldn't get a shine on the car with polish and wax so he rubbed the car body with motor oil.  Worked it in and buffed it and the cr actually looked pretty good.  Didn't last though.

That is how the idea started.  I forgot to put the oil filler cap back on and drove the car about two miles.  It splattered oil on the right rear fender and where there was oil, there wasn't pink any more.  So...feeling I indeed had nothing to lose...

[giant_mtb]

Good thing we have clearcoats now so we don't have to do such things.

[Raza]

Okay, I'm going to get a wash mitt from VW, and then pull out my Mr. Clean Autodry. 

What kind of soap should I use?  I think the Mr. Clean has its own soap.  Is that cool? 

Also, as far as wheel cleaners go.  I have this Prestone Wheel Cleaner with Brake Dust Repellent sitting in my garage.  I can't say accurately how long it's been there, but I remember buying it when I was in high school, so at least four years ago.  Is that still good, and is it an okay product to use on my wheels?

[giant_mtb]

Yeah, you're supposed to use the Mr. Clean soap 'cause it's got the "dry-rinse polymers" that help it dry spot-free.  Also, IIRC, the manual/gun says that using other soaps could clog the water filter.   I used to use the Mr. Clean Autodry method, but I found that it never did actually dry all that spot-free, but it was close enough that it was certainly satisfying for an average wash, and it was better than normal soap/water.

I'm sure that wheel cleaner will be fine. Just spray it on and wipe the wheels down with a rag or some other dirty-able cloth.

Get some tire shine, too!  Gels last longer and sling less than sprays; and obviously get an applicator pad for it.  Shiny tires really set off the look of a vehicle, I think. 

[JWC]

I hate shiny tires.

I just scrub mine to get brake dust off and let it go.  Well, not on my car, but the wife's.

[CJ]

I would get Meguiars Endurance Tire Gel.  And I just use soap and water to clean my wheels.  It usually works fine...

[Raza]

I haven't used tire shine since the sidewalls on my friend's Impala rolled over and he nearly slid off the road because of the tire shine. 

I don't mind the look, but I'm not going to go out of my way to shine them. 

[Raza]

I'm picking up one wash mitt for my car, and one wash mitt for my wheels.  Does that work?

[JYODER240]

Yeah, get two buckets too.

[Raza]

Yeah, get two buckets too.

If I use the Mr. Clean Autodry, I don't really need a bucket for that; the soap sprays on after you rinse.  And the wheel cleaner is spray and wipe.  Do I really need buckets at all?

[JYODER240]

I don't know I've never used one

[Raza]

So here's the plan:

1.  Spray down the wheels and wipe them them off with Mitt A.
2.  Wash car
     a.  Rinse
     b.  Soap
     c.  Wash with Mitt B
     d.  Rinse with Autodry
     e.  Wait while it dries
3.  Clean windshield with Invisible Glass

[giant_mtb]

Good plan.

[JYODER240]

So here's the plan:

1.  Spray down the wheels and wipe them them off with Mitt A.
2.  Wash car
     a.  Rinse
     b.  Soap
     c.  Wash with Mitt B
     d.  Rinse with Autodry
     e.  Wait while it dries
3.  Clean windshield with Invisible Glass

Sounds good and it only took 3 pages and a couple arguements to come up with it.

[JWC]

So here's the plan:

1.  Spray down the wheels and wipe them them off with Mitt A.
2.  Wash car
     a.  Rinse
     b.  Soap
     c.  Wash with Mitt B
     d.  Rinse with Autodry
     e.  Wait while it dries
3.  Clean windshield with Invisible Glass

If I remember correctly, if you want to get technical, you're supposed to use three mitts.  One for tires and wheels; one for upper body surfaces; one for lower body panels . 

The third mitt is used so that there is always a separate mitt for areas of the car prone to dirt and sand kicked up by the tires...the side protect molding down.   Doing it this way insures that no gritty dirt stuck in a mitt is used on upper, more visible, body surfaces.  Wash mitts should be labeled to keep track of which ones are for a specific purpose.

[Byteme]

Okay, I have no hope of winning this argument but consider this: My car is dirty so I wash it. I decide to dry it with a chamois or a california water blade. How is my car going to get scratched from dirt when I JUST washed it and there is no dirt on it?

The wind blows and crap falls from the sky.  It only takes a few grains of sand caught in a blade to scratch.  A towel would also catch that sand but the blade, by virtue of how it works pushes the sand against the paint.

[JYODER240]

The wind blows and crap falls from the sky.  It only takes a few grains of sand caught in a blade to scratch.  A towel would also catch that sand but the blade, by virtue of how it works pushes the sand against the paint.

On the off chance that a grain of sand scratches your car, it could still be easily fixed in less than a minute.

[Raza]

Okay, so I went at it today.

I rinsed the car several times, but I still didn't get to start until about 11AM.  Bad time, right?

I figured as long as I rinse often and wash in small sections, I should be okay.  Right?

Disaster. 

The soap must have baked in, or gone bad, or something, and after my ionized wash, the car dried to a tie-dye effect.  I was freaking out.  I washed the same section four times, and the same thing happened each time.  After an hour and a half of washing my passenger side C pillar, I gave in, rinsed the car to keep it cool, and booked it to my local soft cloth car wash.

Failure.

They did a good job of cleaning up my mess, at least. 

I think the lesson learned here is that I either need to do it very, very early in the morning when the sun is still low in the eastern sky (my house faces east-west, so there's virtually no shade on my driveway) or later on in the evening when the sun is also low in the western sky.  And soap that's been sitting in my garage for five years may not be the best choice. 

Next time I'll try it at a different time, with fresh soap and a new filter.  I'll buy a fresh gun if I have to. 

Thanks for the advice guys.  I'll take this as a learning experience.

[Byteme]

On the off chance that a grain of sand scratches your car, it could still be easily fixed in less than a minute.

Take a grain of sand and place it on the wet hood of your car and then run a squeege over it with the pressure you would normally use to remove the water.  There is a good chance the sand sticks to the rubber blade and gets pushed into the paint as it's dragged across the car.

And wouldn't one need to dry part of the with towels anyway.  Cars generally have curves, squeeges generally don't.

[JWC]

Washing cars in the sun is just for television commercials. 

[Raza]

Washing cars in the sun is just for television commercials. 

Well, lesson learned.  I tried to take care of it earlier, but I got sidetracked dealing with my two children.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

I wash my cars in the sun, don't have a choice.

The soap isn't on there for more than a minute though(i move fast).

Anyway i personally try to minimize any contact with my car. I do NOT use a wash mit or anything to dry it. Normally i'll rinse with a pressure washer, then apply high pressure soap through the pressure washer then rinse again pressure washer. I then let the car air dry, YES i do recieve water spots from this. However the reason i do this is because after it is washed and air dried(there has been no contact with the car, so NO scratches as all). I park the car in the shade or garage and then after it has cooled down i use a good detailer(wizards Mist N Shine lately) and a CLEAN UNUSED microfiber towel and wipe down the whole car. This removes all water spots and gives the car a "just waxed" shine.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Also raza, be careful. VW paint is very very very poor. It's some of the worst paint in the automotive industry.

[r0tor]

Okay, so I went at it today.

I rinsed the car several times, but I still didn't get to start until about 11AM.  Bad time, right?

I figured as long as I rinse often and wash in small sections, I should be okay.  Right?

Disaster. 

The soap must have baked in, or gone bad, or something, and after my ionized wash, the car dried to a tie-dye effect.  I was freaking out.  I washed the same section four times, and the same thing happened each time.  After an hour and a half of washing my passenger side C pillar, I gave in, rinsed the car to keep it cool, and booked it to my local soft cloth car wash.

Failure.

They did a good job of cleaning up my mess, at least. 

I think the lesson learned here is that I either need to do it very, very early in the morning when the sun is still low in the eastern sky (my house faces east-west, so there's virtually no shade on my driveway) or later on in the evening when the sun is also low in the western sky.  And soap that's been sitting in my garage for five years may not be the best choice. 

Next time I'll try it at a different time, with fresh soap and a new filter.  I'll buy a fresh gun if I have to. 

Thanks for the advice guys.  I'll take this as a learning experience.

your experience has been marginally better then my mr clean experience... i was left with some kind of sticky waxy build-up from the soap

[FlatBlackCaddy]

That bald headed bastard, stick to floors damnit.