Wash a car, but what tools?

[sharkrules]

Hi guys

Just planning to get my washed this weekend. Since it's my first time to wash a car, I'm getting serious nervous about it....

OKay, back to business. I am wondering will a sponge, a bucket, water and of course some cleaner do the job? Or if necessary, are there any tools which should be added in the list? Thanks in advance guys.

Oh, I forgot to mention, is there a good way to get rid of the annoy bird shit ?

[guy 27]

it all depends how much you love your car.

if your just wanting to wash the car. get a lambswool mitt, 2 buckets (one with soapy water the other to rinse the mitt before soaping again), a decent wash liquid ( i like the smell of meguires soft wash) and some soft mirco fibre towels to dry the car.

for plastic trim and tyre shine, try to avoid products with silicon. aerospace 303 is a good product otherwise if your on a bit more of a budget meguires natural shine is awesome.

if you get lots of bird shit on the car just remember to wash it off asap. also if you got a couple of hours every couple of weeks wax the car to keep the paintwork in better condition.

[sharkrules]

Thanks guy, you are always helpful.

I'm wondering that is it Okay to wash a car without using a hose? Because I reckon there are some restrictions on hose usage in NSW.

[guy 27]

ideally you want to remove as much of the dirt as possible before putting anything against the paintwork. what happens is that the dirt acts like sand paper scratching the paint.

current nsw water restrictions allow

The following are still permitted at any time:
Using a bucket or watering can to wash and rinse vehicles or water lawns and gardens.
Using water from a rainwater tank, as long as it is not connected to or topped up with drinking water.

so if you have a rain water tank go for it.
otherwise it doesn't specify how many buckets you can use so just rinse the car down with a couple of buckets before you start.
if you have a high pressure cleaner that can take its supply from a bucket then you will be fine as well.

[lee]

+1 on getting bird dirt off as soon as possible. Some birds have some really corrosive turds, and they can do bad things to paint work.

Meguires make some good products. I used some of their wax a few weeks ago, and it made the paintwork glisten. I reckon it's probably helped keep the car cleaner for longer as well, as dirt seems to not get stuck as easily.

[gmonkey]

Megs products are some what of the best out of the easily accessable products also they smell nice and a nice smelling car may sound silly but it is very rewarding :p NXT Gen wax is one of the best soft waxes ive ever used for the price.

other than megs, autoglym has to be one of my favourites but expect to pay a bit more. And Dodo juice wax make some good hard and soft wax, havent used their polishes but...

[gmonkey]

FYI due to first wash youve done..

Clean your wheels first
Rinse car with water
Use wash/wax mix (get a good quality one, Megs NXT Gen is good)
2 Buckets one with clean water
Wash from your roof down
If weather is hot recommend rinse off the soap in sections as you progress to prevent soap suds
apply a light fine mist over complete car with hose
use a synthetic leather chamios and dry your car by laying out the chamios and pulling the water to the edge (where possible)
use a microfiber cloth to remove and watermarks you may have missed

thats pretty much it for a basic clean next steps would be to claybar, then polish and then wax it and then use a trim restorer on all your plastics and last but not least a good window cleaner. pretty much a complete exterior detail (make sure u set aside half a day pretty much but :p and be ready to have sore arms)

[sharkrules]

haha, cheers guys. Really received some good advice here. However, I am concerning about one thing about waxing. I got some scratches on my right rear door. Do I need to do something before wax the car?

[gmonkey]

polish might take out the scratches pending on the depth.. but u can wax it no probs

[guy 27]

if they are light scratchs you can try polishing them out by hand. meguaires ultimate compound is very good value for money. just follow the instructions on the bottle.

[motorculture]

or you could jump onto one of our sponors thread ... cough *mothers*cough they've got some great stuff .

how to wash car link (http://www.opelaus.com/forums/showthread.php?27857-Mothers-Feature-gt-Car-Washing)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVTBBL8WDDM&feature=player_embedded

[gmonkey]

Meguires make some good products.

+1

[fuzznucket]

The best advice (chemically speaking) that I can give you ... the biggest No No ... NEVER EVER use wax on your car that contains silicone.

Over the years it will damage your paintworks clearcoat & paint as the Silicone reacts with UV, which releases small amounts of chemicals that react with paint. You might have noticed this yourself on older cars. The layers of wax over time causes the chemicals to become more embedded in the layers, which further react with the heat and UV from the sun (especially so in Australia). It might take 10 or 15 years, but it will happen if you wax a lot.

The best one to use is 3M Hand Glaze. It produces an amazing shine and wont kill your paintwork.