Tribefan

That's some amazing work there Clark. Must take lots of practice and experimenting with different products.

steel pony

Thx John...to be honest, i'm down to using one compound. Layering polishes and waxes is a different story.
Proper technique and use of the equipment is just as important as the products you use

Tribefan

I guess I've got a lot to learn. Since I bought this car, I've been doing a lot more reading and researching different products, wash techniques, etc in an effort to keep the swirls, scratches, etc to a minimum. While I have noticed an improvement over previous cars I've owned and "detailed" in the past, I can look at my paint and see that I've got room for improvement. Not to mention needing to learn what to use/do to get that deep wet-looking shine.

steel pony

The easiest way for me to start explaining would be like this...
It's sort of like the older guy walking into a body shop and asking for a lacquer paint for his rat rod, because that's all he's known.

I'm more than happy to answer any questions, so post away!
I'll post some other things relating to products and how they work over the next couple of days.

Tribefan

I do have a question. What method and products do you use when doing regular washing and drying. I'm trying out some CG car wash and QD, but here's my usual routine.

1.) 2 bucket wash method with grit guards. Two (cheap Walmart) microfiber wash mitts; one for the top 3/4 of the car and the other for the bottom 1/4. I also use a separate sponge/microfiber for the wheels and wheel wells. I always try to wash in the shade and not let any soap dry before rinsing.

2.) rinse with a very light flow of water out of the end of the hose to get the water to sheet off the car and leave me with less water to dry off

3.) when drying, I first use an air hose and blow out all the water I can from the usual spots that trap water (body seams, grille, trunk area, etc). When I start drying, I use either some QD or waterless wash & wax to spray the area before I start drying with my microfibers (again, Walmart-bought but the "good" ones they sell). Again, starting at the top and working down. I leave the door jambs and the gap between the body and the side skirts for last.

Do you see anything I should change or any additional steps or anything you'd recommend?

clowe1965

My walmart mf cloths don't dry worth crap. Chamois works though.

Jeffk

I use the leaf blower to dry my cars. Neighbors think I'm crazy but anything you can do to lessen the amount of time you spend rubbing on the surface is a plus.

Tribefan

I use the really fluffy dark gray ones Walmart sells. They dry pretty decent but leave quite a bit of fuzz or lint or whatever. I read somewhere before that chamois can scratch the paint so I never use them. Not sure if that's 100% true.

steel pony

*2 bucket method is preferred, but I've personally never used grit guards for these reasons: 1) Dirt is heavier than water, it will always sink. 2) If you're using grit guards, then you are most likely over agitating your rinse water, which is a BIG no no! The more you agitate dirty water, the more unsettled the dirt becomes, leaving more chance for it to recapture into your wash mitt. Lightly dunk the mitt into your rinse bucket and wring it out just above water line. This will lessen agitation and allow the dirt to settle faster. Too often people will just thrust the wash mitt into the rinse bucket 3/4 of the way, or right to the grit guard, swirl the water, etc...very bad! Think of this...if dirt is heavier than water, then it sinks. At some point it passes thru the grit guard to the bottom of the bucket. If you agitate the water, whats stopping the dirt from coming back thru the grit guard? Nothing! Grit guards are merely a deterrent to say "HEY STOP DUNKING YOUR WASH MITT SO FAR INTO THE BUCKET!" So they offer a little help, but overall they cannot prevent over agitation of the water, so they really aren't needed if you're doing everything correctly.

*Top to bottom method is the best, since we live on a planet that has gravity...lol. Do your roof/hood/trunk (3 tops), then work down the sides. Nothing wrong with a little overkill using different mitts for top/sides, but it's not necessary. In actuality, the "3 tops" of your car take more beating than the sides due to wind velocity and impact path. Go look at a wind tunnel test for any car, watch how the smoke rolls over the car. That is exactly the way your car is attacked by road debris, dirt, etc while driving. The sides of the car would naturally take more abuse in northern states where they would be subject to pelting from road salts, brines, etc. The biggest thing you want to control while washing your car is transferring dirt from one spot to another, from dirty bucket to clean bucket and from dirty mitt to clean surface.


*Unless you have a pressure washer, using the "wet dry" method is ideal. Jeff made the best point...the less you have to touch the car the better! Stay away from those plastic flimsy water blades. They work great, but are also prone to trapping dirt left on the car and/or left on or in the blade, if not cleaned prior to using or afterwards.

*Air hose or leaf blower prior to drying the bigger areas is a great step. Nowadays, with all of the plastic trim molding used on the exterior of cars, we end up having more places for water to collect and drip from. Blow out all of your "hot spots" and as you can work from the top down, letting gravity help you. Understanding where all of those little pockets and collection points are on your car will only help you get done faster.
*Why would you be using a waterless wash-n-wax or QD while drying the car? You just washed it? Remove the water first (yes, you'll have some streaks) then use the QD to remove any left over streaks or missed spots.
*Don't use those crappy Wal-Mart branded (or bottom shelf) towels...the thread count on them isn't as good as most of the others on the market. The are mostly "all-purpose" 70/30 blend MF towels. Order towels online...you'll notice a BIG difference! I'm splitting hairs here, but I don't like MF towels with tags and/or overlock stitching (most common). The edge of the towels (stitched part) is much rougher than the rest of the towel and tags...well if you don't remove them, then you're just asking for one more thing to mirco-scratch the car. Invest in some silk-edged or edgeless towels for the QD step.
*If you're going to use a drying towel, personal preference here is waffle weave. They are just as absorbent as chamois, but have less contact-to-surface area than a chamois, which as Jeff pointed out is the key...less touch=less problems
*you are wise to leave the door jambs and side skirts/rocker panels for last. Since these areas need special attention. Use a different cloth for these areas. Rocker panels take the most abuse from debris than any other painted surface. Don't want to be pulling all that missed road grime and dirt onto a clean surface. Door jambs just like to collect dust, but you must also be careful of grease and lubricants used in the locks and hinges. Don't want that transferring onto your clean paint and causing problems. A good idea here is to have separate towels for these areas that are a different color or put a hole in them or something, so you never use them anywhere else.

* Always remember...you can never avoid micro-scratching your car. Every time you touch it, your adding micro-scratches. Your techniques are used to minimize, minimize, minimize those micro-scratches

*you are missing a VERY big step and a VERY needed tool! Once you have everything done, wash, wax, trim, windows, etc. go over your car one more time with a super plush microfiber (finishing towel I call it). Use this towel ONLY for this step and nothing else. This will help buff out and/or even out any missed spots, overspray from trim cleaning, window streaks, etc.

On a personal note...my steps are:
1) wheels/rims/fender wells first. They are always nasty dirty, so i want to get these clean and out of the way and that nasty water away from the car.
2) rinse/wash/rinse-recheck for missed spots, wash hot spots/rinse
3) dry
4) QD (or wax, etc), trim, windows
5) dress wheels/rims
6) finish towel

*EDIT*
HEH! Forgot to answer one of your other questions.
Using Meguiars Gold car wash, Poor Boy's spray-n-gloss for QD and bold-n-bright for tires/trim

steel pony

The problem with chamois is 2-fold.
1) they "can" scratch because most times when you see them, the owner has been using it for years and has never bothered to clean it...so yeah, there's TONS of trapped dirt in it. I was guilty of this many years ago, but this was when chamois first came out and were the only "super-absorbent" towel on the market.
2) Chamois are considered a "flat-surface" drying towel. They may be super-absorbent, but they do not allow water to move while drying. This causes friction between the paint surface and the chamois. This can result (on a micro level), removal of applied waxes and micro-scratching.

Look at the way a waffle weave towel is designed. As you are drying, the pattern in the towel allows the water to push or move left/right/forwards/backwards into the pockets. This results in a little quicker drying, but mostly relieves surface friction and lessens micro-scratching or lifting of applied waxes, etc.

Nothing can prevent scratching as a result of a "dirt drying towel", so make sure you follow the mfgs' recommendations for cleaning them