Car Washing / Basics

[turbomangt]

Here is an article I wrote for a local newspaper, thought I owuld share it with you.

Car Washing/Basics

I spend a great deal of time helping people with their car care needs.
The number one question I get asked is about how to properly wash a
car. Many people are going to automatic car washes these days because
it’s convenient and saves time. The reality is that the best procedure
and the way to ensure a great finish is to hand wash your car
yourself. Before I discuss the steps on hand washing, let’s take look
at the different automatic washes and how they affect your car. I have
had many people tell me their car looks great and all they do is run it
through a car wash once a week or so. I have also heard a number of
people tell me they had wheels damaged, antennas broken, outside
mirrors cracked, and paint swirled from automatic washes. To those
having good luck using automatic washes, eventually your luck will
end. Odds are that at some point your car will get damaged. The brush
car washes come in direct contact with your car’s finish. This is how
swirls occur in paint. The touch-less wash is better for your finish
and is the preferred method for cold weather washes when you can’t do
it yourself outside. The best solution is to make sure you properly
detail your car twice a year, getting a good quality paint sealant on
the finish. Hand wash whenever possible, and only use a touch-less
pressure wash in cold months. If you clay your car during every
complete detail, it will be easier to maintain during the cold months.
(See my web site for how to clay www.perfectautofinish.com)
When you hand wash always use car wash soap -- NEVER use dish detergent
or laundry soap. Work in the shade; the sun can cause water spots.
Use the two bucket method – one bucket for soap, one for rinsing. Use
chenille mitts or micro fiber mitts, don’t use sponges or towels.
Have some all-purpose cleaner on hand for the wheels and tires, Simple
Green or 409 work well. To start, rinse the car, getting it wet from
top to bottom. Starting at the top and working with the soapy water
solution and wash mitt, do a small section at a time, rinsing as you
go. Pay attention to problem areas that won’t come off with the soap,
like tar and overspray. Don’t worry about those areas now; come back
to them after the initial wash. Change water as often as necessary,
depending on how dirty your car is. When you take the mitt from the
soapy water to the finish, return it to the plain water bucket, that
way you won’t transfer contaminants back to your car. After you wash
the entire vehicle, rinse well. Before you get to the wheels and
tires, you should dry the car so water spots don’t occur. To dry, use
an electric leaf blower and a waffle weave micro fiber towel. Don’t
use terri towels or chamois because they can scratch the finish. The
electric leaf blower will get water out from behind emblems, trim,
molding and other areas where water can sit and hide. Next, spray some
all purpose cleaner on the tires and wheels. Use a wheel brush and
soapy water to clean tires, wheels and wheel wells. For stubborn brake
dust, use an alkaline cleaner (see my web site for more info) then
rinse well. Now go back and inspect the finish. If you see any
foreign contaminant on the finish, use a small piece of clay to remove
it. Spray some water based dressing on the tires, stay away from
solvent dressings. Make sure you move the car up a little to dress the
underside of the tire. Apply a coat of wax or paint sealant on
wheels. Keep in mind that it is extremely important to clay your car;
this procedure removes surface contaminants that do not come off during
the wash cycle. (for claying information see my web site) Drying your
car without removing these particles will create all sorts of problems
like swirls and scratches. If you follow these simple guidelines you
will keep your car looking its best.
Gary Kouba, Owner Perfect Auto Finish

[brentil]

ToTheTop
Introducing some of Gary's very informative posts.

[Jeff]

Given the fact that there is a clear coat over the paint, can anyone tell me how important is a microfiber towel for washing/drying

[cerberus]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Given the fact that there is a clear coat over the paint, can anyone tell me how important is a microfiber towel for washing/drying

I'm sure Gary can do a better job here, but VERY important. Clear coat is a very thin, couple of mils or paper thick, unpigmented paint. Scratch that up with abrasive drying towels and it can take a professional detailer to remove, it it's possible at all.

[Chicago Skyline]

I can attest, Gary knows what he is talking about.

My SKY has never, ever been machine washed. Looked after this myself. Two weeks ago I took my SKY to Gary's on the recommendation of another forum member Eye on Sky.

When I picked up my car three hours later the difference in appearance was like night and day. It now has a finish that shines like a new mirror.

[Jeff]

Ok........thanks guys. I guess I am going out to buy some microfiber.

[CJsSky]

Microfiber...

...The only way to dry

[Sunny Ragtop]

Just a few Washing tip I use for my Sky.
1st-I always start with the tires, including washing the inside of the rims & fenderwells (once dry I coat with 303 Aerospace) then start a new bucket of soap & begin with the car.
2nd- I never ever get soap on the ragtop. Soap removes the RaggTopp protectant and when it's time to clean it I use the RaggTopp cleaner then protectant again. I vacuum my top after ever 2 days of driving to keep the dust out of the cloth.
3rd- Amen to the leaf blower!
4th-After ever wash I wipe under the hood, all plastic engine parts I can reach, under the trunk lid, edging of all door. If done every time it makes it a breeze to clean. I even wax the door seals & edgings.
5th- 303 Aerospace protectant all black plastic, headlight covers, wheels, wheel wells, mug guards, fenderwells, etc.

[Texas Red Line]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Ok........thanks guys. I guess I am going out to buy some microfiber.

If you have a Dollar General near you, they have them in stock in bundles of three. They also have a microfiber wash mit.

[bigdog]

Originally Posted by Sunny Ragtop

Just a few Washing tip I use for my Sky.
1st-I always start with the tires, including washing the inside of the rims & fenderwells (once dry I coat with 303 Aerospace) then start a new bucket of soap & begin with the car.
2nd- I never ever get soap on the ragtop. Soap removes the RaggTopp protectant and when it's time to clean it I use the RaggTopp cleaner then protectant again. I vacuum my top after ever 2 days of driving to keep the dust out of the cloth.
3rd- Amen to the leaf blower!
4th-After ever wash I wipe under the hood, all plastic engine parts I can reach, under the trunk lid, edging of all door. If done every time it makes it a breeze to clean. I even wax the door seals & edgings.
5th- 303 Aerospace protectant all black plastic, headlight covers, wheels, wheel wells, mug guards, fenderwells, etc.

With the exception of me doing my tires/wheels last you have my routine copied. Have you been spying on me?

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Texas Red Line

If you have a Dollar General near you, they have them in stock in bundles of three. They also have a microfiber wash mit.

I found some online at ERIE microfiber.......but they didn't have the mitt.......That is something I am going to look for at DG.........Thanks Red Line

[R Sky Rox]

Are we supposed to detail the car as soon as we get it home?

[MidniteBlues]

I would, you would be surprised how much crap is on the paint surface, factory crap, railroad crap, trucking crap, highway crap, all other crap--
Bath it, clay it, bath it again, dry it, polish it and seal it--oh yea, cars in heaven--

[cerberus]

Originally Posted by It's my turn

Are we supposed to detail the car as soon as we get it home?

Have a look at Gary's First detail thread. Short answer is yes, you don't have to, but after a half day of bonding with your new car, you'll be thrilled with the results. You might also want to look over Gary's Detailing kits to get just about everything you'd need to get it done right.

[R Sky Rox]

Thanks--I've already read that thread entirely and priced-out my Super Kit #4, plus the Ragtop cleaner and protectant, a washing mit, a couple of applicators, plus a couple of foam wax applicators. I just didn't see exactly when you are supposed to first detail your car. It says that you want to remove any wax that the dealer or you have put on the car, so I wasn't sure if I was suppposed to wax first or something. Sorry, I'm a newbie.

I haven't broken the news to my husband yet that it's going to cost another couple hundred bucks to protect the car properly. I think I'm going to squirrel away the $200 a little at a time and am hoping that when we pick up our Sky the salesman will ask us if we want the car detailed for a lot more than $200. Then I can say, "honey, we can do it ourselves for around $200 and I already bought all the stuff." Then I become the hero instead of "you spent how much on what???" Pretty sad, when I'm the major breadwinner, hmmm? Well, he grew up very poor and has a hard time spending a dime. I was shocked that he agreed to buy the car, but I did a spreadsheet on our budget, the cost of the car, the car payment, etc. Of course the deciding factor was doing the test drive--once he drove the Sky he was hooked.

We women have our ways! He still doesn't know that I'm planning to get a customized wind screen from Robert at some point, but that can wait. I'm actually looking forward to giving our baby her first detail. My husband will be in shock, because I hardly ever wash our van. There's really no incentive to have a bright, shiny van. This is going to be waaaaaay different.

Thanks for your input.

[cerberus]

Originally Posted by It's my turn

We women have our ways!

Not going to question you there.

I treated my Sky top with the Ragtopp kit two weeks ago while I hit my 10 year old SC2 with Gary's superkit. There's a thread around here somewhere which describes the the Ragtop process. The short of it is to stuff a bunch of newspaper or towels around the edges of your top so you don't spray any of it on the paint. Between coats on the Sky top, I did the full first detail for practice on the SC2. Very easy. Even though the car's brand new, you'll still remove any wax or whatever. Just soak it in Dawn dishwashing liquid solution. This is the only time you'll want to use dishwashing detergent. I lathered it up and went back to the Sky. Washed it off and continued on with claying and all the rest. As far as justification? Well you have your ways, but the sealant in Gary's kit is equivalent to the sealent the dealer may want $700 for, so it's an easy pitch there. Much more to this than just claying, not that it's that much harder or time consuming and the results will blow you away.

[Skykid]

Hi, Skykid here. I'm the proud new owner of an 07 RL Sky and loving every second of it. I thought my inside knowledge would be useful especially on this subject. I used to work in the detail department for Saturn. I liked my job a lot and the dealership was awesome. This is not a knock on the dealership by any means and I do not want to come across as some disgruntled employee. I am just going to state fact about the way mydealership did things and our policies.

1. All new cars before sale are prep-ed using a chemical called crystal wash. This solvent is specifically designed to remove industrial fallout from factory chemicals.

a) (Opinion) I do not like this chemical at all. It is toxic and may cause micro scratches in the protective coating that could posibbly lead to more permanent damage such as swirling in the cars finish.

2. All cars are washed with brushes and dried with chamois. The detail department uses brushes to wash all vehicles whether it is a service vehicle for courtesy wash, sold unit for new customer, or (this is a big one) a high priced Caltex to protect your interior and finish. ALL VEHICLES ARE WASHED AND DRIED THE SAME WAY

a) Like Gary said in the earlier post, microfiber and chenille mits are the only way to go for washing your baby. The do not scratch the finish and are completely non-abrasive.

b) In the detail shop we used two buckets both filled with soap and water. These buckets are used all day long and seldom does the water get changed. Think about all that dirt and grime from the previous 20 vehicles scratching the surface of your new car.

c) Don't blame the detailers at the dealership or the dealership itself. Most of the employees make less than $10 an hour to wash cars by hand all day long. They do not care about your car anymore than the drive-through car washes. The dealership has to meet it's overhead costs and money for Saturn has been restricted by GM to allow for product development on new vehicles. How do you think the Sky came to be? The dealerships do the very best they can in most cases and genuinely care about their customers cares and concerns.

d) If you take your vehicle in to be serviced, request that it not be washed or detailed. If not it will be treated just like all other service vehicles and will go back for the usual courtesy wash and vacuum.

3. The most important thing is turn-around time for the detail department. We may have five technicians working on cars and they all finish at the same time. There may only be one or two detailers on shift. You may be waiting for your vehicle for quite a while at this point. The poor detailer is moving as fast as he can but he has five cars to wash and dry by hand. What kind of quality work do you expect to receive from this process? Not to include if there is a new or used car for prep or a Caltex job standing by. He is the only one doing all this. So once again ask yourself about quality.

a) (Fact) The dealer will sell you an expensive Caltex detail as a detail. It is not neccessarily that. It is a kind of detail and we do apply paint, upholstery, and carpet protectant to the vehicle. Don't be mislead or confused though. You are buying a warranty when you purchase a Caltex detail more than you are purchasing a detail. If we cannot get out that stain or scratch or whatever, that is when the Caltex warranty should kick in. They (The dealership) should replace or fix the problem as long as you paid for the Caltex during the initial vehicle purchase. A Caltex will not cover pre-existing damage to the vehicle.


This is the way my dealership ran things. I cannot speak for other dealerships or other saturn detailers. The information I gave above is accurate to my experiences working there. I have detailed cars since I was sixteen years old and am now twenty seven. The info contained in Garys article is spot on and is the way most professional detailers work. Detailing can be a pain but treat it as an art and enjoy yourself and you will reap the results. Just follow Garys instuctions and you can keep that baby in the garage shining and sparkling for years.

Thanks for your time and it is awesome to be apart of the community.

Skykid

[jrarant]

I found mirofiber mits (pack of 3 I think) and microfiber towels (pack of 25) at my Sams Club this past weekend. Only $9.00 for the pack. I picked up a set of the towels.

[jrarant]

Originally Posted by Skykid

a) (Fact) The dealer will sell you an expensive Caltex detail as a detail. It is not neccessarily that. It is a kind of detail and we do apply paint, upholstery, and carpet protectant to the vehicle. Don't be mislead or confused though. You are buying a warranty when you purchase a Caltex detail more than you are purchasing a detail. If we cannot get out that stain or scratch or whatever, that is when the Caltex warranty should kick in. They (The dealership) should replace or fix the problem as long as you paid for the Caltex during the initial vehicle purchase. A Caltex will not cover pre-existing damage to the vehicle.

Skykid

Question - As careful as I am being I hit a curbstop yesterday. (Parking space was on a downslop, curb stop was on the up slope.)

I purchased the First Place Finish which is the name that my dealership uses for the paint/interior warranty. Do you know if these types of scratches are covered?