Washing, waxing and a few tips.....

I just go to the hand car wash. They're pretty good using only new towels to dry and use a soft sponge method of washing. No issues with scratches.

 

When I first heard of this stuff, I thought it was lunacy to use this product. I simply could not see how it sould safely do the job. Then I ran across a professional detailer in Houston who swore by it. I tried it and have never gone back to washing without it.

Now, being a contrarian, I do not use it per the directions. After knocking off any major dirt with a hose-down and either blow-drying it or driving a few blocks (yes, I know that I'll be picking up road dust, etc.), I spray the car in sections with a mixture of distilled water (my own distiller) and NO RINSE WASH AND SHINE, by Optimum Ploymer Technologies. I just mix it in a garden sprayer from Walmart (oh, my). I first used regular tap water, but discovered that the polymers were so effective at isolating particles, that they surrounded impurities in the water and settled them out. Now, my mixture stays nice and blue until I use it.

Using only high quality and freshly laundered microfiber towels, I wipe the section clean, turning the towel after each stroke and changing towels as needed. If the only dirt on the car is some dust and a thin layer of road grime, I dispense with the hose-down. This method allows me to 'wash' the car in my garage. I have a clean car almost all the time, even when it is really cold.

I've aleady mentioned in another thread that I polish my cars two or three times a year with a random-orbital polisher. Don't buy one at walmart, look online at autogeek or some similar site to familiarize yourself with the machines and their capabilities and then buy one with the best price you can find - I found a slightly used machine on eBay when someone upgraded to one of those expensive German polishers. After polishing and an isopropyl alcohol wipe, I use Optimum Opti-Seal. It is a polymer sealant that you just wipe on in a very thin layer (an 8 ounce bottle will treat your Prius c 30 to 40 times) with a foam applicator and walk away from. You're done. You can do it again if you really want to make sure you've missed nothing after about an hour.

I don't sell the stuff, I just use it. There are similar products that may be even better, but I've used this for years and see no reason to change.

 

I've been trying to get optimum no rinse for a long time, perfect for those living in apartments too.
At the moment I've just settled for using Meguiars stuff. The hard water on my end is horrific, and the hot equatorial sun here isn't doing any favours so I've had to do my washing early in the morning, evenings or in the shade. I'm more in favour of less touching when washing/drying but that can't always be avoided especially if you don't have the equipment/products. I have seperate microfibres (I'd use lambswool if I could but I don't have any) for top, body, wheels (I use a wheel brush too). I don't use a pressure washer, just a garden hose with a head fitting with 8 spray modes and I rinse off at an angle to get most of the water drops off. Like some others here I wash mine section by section, top/body/wheels or top/wheels/body depending on how dirty it is). I'd prefer to use a leaf blower for drying but I don't have one at the moment (and it's good at blowing out all the cracks) so I just stick with a chamois and pat dry (yeah, takes a while but I don't want to drag and inadvertantly cause a scratch). I've heard there are some car soaps that are good to use if you have a hard water problem, not sure how true that is but if anyone has an idea let me know. I'd think it's probably best to treat the water if anything.

 

First time owning a car here. Still haven't washed it yet.

I live in an apartment building and don't have access to a hose. Any thoughts?

Also I live in Vancouver where it never goes too long without a good rainfall. But of course, rain doesn't exactly wash the car, it just sort of clumps the dirt up into a bit of a leopard-spot pattern by the time it dries. Do you think it'd be feasible to try and turn the rain to my advantage? So maybe next time it rains I could apply some sort of product, wipe it down, let the rain rinse it again, and it'll actually look clean when it dries out?

 

I think Optimum No Rinse would be great for your situation, cept I probably wouldn't want to use the the rain water (not sure what kind of rains you get on your end, could be acidic). You just put the appropriate amount in 2 gallons of water and just wipe your car down with it and voila! There may be other similar products but I have not checked any out.

 

Vancouver is pretty low on pollution because of the ocean breeze and the westerly winds. So if there's anywhere with clean rain it's here. But it still might have other gunk in it, not sure.

 

I love washing and waxing this car because its so small..

 

There's a lot of people in that boat, and it's not great. Some apartment blocks do have an "area" with hose bib adjacent, but it can be cramped, and do you want to store a hose in an apartment? Hmm, know someone with a house and driveway?

That's our son's excuse for showing up half the time. Sometime he just shows up, drops of his car, takes off in our baby for a few hours, while your's truly washes his. Waxed it the last time too. Something wrong with this picture, I guess, but I kind of like cleaning cars anyway. Relaxing

 

Actually washing one's car in the driveway into public sewers is against the law in Vancouver, it turns out.

Galaxy Nexus ? 2

 

In that situation I would take my own buckets, soap, drying cloths, etc. and go to a do-it-yourself car wash bay and just use the sprayer - not the brush (DIRTY) - but the sprayer can be used to hose off the car, fill the bucket for your own detergent, rinse things off at the end. If you can find one where you are pay just a couple dollars for a few minutes then you pay to fill the bucket(s) and rinse the car......do your thing.....pay another couple bucks for the rinsing. You'll tie up a bay longer than average so might want to go at an odd time when people aren't sitting around getting cranky waiting.

 

Geeze, that might be. Seems like overkill though. Personally I use maybe 1 tablespoon of a carwash detergent in a pail, and about 70% of that pail ends up poured down a sanitary sewer, back in the house afterwards, not down a storm drain. And there's definitely not an oil slick coming off our car.

I would think the city could fry bigger fish, say people degreasing their engines, flushing coolant. Maybe a decade back I actually walked out and talked to a neighbour from the down the street, when he showed up with his second can of paint thinner to be poured down the storm drain...

 

Interesting. So illegal to wash car at home in the driveway. I wonder how the car washes handle their water? Do they have to treat it before dumping into the water system?

I know government and car washes claim a 40-70% water savings on automatic car washes. Considering we buy Prius in large part for the lower environmental impact, sounds like automatic car washes and the most environmentally and resource friendly way to wash our cars.

 

My understanding, indeed, is that car washes here have special treatment for the waste water.

Galaxy Nexus ? 2

 

ONR in distilled water in a 2 gallon bug sprayer works wonders. Also can use it as a Clay lube. Fresh microfiber towels only touch my car. Detailing time is coming up, Flex polisher, clay bar, Meguires M205, topped with two layers of DP Poli-sealant. Car will look amazing and the paint sealant is designed to have an anti static cling to help prevent dust build up. Love the stuff!

 

I'm still trying to get my head around car washing in your driveway being illegal. It seems like one of those arcane laws (if it is), on the books but never enforced. I'm also thinking: seems like I'm one of the minority, one of our neighbours very occasionally washes his car in the driveway, but that's about it.

What I forsee happening with the tide turning to professionals and automatic carwashes is an increase in rust, coming from those neglected spots: wheel wells, mud flaps (where applicable), basically anywhere the cosmetic wash misses and crud is likely to accumulate.

 

All the local Toyota dealers will wash your car for free "forever". Think about it, they have 200+ cars on the lot and every car needs to be kept spotlessly perfect so the all have car washers on the payroll. So why not let customers come on in and get a free wash? How better to keep a customer for "next time" then to have him there every week "forever". They can't buy better advertising.

It is a very smart dealer trick that cots them almost nothing. My dealer uses a bucket and towels, no machine. They said "come in whenever you like for as long as you own the car. Don't they ALL do this?

 

And you might pick a piece of sand while using it and scratch the surface too!

 

I blow dry the entire car from the top to bottom. ( I have learned to dry both rear view mirrors before starting at the top. Blow dry in the area that you hand washed your car and the water on the ground will keep down dust dirt and sand. There is far less a chance of debris getting blown back on to the car. Think of it, the only contact with the finish is with the wash with soap. Rinse well and blow dry ..... makes no contact with the car finish thus it saved from contact while drying the old style ( towel etc. I am not impressed with micro fiber and will not use them)) MF towels could cause webbing)). . The result is less webbing. Black is my color and as a daily commuter car it is much easier to maintain with this process. It always looks great.

 

Blow drying is great if it's convenient, but personally I use car wash time as a relaxation/meditation time and the piercing noise of a blower is a major buzzkill. Is there a quiet and cordless one out there that is good?

Crappy microfibers [typically at national auto parts chain stores] and dirty microfibers are pretty much nylon sandpaper and are best used for applying UV protectants and cleaning suspension parts. Legit quality ones [like from higher line offerings from Autogeek.net] simply do not scratch/hairline/web. It's analogous to the difference in using a cheap washcloth versus a fluffy Egyptian cotton bath towel.

 

I agree. The good micro-fiber is good. If you can buy good or bad from many places. If it is good enough to clean eyeglasses it is good enough to clean cars. I bought a big bag of "microfiber rags" and the trick is to use them then wash them out good then let them dry and keep them CLEAN. I use them once then when I hav a dozen or so saved up run then all by them selves through the washing machine. The "rags" I bought look like left overs from someplace that was making higher end towels the any real difference is that these have no hem and are random size and colors and sold by the pound for cheap.

The other trick is to keep the car waxed. I do that and even though my car is parked outdoors I never have to use soap to clean it. I only spay it down then wipe it dry. Mostly the hose takes off all the dirt. Good paste wax is slippery stuff, not much sticks to it.