Proper way to wash Prius 5

Best protection against rock chips is having a clear bra over the front end and mirrors....well worth the expense, imho.

I like to wash by hand and use a Home Depot bucket with Mother's car wash (never use dish soap) and a washing wand that extends. (Helps reach the roof and is mandatory when washing my ginormous Tundra Crew cab!) Since we have hard water here, we can get spots on the car/windows unless we dry it so I chamois after washing and squeegee the windows. Every summer, the cars get a fresh coat of Nu Finish polish.

The black mirrors and black plastic on the steps in my Tundra (which doesn't fit in the garage) have faded from our sun so I tried some Cerakote Ceramic Trim coat and was very pleased with it...made the plastic look shiny and new.

To help prevent headlights from fading from our crazy Colorado UV rays, I'll coat them with Meguiar's clear coating which is supposed to help prevent fading and has helped a little in the 2014 Tundra but she'll be due for a lense restorer (or replacement...there's some sweet headlamp replacements for it I've been eyeballing for a while.)

 

Your suspicions are correct. Automatic car washes are never a good answer. I've never cared before this car, but it's just too beautiful and I want to keep it that way. If you can't do it yourself, look for automotive detailers in your local area and you can probably find one that does basic two bucket washes for a reasonable price. Locally, the high end detail shop will do an amazing job with all the stops pulled out for $165 ($350 with interior), but there's a college kid starting a mobile detailing business who'll do a two bucket wash and wax for $30.

 

Never say never...

 

I'm 80 and regularly wash/dry/wax both our cars. A hose, a bucket of mild soap, and a rag suffice for washing and rinsing. My electric leaf blower does the drying.

JeffD

 

Just a thought, but if you have the funds you might consider having a ceramic(graphene) coating professionally applied. The best last 5+ years and they make maintenance washing much easier and something you might be able to do yourself.

 

Same here.

 

The electric blower is taking in the air near my hands so it tends to blow clean air. If I used my old backpack blower, you would be correct ad the 2-cycle engine exhausts into the air stream.

Blowing the water off the car eliminates water spots.

JeffD

 

I like too how it kicks the air water out of all the seams and crannies.

 

I assume that you meant water, not air.

JeffD

 

Sorry, missed your reply before.


If I'm dumbing this down too much, I'm sorry. I figure I'll try to go a little extra thorough to pre-answer most any follow up questions. I'm not trying to get every detail perfect or include everything, just trying to include enough or generalize enough so someone can understand what ceramic coatings are and how they fit into the car care landscape.


There are two basic things you are doing when you care for the exterior of your car. The first is that you are cleaning it of any grime and deposits. The second is that you are protecting the paint/trim from the environment(dirt/salts/UV/whatever). For the purposes of this discussion, we're going to focus on the protecting part of things.

There are three main types of paint protection coatings(not including paint protection films(PPF) like ColoradoBoo was talking about).

1. Waxes - These are generally carnauba wax based products. Organic in nature(they come from the leaves of a palm tree), carnauba-based waxes are easy to apply in terms of technique and give a very "warm" glow to the paint that none of the other protectants can do. The major downside is that the protection only lasts a couple weeks to maybe three months before it needs to be reapplied depending on environmental conditions(is it a daily driver, parked inside or outside, high temps, UV exposure, road salts in winter, etc).

2. Sealants - These are generally synthetic or non-organic wax-type coatings that protect the paint. They come in the same forms as traditional waxes(paste, liquid and spray) and many are very easy to apply. You get a "cooler" glow than traditional waxes, but the longevity is better; three months to maybe a year depending on the product and the conditions. Turtle Wax Ice Seal n Shine Hybrid is a good example of a spray type sealant.

3. Ceramics - The next step up is the ceramic coatings. This includes graphene coatings, which are actually ceramic coatings with graphene added. Ceramics use silica(SiO2) that bonds to the paint to protect it. Ceramics have some amazing properties like really good UV protection, insane hydrophobic properties(water flies right off like RainX on steroids), long-lasting durability(multi-year in most cases), very good chemical resistance(soaps don't wash the protection away), and contaminants like bug guts, tar, dirt, salts, etc. have a hard time sticking to the car making it easier to wash them off. The negatives are the cost, difficulty to apply in most cases, the prep work that really should be done before application, and that they tend to be more susceptible to water spots.

The water spotting issue is one of the reasons for the development of the graphene variants. Among other things, the graphene is supposed to increase the surface angle(whatever that is) and also lower the surface temp of the paint(because science), which gives a longer window to dry off the car before the spots form. The jury is still out on where exactly graphene stands on the amazing product<-->snake oil spectrum. Ceramics are somewhat new in general(compared to waxes and sealants), and graphenes are newer than that.

Ceramics come in two basic forms - glass bottle and spray bottle. Glass bottle is the original type and the best, but it's unforgiving in application and it's expensive. While a car owner can learn to do it themselves, it probably shouldn't be the first protectant a person tries to learn. In the last few years, producers have come out with diluted ceramics and ceramic hybrids in spray bottle form. These are much easier to apply for the novice, but the protection is much less. 6-12 months for most cases, occasionally 12-24 months for some products in some conditions. By comparison, professional glass bottle types start at 2 years and go up to 7 years or more. With the spray bottle type, you spray it on an applicator pad, apply the pad to the vehicle in a crosshatch pattern, let it set for a time(read the bottle), then come back and wipe/buff the excess off. Done. Some you even just spray directly on the car, wipe in, and buff off. Two good examples of the spray bottle type ceramic/graphene are the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating and the 303 Graphene Spray Coating.



Ok, so why is glass bottle ceramic so tough to apply? A big chunk is that it really needs a perfect paint surface for it to bond properly in order to get the multi-year performance. You should always have a great surface before applying any protectant, but since most only last 3-12 months, it's not as critical because you were always going to reapply the protection anyway. But if you are hoping for 3-5 years before reapplying a ceramic, you need that paint surface to be really, really good. And that's not fun or easy. Here is a rough idea of the steps:

1. Pre wash(foam cannon + rinse) - just to get the easy stuff off and start to soften up the tough stuff
2. Strip wash(two bucket method) - a thorough wash using a strong soap designed to break down any old waxes/sealants on the car
3. Bug and tar(spray on + agitate + rinse) - get rid of it all
4. Iron decontamination(spray on + rinse) - iron particles from rail transport, brake dust, etc. will turn orange as they rust and must be removed
5. Clay bar - not fun; entire car must be worked over thoroughly with a clay bar to get any other contaminants off
6. Rinse and dry thoroughly - no water spots
7. Machine compounding - gets rid of oxidation and minor scratches and swirls(might not be necessary on a brand new car)
8. Machine polishing - removes any last contaminants, evens out the paint, creates the best possible shine
9. IPA wipe down - isopropyl alcohol(not India pale ale - lol); gets the last suspended contaminants off - polish residue, fingerprint oils, stuff that has settled on the car as you've been working. etc.

And now you can finally apply the ceramic coating. And if you have to stop and you leave the car outside, you get to do steps 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9 all over again(though you can use a regular soap in step 3 instead of the stripping soap). If you drive it in between, then everything but 7 and 8. This is why a professional application of a ceramic coating should be expensive; it's a whole lot of labor to do it right. If someone says they'll do it for $50-$100, they're skipping all the proper prep. There are also ceramic variants for plastic trim and windshield/window glass that can be applied at the same time to fully protect the car.



Okay, so you've spent the money to have the ceramic coating properly applied. What now? Well your car is going to look great and it's not really going to get dirty anymore compared to other cars. The surface is now so slick that dirt has a hard time sticking to it. And just water will wash most of it off. Instead of having to use a bucket of suds and rubbing all over the car to get it clean(with all the stretching and bending over that comes with it), you could use a good foam cannon with good snow foam soap and a cheap pressure washer($100 Ryobi works fine) to get the car looking really great with minimal strain on your back. A light washing every month or so with the pressure washer, and the application of a ceramic "topper" a few times a year to help out the base coat(toppers only need a regular wash before applying, not the long prep list above). Toppers are reasonably forgiving to apply, so you could have the detailing shop that applied the ceramic coat do it, or just find someone willing to make a couple bucks(or someone that owes you a favor ). Most are just one of the ceramic/graphene spray bottle types.


I know this was a ton of stuff if it was mostly new to you. I've been diving into it pretty hard for the last year as I've prepped for getting my first brand new car, and I'm still overwhelmed with all the stuff and terms(and I'm not even in the same zip code as a real expert, just someone who's starting to get the basics down). I also have some mobility issues but want to keep my new car looking great, so I'm probably going to go with a professionally applied graphene and then do the washing and topping myself. I'm also considering a paint protection film for the front of the car since I do a lot of highway driving, but you can put ceramic/graphene coatings over the top of those to help them stay clean.

 

I keep going back and forth on ceramic. I do not enjoy car care and the car is outside under a tree. Our local region is $1400 for a sedan. I just wish I had a friend who'd had it done a few years ago so I could get a sense of how good it really is.

 

I'm not 80, but I plan on getting there.

Part of my plan involves doing things myself while I still can, including lawn maintenance and washing my car.
Besides, if I wash it myself there is a zero-percent chance that the person ahead of me won't be washing off a 4x4 Jeep covered with mud and sand.
My neighbor across the street saw me push mowing my front lawn and, offered me the use of one of his riding mowers - thinking that there was something wrong with my riding mower.
I told him that I push mow the front occasionally because I like the way it looks and I get a medium workout while doing so.

+1 on the electric leaf blower!

 

I was curious whether hand washing was particularly necessary myself. It's a lot of labor, and I have to do it constantly.

My main problem is the hard water spotting. It's absolutely horrific on the black paint and glass. Unfortunately I only have street-side parking available and everyone has their sprinklers watering the asphalt. I've tried a few waxes that don't help keep it off. I found a chemical wash that will remove most of it, but it's back-breaking labor (some seriously hard scrubbing), and not perfect. And who knows what paint damage it's doing? Hydrophobic products like RainX make it worse, I can't see out the window two days after washing with all the spots.

 

One thing I'm adding to my repertoire is a quick rinse whenever my car gets rained on. Just hopping by a manual car wash and running the spot-free rinse for a minute or two. Very cheap/quick, and dries with nary a spot. Then maybe once a month, I'll do the full wash, including the liquid ceramic wax, then wipe down with the microfiber towels afterward.

You don't want rain, bugs, or bird shat sitting on your clear coat any longer than necessary. All are acidic. Quick rinses are a nice stop-gap.

 

I mentioned this in another post. What should I do to protect the paint on my door handles and hatchback?

I might have to research getting new car ceramic coating done professionally. I am chemically sensitive and can’t use all of these products. I even have trouble at the car wash places with the scented soap spewing all over the place. Can’t do it.

I’m asking because clear coat on my door handles and hatchback area is worn off. I wash my hands really well but there is always residue on studio door handle etc. and I sometimes bring work home. Basically would have to put gloves on before opening door and hatch, take them off to load and then put them on again. No one else seems to have this problem but maybe I just don’t look at other studio member’s cars closely enough. One handle has crazed paint which is weird because it’s the least used door.

Also not sure about the clear wrap or bra to protect front end. I have to park under trees often which is such a pain. My 2009 is pretty dirty right now with some little tiny dots. They eventually come off but so many and so tedious. I’m going to get close to nothing when I trade it in so I don’t think it’s worth getting it professionally cleaned. The trade in won’t be effecting my pocket. The professionally detailing will.

Want to do the best possible for this new car in my future. It’s part of why I like buying used. Not quite as emotionally attached. : }