What is the best method of car washing?
I normally use either a bucket of water, shampoo and sponge or a hose with a small brush on the end - rather hard work!
I ocasionally use the hand wash service available in some public car prks - £5.99 (no, sorry guv, you can't have a receipt)that is quite effective, but as the car is locked, they can't clean the shuts.
Recently, I have started using a jet wash at the local Shell garage, quite good and not too much like hard work.
Which method do you favour? Is it possible to get a jet type car wash (with a large brush) for use at home? would the ordinary mains pressure at home be strong enough?
Don brbe
|
I use the 'leave it out in the rain' approach.
Doesn't work very well but at least it's easy.
Dan
|
|
i tend to give them a hose down when i cant see out the side windows or if i notice i cant read the number plate, but then i go mad and do all of them not just the bad one...cheers...keo
|
|
|
|
I was told by the experts not to use a sponge because it holds the grit and abrades the surface. Not to use a pressure wash because it forces water into the places where you don't want it. I always use a hose from the garden tap and a fine bristle brush from the Pound shop in Altrincham. Lots of water to loosen the dirt before you brush.
|
|
|
|
|
Around 50 quid would get you a pressure washer, or you could use one of those hose attachments you see in accessory shops, though I have found they do not last very long. You have to be careful with pressure washers, handy for getting salt and crud from the underside but can strip paint and wash grease from wheel bearings, etc.
|
No pressure washers, no brushes, "two bucket method" (one with shampoo/water mix, one with just water to rinse spunge), clay bar when needed to cleanse paint followed by polish (if needed) and topped with wax or sealant depending on type/durability required of final finish.
Lots of info over at www.autopia.org (be warned, some very thorough people over there, including myself when I have the time!)
|
|
just had a look at that autopia site wow i cant believe that some people go that far they blow dry the car .... jeez they must have loads of time on their hands...cheers...keo
|
|
Some of it does veer into concours territory :-) As I only own the one car and it lives outdoors all the time, I'm not quite as anal as some. Still it keeps us out of trouble and gets us out of the house.
|
|
|
|
|
my husband washes our car. its his business as hes a valeter. we use a product called trafwax which if you spray on the car leave it for a minute then use the hose and the dirt drips off with no need to use a sponge. its great .cuts the job down in half the time.
|
I use hosepipe with jet trigger to wet the car and remove loose dirt.
Then I use a large bucket with TWO jumbo sponges in warm water with ZIP Wax (cheap in bulk, very sudsy to float off dirt)
I alternate between sponges, instead of dipping my sponge, I swap to the one that has cleaned and plumped itsself.
Then I rinse using the hose with no attatchments.
Next I use Jet-Gloss on a sponge and quickly wipe all the panels, this makes the water bead like crazy and imparts a shine, then you have to rinse this off.
Then I leather off if it is dry weather, also, like to go for a spin to drain the crevices and dry brakes.
RATING: ***** 5/5
|
|
"anal" = paranoid or obsessive
|
|
thank you schnitzel thats all i was trying to get at but i looked it up in an on-line dictionary and i still didn't understand , i do now many thanks...cheers...keo
|
|
|
|
|
I always use a pressure washer and a sponge, then wax afterwards if the weather's warm enough. The car never goes through one of those dreaded carwash things unless SWMBO insists on it.
|
Car washing in the street is, I understand, not allowed in Spain - possibly to do with saving water?
This means that car washes do good business. Many of the jet spray type have a hot wash -solar panel generated- and I find that very effective. It's not too costly either. I usually have to put in two euros, sometimes three if the car is very grubby. To save head scratching, reckon a euro is about 70P.
No way would I ever put a car I owned through a rotating brush cleaning system!!
--
Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
|
|
Although people on here have, in the past, been a bit snooty about them, the guys at my Sainsbury's do a *fantastic* job. It costs £5 and takes no time, 'cos you're shopping while it happens.
|
BP motorway services give you a "free" car wash (automated brush type) when you buy 20 litres of fuel. Of course I only buy 20 litres at a time. 8-).
If I don't need fuel then its 99p at the Total which is even closer than the BP and that carwash has foamy soap!!.
|
|
|
|
I'm one of those strange people, that finds the job of cleaning vehicles, rather theramutic!
At least you can SEE what you've done, unlike those more mechanically minded, that want to mess about with the oily bits!!
Anyway, check out the Knoledce Centre in www.meguiars.co.uk their sitehas been re-designed, not too clecverly, but certainly worth a visit.
& I'm converted to their products, now, too!!
VB
PS Better answer the Q properly... hose off loose dirt, wash mit, not sponge, lots foam, rinse off gently with spray from hose & dry with flexi blade & synthetic cloth.
|
For once I am genuinely sorry. I meant to remove a single note and failed to check what was attached to it. I have deleted several notes without meaning to.
Apologies if your was amongst them..
|
|
|
|
Car washing in the street is, I understand, not allowed in Spain - possibly to do with saving water?
Not allowed in Switzerland either - more to do with polluting the lakes than saving water!
I used to think it a silly law (along with all the other silly Swiss laws about not using a washing-machine or flushing the toilet after 10pm) but I can see the sense now.
Took a mates Crapi to the Jetwash and it peeled all the laquer off!
|
|
|
|
|
Do it myself..I dont trust anyone else??
--
Steve
|
|
At one time I used to take the car to an establishment who employed very attractive young ladies in tight tee shirts to wash the car. There is nothing like the satisfaction of sitting back watching a pretty girl do it for you! Unfortunately they closed down and I haven't found any where else like that. No doubt Growler would know a suitable place.
|
I do it myself as (a) I'd rather do it for free than pay for a result which won't be as good and (b) it's the only exercise I get!
If a "ladies in t-shirt" car wash was to open around Reading, though, I could change my mind.....
--
Mattster
Boycott shoddy build and reliability.
|
The last time I washed a car would be........mmm........dunno.
I put the Landcruiser through a car wash about this time last year, but the Galaxy has never been washed.
|
Just been out doing mine and Mrs smokie's. They get done about every week, somtimes I skip a week. Hose thoroughly and leave to soak then wash with running water from hose and a sponge. Sometimes I wipe excess off with a chamois afterwards. Can't see the point of shampoo or any other additive. Twice a year (Spring and Autumn) I autoglym them which probably makes them easier to wash with cold water (maybe not tho). Also once in a while I do screens inside and out with Autoglym window polish.
But the interiors hardly ever get cleaned.
|
I can put up with grubby bodywork, but I hate a dirty interior. It grates on me and I have to do something about it even if there is the slightest bit of dirt on the mats.
Incidently, has anyone else noticed that while women are generally more clenliness concious than men, the inside of their cars mostly resemble pig stys. I wonder why?
|
Try Buzbee's DIY cleaning kit. Buy a very soft sweeping broom with a 12 inch or so wide plastic head. One that will not scratch paintwork.
Then cut across the (wooden) broom stick, at an angle, at an inch or so away from the head, and also take a little piece of wood out as well, such that after it is araldited back together the head is at 45 degrees. Leave in the dry to harden for a few days.
Having sprayed the car with water, I hold the hose, plus nozzle, along the stick so that it floods the head with water. The angled head means you can easily stand alongside the car to give it a good brushing.
A quick clean takes about 5 minutes. More to get the tar splats off. No paintwork scratches at all. My high pressure unit is much less useful.
So that the broom head does not come off, due to the water softening the araldite, store the broom, head uppermost, in a dry area. You can get 5 years out of a broom, with this care. I have not put a car through a car wash for decades.
|
In fact, if the cut angle is right, you probably don't need to take the bit of wood out.
|
|
|
|
I also use the two sponge method - one specifically for the main bodywork and the other for the sills, bumpers etc.
A non-wax car shampoo by Simoniz provides the cleansing power (it also means there's no windscreen smearing when using the wipers afterwards) and then the car is rinsed down and (sometimes) a leather is brought into action.
I never use a pressure washer other than occasionally for the wheelarches as you can cause damage without realising it at the time if used too close.
The interior gets done two or three times a year - the back seat has an old bed sheet installed most of the time to keep the dog's muddy paws off the velour...:-)
It's not only more satisfactory to clean your car yourself, you can also spot anything untoward that might otherwise be missed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
" It's not only more satisfactory to clean your car yourself, you can also spot anything untoward that might otherwise be missed."
Now I wonder what could possibly be? ;)
--
Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
|
I just throw the keys at one of the valters at work and they bring it back all clean and shiney!
Cost? Usually a bacon butty!
|
|
|
>>Now I wonder what (that) could possibly be? ;)>>
Self explanatory. A few months ago, for instance, I found a slight crack in the plastic front air dam (not noticeable even from a short distance away), presumably caused by a careless parker.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I much prefer using a pressure washer to anything else. Ok, using a sponge seems to be the preferred method here, but i can never get mine as clean with a sponge. A few people say they get water in the wrong places, but I have never had trouble. Just don't quirt it in your door locks and under the bonnet and you'll be fine. After 4 years of using one, I can't live without it.
Mind you, I use plenty of soap, which automatically gets mixed in with the water to give varying amounts of suds. Combine this with a nice big brush, and I?ll have it done in no time. When you've washed, then 'rinse' it off, using a nice powerful fan of water, not forgetting to wash the crud from under the car, arches and other venerable areas. Beats using a boring and slow bucket and sponge ;-)
Dry it off with a squeegee (Hydraflex blade?) and get the bits you missed with a chamois. Job done!
Regardless of how long or short it was since it was waxed, if the water doesn't form beads, its time to be done again.
Once a year, I clean the crud from under the bonnet.
|
I didn't have to wash our Ford Galaxy for about 6 months a couple of years ago!
It was so unreliable that it was in and out of the garage every 3 or 4 weeks and although the good ol' Ford mechanics didn't know how to fix the thing, they always gave it a quick wash before handing it back.
Not the ideal way to keep your car clean but cheaper than a car wash.
|
i wash my car in the rain....
that way it is already wet,,so no pre wash
then after a food spong and soap wash,,,i rinse it with tap water
but because it is raining,,,it will wash away any of the streaking that you get from tap water..
and weather permitting,i wax once a month
|
and weather permitting,i wax once a month
Legs, Bikini line or car ;-)
Jim
|
|
hopefully,,,the wife !?!?!?!? :)
|
|
|
|
>>t will wash away any of the streaking that you get from tap water..>>
That was one point I forgot to make in my earlier posting. If it is about to rain I often give my car a quick wash and then let the rain rinse it off.
The beauty of it is that, as we live in a hard water area, utilising Nature's own rinsing method stops a number of white marks being left on the paintwork when the car is dry.
Mind you it did puzzle one of my elderly neigbours once, who pointed out to me that it was about to rain as I washed the car down. I told him why I was doing so and, ever since, he has also usually washed his car prior to rain....
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Since owning a metallic silver coloured car, I only wash it half the time that I used to wash my other darker coloured cars. Doesn't seem to get dirty quite so quick.
For drying after I've washed it, I use one of those silicon blades. Hardly have to shammy anymore, and cuts drying time down to seconds.
|
|
He does. And that's as it should be. I mucky it, he washes it.
|
|
|
I just read that owners of silver cars are lazy because the dirt doesn't show!
Me too I'm afraid. Cars only look good in pristine "limo-type" nick or well muddied up.
Since washing guarantees to prevent the well muddied up look, leaving only the impractical pristine option, well you can guess the state of mine - the mud does stop the winter salt getting at the paintwork though!
|
If it's really dirty, I use a high pressure wash. Get right underneath and in the wheel arches. The follow with a few buckets of warm soapy water and a sponge. Hose down and leather. In the summer and before the winter a good polish. Occasionally polish the alloys as well.
Result = Megane shines
|
When I first got my Bora (Reflex Silver) it was reasonably clean apart from a layer of dirt on the paintwork; I used a pressure washer (car wash in the detergent container) on it first to get the dirt off.
To my surprise the pressure washer had had very little effect and only a "proper" wash using a sponge actually removed what was only a fairly recent level of dirt.
I do agree with the remarks that silver cars never seem to look really dirty though...:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
