16 Ounce Spray Bottles

Tucson buffer

New member
I am a newbie to this site as well as detailing, so please don't be too harsh.



I have spent the last few days trying to review information here. Still trying to figure out the right products I should be using (i.e. sponge vs. sheepskin mitt, brand/type of towels for drying and waxing/polishing). Boy, lots of good stuff!



I am a little confused by the two bucket method.



Unless you dump out the rinse bucket after each time you rinse off your sponge or mitt, don't you run the risk of picking up particles from the rinse water in the bucket?



Am I missing something?





_____________________________

2001 Volvo S60

Black
 
good point.



The rinse is there to ensure most of the stuff is off of the mitt before you re-shampoo. So you are washing it and then re-soaping it.



This reduces the chance of just the one bucket method in which you have both dirt and soap.



I am pondering the 4 bucket method of washing a car. One bucket to clean, the second bucket to clean it off again, the third to make sure, then a 4th to re-soap. Where id I get this idea? A book I was ready. Just PM me on nthat book, a matter of national security! LOL!



Jason
 
I believe most of the particulate matter settles and you should change your rinse water bucket when the color starts to change color. I used to rinse my mitt with the hose after every panel.



Now of course I use the foaming dispenser mini-mf method, Jason, i will switch you over yet, 4 buckets come on :)
 
I think the 2(+)<--- for you Jason :), bucket method is a good idea when you are washing a dirty car. Speaking from my own personal experience, my car really doesn't get that dirty that I have much junk (if any) the bottom of my bucket. I wash my car weekly and in the summer time the only thing that is on my car is pollen/dust and dead bugs. I really don't get any mud, dirt, or rocks on my car to the extent where it changes the color of my water.

But I think in the winter and if your car gets really dirty the 2(+) bucket method is a good way to go.
 
Just to toss in my 2 cents, I prefer the zero-bucket method, using continuous flowing water as the best most scratch proof method of washing your car.



I hold a hose above the mitt at all times. The dirt from the surface is constantly washed away from the mitt.



I also use one mitt exclusively for the top surfaces which stay reasonably clean and are easiest to spot flaws. And I use a second mitt exclusively for the bottom dirtier panels.



Has worked perfectly for me for years!



:bounce
 
Yes Steve, some of the cars I get are really really dirty.



But I don't use the 4 bucket method just making a point, but hey I might switch over since there is like a layer of dirt, mud, tar, and other stuff on cars I detail.



Other Steve, YoSteve, haha, foaming method. Not likely!!!! LOL! Well maybe on the cars I pamper.



Jason
 
I use a five bucket system!! Call the men in the white coats! ;)



Yes, a bit crazy, but not as crazy as it seems. I use the two bucket system for the paint, with wash mitt, and a seperate, two bucket system, with a Charisma cloth, for the wheels, and another bucket (soap, no rinse) for the tire brush (as it is the most terrible of all, in terms of dirt).



Why one set of buckets for the paint, and another for the wheels? Brake dust. I figure, we go to all the trouble to clay, in part to remove brake dust. How does it make any sense to rub the paint with a mitt that surely will have SOME brake dust on it - because soap does not dissolve brake dust. The only way around the problem would be to do the wheels last, but I do them first, mainly because they take a lot of time, and within that time the water on the paint would dry in places (water spotting the car).



Oh, and bye for now. I will be out of the country until Wednesday night. Have a good holiday weekend, all. :)
 
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