Prometheus
Perfectionist in Rehab
Going to preface this with a "sorry for the long post." Now that that's delt with, we move on.
So I have been tinkering with my wash technique pretty much for about the last year and still I am not satisfied with the results I get. What I currently do is a type of two bucket wash. I use 2 buckets like usual, one rinse, one with soap, usuallly about 3 mits (small car), and then I do a modified Accumulator mit-balloon type of thing. From my understanding, Accumulator barely lets the mit touch the paint, where I gently pull it across the paint with just the weight of the mit and water weighing it down, I apply no pressure. Basically, I stick the nozzle in the mit (shoots out soap as well), grab the mit by the elastic cuff and gently pull it across the paint.
That's all well and good, and I generally get little marring, which is my basic goal. However, recently I have been noticing that on some of the more level surfaces (hood in particular) that it doesn't seem to come completely clean. All during the wash and rinse it looks great, during the dry, still looks good. Only after the car is completely dry can I sometimes see what look like little dirt patches that are slightly streaked. It looks almost like I missed a spot, but you have to be about 8 inches or closer to actually see the spot since there appears to be so little dirt. It does wipe off, but only with some effort. I have thought about QDing the entire car after the wash, but I don't have any towels at this point that I trust enough to wipe the car with even with this little bit of dirt.
So, this is my conundrum, what can I do during my wash to absolutely ensure that I don't get any dirt streaks left, but still minimize marring. Also, what (if anything) can I do to make myself more comfortable QDing with this little bit of dirt. It really is VERY little, as I said, you need to be withing 8-12 inches to actually see it, but once I know it's there I can sometimes see it from farther away. Anyway, any help would be appreciated.
So I have been tinkering with my wash technique pretty much for about the last year and still I am not satisfied with the results I get. What I currently do is a type of two bucket wash. I use 2 buckets like usual, one rinse, one with soap, usuallly about 3 mits (small car), and then I do a modified Accumulator mit-balloon type of thing. From my understanding, Accumulator barely lets the mit touch the paint, where I gently pull it across the paint with just the weight of the mit and water weighing it down, I apply no pressure. Basically, I stick the nozzle in the mit (shoots out soap as well), grab the mit by the elastic cuff and gently pull it across the paint.
That's all well and good, and I generally get little marring, which is my basic goal. However, recently I have been noticing that on some of the more level surfaces (hood in particular) that it doesn't seem to come completely clean. All during the wash and rinse it looks great, during the dry, still looks good. Only after the car is completely dry can I sometimes see what look like little dirt patches that are slightly streaked. It looks almost like I missed a spot, but you have to be about 8 inches or closer to actually see the spot since there appears to be so little dirt. It does wipe off, but only with some effort. I have thought about QDing the entire car after the wash, but I don't have any towels at this point that I trust enough to wipe the car with even with this little bit of dirt.
So, this is my conundrum, what can I do during my wash to absolutely ensure that I don't get any dirt streaks left, but still minimize marring. Also, what (if anything) can I do to make myself more comfortable QDing with this little bit of dirt. It really is VERY little, as I said, you need to be withing 8-12 inches to actually see it, but once I know it's there I can sometimes see it from farther away. Anyway, any help would be appreciated.
Sometimes you have to go over an area more than once. I *always* do every area a minimum of two times, even when washing a basically clean vehicle. The first pass is primarily to get any large stuff (IMO the stuff most likely to cause marring) off safely- this is were I really like the "BHB-jiggle method". The second pass is to clean any more firmly adhered dirt off. I'll be a little more aggressive the second time.
With the gentle washing, I bet you'll find a bit of contamination on there.