My washing regimen and foam gun use
- Thread starter Striker
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DetailZeus
New member
Eh, the lesser of two evils I guess. We get bad weather here in the midwest and I figure its better than leaving that sludge on your car the whole winter. I prefer to just spray it down at the self serve when I can find one.
Accumulator
Well-known member
DetailZeus- Ah, OK...thanks for clarifying! Now I see what you mean 
You folks who endure Winter weather without a heated garage have a tough row to hoe..I`m so spoiled, haven`t dealt with that since forever.
Not sure what I`d actually do at this point if I didn`t have my facilities, probably switch to leasing something and just consider it a disposable vehicle. In other words, I`d basically give up on the Winter Daily for practical purposes
You folks who endure Winter weather without a heated garage have a tough row to hoe..I`m so spoiled, haven`t dealt with that since forever.
Not sure what I`d actually do at this point if I didn`t have my facilities, probably switch to leasing something and just consider it a disposable vehicle. In other words, I`d basically give up on the Winter Daily for practical purposes
Lol there are worse problems out there to have I guess.
I have a heated, insulated shop approximately 720 sq feet plus a loft. But I`d prefer not to use it as a personal pressure washing station.
Tools, work benches, shelving AND my trans am live there. Can`t afford to get stuff wet. I`d probably go crazy
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I have a heated, insulated shop approximately 720 sq feet plus a loft. But I`d prefer not to use it as a personal pressure washing station.
Tools, work benches, shelving AND my trans am live there. Can`t afford to get stuff wet. I`d probably go crazy
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Accumulator
Well-known member
Striker- That`s what kept me from pressure washing for so long, and IMO you *would* have trouble keeping everything truly dry.
Swanicyouth
New member
A couple things I can add to this that may or may not be helpful...
1. Any type of "no touch wash" you are doing will likely leave water spots (unless you are using DI water - expensive for whole wash).
2. I use my pressure washer and foam cannon in my garage (has floor drain) all the time with no issues of getting anything wet but the floor and the car. My garage is like a 2.75 car size with a lot of stuff in it (organized).
3. IMHO it`s a complete waste to rinse , foam, rinse - if you are doing a 2BM or rinseless wash after. Just foam & rinse. Why would you rinse before you foam? Makes no sense. Foam once - rinse once.
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1. Any type of "no touch wash" you are doing will likely leave water spots (unless you are using DI water - expensive for whole wash).
2. I use my pressure washer and foam cannon in my garage (has floor drain) all the time with no issues of getting anything wet but the floor and the car. My garage is like a 2.75 car size with a lot of stuff in it (organized).
3. IMHO it`s a complete waste to rinse , foam, rinse - if you are doing a 2BM or rinseless wash after. Just foam & rinse. Why would you rinse before you foam? Makes no sense. Foam once - rinse once.
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DetailZeus
New member
Picture a vehicle with a thick layer of crud or slush on the bottom half. There`s a good chance the foam ain`t gonna penetrate that. If you take a minute and blast it off you`ve just peeled back a layer so your foam can work on the next. I`m talking a seriously dirty car though. 90% of the time I`d agree.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Yeah, IMO the "pre-rinse or not?" is situational. I myself *always* do it, but I can imagine it not always being necessary.
Coleroad
New member
A little thread resurrection. I finally read the accumulator methodology for washing. I can`t follow that plan as I can`t use the hose with my left hand. Plus now living here in Colorado, water costs way too much. I too don`t do the two buckets, or a grit guard. I have a couple dozen of these plush blue mf towels I use to wash with. First I tell what I do for a wash when I`m going to be applying some fusso coat.
1: I rinse to get loose stuff off
2: I spray the car down with purple power auto, rv, boat cleaner. This does a lot of dirt, road film removal without agitation.
3: I have a bucket with the purple power
4: I use the blue mf towels to wash the car. The mf only goes in the bucket once. I use as many different mf towels as needed. Its gotta be working cleaner than using a rinse bucket. Trying to get all the dirt out of the wash mit.
5: rinse
6: I use the leaf blower to dry the car. Using mf towel to dry what little is left.
i do the same for a maintenance wash, except I use a regular ph balanced car soap.
1: I rinse to get loose stuff off
2: I spray the car down with purple power auto, rv, boat cleaner. This does a lot of dirt, road film removal without agitation.
3: I have a bucket with the purple power
4: I use the blue mf towels to wash the car. The mf only goes in the bucket once. I use as many different mf towels as needed. Its gotta be working cleaner than using a rinse bucket. Trying to get all the dirt out of the wash mit.
5: rinse
6: I use the leaf blower to dry the car. Using mf towel to dry what little is left.
i do the same for a maintenance wash, except I use a regular ph balanced car soap.
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Accumulator
Well-known member
Coleroad- I really like the way you`re figuring out what`s likely to work for *you* and then dialing that in.
I agree wholeheartedly that getting out a fresh MF is a lot better than trying to rinse them. IIRC, Kajunman is using about 30 MFs when he washes and that doesn`t sound nutty to me in the least.
And yes indeed, my Wash Technique is one of those "not right for everybody" things! It`s great *for me* in my current situation, but otherwise I figure it`s just food for thought. If nothing else, maybe I can get people thinking about how/why the wash-induced marring happens; lots of ways to mitigate it once you figure out its likely causes.
I agree wholeheartedly that getting out a fresh MF is a lot better than trying to rinse them. IIRC, Kajunman is using about 30 MFs when he washes and that doesn`t sound nutty to me in the least.
And yes indeed, my Wash Technique is one of those "not right for everybody" things! It`s great *for me* in my current situation, but otherwise I figure it`s just food for thought. If nothing else, maybe I can get people thinking about how/why the wash-induced marring happens; lots of ways to mitigate it once you figure out its likely causes.
Coleroad
New member
Thanks, I like your method, and I`ve seen others suggest doing it that way, It makes total sense. Here in Colorado my water bill is more than my home gas bill in January. That`s using around only 3,800 gallons. I felt like I moved to California. It won`t stop me from washing the cars, but I sure watch how much water I use.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Yikes, that`s really something!
Is there a certain reason why you don`t do rinseless or waterless washes?
Where I live this method has not been used much so have not even thought about it before. And the water is cheap here. But the summer that was there came out water restrictions cause low levels of ground water. So as soon as the winter months is over I will test this out. It`s hard to let go of the 2bm but will it be as safe as possible method I`m in lol. Have added more wash mitts when washing and leaning to more and more to not use a rinse bucket. But I have a really thorough prewash method so my rinse water does not get so dirty. I look for getting more and more safe washing technique though
A tips is that a small PW needs quite little of water compare to a hose. So the use of a pressure wash can accually save water during washing.
tom p.
Active member
We`ve had so much hit or miss weather this winter season that I haven`t been doing much beyond foam/dwell/rinse/drip dry. Just no sense in doing a proper, complete wash `n` dry. Cars aren`t staying clean for more than a day or so. However, the result is really very decent and far better, IMO, than leaving all that crap on the paint. I suppose the coating help to some degree, too.
Coleroad
New member
i would be willing to bet I don`t use more than 10 gallons to wash a car. My wash bucket only gets filled about halfway. It maybe ignorance, but I don`t see how a rinseless wash can remove roadfilm, and not leave a film itself. I just can`t wrap my head around it being a good thing. I have a gas powered PW, but I have never used it to clean a car. I hate using it, but need to for things like deck cleaning, and driveway.
JustJesus
New member
10 gallons seems minimal. I use less than that for rinseless, but for a bucket wash, no. I was curious to find out how much water I was using, and this is what I concluded:
For a pre rinse, chemical decon, then 2BW - Using a garden house and regular hose attachment, I used 20 (+/-) gallons on a 4 door sedan
For a heavy wheel (only the two fronts) cleaning, pre-soak, chemical decon, and 2BW - using a small pressure washer, I used less than 10 gallons for a different 4 door sedan.
and here`s a short video of a guy doing rinseless to clean off salt (?)
For a pre rinse, chemical decon, then 2BW - Using a garden house and regular hose attachment, I used 20 (+/-) gallons on a 4 door sedan
For a heavy wheel (only the two fronts) cleaning, pre-soak, chemical decon, and 2BW - using a small pressure washer, I used less than 10 gallons for a different 4 door sedan.
and here`s a short video of a guy doing rinseless to clean off salt (?)
I was not so clear about how I meaned. Just swap the regualar car soap for a rinseless solution instead. Use the same mf towels and ad drying towels. I don`t know if it`s possible to dry with the leafblower when doing rinseless wash. For how good the rinseless solution is to help desolve road film compare to a car soap I don`t know either. But think that the presoak helps and then the cleaning ability from the mf towels you use is important. Was just a thought about save some more water. You do not use much water now so maybe not so important to save more. Interesting to hear about others thinking of different methods.
Accumulator
Well-known member
[Gee, I guess I oughta put in some disclaimer about how I`m not flaming anybody...but...]
JustJesus- Re that video, I would simply never do that to a vehicle I wasn`t gonna correct and *cannot* imagine how he avoided marring the paint. Unless I`m standing there in a dark environment with a great inspection light and seeing it with my own eyes....I simply won`t grant credence. It`s the internet and it`s hard enough to convince people about such stuff IRL ("yeah, that marring RIGHT THERE..what, you don`t see it?!?").
The now-MIA Superbee364 called it "the voodoo" of rinseless washes I too was awfully skeptical and still haven`t finalized my thoughts on why/how it can work, but it does. Yeah, some [nasty film-stuff] is probably left behind, all mixed in with whatever the RW leaves behind, but it must be awfully minimal as it`s sure not obvious.
Not that I`d touch it with the RW until it was cleaner, but that`s just marring-paranoid me
I hear you on a gas pressure washer being a PIA (even when they work right), but consider...[INSERT my usual advice to buy a really cheap electric one for detailing use].
I haven`t even bothered with the foam so far on the Tahoe. But I *am* gonna give it a proper cleaning pretty soon.
One of these days I`m gonna start experimenting with Touchless via my Lonn Cleaning Gun using both conventional shampoo and RW, but I haven`t gotten around to it yet. The smaller siphon-feed gun kinda works, but I want better.
JustJesus- Re that video, I would simply never do that to a vehicle I wasn`t gonna correct and *cannot* imagine how he avoided marring the paint. Unless I`m standing there in a dark environment with a great inspection light and seeing it with my own eyes....I simply won`t grant credence. It`s the internet and it`s hard enough to convince people about such stuff IRL ("yeah, that marring RIGHT THERE..what, you don`t see it?!?").
Coleroad said:
The now-MIA Superbee364 called it "the voodoo" of rinseless washes
I too was awfully skeptical and still haven`t finalized my thoughts on why/how it can work, but it does. Yeah, some [nasty film-stuff] is probably left behind, all mixed in with whatever the RW leaves behind, but it must be awfully minimal as it`s sure not obvious.Not that I`d touch it with the RW until it was cleaner, but that`s just marring-paranoid me
I hear you on a gas pressure washer being a PIA (even when they work right), but consider...[INSERT my usual advice to buy a really cheap electric one for detailing use].
Tom P said:
I haven`t even bothered with the foam so far on the Tahoe. But I *am* gonna give it a proper cleaning pretty soon.
One of these days I`m gonna start experimenting with Touchless via my Lonn Cleaning Gun using both conventional shampoo and RW, but I haven`t gotten around to it yet. The smaller siphon-feed gun kinda works, but I want better.
wannafbody
wannafbody
I`m going to throw in my opinion of foam guns. The are all show. IMO the lubricity of the wash is in the actual soap which gets diluted in the water. That`s how rinseless washes can work. When you create foam you do so by injecting air into the mix. This creates bubbles. All you`ve really done is lessen the amount of soap touching the car by diluting it with air.
PoweredByJenga
New member
Yes and no. The lubricity is a key factor in preventing wash introduced micro scratching however you need a couple of other agents to enable lifting of dirt and oily traffic film. Oil/ grease is not water soluble so you need oil emulsifiers to help you with it, in addition foaming agents allow exfoliation of top layers to allow agents to lift another layer. Its like peeling on onion.
In my experience pre wash needs to be strong on emulsion with medium density and medium viscosity of foam. Lubricity can be on a low scale (as I`m not touching it). Too thick and super clingy foam does not work as well in that department. In a bucket wash my top factor is lubricity with others rated medium. This is because in a bucket wash i am the one doing the agitation so i want something that cleans ok but is super safe.
Cheers
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In my experience pre wash needs to be strong on emulsion with medium density and medium viscosity of foam. Lubricity can be on a low scale (as I`m not touching it). Too thick and super clingy foam does not work as well in that department. In a bucket wash my top factor is lubricity with others rated medium. This is because in a bucket wash i am the one doing the agitation so i want something that cleans ok but is super safe.
Cheers
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