New Black car's first wash - help!

B

Blues101

New member
First off, this is a great forum. I've learned a lot. Thanks to all for the great info.



So my wash went very well until the drying phase. Sonus shampoo, two bucket method, microfiber mitt (really cool), Sonus ultimate drying towel. I used the open hose method to sheet water, then tried to dry with the towel. Problem is, it didn't seem that absorbent and it more or less moved the water around, creating very fine water beads and lines. Did the whole car and the towel never got really wet -- couldn't ring a drop.



The remaining water ultimately evaporated, but I can't imagine this is how it's supposed to work. What went wrong?



P.S. I also got a tire brush, wheel brush and Sonus wheel and tire goo. I thought the wheel brush was a big waste, since I needed to use a mitt (not the microfiber one) to get most of the wheel clean between the 8 spokes. Next time I'm going to skip brush and just use mitt.
 
Blues101 said:
First off, this is a great forum. I've learned a lot. Thanks to all for the great info.



So my wash went very well until the drying phase. Sonus shampoo, two bucket method, microfiber mitt (really cool), Sonus ultimate drying towel. I used the open hose method to sheet water, then tried to dry with the towel. Problem is, it didn't seem that absorbent and it more or less moved the water around, creating very fine water beads and lines. Did the whole car and the towel never got really wet -- couldn't ring a drop.



The remaining water ultimately evaporated, but I can't imagine this is how it's supposed to work. What went wrong?



P.S. I also got a tire brush, wheel brush and Sonus wheel and tire goo. I thought the wheel brush was a big waste, since I needed to use a mitt (not the microfiber one) to get most of the wheel clean between the 8 spokes. Next time I'm going to skip brush and just use mitt.
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Have you applied any type of sealant or wax yet to this new car? What you described is what I find happens when paint is in serious need of a good waxing. No matter how good of a towel you have it just smears the water around and doesnt pick it up. Let me know if you have done anything to it yet or not and we can go from there.
 
Hrm, never used the Sonus Drying Towel..so I really can't comment on it.



What I do with the wheel brush is: Wet the brush, spray the cleaner on the wheel, scrub away with the brush, then rinse. Whatever spots I miss I get after the wash with a shop towel, and in the same process drying the wheel.



Dave
 
I would seriously consider ditching the MF mitts, as while you are washing the car the dirt doest have as much of a place to go as they do with sheepskin mitts. I'm sure others can agree. Yeah, having some sort of wax on the car does help with drying a little bit, also, if you have washed the towel with any type of fabric softner it won't absorb near as much because the softner has already taken up a lot of room in the weave.
 
Is this towel new and is it the first time you have used it? I had exactly the problem you have when I first used the exact same towel but after one or two uses it stopped leaving the trails of beads that you describe.



BTW, this was on a car that had a sealent applied relatively recently, and it beaded very nicely!



Hope that helps :xyxthumbs
 
b3mor said:
Is this towel new and is it the first time you have used it? I had exactly the problem you have when I first used the exact same towel but after one or two uses it stopped leaving the trails of beads that you describe.



BTW, this was on a car that had a sealent applied relatively recently, and it beaded very nicely!



Hope that helps :xyxthumbs
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I now see that it's recommended to wash prior to using the first time. It's washing now.

Duh.



Thanks for the encouragement though. My car also has a sealant -- I'm one of the suckers that had the dealer apply ResistAll. Despite some minor swirls, it looks great. Can't wait for the 425 to get here to see what that does for looks after a wash. I also plan to use the Klasse duo in about 6 months.



Regarding mitts, I thought MF was the best way to go with black to prevent swirls. Is a sheepskin better?
 
Sheepskin mitts are thicker, and therefore allow more area for the dirt to migrate to. With a thin mitt, the dirt is less able to move away from the paint surface.

Where are you located Blues?
 
White95Max said:
Sheepskin mitts are thicker, and therefore allow more area for the dirt to migrate to. With a thin mitt, the dirt is less able to move away from the paint surface.

Where are you located Blues?
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Sacramento, CA. Know any good detailers around here?
 
I love my Sonus mf mitt. Just finished up a wash with it about an hour ago. Holds plenty of soap and easily rinses clean.



The nap is far higher than on microfiber towels. You'd have to have some freaking big rocks stuck to your paint to have a problem.



Washing it's a breeze too, just toss it in the washer and dryer with the other microfibers. (But if you wash it with brand new red Chemical Guys mf it will turn pink. :o )





PC.
 
[Insert Accumulator's usual lecture on wash-induced marring and the foamgun here ;) ]



Yeah, MF mitts often trap abrasive dirt and they don't realease it in the rinse bucket. I use them for some jobs, but only after I've first cleaned any abrasive grit off using other wash media. It's usually not about the wash media being soft enough- from BHBs to sheepskin to MF, the problem is almost always caused by the dirt getting dragged across the paint.
 
Blues101 said:
Can't wait for the 425 to get here to see what that does for looks after a wash. I also plan to use the Klasse duo in about 6 months.



Regarding mitts, I thought MF was the best way to go with black to prevent swirls. Is a sheepskin better?
Click to expand...





425 is one product I really wish I knew about when I had my black daily driver. If I were you I would apply it directly to your drying towel and the wet surface. Its sooooo slick that you'll run the water off the surface with max lubrication. Turn the towel over and do a second pass to dry off the remaining water. I like waffle weave for drying. I think MF is overkill for a well maintained surface. I only use it to remove waxes. But the Sonus Wunder towels (polishing and buffing) have the closed loops (no prickly ends). Get a couple of Meguiar's Buffing towels for final touches.



As for washing Ad the Optimum No-Rinse to wash bucket to lubricate the dirt(did someone already mention this?). And ditch the mitts and get a few Sea Sponges. They will lift and "suck in" the sediments. Just make sure to wash it first.



p.s. 425 is my new best friend. It will be going over everything, every time.

Post wash...check

Post seal....check

Post Carnauba...check

Wheels and windows too!

To bad it doesn't work on my Canvas top!
 
Sheepskin's too rough for my liking but Mf mitts aren't perfect either

I prefer the MF as sheepskin falls to pieces



However I now am using seven of them to reduce the amount of dirt/dust wiping

So far new marring is such a small amount that a dab of four star paint cleanser every now and then does the trick.
 
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