Very Bizarre "Professional" Washing Advice. - Please analyze->

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Inzane

New member
Hi Guys. I was doing a survey among members of a local car club I belong to, and among the responses, I got this from one of my fellow members. He took this quote verbatum from a local detailing shop's website. I've never met the guy (the detailer) or stepped in his shop so I have no idea about the quality of his work or his credibility, but when I saw the following advice, my jaw dropped....

:shocked



"Okay, the first thing to know is that washing your car at home is bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Buckets are bad. They collect dirt which you wind up rubbing into your paint job when you soap up or rinse off. Brushes, sponges and chamoises are bad. They trap loose grit and grind in into your paintwork, creating a fine network of scratches. Okay, so what's left to wash your car with? And where do you do it?



Use a Magic Wand.

The wands you find at coin-operated carwashes are good. So always go to a carwash to do you car. Remember, brushes are bad. So don't use the foaming soap brush there. You can apply soap with the same wand you rinse with.



Turn the wand setting to SOAP and spray your vehicle. This high speed soap application actually floats the dirt away from the paint without rubbing or causing scratches.

Turn the wand setting to RINSE and thoroughly clean off car. The RINSE cycle on the wand is usually higher pressure than the SOAP setting and will wash away more of the grit and road film.

Turn the setting back to SOAP and go at it again.

Use a clean DIAPER to (NOT A SPONGE, CHAMOIS, WASH MITT OR BRUSH) and break any road film left on the vehicle.

SOAP the vehicle very thoroughly again to float away any remaining grit.

RINSE the car well.

Take a SECOND CLEAN DIAPER and dry the car.

When you get home, throw the diapers in the laundry so they're clean for next time.



So now you know. Go forth, clean your car and scratch no more"
Click to expand...



Please tell me I'm not crazy in thinking this is a very NON-AUTOPIAN philosophy here. :nixweiss I'm in an evolving newbie state, and definately don't want to pick up any bad advice along the way.



Thanks!
 
I would rather put the chances of scratches in my own hands by using the two bucket method, rinsing out all debris with the hose before every plunge into the soap bucket, and general common sense. Most of the soaps at those places are pretty rough and can cause premature failure of any wax you had on it.



Diapers are also not a good idea, especially after using a "magic wand" to clean your car. Diapers have very little nap and are more prone to dragging things across your finish than 100% cotton towels or microfibers. If that "magic wand" missed anything, you WOULD get scratches, and with touchless washes it is bound to happen. I've tried drying up water with a diaper before(windows or some part of my interior yesterday) and it was like trying to dry with a laminated piece of paper.
 
I would agree with Dinz here on this.



Diapers are better suited for product removal and not car drying. When a fabric or material with a smooth face, like a chamois or a diaper, gets wet it makes full contact with the paint and if a wind should kick up some grit and then settles on your wet car......well you will only drag that grit across your paint.



A terry towel, or a MF towel has hundreds or thousands of grit grabbing fingers and they are more likely to capture the grit and pull it up into the toweling instead of resting on the surface.



Either the two bucket method or using a bucket with either a store bought or home made dirt catching grid works best. I would use either a natural deep sea sponge or a lambswool mitt for washing. Wash in a back and forth motion and always rinse after each panel.



Besides, the soap used at those "magic wand" places will remove waxes and most sealants, especially the ones that wash with hot water. The advice given at that website is illogical and contradictory to sound care car.



I would recommend a waffle weave towel for drying.



Anthony
 
Car Washes recycle water. In this guys words, blasting the car with dirty water would be "bad, bad, bad."



Using a power washer at home is beneficial because it will remove a fair amount of dirt and grime from the car without mechanical action, and you have the benefit of clean filtered water.



The two bucket method takes care of his argument against buckets, and a good quality sea sponge or mitt will lift dirt away from the surface.



I think the guy is partially on the right track, but doesn't have all the information he needs to make a good decision.
 
Stutter....Stutter...Stutter...WHAT THE SAME HELL!:mad: Is this guy serious.



A few years ago, I used to go to local self - serve car washes and used those "Magic Wands":rolleyes: and ended up with nothing but scratches and swirls!:mad: This guy must be sniffing some cheap turtle wax!



The only way someone should get their car clean is either be an Autopian...or hire an Autopian....there just is no other way!:bigups
 
I've seen people go out there with a small bucket of water and attack their car in the name of clean. Starting on the wheels and getting the mud and grit off the bottom, and then going on to do the hood. The idea of using lots of water and rinsing things escapes them. Got some gunk there on the door? Use a scouring pad. Use that tire brush to get tree sap off the roof. Rinse once, and only once, and that's only at the end of the job. I know how these folks wash cars because I used to be one of them.



Those same folks would do much less damage going to a car wash and using the wand.



So, with that in mind, his advice is pretty good for those folk.
 
Inzane, that appears to be some mis-guided advice....seriously mis-guided. First off, using a power washer to clean a very dirty car is a major mistake. You end up forcing the garbage directly into the vehicle's surface. How can this be good?



While using a wash mitt or sponge may cause some minor swirling over time, it does appear to be the lesser of evils. There is no "perfect" solution.



I feel the basic guidance provided here at Autopia will be the safest for most people and create the least amount of long-term damage that will eventually need to be un-done.



Your local "detailer" needs to go back to school.
 
Woah woah woah, lets back er up a minute here....

IMO, theres nothing wrong with using high pressure devices to rid the surface of light debris. As a matter of fact, Im sure that the first thing the majority of us do at home, when we wash. You grab the hose, put on your adapter, and blast the surface, because its better to let it float off, then to make contact with it. As for soap at those places, are they that evasive ? YES, if you wax or seal once every other yr. I, on the other hand do it several times a yr (seal), and use carnauba toppers between. To this day, and i still believe, the less you touch the surface of your car, the better off your going to be. Now i say that in regards to washing, and we wash because its dirty. Why would you want to drag anything across a dirty surface. Your first step should be, "remove all lose dirt.". I think thats all this guy is implying. As for diapers, yes, hes misinformed.period. Quick detailing, is not meant as a car wash replacement, just a go to between washes....(Why did I mention that anyway)



Actually, hes right about everything he mentioned in the first paragraph.....1 bucket can be bad, they do collect dirt, which you could end up putting back on the surface...As for sponges, especially natural sea sponges, SHOW ME ONE THATS GRIT FREE!!(When was the last time you saw a natural sea sponge in a bag?)

Your best bet is a chenille.....Chamois, we have already discounted those here on Autopia.....



I think the approach is decent, but the delivery has to be reworked.....

:cool:
 
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