washing car, scrubbing technique?

T

Tad

New member
Hi,

simple question,



what is the safest/best technique to use when scrubbing your car during a wash?



circular? back and fourth? along certain bodylines?



Like what would avoid causing any swirls or scratches or dulling? any of that stuff?



Oh also, is it really bad to use those big yellow sponges that are shaped kinda like a figure 8, y'kno the 1.50 ones you find in carparts stores?



whats the best/safest thing to use?



thanks !
 
Sponges=bad. They have no nap to pick up dirt, and only press them against your paint causing marring.



I use sheepskin mitts, you can also use chenille pads or mitts.

I use linear strokes.



Try using two buckets, one for soap solution the other for rinse water. I also use 3 mitts, 1 for wheel duty and switch between the other two for panel washing. Also wash your wheels and tires first, and don't use the same soap you use for the wheels on your paint. Dump it out and make a new solution.
 
wow, ok,

i hope a sponge cant do damage after just one or two washes. I'm really broke right now so I couldnt afford a good washmit,

so I only just got the sponge.



I am careful about my water and stuff though, I rinsed the car as much as I could to get off loose particles, and I freshened my bucket a bunch of times during washes.



man my car needs clay though!
 
I do the same thing eggroll recommended.. sheepskin mit with 2 wash bucks. 1 soap water and 1 clean white to rinse dirty mit. Works very well
 
Ever since I got my ultra MF wash mitt, the sponges have been demoted to wheel arch, tyre and wheel cleaning. I'm hooked on these Aquatouch's. With my car I never touch the body with my hand, the pressure washer does all the work. It got the dirtiest it has been for a long while this week but still no worries.



Customer vehicles are a different story however with a choice of either purified water wash or wax free and safe shampoo's.

Getting Wolfgang, wurth, p21s, Malco and Pacer versions very soon.



Use the best shampoo you can find, an ultra MF wash mitt and once your car has been paint protected, wash with water only if you can unless it gets really filthy.



Choice of leafblower, compressed air, MF tricot or WW drying towels for drying and always dry the door jambs, seals, underside of trunk and hood. not much paint in those areas on most cars
 
I used those sponges initially for a pretty long time but I bought 4 sheepskin mitts at costco, they are good and cheap

(there is a mesh on the other side of the mitt for 'scrubing', you can rip that out with your hand and wash with both sides)

I still use the cheap sponge on the wheels, just make sure no obvious dirt is on them
 
Just a quick one to 'eggroll' - why do you do your wheels first?



I do them last using a sponge and the soapy water that remains from the paintwork. Am I doing it wrong?



TIA
 
freedre said:
Just a quick one to 'eggroll' - why do you do your wheels first?



I do them last using a sponge and the soapy water that remains from the paintwork. Am I doing it wrong?



TIA
Click to expand...



Hope you don't mind *my* chiming in on this...Doing the nasty parts first is a safety measure. Hard to control what happens during the washing/rinsing of these areas. Doing the wheels first gets the nasty crud off and gone before you tackle the vehicle's paint. I sure don't want the stuff that gets on my wheels anywhere near my good paint/mitts/etc, so I wash it off first. I'd worry that it might get on something that's already clean if I did the wheels/tires last. It's also the reason I do the wheelwells and undercarriage before doing the "regular washing", so I don't get stuff from them all over the already-cleaned fenders/quarters.
 
Yup that's exactly why I do it, the stuff even gets on my face and arms.



It takes me about 15 minutes on average to get done with the tires/wheels/wheel wells I just want to get it done and out of the way. Also if you are washing your wheels after you wash water spots will form on your paint if you didn't dry already. And if you did dry, your paint gets dirty again and you have to wipe the water off your car again.
 
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