Washing VS. wax+ Quick Detailer?

J

justinschmidt1

New member
Anyone know if its bad to repeatedly quick detail my waxed car vs washing it??





I pretty much never wash my car cause I just quick detail the entire car since the dirt just wipes off my Glanz wax



Just curious if anyone thinks I should wash the car every now and again or does it really not matter?
 
BigJimZ28 said:
is this a joke?
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Im just curious if anyone thinks its a good idea to wash my car every now and again to get any surface contaminants off rather than just wipe my car down everyday and if a quick detail is as good as washing





If you dont have anything to contribute please stay out since it's a valid question
 
I think EVERYBODY on here would tell you to wash and not just QD





only using A QD is a great way to swirls up your paint fast
 
QD is meant for light dust, smudges, finger prints, etc. Using it for a car that sits outside in the driveway and gets a light coating of pollen on it should be ok if you do it right.



I would not use it after Ive driven down the road.
 
BlueLibby04 said:
QD is meant for light dust, smudges, finger prints, etc. Using it for a car that sits outside in the driveway and gets a light coating of pollen on it should be ok if you do it right.



I would not use it after Ive driven down the road.
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Well, thats what Im using it for



Just to clean off pollen/dust after my car sits in the driveway over night
 
Personally I would never do that. Sounds like using qd to wipe anything off the paint could cause marring. I wash my van once a day and then qd it after the wash and I like results
 
More info on the car would be good. Year, make, model, color. I'm not implying qd'ing only is better on some cars and not others; but frankly it will do more damage to some than others. Personally, I wash my car. I never 'qd dust off'.
 
Its a 96 Mustang gt...moonlight blue



Honestly I just dont have time to wash my car everyday



Heres my paint





2458365324_f42b79ce71.jpg
 
Dust accumulation for me means time for a wash, even light amounts of it. This is especially paramount now that I have Honda clear to work with, the darn stuff mars so easily. I'd rather leave it dusty for a few days longer waiting for a wash then to QD it.
 
As a person who doesn't have a garage, I probably do a few things that people with garaged cars wouldn't. For light pollen on my car, i use a car duster then will quick detail any bird bombs or any spots that fell from the tree. Otherwise, i'd be washing it daily and i just don't have the time. If it's legitimately dirty, it gets washed. It's not like i'm QDing mud from around the fender wells.
 
I've always washed proir to QD'ing. When my black paint is heavily soiled, I shampoo then QD. If it's lightly soiled or a little dusty, I use ONR then QD. Black paint is fussy! I once used my Oxo car duster to wipe the dust/pollen off my car. It marred my paint a bit. I'll always wash before QD'ing.
 
Seems to me a definition is in order - you see I 'wash' with ONR at QD strength of 6-8oz/gallon of water. I spray on with a hand held pump sprayer, wipe off with a wet towel and a rinse bucket (going to try the grout sponge real soon).

So, I guess you could say that my wash IS a QD of sorts.

Kindof blurs the line between QD and wash.



Now having said (er written) that it seems to me that some of the QD concoctions out there aren't much more than scented water with so water soluable lubricant and anything more than light dust on the surface could be a recipe for disaster.



I remember when I was a real newbie to detailing a couple of years ago, I was gonna do a QD during lunch. I used a well known QD spray. The rear panel had some road spray and as soon as the MF touched the panel I could feel the grit against the paint as if I was sanding! I stopped right away - that QD spray did little/nothing to protect the paint.
 
I used to use a car duster followed by QD for light to moderate dust film. Now I rinse my cars off with the hose (no nozzle) followed by QD or Spray wax when Drying.



I havent proved it but I think the car duster might have been responsible for some swirls even with only light dust.



And of course when my wife drives like an animal and the car is filthy then I wash.
 
I wash properly and I don't touch it between washes unless I get an especially nasty bird-bomb.



Back when I had to park outside all the time I just let the car get dirty between washes (and I do the same thing now that they're all garaged). I guess it's more of my Autopian Heresy, but IMO daily life isn't a car show so I don't expect my vehicles to look just-detailed all the time.
 
Accumulator said:
I wash properly and I don't touch it between washes unless I get an especially nasty bird-bomb.



Back when I had to park outside all the time I just let the car get dirty between washes (and I do the same thing now that they're all garaged). I guess it's more of my Autopian Heresy, but IMO daily life isn't a car show so I don't expect my vehicles to look just-detailed all the time.
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Autopian heresy? Bah. I wash my car once every couple weeks and don't touch it in between. Why risk swirls or rids? I know when I do wash it it will look mint every time. Besides, when you have nice smooth paint and a good LSP the car looks good even with it's dirty; but you know that. :)
 
I wash mine almost daily.. about five times per week. :o



However, 99% of those washes are completely touch free. The only time I touch it is if I'm going to be applying another coat of wax afterward.



Just remember that *all* swirls and the vast majority of scratches in your paint are caused by *you touching it* with something. That something could be a wash mitt, MF while QD'ing, etc. If you don't touch it, it won't swirl. Taking your car to a touchless automatic would be better than QD'ing it without washing it first.



I had a repeat customer recently bring me his car for a complete exterior detail. I had told him last year that if he would completely avoid touching his paint it wouldn't ever swirl or scratch. For the following year, he used nothing but touch free automatic washes. When I next saw the car, there were zero swirls, and hardly any new scratches. I was able to spend the entire time jeweling the finish instead of correcting swirls and scratches. The car looked better than new when it was done.



Moral: DON'T TOUCH YOUR PAINT any more often than absolutely necessary.
 
RDAVEX7 said:
I used to use a car duster followed by QD for light to moderate dust film. Now I rinse my cars off with the hose (no nozzle) followed by QD or Spray wax when Drying.



I havent proved it but I think the car duster might have been responsible for some swirls even with only light dust.
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Have never noticed that and this time of year i use it a bunch. Then again, I have rock-hard GM clear and a metallic silver car.
 
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