How to properly wash a car
If you dare take your vehicle to an automatic car wash, shame on you. It’s so bad for the paint on your car. First off, all of the brushes wash dirty cars every single day and it rubs right back into your paint. Your car may come out looking clean, but you have to take a closer look. It does damage over time to your cars clear coat. I took my car to a chain car wash where I had a membership. It was very convenient to drive through and have a “clean” car but over the last two years I have noticed a significant amount of swirls in my clear coat that have been accumulating over time. More on that coming soon.
First and foremost in order to wash your car, you’re going to need 2 buckets. one will be a wash bucket and the other will be your rinse bucket. This is known as the 2 bucket wash method, such a creative name. You’re also going to want grit guards for each bucket so you don’t rub any of the old contaminants into the freshly washed paint. Now obviously you need soap in order to wash anything, but the soap depends on what you’re doing to the car. Are you stripping down the car all the way for a paint correction? Are you a weekend warrior that loves to see your car shine brighter than sun? whatever the case may be, make sure you have the proper pH soap to help prep the job for a faster turnover. Now that we have a liquid soap selected, you’re going to need a wash mitt. preferably a microfiber wash mitt as they tend to be the least aggressive on paint surfaces. I like to split the car in half, horizontally, and wash the top half first, then the bottom half second. The top half of your car has less dirt because it’s further away from the road. The closer to the road, the more sediment can be embedded in the paint of the car. For stubborn spots that aren’t coming out of the paint finish, you can use a clay pad or clay bar to remove them. Be sure to use clay pads or bars with a lubrication of some sort. Soapy water will do just fine, there’s no need for a special clay bar lubricant. After completely washing and/or claying your car, you’ll need to dry it to avoid water spots. Use a synthetic chamois to dry your car. It may look wet after wiping it down but wait about 5 minutes or so and the car will be dry (humidity dependent). Okay maybe not 100% dry but come behind with a drying microfiber towel to get the rest of the water spots off the car.
After doing a regular wash on my car I go over the car with spray wax because it is a less time consuming than traditional wax and an easy way to maintain a shine for a longer period of time. With new technology, Ceramic Coatings, brings up a different aspect to the table. Ceramic Coatings are much easier to maintain and keeps your car looking clean for a long time!
