Quote:
Originally Posted by Petey80
Oh Kev..... rookie error taking it to the local sratch and wash. They use strong chemicals, shammies and as you witnessed, the same sponge/cloth on wheels and bodywork. But not everyone takes care of their car like we do.
Those automatic car washes aren't great either. As "soft" as they say their brushes etc. are, you have to keep in mind that they're spinning round at a really fast rate. That is going to leave marks on paint work without a doubt. The rule of thumb for proper car cleaning is to get as much dirt etc. off the car before you touch it with a wash mitt.
Personally I would ditch the Elbow Grease and get a Citrus degreaser and a pump sprayer. CarPro do a decent degreaser and you can get a 2 litre pump sprayer for dirt cheap.
Wheels first is good. They're the dirtiest part of the car usually, so should be done first.
Ditch the sponge and get a microfibre wash mitt. Readily available from Temu, AliExpress, Amazon and e-bay. Sponges tend to trap any dirt particles you may not remove with the pre-wash on the surface of them. You're then dragging the sponge across the paintwork inflicting swirls and scratches. A M.F. wash mitt will trap any dirt particles within the fibres.
I think washing everything twice is overkill buddy. If you got a decent citrus degreaser it would take most of the dirt off, especially if you rinse it with something that has a bit of pressure. Even one of those garden hose guns would do. The ones where you can change the setting to jet/full/centre etc.
I would highly recommend a snow foam setup, but if you can't be bothered with that, that's understandable. There are pump sprayers that act as snow foamers, might be worth looking into one of those.
A drying towel is a good buy as well. Again a microfibre one. This will help stop any water marks that might appear.
The only thing you seem to be missing is an LSP (Last Stage Protection). Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer is decent and then you have waxes etc. I can definitely recommend the Soft99 range of waxes.
Happy to give you some links to some products if you want?
But yeah, stay clear of the scratch and washes, I've seen so many horror stories of the damage they've inflicted on cars due to their strong chemicals and god awful cleaning techniques.
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Thanks for the response, Petey. I appreciate the tips.
If I'm being honest, I think its those chemicals that have caused my wheel nuts to rust.
I've got a jet nozzle for the hose pipe, so that's something I guess...
It has multiple settings to adjust the spray pattern.
I've got a Halfords near to me. I think they'll have microfibre wash mits and towels in stock.
Have you ever used Demon Shine before? (Linked below).
From reading, it seems like a shine detailer/wax all-in-one. Make sure car is wet, spray it on and wipe it off. Not sure if its any good though?
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/ca...re-120421.html
I have a little pump sprayer for the degreaser and I think my patio Karcher power washer has a snow foam attachment. I'll have to check the box of goodies that came with it.