Carwash Poll

[Tofuman]

Originally Posted by Juliane

Perfect! Thanks. So you always hand wash, never use the power hose?

i haven't used the power hose before, but i imagine it would be great at getting the wheels and wheel wells pretty clean.

another step i use in the drying process is use a air compressor to blow out the water from the spots it likes to hide in and drip out of later. mainly the grill, window sills, side mirrors and door handles. but not everyone has an air compressor.

[Super Mario]

Originally Posted by Juliane

Do y'all dry your Fits with something after your rinse off at the do-it-yourself? I have to clean all the road grime off my brand-new (to me) baby and I wondered what everyone does to wash and dry.

I have in the past (other cars) just driven away after rinsing. Probably a bad idea, huh? I have used the brush but I always rinse it before using it and after using it. But I don't want to scratch my beautiful little Fit...

What's a good soap to use at home?

And, do any of you use those dry mitts to wipe off dust or is that also likely to cause scratches?

Thx.

Similar to Tofuman, my technique is:
1. Prerinse
2. Fill bucket with soap and water and use my "dirty sponge" to wash the wheels, wheel wells, and undersides of the car.
3. Rinse wheels and pour out bucket of dirty water. Wash bucket.
4. Fill bucket with soap and water and use my "clean sponge" to wash the body of the car.
5. Rinse away all of the soap.
6. Use Absorb drying towel immediately.

Clay bar and wax every so often.

As for your question on products, about 95% of my cleaning products are Meguiars. They make good stuff.

[Juliane]

Where do you buy an "Absorb" towel? And where can you buy Meguiars soap and cleaning products?

I've never owned a new car and it never mattered what I used to clean any other one.

[Tofuman]

Originally Posted by Juliane

Where do you buy an "Absorb" towel? And where can you buy Meguiars soap and cleaning products?

I've never owned a new car and it never mattered what I used to clean any other one.

You can get the absorber and good car soap at target/walmart or any car parts store.

[TexFit]

Originally Posted by Juliane

Where do you buy an "Absorb" towel? And where can you buy Meguiars soap and cleaning products?

I've never owned a new car and it never mattered what I used to clean any other one.

We loaded up on Meguiars Ice products at Walmart. I've always used Meguiars on all my cars. My 11 year old Civic that lived outside for all but 2 years of its life was glossy as glass when I sold it.

Where is your car? is it coming today???

nancy in San angelo

[noys08fit]

I do by hand, and take a few hours to do it.


I wash the car(use micro fabric sponge)
dry car(with micro fabric drying towel)

then I clay the car.

apply wax

then wax that ass with a buffer..

then she is lookin SEXXY!!! W00t!!!!:vtec:

I use specific stuff also.. every1 has their preference.

[Fit4Pits]

Originally Posted by Super Mario

As for your question on products, about 95% of my cleaning products are Meguiars. They make good stuff.

^ The gold class soap smells so good.

I just spent $100 at autogeek.net. They pretty much have everything you could need.

I can't believe no one has said it yet: **DO NOT** ever use cloth car washes. All the dirt and grime and chunks of nameless particles get trapped in the cloth and dragged all over your car, scratching the paint all up. If you cannot wash by hand touchless car washes are the best option but they use harsh chemicals. The ideal is to do the TLC yourself. It's rewarding to see it really gleam.

I actually skipped work today and washed my car, haha. There's so much highway exhaust and grease all over it tho that I'm planning to strip the wax (using Dawn dish soap or something) and detail it completely this weekend.

My boyfriend taught me well. I typically do:
1. Pre-rinse with hose jet - be sure to focus on the wheels / wells as these are the skunkiest.
2. Use a foam gun to suds up the car and let sit while i ready my buckets.
3. Fill two buckets - one with water only and one with soap and water.
Wash each panel with super soft mitt, then rinse in the water only bucket, then suds up again in the soapy bucket. Rinse and repeat for all panels. I also wash from the top down, as the lower part of the car has more dirt and road grime that you don't want to drag all over and risk scratching the paint.
4. Wash wheels and wheel wells with 2 kinds of brushes - a curved one for the tires and rims and a pipe-cleaner looking one for getting in between the rims etc.
5. Rinse (may or may not soap up again with foam gun before rinsing).
6. Flood. See thread below for details.
7. Use Absorb drying towel immediately.
8. Blacken up my tires.
Also do clay bar and bug removal as necessary.

See this thread on the Mazda3 forums with pictures and explanations (my other half has a Mazda3).

[Juliane]

Will you please come over and wash my car??? You are a perfectionist!!! cubed...

I have to clean my engine compartment, it's all dirty, how do I do that?? Help.

The stupid dealer wasted their time washing the car b/c getting it across 3 states covered it in dust and grime.

Oh, and what is a "clay bar?"

[noys08fit]

Originally Posted by Fit4Pits

^ The gold class soap smells so good.

My boyfriend taught me well. I typically do:
1. Pre-rinse with hose jet - be sure to focus on the wheels / wells as these are the skunkiest.
2. Use a foam gun to suds up the car and let sit while i ready my buckets.
3. Fill two buckets - one with water only and one with soap and water.
Wash each panel with super soft mitt, then rinse in the water only bucket, then suds up again in the soapy bucket. Rinse and repeat for all panels. I also wash from the top down, as the lower part of the car has more dirt and road grime that you don't want to drag all over and risk scratching the paint.
4. Wash wheels and wheel wells with 2 kinds of brushes - a curved one for the tires and rims and a pipe-cleaner looking one for getting in between the rims etc.
5. Rinse (may or may not soap up again with foam gun before rinsing).
6. Flood. See thread below for details.
7. Use Absorb drying towel immediately.
8. Blacken up my tires.
Also do clay bar and bug removal as necessary.

See this thread on the Mazda3 forums with pictures and explanations (my other half has a Mazda3).

I guess if you wanted to get super detailed description. The other was a basic run through.
I basically do the same, except 2 buckets. I just have 1 bucket(soap/water) and have the water hose on.. I do the wax on wax off method while washing my car...lol.

I will also vacuum, etc inside. orange cleaning wipes inside, mirrors blah blah blah etc. etc. my car is NEW. so I wont use the armor all polish cleaning utilities untill later.

tell your hubby.. GOOD TEACHING!!....great job

[ricohman]

All hand washing hear.
Never use a car scratch wash.

[Super Mario]

Originally Posted by Juliane

Oh, and what is a "clay bar?"

Basically, it's a bar of clay. Overtime your car's paint/clearcoat will have contaminants on top of it (especially if you park outside). The easiest way to tell is after you wash your car, run your fingers across the surface. If it's rough and still has friction, then most likely your paint contains contaminants (bug splat, tree sap, etc).

What a clay bar does is it takes out all of those contaminants without hurting your paint. What you do is spray some detailer onto your car, then run the clay bar over the sprayed areas. Look at your clay bar and you'll see that there's a bunch of dirty stuff on there. That's the contaminants. After you do one area of your car, if you run your fingers across it you'll feel that it's smooth like a baby's butt.

After you clay your car, always apply a fresh coat of wax because the clay takes off wax as well as contaminants.

Read more about clay bars here... Claymagic

[Tofuman]

anyone try this stuff?



it is a soap you can use to clean yourself and your car.

[Steeldog]

Lots of your bigger Shop Vacs can be hooked up as blowers. I use mine to dry the motorcycle's nooks and crannies.

Of course a hand wash is the best for any car, and that's how I voted, but I do use automatic washes most of the time. Does a decent job, and has free vacuum usage at the end. One caveat: I would not do this to a very dark paint like NHBP or BBP. Swirls are too easy to see on those dark colors. To avoid spots, I carry an Absorber rubber chamois in the car, so I can dry the parts that the blowers missed (usually about 20% of the car).
Touchless car washes are only worth a crap if your car is already clean.

[Juliane]

Originally Posted by Super Mario

Basically, it's a bar of clay. Overtime your car's paint/clearcoat will have contaminants on top of it (especially if you park outside). The easiest way to tell is after you wash your car, run your fingers across the surface. If it's rough and still has friction, then most likely your paint contains contaminants (bug splat, tree sap, etc).

What a clay bar does is it takes out all of those contaminants without hurting your paint. What you do is spray some detailer onto your car, then run the clay bar over the sprayed areas. Look at your clay bar and you'll see that there's a bunch of dirty stuff on there. That's the contaminants. After you do one area of your car, if you run your fingers across it you'll feel that it's smooth like a baby's butt.

After you clay your car, always apply a fresh coat of wax because the clay takes off wax as well as contaminants.

Read more about clay bars here... Claymagic

When you say "detailer" what is that product?

And what wax do you use? Do they work the way they used to? Apply to one panel, wait until dry, wipe off, apply to the next panel, let dry, wipe off...repeat until car is done.

Sorry to ask so many stupid questions but I have never owned a new car before so I didn't much care how I washed them.

And is it OK to just run the hose into the engine compartment and should I spray it with something first.

[Steeldog]

I am not trying to speak for Super Mario! This is just what little input I can offer.:D

Originally Posted by Juliane

When you say "detailer" what is that product?

Meguiar's Quick Detailer, or any of several other products made to spray on and wipe off, to shine your car up between washings. Meguiar's and Mother's both work well. Probably some other ones, too, but I have only tried those two. These serve as a lubricant for the clay bar, and possibly as a surfactant, too.

Originally Posted by Juliane

And what wax do you use? Do they work the way they used to? Apply to one panel, wait until dry, wipe off, apply to the next panel, let dry, wipe off...repeat until car is done.

Yes, most of them are exactly like that. I have also had good results with the new "Ice" polymer stuff, which I believe is technically not a wax.

Originally Posted by Juliane

And is it OK to just run the hose into the engine compartment and should I spray it with something first.

Is it dirty in there already? Be careful not to douse too much stuff under there with a lot of water! I use tire stuff, like No-Touch, for most under-hood detailing. Shines up the rubber things and makes them easier to keep clean by wiping occasionally.

[Super Mario]

Steeldog is right on target. Usually when you buy a clay kit the box comes with the clay, the detailer, and if you're lucky a nice microfiber towel and a wax. The clay kits that I've used are Meguiars and Clay Magic . Meguiar's kit is the better deal, you can find it at Wal-Mart for around $20.

As for wax, my preference is a liquid cleaner wax. To me it's easier to use than a paste. Hate to keep on mentioning Meguiar's as if I'm working for them, but I use Meguiar's Cleaner Wax. Never really tried anything else, so I can't comment on other brands. I remembered that Turtle Wax was a joke though, lol.

[Rain1]

By hand.

...and the Fit is not a Hummer, so very small area to wash

[Juliane]

Originally Posted by Steeldog

Is it dirty in there already? Be careful not to douse too much stuff under there with a lot of water! I use tire stuff, like No-Touch, for most under-hood detailing. Shines up the rubber things and makes them easier to keep clean by wiping occasionally.

Yes because the car was shipped 800 miles on a trailer. I'm not sure the dealer even cleaned it up before shipping it - it looks like it was driven down a dirt road! So should I try to wipe out all the dirt instead of washing it out?

Thanks for the help with the materials - I'll go to WalMart tomorrow! My 17 year old has already offered to wash it for me. He thinks it's pretty cool and little brother, age 14, told me "I want this car!" I told him "Paws OFF!"

:rotfl:

[Steeldog]

You can hose it off. Just don't directly spray electrical stuff like your alternator, or let any water get into your air intake system. Engine cleaners or other degreasers can be used, too; go by the instructions on the can. Citrus cleaners are pretty handy and not nearly as caustic as some of those types of products. You might be surprised how well No-Touch tire cleaner works under the hood. You don't really have to rinse it off, either. :)