Do you wash your vehicle at home ? Tips please

Discussion in 'Car and Van Talk' started by KEEPGREEN, Apr 2, 2020.

  1. KEEPGREEN

    KEEPGREEN Member

    Hi there,

    Have you ever washed your vehicle @ home ? If so, any suggestions would be much appreciated.For example what car washing liquid do you use ...etc

    Because of this pendamic i dont think i will be able to step out and get my vehicles cleaned.

    I intend to use my Kartcher pressure washer .

    Thank you all.
     
  2. Joe the Plumber

    Joe the Plumber Screwfix Select

    www.detailingworld.co.uk

    Everything you could ever wish to know.

    But to summarise. Things you need:

    Two buckets.

    A suitable car wash product. I use Bilt Hamber's 'Autowash', for example:

    www.bilthamber.com

    A wash mitt or, if desperate, a decent microfibre cloth.

    Microfibre drying cloths.

    Things you don't need:

    A sponge.

    A chamois leather (real or synthetic).

    A single bucket.

    And if any microfibre even touches the ground, it goes straight in the wash without going near the vehicle again.

    Blast vehicle with pressure washer.

    Wash with cleaning product. Product in one bucket, clean water to rinse mitt in the other. Rinse after each section.

    Blast again.

    Dry with microfibre.

    There's absolutely tons more to it than that, but that's a quick summary.

    Beware though, it can become an obsession... (as you may have gathered!) You'll know if you've got it as you'll be justifying spending well over £300 on an Air Force Master Blaster to dry the bodywork without touching it (just don't switch it on in your house - guess why I know that!)
     
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  3. Kingscurate

    Kingscurate Active Member

    Agree with Joe
     
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  4. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    Before the proliferation of Eastern European car washes (other nationalities are available) a hand car wash was as rare as rocking horse pooh. The alternative was a machine wash which slowly but surely ruined your paintwork so was restricted to those that didn't care or didn't pay (company car) so washing at home was the norm. Car washing kits would be given as gifts.

    Jumpers for goal posts...

    Nostalgia isn't what it used to be...
     
  5. KEEPGREEN

    KEEPGREEN Member


    Excellent ! Thank you very much
     
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  6. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    Auto Gleam Shampoo and Body Conditioner...................................:)
     
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  7. Joe the Plumber

    Joe the Plumber Screwfix Select

    For your engine bay, Autoglym 'Engine and Machine Cleaner' followed by their 'Vinyl and Rubber Care' is unbeatable.

    The E&MC is great on brake dust too.

    Oh man, what have you started...!
     
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  8. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    Doh! thought my spelling of Autoglym didn't look right.:oops:
     
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  9. Sparkielev

    Sparkielev Screwfix Select

    Thank you I will forward these instructions to the other half after she finished her 12hr shift
     
    Heat likes this.
  10. DannyDoLittle

    DannyDoLittle Active Member

    Yes.. i'm what some call an enthusiast and always been into my cars. My dad was a mechanic so the love for all things with an engine started at a young age.

    My routine for a proper clean..

    Jet wash to remove any heavy dirt
    Snow foam and let sit for around 15 mins to remove the more stubborn dirt
    Jet wash off the snow foam
    Bucket & sponge (2 buckets, one for rinsing the sponge when it comes off the car and the clean one for when i'm putting the sponge back on the body work)
    Jet wash again
    Dry the body with a drying cloth
    I the use Bilt Hamber fallout remover (removes any tar, metal particles embedded into the paint from normal road use) and spray the alloys with a chemical cleaner let them both sit for around 10/15 minutes to work their magic
    Jet wash again
    Dry again
    Clay bar the entire car (now the panels should feel super smooth and your finger should glide across the bodywork)
    Using microfiber cloths wipe over the whole body again
    Using my DAS 6 Pro I apply a sealant, then wipe down again, doing one panel at a time
    Using the DAS 6 Pro I apply the wax.

    The coating is now like glass with a mirror finish and well protected from the elements.

    Move onto the glass, inside & out then also remove everything from inside the car, hoover, dust & wipe down every surface.

    It'll take almost a day to do it properly... not like you don't have time now :)
     

    Attached Files:

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  11. Joe the Plumber

    Joe the Plumber Screwfix Select

    Very comprehensive, but you mentioned the 'S' word (sponge) - eek! Great for trapping dirt particles and dragging them across your paint.

    That's why mitts are so popular as the dirt tends to move into the strands and be held away from the bodywork.
     
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  12. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    Well that's not something I expected to see on the Screwfix Forum -

    Sponge Wars! It has everything Channel 5 needs for their latest SOAP opera.
     
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  13. wiggy

    wiggy Screwfix Select

    s-l1600-2.jpg
     
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  14. DannyDoLittle

    DannyDoLittle Active Member

    Nothing wrong with using a sponge Joe, by the time I get to using it I've already jet washed twice & snowfoamed so the only thing remaining is the light stuff, plus with using the 2 bucket method there's very minimal chance of causing any issues at all to the paintwork.
    All sponges & cloths go in the wash when the job is complete.
     
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  15. Joe the Plumber

    Joe the Plumber Screwfix Select

    Fair enough. It's all meant in good fun I assure you. My wife gets mad as the washing machine always stinks of various car cleaning products after I've been polishing the van. I get great beading on my overalls too...!

    Have you tried a mitt though? I was amazed how good they are. I never went back to a sponge after I tried one.
     
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  16. DannyDoLittle

    DannyDoLittle Active Member

    I actually recently bought a microfiber noodle mitt to try out, but that was after the latest full clean & now i'm stuck in the Middle East with no chance of getting back to the UK anytime soon to actually try it out, but it's there to try though.

    There's no sour feelings... certainly not over a sponge :):)
     
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  17. Joe the Plumber

    Joe the Plumber Screwfix Select

    I hope you're as impressed with it as I was. You get to feel your bodywork more closely with them too, but this conversation could rapidly deteriorate if I continue that line of thought...!
     
  18. DannyDoLittle

    DannyDoLittle Active Member

    lol... I love the detailing side of things... What I don't like is when getting so close to the bodywork is seeing the additional stone chips.
     
  19. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    I used to have a Saturday job in a purpose built hand car wash in Leicester back in the 1970s. It was a drive through with a properly plumbed hot water trough each side and the second bay had a large blow dryer that traversed the car. The vehicle came in through a spray 'curtain' before we washed it then through a second spray rinse into the drying bay. Once outside it was dried with hot rinsed leathers that were put through a mangle.
    Micro fibre hadn't been invented then but we did have the forerunner to the noodle mit which were really good. They were more like the bonnets that you put on floor cleaners - put your hand in and spread your fingers - they didn't come off and were good for detail areas as well.
    Very few alloy wheels back then - hub caps or Rostyles and plastic bumpers were modern.
    Things you don't see now - aerials, wing mirrors (in fact door mirrors were a novelty), bolt on extras such as front and rear fog lights and reversing lights.
    It's easy to get swept up in a warm haze of memories but it was usually wet, cold and noisy. If it was warm and dry outside people tended to wash their cars at home.
    One thing I'll never forget - if we did 100 cars we got a bonus for the day - 25p
     
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  20. kitfit1

    kitfit1 Screwfix Select

    I've been using Bilt Hamber fallout remover for some time now. IMO it's just about the best there is. It's also a hell of a lot better at cleaning alloys than any dedicated alloy cleaner i have ever used and a lot cheaper as well.
    It's only downside really is it stinks to high heaven :D That said, most fallout removers do stink anyway.
     

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