Shizznaz

Alright so im bored here at work so I decided to do a write up on how to wash cars professionally. This is not a simple wash you do in 30 mins in your front yard on sundays. Altho it can be done ..

What You Need:

Access to a hose ( pressure washer prefered )
Access to air compressor if you dont want to let your car sit..

Cleaning products such as car was solution, degreaser, car wax, windex, armoral
Chamois
a few small rags
car wash solution sponge or something to soap the car up.

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What you want to do is obviously make sure all windows are up and doors are closed etc. It is also a very good idea to be washing your car in the shade so you dont build up any water spots. So once thats done, You can begin by spraying some degreaser on your tires, rims, wheel wells, tail pipes, just about anything you can think of that might have grease, oil or rust on it or even dirt. You can even pop your gas lid and spray it all inside there ( not inside the gas tank, keep the cap on ) That will get rid of any spilt gas residue.

What degreaser does is it removes any dirt , grim, oils and stuff that looks ugly on your car and it makes it nice and clean. It wont take everything off but it will get a very good amount off. Its most effective on your tires and rims and brake disks.

After you have sprayed the degreaser, let it sit for a minute or two and then take your hose or preferably a pressure washer, and wash it all off. Now you can begin to rinse you car . All you really need to know about this is just get everything watered down.

This is when you bust out the soap. I personally like to use a scrub brush that you can buy at home depot that has soft bristles, this is very nice since it doesnt scratch your car and it really scrubs the dirt out of your car. But your traditional car washing mit or sponge work fine. I also like to soap up my rims. Not a big deal but its just something I have personally done. Guess it cleans them a little better lol.

Once you have soaped your entire car up, you can rinse it all off. Keep in mind, soap and water does gather in the cracks and all so run water through them as well. If you are using a pressure washer DONT put the nozzel too close to the paint. Its possible that you can fade, chip, and even completely ruin the paint job. Its fine on the glass tho. Make sure you get all the soap off the car and also be sure that you are in the shade because this is when the car can develope water spots.

Nows the time to grab the chamios. I typically rinse the chamois out before I start drying the car to clean out any dirt that might have built up. You pretty much want to just run the chamois throught the whole car and ring out the water when needed. You also want to get the door jams and you can open the trunk to get the water in there as well as the gas cap area.

Once the car is visibly dry, you still need to get the water out of the cracks and such. This is when a air compressor comes in handy. You want to blow out EVERY visible crack possible. Door handles, headlights, tail lights, quaterpanels, gas doors, doors, trunks, grills, MIRRORS, bumpers, ANYWHERE that water could have possibly collected. Doing this prevents water dripping when the car moves or doors shut etc. If you dont have access to a air compressor, then your pretty much S.O.L. unless you feel like leaving the car over night.

At this point, The car can be driven without any water drips if done correctly. Nows the time where you can do the fine detail work such as windexing the windows, Waxing the car, spraying armoral on the tires to make them shine ( I use a special solution for that but armoral works just fine ) just be sure to wipe the armoral up so that when you drive, it doesnt fly up and get on your car.

Now, you should be done washing your car and it should be lookin better then before lol. If not, then we got some problems here lol. This is just a simple car wash assuming that theres no serious things wrong with the car. I will do a write up on a very detailed car wash later.


I hope this DIY thread was helpful, I know washing a car seems simple but in fact lots of people dont know how to wash cars properly. Knowing myself I probably missed something cuz im in a hurry. but ill look it over when I get home hehe.


Modified by Shizznaz at 5:34 PM 2/11/2005


Modified by Shizznaz at 5:35 PM 2/11/2005


Modified by Shizznaz at 5:36 PM 2/11/2005


Modified by Shizznaz at 5:37 PM 2/11/2005

VtecSpool

nice write-up

exclusive_vtec

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VtecSpool &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nice write-up </TD></TR></TABLE>
indeed

Shizznaz

A fine detial job is always a good thing to do every once and a while. A fine detail job includes everything that I mentioned above and in addition it removes Overspray and stuff thats stuck on windshields etc.

You will need everything listed above plus a few other things :

Razor blades
"Magic clay" ( I think they sell it at pepboys or autozone. )
Car wax
Steel wool


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Whenever you get those dark yellowish spots on your car that I have no idea where they come from, tree sap, bird ****, stuff that looks terrible and is hard to get out on your windows including paint overspray or any type of other overspray, You can get all of that off using a razor blade, steel wool, and windex. This process will NOT scratch your windows unless you do it wrong. You start by spraying a TON of windex ALL over your windows. Then use the steel wool and scrub the windows all over and dont be too worried about things that look like they are coming off but just isnt coming off fast enough. Once you have scrubbed them enough and have gotten most of the window clean, you can grab the razor blade. Lets say theres tree sap on your window. You want to make sure theres windex on it and around it, you want to place the blade of the razor facing the sap and at a good angle. Then start to run the razor blade back and forth against the sap or whatever it is you are trying to take off and slowly but surely it will come off. Once you have everything off that you can, you can just wipe the window down with a rag and then its a good idea to spray more windex on the window and wipe it down again with the rag to collect any left over residue from using the steel wool.

WARNING! Do NOT do this on the INSIDE of your windows. INSIDE being the Interior of the car. This WILL scratch and ruin your windows if it has tint. Even if it looks like your car doesnt have tint or if you never had your windows tinted, A lot of cars have their windows lightly tinted from the factory. So I suggest not atempting to detail your windows on the inside ever.

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Sometimes you wash your car and when you run your hand over the car even if you waxed it, it feels a bit rough. like the wax didnt do anything. There may be overspray on your car or even dust particles that I have noticed that act like overspray and stick to your car. This is no big deal. All you need is some water and an item called " Magic clay " Its like a hard silly putty material. I dont know where my shop gets it but you might find it at a pepboys or autozone or someplace like that. What you do is simply water your whole car down and rub the clay all over your car ( painted areas only, dont use it on rubber or windows. ) You need some elbo greese for this and just be sure the the clay doesnt " stick " ( or stopping abruptly ) . This can make the clay make marks on your car. Its not harmful, but the only way I found to get the marks out are by using compound. But thats a whole other topic. Just dont do it. Once you have completely rubbed your whole car with the clay, make sure you wash your car with soap. Once done, your car should feel smooth or at least more smooth then it did before.


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I typically do BOTH of these proceses while im washing a car and just after I initially rinse the whole car down. That way it all is washed off with the soap and stuff later so I dont have to wash the car twice. Also, I know its common sense but dont mix the clay with the steel wool. Believe it or not, I work with a guy that STUPIDLY used the steel wool to get greese pen off of door on the paint. He not only got the greese pen off, but he completely SCRATCHED the paint job. So just be easy on yourself and dont do what he did. I was able to use compound and fix it up but like I said before, that a whole other topic.


I hope this thread was usefull again, have fun !

Shizznaz

Opps I missed a step up above.


This is how to properly wax your car...

You can use a rag, but I use a sponge similar to those you use in house hold sinks. ( w/o the scotchbright pads ) Use the actual sponge part.. You want to make sure you dont use TOO much wax, just a little drip is enough to cover a good area of your car. You dont need a lot of wax at all to get a good outcome. Put it this way, the more wax you use, the harder it is to take off. Simple as that. just be sure that every inch of the paint is covered a little bit. When you apply the wax, its good to always be rubbing it in, in a circular motion. Its just like that "Karate-Kid" movie where hes waxing that Cool dudes car. " Wax on, Wax off!" except you dont take the wax off right away. But you get the point. I usually wax the whole car and let the car sit for about 10-15 minutes and its ALWAYS good to be waxing your car in the shade. The sun can distort the wax. Also, DONT get ANY water on the wax, it will ruin the wax job. Once you have the whole car waxed, let it sit for a good 10-15 mins and then come back and start to take the wax off. When you do this, rub the wax off in the same motion as when you put it on, it really spreads the wax and gives it a nice clean outcome. You might want to change sides of the rag when your taking it off because the wax builds up on it so doing this making it easier. Some people have trouble waxing cars because they " Miss a spot! " Thats ok because no one is perfect, But as a tip, once you think you are done taking the wax off, pull your car in the sun and look at your whole car in the " glare" Look your car up and down and look at the paint at the glare spot everywhere. I can almost gauruntee you that you will find spots you missed. Also, if you have polorized lens on sunglasses, I hear those work too. They make the missed spots stand out. But im not sure on that one. Once you have done that, your car should feel as smooth as that one chicks fine ***. lol

I normally do the wax job after the car has been washed but Before I windex the windows and do the tires because I tend to scuff the windows and wax dust flys down on the tires some times as I am putting on or taking off the wax so I do those last.