2BM Wash - Rinse after each panel or entire vehicle

[lane5515]

When washing a vehicle using the 2BM, do you wash a section (ex. hood, door, fender) and rinse before moving to the next section? Or do you wash the entire vehicle and then rinse everything? I've always rinsed after each section but if you can wash the entire vehicle and then rinse it would be a faster process. I don't know if there are any issues with leaving the soap on the entire vehicle before rinsing...

Maybe I'm overthinking things here - just want to know what others do and the reasoning behind it. Thanks!

[tampatopless]

In Florida heat, I rinse after each section - hood, right side, left side and rear. And when I rinse, I rinse the entire vehicle. Otherwise, in Florida heat, car dries really quickly and we have extremely hard water where I live. That means water spots.

[derass]

As long as I've had my driver's licence I've always washed my cars. But before I ever found this website, or was interested in taking car cleaning to the next level, I always rinsed the soap off after washing a few panels. I did so for the same reason you mentioned: not allowing the soap to dry on the car.

But as I've been learning about detailing for the last year or so, I've seen a number of pictures and videos where people will wash the entire car before rinsing, you can see their entire car covered in suds. So I decided to give that a try the last time I washed my car. It was cool and overcast, so it seemed like ideal conditions. However, after washing the entire car, and before rinsing, I walked to the opposite side of the car (which I had washed first) and all the soap had dried! So I gave it a good rinse.

Like you, I'm not sure if the dried soap can be a problem, but I think I'll just go back to my old technique of washing a few panels, then rinsing the soap off.

[oneheadlite]

In Florida heat, I rinse after each section - hood, right side, left side and rear. And when I rinse, I rinse the entire vehicle. Otherwise, in Florida heat, car dries really quickly and we have extremely hard water where I live. That means water spots.

Same here. With the amount of sun where I wash my cars, I have to keep re-wetting the car to keep from ending up with water spots. If I'm able to wash at a time with shade, or pull the car into the garage to hide from the sun, then I can get farther between rinseses. This is why I've been trying to convert to rinseless.

[Hammer77]

Like others have said, it depends on weather conditions. I usually wash in sections, roof and glass, hood fenders and front, rear deck lid and quarters, driver side doors, passenger side doors. I will wash a section and rinse. If I use the foam cannon, sometimes I foam it and will wash the whole car before rinsing. Plus I use multiple wash mitts, one side of the mitt per panel, then go right to a fresh mitt. I feel it saves a little more time than rubbing the grit guard after every panel.

[Desertnate]

I'm with the others. I typically rinse each panel after it's washed. The only exception is when doing my small car in a hurry. Because if it's size I can do an entire side before rinsing if I move fast enough. Otherwise, the soap will start to dry.

After rinsing the panel, I also keep wetting the areas I've already washed to keep them wet and getting water spots.

[evo77]

Many moons ago, when I used to wash my vehicles with a water hose I used to do one panel at a time. Because I have no garage or any cover from the sun I have to work quickly. Leaving soap on a panel for more than a few minutes will result in a nearly dry panel. There is usually always a fair amount of constant wind living next to Lake Michigan so that is another cause for urgency.

For this reason (and list of others) I decided to switch to rinseless washes and have not looked back since! I don't think I will ever wash my cars with a water hose ever again.

[Paul A.]

I also rinse after sections. I typically do my coupe in about 5-6 sections. Top incl hood, roof and rear deck lid then rinse clear. Nose and tail, then rinse. Both sides, then rinse. then a good thorough rinse of entire car followed by a low flow "flood rinse". The flood rinse or drip method removes even more water. I then give it a quick blow dry and then blot it completely dry with about 3 WWMF towels.

A last final blow dry for all the nooks and crannies with a MF towel and voila...no remaining water to spot or dry. Then again, it's black!

[stevebrm]

I wash the entire car then rinse off. Sometimes the front half is in direct sunlight and I don't have any water spotting issues. It's one of the benefits of using a pH neutral soap. I'm using optimum car soap, even if it dries up on the panel, once I'm ready to do my final rinse it rinses off like normal. Then I follow that with ONR as drying aid.

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[96z28]

I wash the entire vehicle and then rinse. My thought is that a quality car wash soap is pretty harmless to the paint, where as hard water left on the paint to dry can leave spots. I'll wash in full sun and will even let the soap completely dry. I've even got interrupted for 20 minutes and came back and picked up where I left off. Once rinsed and pulled into garage to dry there are no spots on my paint.

If you rinse every panel after you wash it you constantly have to respray down every panel as you go to keep them wet to prevent the water from drying and leaving spots. Or spend the money on a DI water system