Grit Guard - 2 or 1 or 0?

[TripleB]

Just got a new car and saw here that many people recommended the 'two bucket' method of washing and/or using Grit Guards.

My questions:
- Is the Grit Guard necessary if you use the 2 bucket method?
- If so, should you use one in each bucket?
- If you only have one Grit Guard, should it go in the rinse bucket?

Thank you for your advice.

TripleB

[BobbyG]

Just got a new car and saw here that many people recommended the 'two bucket' method of washing and/or using Grit Guards.

My questions:
- Is the Grit Guard necessary if you use the 2 bucket method?
- If so, should you use one in each bucket?
- If you only have one Grit Guard, should it go in the rinse bucket?

Thank you for your advice.

TripleB

I've always used two

I would say yes, it's important to use two but if only 1 is available keep it in the rinse and scrub your wash mitt against it prior to putting it back in the wash water....

Many here do because it traps dirt and debris keeping it at the bottom of the bucket rather than swirling around in the water....

[darkangelism]

Get 2, the cost of a grit guard is a lot less than the effort fixing the extra problems that could occur from not using one.

[Mike Phillips]

Good questions!


The first time I used a Grit Guard Insert after washing my car I carefully poured most of the water out and looked inside the bucket and saw a lot of dirt that was trapped at the bottom and I was impressed.

Ever since then I've used one when washing a car at my house or at work.

If you only have one grit guard you put it in your rinse bucket, not your wash bucket BECAUSE...

The idea is to,

Push your mitt, sponge, towel or brush down "into" the bucket and scrub it against the grill and the idea being that this agitation will loosen dirt particles and allow them to fall past the grill to the bottom of the bucket.

After this you swish a gain in the middle of of the bucket as a last rinse
After this you wring some of the water out or there will be no place for soap water to go.
Now you re-gather some fresh wash solution and begin wash where you left off.

Make sense?



I also use them on the bottom of buckets for sanding papers and discs to keep any loosened particles trapped on the bottom of the bucket. This is to help prevent,


Tracers
Pigtails



This is a shot from when I sanded and buffed the Joker Truck the second time...

http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery/files/1/AbralonSystem001.jpg


Separate buckets for different grits to prevent cross-contamination
http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery/files/1/AbralonSystem002.jpg



In this shot, if you look at the first two buckets you'll see a piece of Diamond Plate between them that you can order to connect to roll-around dollies together.

I called Doug Lamb, the inventor of the Grit Guard and gave him this idea and he sent me that piece of diamond plate to test out. You can buy them now here,

Diamond Plate Dolly Connector (http://www.autogeek.net/dolly-connector.html)

http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery/files/1/AbralonSystem003.jpg


Note the Grit Guard in the bottom of the bucket...


http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery/files/1/AbralonSystem004.jpg



Man that was a lot of work...


:)

[Mike Phillips]

Get 2, the cost of a grit guard is a lot less than the effort fixing the extra problems that could occur from not using one.


I agree... :iagree:


When you take into account how much time and money goes into buffing out an entire car to remove swirls and scratches, not to mention the lost opportunity as in you could be at the lake fishing etc., it drives home the importance of doing everything you can to wash your car carefully after any polishing work has been done.

I actually stress this in my how-to book because the most common thing people do to their cars is to wash them.

We polish and wax them periodically but we tend to wash them often.

So where do all the swirls and scratches come from?

How the paint was touched...


:)

[Wheelzntoys]

3 is the best! I use 1 per bucket.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4RGoQ6c50w&feature=youtube_gdata_player]Multiple Grit Guard configuration test - YouTube[/video]