Basic Wash

[thunderkyss]

After reading these forums for the last week or two, I'm getting the idea that there's no such thing as a basic wash. With that in mind, I thought I'd ask, "What kind of soap do you keep around?"

I'm thinking I should have a bottle of dawn around, for a deep clean. Like if I want to get as much off the car as possible without going to a paint cleaner.

Then I'm guessing that I want to use something not as thorough if the vehicle I'm washing recently had an LSP applied. I'm thinking one of those "wash & wax" products you can get at the local parts house.

But what if I think it's time to add another layer of wax/sealant. The car looks like it's in pretty good shape, I don't plan to clay it or correct anything, just wash it & wax it. What should I use?

[BobbyG]

There is a basic wash, don't let anybody kid you.

As an example, I really like Duragloss #901. I mix it according to directions then wash and rinse one section at a time. Meguiar's offers some quality car wash products that work very well and can be purchased in most stores.

I wouldn't recommend Dawn for general washing as it's ingredients are strong enough to dissolve grease, oils, waxes, and sealants.

Can you simply was and wax? Of course and when I was growing up that's really all we had to work with unlike today.

To keep your cars finish looking its best for years to come, it does make sense to develop a maintenance plan.

Wash - Weekly
Clay - Once or twice annually
Polish - Once or twice annually. Use a quality paint cleaner or light polish to remove and oxidation.
Seal or Wax - Every few months or as often as you like. Either type product should be used to protect the finish
Spray Wax - After each wash. A spray wax adds that extra pop to the finish as it's applied keeping the finish glowing.

If you're using products locally available stick with Meguiar's. These folks have been in business almost forever and you simply cannot go wrong...

[CowboyTruckn]

Get rid of the dawn... really no longer has a place near a vehicle.

Use a high quality car wash, two buckets, soft mitts and drying towels, and finish with a nice spray detailer/wax. My basic wash. I also clean the wheels, tires, fenders, shine tires, apply exterior plastic protectant, and clean glass.

[FUNX650]

Even though Dawn is not going to strip too many Waxes and/or Sealants...
I'd still relegate it to its formulated purposes.

Bob

[jamesboyy]

An basic wash to me is when you wash your car every weekend(also called maintenance wash) which I uses Chemical guys citrus wash and gloss the reason why I use this soap is cause it take the place of dawn cause I can strip my last step product when needed and do my basic wash all with the same product but dawn will still always be somewhere on my shelf

[wdmaccord]

+1 for Duragloss 901 which you can usually find by gallon or pint at local Carquest. If you aren't having any luck finding it, then meguiars Gold Class car wash is also a good soap which you can find at Target, Advance Auto, etc.

[jetta3guy8913]

The basic wash to me is just a maintenance wash. I start with cleaning the wheels with Sonax FE and the tires with an APC, right now Adam's but I picked up a gallon of D101. After that I wash the panels with Mr Pink. I dry the car and use a spray wax, currently Mother's Reflections. The final touch is coating the tires and trim

[cardaddy]

+1000 to Duragloss 901. Can't beat it. It's slick, has great cleaning, suds and lubricity, plus adds a bit of shine. (Assuming you're talking about what you can find OTC of course.) If you find it in a gallon it's actually 902, same thing.

Cheap but decent, if you go to Target you may find Megs Ultimate wash and wax (yellow soap) for a couple bucks cheaper than ANY auto part place. Last time I looked (last summer) it was like $10.99 at the auto parts places and $8.05 at Target. I'll use it on wheels but that's about it.

If you really want some good shampoos? Try CG Honeydew and Megs Hyperwash. Megs is cheap and good.

But if you really want your car clean, I don't understand not wanting to clay it. You can wash it good, then put more suds on it and use that for lubrication and clay it with suds on it. The paint will be super slick, and cleaner than you can EVER get it by just washing alone.

[GreatAvalon]

Right now I use Meg's Gold Class wash.

I'm looking to get some nicer stuff though (not OTC)

I also have CG Honeydew that I use in my foam cannon, but havent used it as wash soap yet.

[peter hurcos]

There is a basic wash, don't let anybody kid you.

As an example, I really like Duragloss #901. I mix it according to directions then wash and rinse one section at a time. Meguiar's offers some quality car wash products that work very well and can be purchased in most stores.

I wouldn't recommend Dawn for general washing as it's ingredients are strong enough to dissolve grease, oils, waxes, and sealants.

Can you simply was and wax? Of course and when I was growing up that's really all we had to work with unlike today.

To keep your cars finish looking its best for years to come, it does make sense to develop a maintenance plan.

Wash - Weekly
Clay - Once or twice annually
Polish - Once or twice annually. Use a quality paint cleaner or light polish to remove and oxidation.
Seal or Wax - Every few months or as often as you like. Either type product should be used to protect the finish
Spray Wax - After each wash. A spray wax adds that extra pop to the finish as it's applied keeping the finish glowing.

If you're using products locally available stick with Meguiar's. These folks have been in business almost forever and you simply cannot go wrong...


This. Get the grit guards and the home depot buckets (the Pep Boys buckets are too small to accomodate their own grit guards) Get a microfiber mitt.

I've moved to the Garry Dean method--you basically load up on cheap microfiber towels and slap one saturated towel after another (saturated in special, rinseless car wash Like Optical No Rinse, Duragloss no-rinse and, sometimes available over the counter, Turtlewax Rinseless ) on the surface. I live in a water constrained area. But I like it for so-called "maintenance washes" just fine. [youtube for a complete description]. I like Mothers brand OK for a locally available product. Duragloss is available at Carquest in some areas and would generally be your first choice for over the counter products in my opinion.

I'd say its mostly a matter of refraining from bad practices rather than a quest for the best products: Bad practices would include: Using dish liquid instead of real car shampoo; using a sponge or terry cloth towel instead of a microfiber towel or mitt. Taking your car to a swirl-o-matic car wash occasionally. That sort of thing.