Newbie that needs help with the most basic step....washing!

[geoguy]

Hey everyone,

I am new here and after looking through post after post, I am truly in awe of what you all can do.:urtheman:So, on to my question/problem. I have washed my wife's new gray subaru forester twice so far and just last week I noticed swirls on he door panels. Maybe it was the angle of the sun, but I did not notice swirling on the hood. Here was my process in washing:

1. Rinse with garden hose and sprayer (no PW).

2. 2 bucket wash with grit guards. Used DG901 and a splash of ONR in the soap bucket and some ONR in the rinse bucket.

3. Washed at most a panel at a time in straight, front-to-back lines(hood was 2 panels and roof was 4) flipping the MF chenille mitt over haftway through. Used a new purple 600gsm mitt for the top half of the car and older MF mitt for the bottom of the car (window line and down).

4. rinsed the mitt with the hose before scrubbing it in the rinse bucket. (my grit guards are loose and spin in my buckets. Should it be firmly wedged in there?)

5. Loaded up the mitt with soap/suds and went for the next panel.

6. dried the car with a leaf blower (my neighbors probably thought I was crazy), and finished it up with DG951 and the purple 600gsm MFs.

Notes: There is probably no protection on the car right now. My wife got the "protection package" thinking it would be easier for me to keep the car clean. The sealant they put on the car is probably a cheap wax and would have worn off over the winter. It may be that the dealership instilled the swirls when they washed/detailed it and I just noticed it now that there is no wax covering it up. Second, I did have to put more pressure on the wash mitt than I would have liked to get all the winter crud off.

What could I have done better during the washing? A second new wash mitt for the bottom half? Fix the grit guard problem? Add a second grit guard to the rinse bucket? Technique? Foam gun? Different products? Stop being so darn OCD?

Thanks for listening and any help!!

Geoguy

[BobbyG]

Seriously; the only way you might improve your process is......well and then there's......or possibly.....hmmmmm, sorry, to be honest I can't think of anything ....

I try to steer anyone and everyone away from any dealer installed protection as their only interest is raping the customer out of hard earned cash for a boat-load of promises.

[MattieDSC]

If you go to detailersdomain.com on their blog they do "new car preps" all the time in some cases straight from getting the car off the truck and some of the pictures of swirls and scratches on those cars is amazing. So I doubt you put those swirls in the car it more than likely came that way. Remember these cars are transported by rail and trucks and get loaded and unloaded by people that have hundreds of cars to do.

Plus Subarus have soft clear coats I know I have an outback

[jamesboyy]

Welcome to autogeek...your wash process is alright from my view though there are some major flaws like dealership touching the paintwork and winter crud both are a threat to a vehicles paintwork especially your soft paint with that said I would not apply more pressure just use the weight of the wash media and if something wont remove soak it with a damp microfiber towel, keep your eyes on the both buckets to make sure the water is clean and if not pour out and add fresh plus one on the leaf blower ( I hope its electric and not gas) just invest into a waffle weave towel for drying though and when your washing the vehicle be sure to pick up enough suds wash a panel then rinse the wash media and repeat that until vehicle is done also don't be afraid to do a second or even a third wash

[geoguy]

Thanks for the responses guys! I do know all about the DISO for new cars, as I (and I hate to admit it) probably helped on that option when I worked a dealership years ago. As for the leaf blower, I assume that once I get a good LSP on that would take care of most if not all of the water, you know the less you touch your paint...

Also, has anyone used a foam gun and mitt at the same time for washing (ala Larry from Ammo) with any luck?

[jamesboyy]

Your welcome as for the foam method yes it works great especially if you love suds with the foam method you can also do a touchless wash if the vehicle is not so dirty

[swanicyouth]

I'm probably the only one who will tell you this, but to improve your process you need to invest in a pressure washer. Regardless of foaming or not, pressure washing a car down (not a hose) will remove much more dirt before you even touch the paint than what you can do with a hose.

I've done comparisons side to side with a hose and a pressure washer and have proved it ( to myself ). A good pressure washing will remove almost all abrasive particles from the paint, leaving behind mostly "traffic film" and other environmental pollutants that can be emulsified in it.

This is the reason why people use a pressure washer to clean decks, concrete, houses, etc... - and not a hose. Because, a hose just doesn't work as well.

So, while I can't recommend to you some sexy $10 an ounce soap or some super secret special towel you must buy, I feel ultimately you best $$$ are spent on an inexpensive electric pressure washer to help with the marring you are experiencing.

I never touch dirty paint without pressure washing it first - never. Since I started doing this a few years ago, any marring has remained little to none. Swirls are zero. Even with rinseless/waterless washing I will still pressure wash the dirt off the paint first. Some may say this wastes water, but I'm trying to accomplish the safest car wash possible - not save the planet (sorry for that).

Yes, the Grit Guards should fit tightly - so you may need new buckets. But, I don't see this as a significant issue. I would also invest in some quality wash mitts (dunno what brand you use)... I could make a recommendation of what wash mitt to get if you are interested.

[Tacket]

Foaming the car up first and letting it dwell for 5 minutes may help loosen some of that winter crud.

[geoguy]

Thanks guys for the responses! I think I'll get a foam gun to help in the washing process. The foam gun and mitt process for washing sounds like something I'd like to try, but those of you that do that, how do you keep the hose from hitting the car, especially tall ones?

Geoguy

[trekkeruss]

(my grit guards are loose and spin in my buckets. Should it be firmly wedged in there?)


Ideally the grit guards should not move within the bucket, If they can spin freely, the vanes that hold the grill off the bottom churn the water and cause the debris to get stirred up instead of staying settled on the bottom.

[Coopers ST]

My guess is it came that way. Either you never noticed, or it had so many fillers that washed out you just now see them.

[scottphys]

Regarding your point #6, I use a leaf blower as well and I've gotten some odd looks from people. In my opinion, there's nothing better than air drying a car because it minimizes contact. So, considering most people probably wash their car with dish washing detergent, formula 409, and a magic eraser....let 'em stare! Maybe they'll learn something. :)