dirty panels even after wash

[wssviper]

Hey Mike,

I am not sure what to do from here. I am currently using a sheepskin wash mitt, Meg's Gold Class Car Shampoo. It seems that no matter how well/thou roughly I rinse the vehicle prior to washing, then wash it with my sheepskin mitt and megs gold class, there seems to be these panels or parts of panels that smeer dirt on my waffle weave towels after trying the panels. It baffles me, and its always the same parts or sections. What am I doing wrong? On the roof for example, the waffle weave dries the section perfectly fine, and the towels remains wet, but clean. Generally, on some of the lower panels, the towels becomes soiled with "black dirt" and i don't even know if I should be using it after its dirty to wipe off the panels..in addition, I got to apply Megs quik wax on those parts of the panels after washing, and then my Microfiber towels for wax removal become dirty... what would you recommend doing as a next step to correct this?

Thank you

Viper

[Mike Phillips]

Sounds like road film to me...

The lowers portions of your vehicle, and this includes your wheels and tires are the most exposed to road grim due to their close proximity to the road.

I explain everything in this article with good pictures to tell the story....


Road Film - If you drive your car in the rain your car has road film (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/72159-road-film-if-you-drive-your-car-rain-your-car-has-road-film.html)


And it sounds like some how you're just not getting all the dirt and road grime, possibly tar, removed off these lower panels which will also tend to be harder to reach and inspect.


I've always taught an approach to washing cars that is fairly different than most people's approaches.


First, wash wheels and tires
Next wash the lower panels.
Then move up to the top and work your way down.

It's this second portion that most people skip because it takes more time but it provides a very important benefit and that is by cleaning the lowest and dirtiest panels first there's no way for you to accidentally get dirt off these lower panels and rub it against the higher panels when you wash the higher panels because you've already removed it. I know I have this written out somewhere.

Anyway the point being to get the bottom of the lower panels clean before moving to the roof but after wheels and tires. Also switch to a clean wash mitt.

As for your primary question, next time you wash your car try my approach and FOCUS-ON-THE-TASK-AT-HAND and when starting on a section of a lower panel look at your mitt. It should be clean. Then wash a lower section and inspect your mitt. It should be dirty. Rinse your mitt or get a clean mitt and re-wash that section. Now the mitt should be clean. If it's not that means you're not getting the section clean enough in your first cleaning.

This of course is just a way of troubleshooting the root cause of the problem.

Where do you live?
What kind of vehicle?

Is this dirt you're not removing oily or tar like?


:)

[Mike Phillips]

When I first read the title of this thread I though you were going to talk about this....


Holiday & Vacation (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/34347-holiday-vacation.html)



:D

[Audios S6]

I can think of a few things that may cause this, the obvious one is dirt, but it may also be sling from a less that great tire dressing. If you have a piece of trim along the best line of the car, dirt may get trapped under there and be loosened when you do your final rinse.

I would start by claying the lower panels, this may remove some of the 'stuff' more permanently. I would also evaluate the tire dressing you are using and how you are using it. You may also consider incorporating a pretreatment to the lower panels in the form of a dilute APC or similar degreaser.

It is common to find more stuff on the lower panels. On cars that have never been detailed, I'll frequently find dirt in my drying towels. But after claying the car, I want my wipe down towels to come out almost perfectly clean.

[conman1395]

You are using the Two Bucket Method with Grit Guards right?

[wssviper]

Hi Guys,

Mike: I am fairly new at this so I don't have the experience to tell you if it's oily or tar like, but if i had to guess, I would say it is Tar like. I will use your washing procedure then and carefully inspect the results using that.

I live in Canada, I drive a 2011 VW GTI.

Mike, would it make sense to add some sort of special tar remover product to my arsenal ? I currently own P21S TAW as a pre-wash degreaser - would you recommend trying this or possibly get something like Chemical Guys Bug Bugger and Tar Remover?

conman: I actually use 3 buckets with 3 grit guards.

Thanks again

Viper

[allenk4]

If your drying towel is getting dirty, there is a dlaw in your qashing process

If you notice dirt on your drying towel, immediately flip it ti a xlean side

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/autogeek-velocity-channel-tv/27865-two-guys-garage-video-how-wash-your-car-using-grit-guard-two-bucket-method.html

The area that is most often missed on the lower section of a car is the inner lip of the fender

Many on the Forum suggest using one way mitt for the upper sections of the vehicle and a second mitt for the areas below the level of the door trim, which tend to be dirtier

[wssviper]

I can think of a few things that may cause this, the obvious one is dirt, but it may also be sling from a less that great tire dressing. If you have a piece of trim along the best line of the car, dirt may get trapped under there and be loosened when you do your final rinse.

I would start by claying the lower panels, this may remove some of the 'stuff' more permanently. I would also evaluate the tire dressing you are using and how you are using it. You may also consider incorporating a pretreatment to the lower panels in the form of a dilute APC or similar degreaser.

It is common to find more stuff on the lower panels. On cars that have never been detailed, I'll frequently find dirt in my drying towels. But after claying the car, I want my wipe down towels to come out almost perfectly clean.

hI audioS6,

I have no tire dressing at all on my tires.. I will try using P21S TAW for the lower parts tho. I clayed the car about a month ago as well.

[Mike Phillips]

The reason I asked where you lived is to try to troubleshoot if "they" meaning some government entity, are doing any type of regular work to the roads you work on and leaving behind "something" that's slinging up off the road and onto your car.

If you've cleaned the underneath of your car once and the residue, whatever it is, continues to build-up then what I would suggest is to start paying attention to the roads you regularly drive on for a clue.

I sounds like what you're dealing with is something more than the normal road film we all deal with and so maybe do a little looking around for any road construction, road repair or anything else out of the norm on the roads.


:)