When to wash your car?

[Daryle]

I waxed my car with the Gold Wax last week. I've used quick detailer on it earlier this week but now I have bird poop and bugs all over my car (good times ).

I know better than to leave the bird poop on my car so today I washed it using the NXT suds. Now, was this the best way to go? I do have the quick wax as well so, should I use the quick wax now to seal in the protection or have I washed too much of the wax off?

Was washing my car the best way to get the poop and bugs off or should I have just used the quick detailer?

Please let me know for the next time I have to remove this stuff (tomorrow probably )

-Daryle

[Andy M.]

Re: When to wash your car?

Hey Daryle, You didn't do any harm by washing your car. Use the QD to remove the p&*p and bugs and then wash as soon as possible. By removing the contaminants early with the QD you will avoid damage to the finish of your car. Washing it alone will not remove the wax. Your doing fine.

Andy
101impala

[Mike Phillips]

Re: When to wash your car?

Mist & Wipe products like our Quik Detailer, Speed Detailer, M34 Final Inspection, Ultimate Quik Detailer and Last Touch, (all of these are Mist & Wipe products), are for removing,

• Light Dust
• Fingerprints
• Smudges

Anytime your car has more than light dust on it you should wash it.

As for removing bird poop, yes removing with free flowing water is better then wiping with anything, when you don't have access to free flowing water then wiping with a mist & wipe product is your next best option.

Best to use lots of your choice of quick detailer to thoroughly lubricate the surface and to also help to soften the bird poop if it's already dried. Then carefully pluck the glob of bird poop off the finish and discard. After that use s clean microfiber and some more quick detailer to go over the area again and clean off any residue.

Just to note, quick detailer is the generic term for a mist and wipe product while Quik Detailer, not the capital letters and the missing letter "c" in the spelling of our quick detailer called Quik Detailer.

If that makes sense?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: When to wash your car?

Moving out of Hot Topics and into Detailing 101

[roushstage2]

Re: When to wash your car?

I use QW while drying the cars.

[Daryle]

Re: When to wash your car?

Thanks for the responses. Are all the following assumptions TRUE when it comes to washing?

- Most important part of any cleaning and washing (different degree of removing contaminants) is a well lubricated surface
- Meguriars washing agents do NOT remove your wax (which is why you do NOT use dish soap, right?)
- Quik Detailer can be used in a pinch but never substitutes a good washing when it comes to contaminants larger than dust (e.g. Mud, bugs, poop, etc.)
- Pouring water from the hose instead of using a spray nozzle will DECREASE water spots
- Washing the car is good for a regular basis but you should clean your cars surface (deep crystal cleaner and clay) when you're going to polish / wax

On a side note, I tried using the Meguriars Scratch X by hand (after reading the official Scratch X threads) and it made more swirls than it removed. I'm sure its a great product but I don't think its for the first timer

Also, I used the GOLD wax paste and it stated it wouldn't leave a white residue but I still have white spots in those hard to reach places with microfiber towels

[Mike Phillips]

Re: When to wash your car?

Thanks for the responses. Are all the following assumptions TRUE when it comes to washing?

- Most important part of any cleaning and washing (different degree of removing contaminants) is a well lubricated surface
- Meguiar's washing agents do NOT remove your wax (which is why you do NOT use dish soap, right?)
- Quik Detailer can be used in a pinch but never substitutes a good washing when it comes to contaminants larger than dust (e.g. Mud, bugs, poop, etc.)
- Pouring water from the hose instead of using a spray nozzle will DECREASE water spots
- Washing the car is good for a regular basis but you should clean your cars surface (deep crystal cleaner and clay) when you're going to polish / wax

That's a pretty good summary.

On a side note, I tried using the Meguiar's Scratch X by hand (after reading the official Scratch X threads) and it made more swirls than it removed. I'm sure its a great product but I don't think its for the first timer

What did you use to apply the ScratchX with? ScratchX is non-abrasive, this means it won't put scratches into your paint, that doesn't mean your applicator pad or material won't do this.

For what it's worth, we demonstrate using ScratchX almost every Saturday in from of around 30 people and we're not putting scratches into the paint in front of all these people for all these years.

Here's one example from a recent Shelby Club class at Meguiar's

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22888

Behold the power of the hand!



Applying ScratchX by hand






Checking the results using a Swirl Finder Light




Point being is we use ScratchX all the time in front of people on all types pf paint systems and then immediately let them see the results. If this product were scratching paint we would have looked into the problem a long time ago.

Also, I used the GOLD wax paste and it stated it wouldn't leave a white residue but I still have white spots in those hard to reach places with microfiber towels

Is this on paint? Or on trim?

We're pretty good at helping people find out where their problems are and helping them to tweak their techniques to get the results they're looking for...

Recent example and testimony...

PC 7424 first use...what am I doing wrong?


From the top of page 3...

I think I improved my technique a bit tonight. I think I was applying too much pressure before, since the pad didn't rotate with the amount of pressure I was using. (Thanks for the tip, Mike!) I backed off on pressure until the pad rotated pretty well, and worked a smaller area with M83. I cleaned the pad "on the fly" after every application of product. I did a few passes with M83 then followed that up with a few passes of M80. Then just for fun I did a pass with #7. Looks fantastic in the garage under fluorescent lights, but I won't really know until it's out in the sun tomorrow. I'll try and get some pics.



Overall I feel like I got much better results by improving my technique a bit. Thanks for all of the advice I'll try and post some "sun" pics tomorrow.

So we're here to help...