Another coin-op carwash idea

[tguil]

Winter and its crud have hit the plains of Nebraska. My black Hemi was totally mud from the windows down. When it gets this bad I prefer a coin-op carwash to using a regular hose, wash mitt and shampoo. My plan was to blast the crud off with the high pressure spray and then do a bucket wash followed by a spray rinse. No such luck -- the carwash was too busy. So......

I tried a technique that a pro detailer suggested to me. Wash the truck using the high pressure spray. (Yes, the detergent is a little strong, but so be it. So was the crud on the truck.) Rinse using the high pressure spray. THEN go over the truck one section at a time with a thoroughly soaked, dripping wet bath towel followed immediately by drying the towel rinsed section with a dry towel. This will remove the scum left by the high pressure wash and rinse.

I had a five gallon bucket of clean water with me. The towel rinse took almost all five gallons. I used a cotton bath towel for the rinse and dried the truck one section at a time with a waffle weave microfiber towel.

My final step was an application of Final Inspection. The truck is looking good and I don't think that there was any micro marring.

Has anyone else used this winter wash technique?

Tom

[Tim Lingor]

Hey Tom,

You had better wash the bath towel before the Mrs. finds it!!!

I use a similar method. I will wash the vehicle using the high pressure wand, and follow it with a wet mitt. You have to be careful that you have thoroughly rinsed the mud off before touching the paint. After using the mitt, I dry it with a waffle weave towel.

Tim

[tguil]

Tim,

Bath towels are cheap compared to good microfiber towels. However, divorces are not cheap. I'll be careful.

Tom

[Rockpick]

Originally posted by tguil
Tim,

Bath towels are cheap compared to good microfiber towels. However, divorces are not cheap. I'll be careful.

Tom

Tim,

It seems as though Tom got your point. LOL!

Like you two, I utilize a nearly exact procedure. I've found that the pressure wand can effectively remove the majority of the 'grit and grime' that can be present on the paint prior to washing with my mitt.

Pay very special and close attention to your wand usage though. The wand can be a blessing or a curse as it can spread the materials that you don't want roaming free on your paint (ie: sand, gravel, grit, mud) or it can thoroughly remove those surficial contaminants. Also pay attention to where you're blowing it as I made the mistake one evening of blowing a chunk of mud directly into my wash bucket. HA! That cost me another $4 to clean it out and refill it with fresh water.

RP

[fpalattao]

Are you guys saying after you rinse your car/truck you will then use a wash mitt and water without soap? Or you guys will use the rinse cycle then use the wash mitt with your bucket of soap then rerinse again.

[tguil]

In my case, I used the towel/mitt with just clear rinse water. No soap. My black truck seems to look OK in bright sunlight. I think the important thing is to keep the towlel/mitt super wet. Use lots of water.

Tom

[Rockpick]

Originally posted by fpalattao
Are you guys saying after you rinse your car/truck you will then use a wash mitt and water without soap? Or you guys will use the rinse cycle then use the wash mitt with your bucket of soap then rerinse again.

I'm not. I will pack a bucket of hot water with me to the coin op and just utilize the wand for water. I always will utilize shampoo for lubrication between my mitt and the paint.

RP

[tguil]

It's not a Meguiar's product, but maybe they should have one like it ---Quick & Easy Wash (QEW) is from Protect All. How would this product work as a rinse to get the scum off after you have used the coin-op carwash? The folks over on Autopia are quite fond of it. I couldn't bring myself to use it without first getting the major winter crud off my truck. But it might take care of the lubricity concern connected with just using clear water as a rinse to get the scum off.

I washed my wife's very muddy/cruddy silver Tacoma this afternoon. I could see the residual carwash scum on the surface as a sort of gray layer. I again use clear rinse water but this time a cotton wash mitt rather than a towel. The rinse water got dirty but not overly so and there was no residue left on the truck.

I'm still not all that fond of the carwash detergent. This might be the ultimate test of NXT Tech Wax. I'll be glad when the NXT QD is available. Until then, I'll use my Blackfire QD as it is supposed to have a wee bit of the "poly stuff" in it.

Tom

[Tim Lingor]

Hey Tom,

I have tried the QEW, a few times mostly because of the great reviews about the stuff. But to be very honest, I am still not a believer in it. I tried it on my wife's car which was swirl free. I did end up with some swirls albeit, very light ones after using it. Perhaps I used it incorrectly, I do not know. But I will stick to the coin-op car wash/mitt with a bucket during the winter months.

Tim

[tguil]

Tim,

Do you use the wash mitt with just a clear water rinse in the bucket after doing the high pressure wash and rinse cycle? How do you think that NXT will hold up to carwash detergents?

Tom

[Tim Lingor]

Hi Tom,

I like to use a little #62 Carwash Shampoo & Conditioner in the bucket. I then rinse everything again.

From my use of NXT, I have found it to be very detergent resistant. For example, trying to remove excess NXT from the foam applicator is tough! Dawn soap will not even touch it! Since that is the case, I feel confident that NXT will survive the coin-op soap!

Tim