Announcement

**Ranger72** · Sep 19, 2005, 09:03 PM

I don't when people do this at all! Washing with solely water is a very bad idea! Most meguiars soaps are engineered to not strip wax and besides, would you rather wash your car with water to not strip the wax but defenitley swirl the paint or wash properly and loose some wax (as wax is instead to do as its a "sacraficial barrier") and have a swirl free shine? I know my answer.

**Jeff Smith** · Sep 19, 2005, 09:20 PM

Originally posted by Ranger72
I don't when people do this at all! Washing with solely water is a very bad idea! Most meguiars soaps are engineered to not strip wax and besides, would you rather wash your car with water to not strip the wax but defenitley swirl the paint or wash properly and loose some wax (as wax is instead to do as its a "sacraficial barrier") and have a swirl free shine? I know my answer.

Good input there. Personnaly I never noticed any swirls from clear water washing but I do realize the potential is there. Maybe I was just one of the lucky ones.

So evidently I am not the only person who ever does this and my putting out this thread might serve the purpose of shedding some light on the topic. It never hurts to kick thoughts around, whether they be good or bad. There is always a newby like myself who has tried things, not being the wiser.

**F-150** · Sep 19, 2005, 09:43 PM

I'd use a quik wax or spray wax every 2 weeks as a booster wax, and use speed detailer or quik detailer to keep it lookin good and not to lose any wax. But I'd never just use water to wash a car, always with soap because the scratches, and why not use the soap anyway? It doesn't even take much longer and the results are better.

**Jeff Smith** · Sep 19, 2005, 10:17 PM

Originally posted by F-150
I'd use a quik wax or spray wax every 2 weeks as a booster wax, and use speed detailer or quik detailer to keep it lookin good and not to lose any wax. But I'd never just use water to wash a car, always with soap because the scratches, and why not use the soap anyway? It doesn't even take much longer and the results are better.

I used the Spray Wax once. It did fine but to be honest. Time Wise, it seemed to take me just about as long to do that as it does to apply NXT Paste. I keep the spray wax around but I have yet to have used it since.

Regarding the clear water washes. One of the reasons I asked was that I am gearing up to do a full Clay>Clean>Polish>Wax on my truck for the first time. Now I know that it is accepted that you can go straight from Polishing to waxing without washing if you "feel" you have done a good job of getting rid of the polish residue. OK, IMHO, being the newby that I am and also being overcautious, I would tend to feel no matter how well a person wiped the Polish Residue off there still would be some film left. It might even be micrscopic but I find it hard to believe all of the polish can be removed with an MF or even 2.

Having said that, I would suspect that washing with any soap would also leave a film. However miniscule. I am considering looking into the pro line for a Body Shop safe shampoo for this reason.

That main reason I asked about the clean water washing was that I was curious as to whether or not a clean water wash would be well advised after wiping off the polish and before applying the wax.

I know this is anal but it just appears to me that any possibility of a film under the wax should be avoided.

Again, I am a newby here and am just curious about this.

**Electric Shepherd** · Sep 19, 2005, 10:30 PM

Presumably the Meg's washes are formulated to strip the minimum amount of wax off whilst the suds hold particles away from the paint that would otherwise cause swirling.

Personally I use Johnson's baby shampoo on the recommendation of a UK valet and it's very effective as it lathers well but is very gentle [it was good enough for my kids when they were little and had sensitive skin, so it should be kind enough on my car's finish!!!]

I can't see washing with water only being a particularly great idea IMHO.

**Jeff Smith** · Sep 19, 2005, 10:41 PM

Ok I see everyone's points and understand. Can anyone recommend a car wash or shampoo, likely from the pro line, that is BodyShop safe and will not leave behind a residue?

**escape** · Sep 19, 2005, 10:45 PM

I have to admit that I have done this quite a bit. Especially in the winter months when it is too cold to do a full wash. I have a semi-heated garage and the water on the floor would freeze over night. I use the heated water from the hose outlet (yes I am lucky enough to have access to heated water outside) and spray a fine mist over the car, dry with microfiber, then use a quick detail product. Seems to get more dirt off then just using the QD, but I only do this when the car is mostly clean and just a thin layer of dust on it. I am probably introducing some minor scratching but I cannot stand to have my car look dirty.

**Jeff Smith** · Sep 19, 2005, 10:53 PM

Originally posted by escape
I have to admit that I have done this quite a bit. Especially in the winter months when it is too cold to do a full wash. I have a semi-heated garage and the water on the floor would freeze over night. I use the heated water from the hose outlet (yes I am lucky enough to have access to heated water outside) and spray a fine mist over the car, dry with microfiber, then use a quick detail product. Seems to get more dirt off then just using the QD, but I only do this when the car is mostly clean and just a thin layer of dust on it. I am probably introducing some minor scratching but I cannot stand to have my car look dirty.

Yep, My logic was since it was wet from the rain already and it was already clean, why not just hose it down and wipe it off. But I can understand from the logic of the others who psosted feedback the idea of the soaps providng the lubrication. I guess I need to be willing to loose a little wax for that piece of mind.

But my post above regarding the step between polish removal and application of wax bears some discussion I think. I think it is a valid point coming from the perspective of a newby and hopefully someone with more expertise on the subject will enlighten me.

**Murr1525** · Sep 20, 2005, 10:22 AM

If you are really needing to just hose the car off, in a bind or whatnot, I would think hosing it off, and then shooting on some QD, or Last Touch, etc while drying would be a better idea, as at least there is some lubrication then.

As far as your polishing question, you have only been washing, and then Nxt Paste waxing your truck so far?

There is a rather handy post around on this subject, of how a polish affects a wax over top of it. Tried searching but couldnt get it. Basicaly, it was explained that a wax is designed to adhere best after a polish has been applied. And a polish works best after a cleaner.

Naturaly, you do not want to leave streaks or lots of 'dust' after the polishing step, but using the product properly, and not letting it dry helps avoid this.

Remember, Gold CLass Wax has polishing oils in it, cleaner waxes have polishing oils, and DC#3 has been used right after DC#2 by thousands of people for years, so polishing oils and waxes work very well together. In fact, any little spec of fresh polish you miss will probably just reliquefy into the wax when you apply it.

I hope that long winded reply helps a little...

Edit:
Found the link

Do Glazes Effect the Bonding of Nxt Wax

**oc detailer** · Sep 20, 2005, 10:51 AM

lol i used to run out in the rain with a bucket of soap and water and wash my "beater" while it was raining, and let the rain rinse it off...it was all in fun of course..

theres times with my new car, its just very light dust on the car, and been using QD on it all wekk to dust it off, but feel theres a point where it should be washed rather than QD'ed over and over again..

**Accumulator** · Sep 20, 2005, 11:12 AM

No way would I ever do anything other than a regular wash with a quality shampoo. Just not worth the risk of marring the paint.

I've never had *any* problems of any kind from using #62 or #00. The latter is about as mild as shampoos get and neither of them have ever had an appreciable effect on my LSPs. I find these two shampoos to be superior to the "consumer" level washes that I've tried, including Gold Class.

Buy the big jugs and save a little $. Use the good shampoos and save a little paint

**benhui86** · Sep 20, 2005, 01:32 PM

if its pretty clean instead of the water y not use QD instead? no swirls.... works even better and faster.... just use cali duster to dust off majority of the dust and then qd the rest off w/ microfiber....

**F-150** · Sep 20, 2005, 02:01 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I heard that using a car duster will scratch your paint if you use it frequently and they're not worth using because they get dirty fast, therefore causing scratches. A spray detailer was the best to use for a lil dust.

**rusty bumper** · Sep 20, 2005, 02:34 PM

Originally posted by Accumulator
I've never had *any* problems of any kind from using #62 or #00. The latter is about as mild as shampoos get and neither of them have ever had an appreciable effect on my LSPs. I find these two shampoos to be superior to the "consumer" level washes that I've tried, including Gold Class.

Interesting.

I'd like to hear your commentary on that.

~~~~~~~~~~~

As for washing with water, I only use a quality shampoo to wash a car with.....Diluted at the proper ratio.

Announcement

Clear water washing (No Soap)

Clear water washing (No Soap)

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment