Washing a car...

[Nick Chapman]

One of the most asked questions I get is…..”Why does it take you so long to wash a car?” So I thought I’d take a minute, and show you me step by step for washing and drying this Audi R8. Total wash time was 1 hour and 45 minutes, start to finish.

Beautiful vehicle! Although, the brakes dust WAAAAAY too much!


Here you can see just how bad the pads dust….



Step 1, is to soak the wheel in Diablo Wheel Gel…


After letting it set for about 5 minutes, I start by washing the lugs…


Then I take care of the insides of the wheel barrels….


Then the face of the wheel…


Next step is to clean the brakes up….


Then on to the wheel wells. Lots of scrubbing here, and not a lot of room on this car!


And here’s the clean wh, eel!

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Washing a car...

Onto the motor next… not really dirty, Just dusty, but I’ll go thru my entire process


Meg’s Degreaser(10:1)


Rinsed thoroughly, then apply the soap thru the foam gun…

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Washing a car...

Onto the car itself…..
Rinse it off…


Soak it with the foam gun….



Then a nice gentle hand wash….




Rinse thoroughly!!!!!!



Then dry With Cobra Waffle Weave towels.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Washing a car...

Now the fun stuff!

Master Blaster Heated Air Drier!


All the cracks and crevices have to be blown out to avoid those pesky little drips that form after a good wash…



Wheels dried also!


And dry the engine!



The end result………







And some playing with HDR…

[gto_don]

Re: Washing a car...

GREAT Stuff Nick. I like the idea of the heated air dry. I use compressed air on all my details to get the water out of the crevices. As for the heated air...well, Arizona summers pretty much offer that up at no cost! I really enjoyed the post. Thanks for sharing.

[G_S_DB]

Re: Washing a car...

As always, just fantastic -- the write up and the pictures. How do you have time to play amatuer photg while doing all those cars? The high dynamic range picture (HDR) really looks unreal, I love it.

One question. What was the last step after the wash, did you use a detailing spray or was it just ready to roll? I keep having problems with small water spots after I dry.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Washing a car...

Nice process!

I like using ONR and a pesticide sprayer (for wheels, wells, and heavy dirt) though. Because I work in the sun ONR allows me to wash with no waterspots.

[Marc08EX]

Re: Washing a car...

Thanks for sharing Nick!

[Cat ji]

Re: Washing a car...

Thanks, this is great!

What comes next? Spray wax? Full hand wax? Engine dressing stuff?

[VMP]

Re: Washing a car...

Great post NICK, I love to see your post´s

[ali pontiac]

Re: Washing a car...

great job nick.

[aris]

Re: Washing a car...

Awesome

[john m.]

Re: Washing a car...

This is great! Wish I had a spot like that to wash in! My car usually gets a tad neglected since I have to work outside where I dont have the best shade, I usually end up working very quickly and rushed so that water does not dry on my car :/ where did you get that little masterblaster? That thing looks awesome!

[the other pc]

Re: Washing a car...

The Blaster's made by a company called Metro. They make a full range of commercial blowers and vacuums.

A lot of detailing suppliers sell one or more Metro products. Check with you favorite suppliers or just Google around. Metro products are pretty easy to find.



pc.

[Garage Troll]

Re: Washing a car...

Nice process!I like using ONR and a pesticide sprayer (for wheels, wells, and heavy dirt) though. Because I work in the sun ONR allows me to wash with no waterspots.

Ditto!