Washing the car properly, but quickly.

So i've been around long enough to recognise that going out and attacking the car with a sponge is a big no-no.

I've got the wash mitt, the two buckets, the snow foam lance etc etc.

What i dont have is the time to spend 3 hours every time the car needs a wash using all the kit and taking *** ages.

As a result, the car ends up just never getting washed and sits there looking manky all the time.

I'm also fairly unimpressed with the snowfoam system, it doesnt really seem to do anything bar adding to the time taken to wash the car.

Maybe i'm using the wrong chemicals, or the wrong technique but i'd appreciate some pointers on a procedure to wash the car well, that doesnt take ****** hours.

My current procedure goes something like:

Rinse with pressure washer
Snowfoam (currently using Autosmart Autowash as shampoo and snowfoam, i suspect this is not a good idea as it doesnt seem to work very well)
rinse with pressure washer
2 bucket wash
Rinse

I dont have drying towels so it doesnt get dried and ofcourse ends up coverd in water spots. By the time i've done all that i'm thoroughly fed up and cant be bothered getting any polish or sealants out and it ends up just getting left. It just seems to take ages by the time you've dragged all the equipment out, and put it all away again etc.

I think i need to refine the procedure, i feel that the snowfoam isnt working like it should, so i need to look into either alternative foam or something else (i've heard of "citrus pre wash" but i've no idea what that is)

Someone suggested i should be using Ultramousse or Actimousse XLS as a foam as Autowash isnt any good for foaming equipment, so evidently i need to look into that, but i've literally no idea where to start.

I've heard of IronX and tar remover before, tried a tar remover and didnt think it was much use unless you scrubbed at the panel with it, which ofcourse then takes ages. If a tar remover existed that i could just spray on and wipe or blast off that would be worth buying. No idea what IronX does though.

Its about finding the optimal point on the effort/result curve and making sure i'm using the right products so the effort isnt wasted.

Snowfoaming the car adds probably 15-20mins by the time you've got the equipment ready, applied the foam, let it dwell and rinsed off, and i feel that the time spent isnt justified because it doesnt do anything.

Yet everyone raves about snowfoams so either they're all delusional or what i'm doing isnt right...

Similarly treatments like IronX and Tar remover are specialised and aim to reduce effort, however while i havent tried the ironx, I tried some tar remover and it didnt work without similar levels of effort to actually polishing the panels, and ofcourse the polish would have taken the tar off anyway, so again, either its pointless, or i'm doing something wrong or using the wrong stuff. Unfortunately i dont remember what tar remover it was that i used.

So i guess what i'm asking is what ACTUALLY works as a pre-wash, rather than just covering the car with pretty foam.

And similar what supplemental products like ironx and tar-remover are actually worth the money.


Lastly, i've never fully got my head round the multiple layers of paint protection, and what you should be applying when and how often. When i bought the car i polished it with a borrowed DA and menz 203s, then sealed it with Acrylic Prime. Not really knowing what to do after that it got left and hasnt been touched in ages. Evidently i need to go back to the start, get it polished and sealed again, but i need to know what i should be doing it keep the paint in good nick once it gets to that point!

Cheers

AndyBM said:

what snow foam are you using? TFR or pH neutral?

if you dont want to wait for it to dwell, then just wash whilst its on

you only really need to de-iron every couple of months and de-tar every couple of weeks

a liquid 2 in 1 polish/wax will speed up the process of protecting the paint as well but this again only lasts a couple of weeks and not as long as a paste wax over a glaze

Click to expand...

Cheers for that.

I'm just using the Autosmart Autowash in the snowfoam lance. It foams up nice and thick and clings nicely, but it just doesnt do very much. A bit of reading at the weekend highlighted the issue that Autowash isnt really designed for foaming and doesnt have the right make up to work in a foam application, hence the suggestion of the Actimousse XLS instead?

I dont mind waiting for it to dwell, IF it actually works, but my general feeling is that it doesnt actually do anything, presumably because its the wrong stuff.

The Werkstat Prime is supposed to have some 2 in 1 polish/sealant properties, then i've also got Werkstat Jett but i'm not really sure what thats supposed to do or when i should be using it...