Things you will need
In order to effectively wash your car you are going to need a good source of water, a quality spray nozzle for your hose, and a shady place to work, preferably on a slight incline (this allows the water to run from the moldings and trim and makes the drying process easier). You are also going to need a high quality car wash, one that is meant for just that purpose as most dish detergents and other types soaps contain entirely too much alkaline and/or salts and they are designed to remove grease and oil. Even though they may gentle too your hands, they're not great for your cars finish. You will also need a generous size bucket. We recommend 2.5 to a 5 gallon size, available at your local hardware store. You will also need tools to wash your car with. We recommend natural "sea" sponges, cotton chenille pads, or a good quality wash mitt. Whatever you are choosing it is best to have two of them available. One for the top half of you car. The other for the bottom. If you have factory or after-market alloy wheels, we recommend a good quality wheel cleanser. Be sure the one you choose is perfectly safe for use with clear-coated wheels. You will also need a soft brush or a small sponge for you wheels if they are really grimy.
For drying use either a high quality synthetic or natural chamois, as well as good soft terry cloth towels. At any rate its best to have a bunch of them handy.
Let's Wash
If you have alloy wheels, that is always a good starting point. Make sure your wheels are cool, as hot wheels will end up drying up your wheel cleaner. Spray your wheels as recommend by the manufacturer and turn your nozzle to a sharp stream. If your wheels aren't too dirty this sharp stream should remove all your brake dust. If, in fact they require further attention you should use either the soft brush or sponge previously mentioned. In any case, do not use the following: steel wool pads, wire brushes, or very hard bristle brushes. All these are good for is ruining the clear finish on your wheels. Once you are satisfied with your wheels it's time to mix up the car wash solution. Follow the individual manufacturer's directions and always keep in mind, when it comes to car wash soap, it's always best to use a little less than a little more.
The object is to lubricate the cleaning process going on between your sponge or mitt and the painted surface. You should not scrub anything. Doing this will only risk scratching you car's finish. If there is a problem spot on your car we will address those later on. Now that you have your wash soap mixed up, turn your hose on to the car. Rinse down the entire car, paying special attention to any foreign matter, such as mud, wheel-well grime, bird droppings, etc., which can be rinsed off with water alone at this time. Do the best you can. Now grab your mitt or pad or sponge and start washing. Start at the very top off the car. The roof, the hood, the trunk. Rinse each surface after you've washed it. Start on the sides of the car at some point around the belt line, change your wash implement. This area is where the most of road film, dirt, grime and mud will be. Rinse all these areas real well. At this time a little trick we do is to take the nozzle off of the hose, allowing the water to free flow and cascade over all surfaces of the car, starting with the roof. Once you've gotten the knack of doing this you will find that the cascading water will pull additional water off of the surface and make the drying procedure easier.
For drying, as we mentioned before, we recommend the high quality chamois of your choice, as well as, the nice soft terry cloth towels. In the same order that you washed the car, the drying process will begin. We recommend that you wipe the water off with the chamois initially, and follow it up with a terry towel for a really clean streak-free surface. Wring out your chamois frequently and when your terry towels become less efficient, change them. Following this procedure will result in a nice clean car.
If you happen to have a compressor or other source of forced air available to you, this is a great way to get excess dripping water away from the moldings, mirrors, door jams, etc. If you have it available, it is worth the extra step to eliminate most of those horribly annoying drips that occur after you have fully dried the car. Happy washing and if you have any further questions, feel free to discuss them with a Car crazy representative.
Pre-Cleaning your car before waxing
The new paints of today are very different from the old lacquers and enamels of fifteen years ago. Many are water-based acrylics that are much thinner in total depth than the old paints. For that reason, we do not recommend cleaner waxes or any caustic or abrasive cleansers. When improperly used on modern paint they can result in a finish which you will regret for years to come.
We do recommend a non-abrasive and very low-abrasive cleaners. There are some very effective ones on the market. Washing the car alone is just not enough to remove residue from bird droppings, acid rain, tree sap, road tar, or the acid generated from catalytic converter exhaust. All of these elements will lead to paint oxidation. This oxidation has to be removed. Pre-wax cleaning once or twice a year will certainly help in preventing any deterioration from these elements. A good pre-cleaner will also help minimize the effects of minor swirls and provide a squeaky clean paint which will ultimately allow the wax to bond better.
Before you start
Two things are to be kept in mind. 1. You should always start with a freshly washed car. 2. Any areas of the car which are pre-cleaned should be waxed at the same time because the pre-cleaning process leaves your finish unprotected.
Pick a quality pre-cleaner of your choice. Using a clean terry cloth applicator, lightly moistened with water. Work in small areas, with a medium pressure. It has been said that straight back and forth strokes is the most effective method. Work the cleaner until it becomes somewhat thick and tacky, at which point use a separate soft terry cloth towel to buff the clean surface before the cleaner dries. You will see the difference in the pre-clean paint versus the paint that has not been cleaned. If your paint is heavily oxidized you may need additional applications. In which case, repeat those steps. Continue the procedure until you have cleaned the whole car or the area in which time will allow you to wax, as well.
Regardless of how often you wax your car, it is a good idea to use a pre-cleaner occasionally. In fact, even if you are just in the mood to put just a "quick coat of wax" on the car it is always best to use the pre-cleaner beforehand on any spots which may be showing imperfections.
Time to wax your car
A good coat of wax is essential for the protection of your cars surfaces. It creates a barrier against UV and infrared rays, makes cleaning so much easier not to mention the nice shiny luster which we all desire. There are many types of waxes on the market today. We prefer a non-petroleum carnauba wax, as carnauba has an ability to fill and efface minor scratching as well as give your car that deep shiny luster that separates you from the rest. Walk into any conventional auto parts store will show you that there are many waxes out there claiming to be carnauba but unfortunately, there is no government regulations that requires those manufacturers to tell you exactly how much and what type of carnauba wax is in those products. Also, many of these products contains petroleum distillates. These are not helpful to many of today's paints. Petroleum distillates are an easy and inexpensive carrying and emulsifying agent for the wax but actually prevent the carnauba from achieving its full effect. There is also no such thing as a pure carnauba wax. Carnauba, in its pure form is rock hard. It has to be emulsified. Your best carnauba waxes contain between 20% and 50% carnauba in combination with natural oils and brightening agents. When using carnauba waxes with natural oils as the carrying agent they adhere to paint immediately and should not be left to dry but rather be taken up promptly. It also will not leave the annoying white residual powder the gets all over everything. Furthermore, despite the additional expense of the high quality carnauba it's economically better because you are using a very thin film, as carnauba is hyposcopic.
There are also many synthetic waxes and synthetic/carnauba wax combinations on the market. Some of which will achieve a very nice result. Synthetic waxes are primarily silicon and polymers and while they will enjoy a greater life span on your car, they have a tendency to reflect scratches rather than efface them.
Most synthetic waxes are much quicker to use and what many detailing enthusiasts will do is follow up their pre-cleaning process with a coat of synthetic wax and then follow that with a coat of carnauba. That is an ideal way but can become quite time consuming!
So here we go, applying the wax
For carnauba wax applications we always recommend a quality foam pad. Foam has the ability to take up just enough carnauba and spread it to the desired thickness and is a lot easier to work with this type of product. It is recommend to start with halves body panels. Apply the wax in nice straight strokes covering all painted surfaces. Once again, it need only be a very thin coat. Do not allow the wax to dry. But after the application, buff it off with a soft terry cloth towel, turning the towel frequently. Continue the process until the whole car is finished then stand back and admire your handy work.
Taken from Car Care Bible
