AudiOn19s Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Winter is the time of year that our vehicles see the most neglect. Cold temps make it very difficult to properly wash a vehicle without doing damages to it. Here is a method that allows you to properly wash your vehicle minimizing any possibility of marring or swirling of the paint in the process. You could even use this method in warm weather if you live in an apartment and don't have access to a good location to wash your vehicle. As long as you're attentive to details this is a completely effective and safe washing method. What you'll need: - 2x 5 gallon buckets - Hoseless Wash solution ( Optimum No-Rinse is the industry standard and my personal choice) - Wash Mit - Best to use either very long shag lambs wool or a porus sponge (sponge is my choice here because of dirt release properties) - Spray Bottle for pre-soak - Microfiber drying towels (2 is good, 3 is better) - Microfiber detailing towels (few is good) A couple of notes before we begin. This method can be use for a fairly dirty car, however if there is ALOT of really heavy dirt on the car it's a good idea to stop at the quarter car wash and use the pressure washer only to spray off some of the bigger stuff. DON'T EVER TOUCH THE BRUSHES at the quarter car wash, never ever, never never never ever touch those brushes. If you've got a garage that will help with your warmth and comfort while washing but this can just as easily be done outside. Careful if the ground is below freezing as it will get slippery. Dirty Car: http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr4.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr5.jpg Fill both buckets of water with 2-3 gallons of warm water. Doesn't have to be warm but it's winter remember, this is for your comfort. One of these buckets will be your rinse bucket, one of them will contain your wash solution. For your wash solution add the appropriate amount of no-rinse solution into the water. For optimum I use one cap full of solution per gallon of water. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr1.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr2.jpg Also fill your spray bottle with warm water and add no-rinse solution to spray bottle too. I use a stronger dilution for the spray bottle than the wash water. I use one cap full of solution for my spray bottle. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr3.jpg Soak your wash medium in the rinse bucket and aggitate to make sure it's good and clean and contains no frozen particles. Pre-soak the portion of the car you wish to wash. Cold air is usually pretty dry so be prepared for it to evaporate quickly. You don't want to pre-soak the whole car at once just a small working area. You should use a standard top down approach to washing the car. For ease of demonstration I'm starting on the hood for this example. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr8.jpg After Pre-soak solution has had a short time to set dip your wash medium in your wash solution bucket, wring out some of the water but not all. Take one swipe across your working area. Do not rub back and forth to scrub, just one swipe with low to medium pressure is all you need. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr9.jpg Flip the wash medium to the other side and make a pass on another dirty section. At this point your wash medium is dirty on both sides and needs to be cleaned. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr10.jpg Place in the water only rinse bucket, aggitate to break the dirt loose and then wring out. Now dip back into the wash solution bucket and repeat the process above. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr11.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr12.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Once you have the section you are working on clean from single passes you can now come back for a second go with your clean wash medium to clean up any residual dirt that is left behind. (you can now wash back and forth over this area on your second pass as you won't be picking up much additional dirt at this time). Next grab your trusty waffle weave drying towel and dry the area using caution to not pick up dirt from the areas of the car that are still dirty. It's cold so the water will be a little streaky. I genearlly use one drying towel as primary and one smaller detailing towel as secondary drying source. At some point both towels will become saturated enough that you're going to need backup's to make it through the job. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr13.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr14.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr15.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr16.jpg **Check your drying towels to make sure they are not picking up any dirt. You don't want to be rubbing that all over the car** Repeat the above process working the whole car from top to bottom. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr18.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr19.jpg Depending on how dirty your car is the water in your rinse bucket will need to be replaced with clean water during the wash. I generally dump that water at least once per car, twice in this instance as my car was pretty dirty http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr17.jpg Once all of the paint is done you can move onto wheels, tires, etc. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr20.jpg Process is no different here, pre-soak, wash, dry. I like using microfiber gloves and a small detailing brush for wheels. EVeryone seems to have a preference for what they like the best I'd say stick with what works for you. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr21.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr22.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Once all of this is complete I like to use this opportunity to go back over the car with a small detailing towel and a quick detailer / spray wax to clean up any last little streaking that may still remain as well as add a boost in protection. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr23.jpg Finally, no wash is complete without some tire sauce. http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr24.jpg Finished Pictures: http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr25.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr26.jpg http://www.andymobiledetail.com/onr27.jpg The first time you give this a go it might take you the better part of an hour to complete, once you get the process down you can easily do it in about half that time. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Glad someone finally wrote this up. Love the double bucket indoor method. Use it when it's 90 degrees outside too so I can be in the shade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Great write up, always wondered how this worked. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboRust Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 tire shine.. well forget that free alignment check...hrmmmph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted February 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 tire shine.. well forget that free alignment check...hrmmmph Extra tire shine for you next time P.S. the Audi has >201k miles now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Very nice. I have always just washed like normal but with warm water in my Nomad washer! It was only an apartment garage, so water on the ground was okay. The walls don't get all too wet since it isn't super high powered. http://www.horseshowjumps.co.uk/ekmps/shops/horsesj/images/nomad-18v-portable-horse-washer-1564-p.jpg But now with a much larger vehicle and warmer weather, I can only use it to wash my bathtub... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 your garage floor looks like crap. i know this guy who does to floors what you do to cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragknee66 Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Dumb question but where is the best place to get the no rinse and the sponge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBQdDude Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Niiiice writeup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted February 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Dumb question but where is the best place to get the no rinse and the sponge I could put something together for you. PM me if interested Lots of options on-line too (Autogeek.net, Detailed Image, etc). Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinwebb Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Is there anywhere local that sells the optimum no rinse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Really awesome write-up, Andy! Thanks! :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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