tell us your steps/procedures in washing your car

 

Well of course, first off u're gonna need a few basic materials.

A bucket, a mitt, Meguiars Gold Class soap, a hose, and some damp towels.

Luckily my apt complex has a car care station, covered. If u do not, a shaded area is a must. I rinse the car from top to bottom, making sure to get all the loose dirt. I grab my soapy mitt, and start at the roof, working my down, and along the sides. After doing the whole car, i do a quick rinse, so the soap wont dry. I then clean the wheels, making sure along the way to get any bugs and tar. Now its time to dry her off. I use 2 towels and also start at the top, working my way down. I try to get as much of the water as possible the first time around. The 2nd go around is to get it completely dry. Then i rain-x and dry off the windows, then the rims, and lastly, all the jambs. Once back in my garage, i fire up my air compressor, and blow out any water left in the cracks. Treat the tires with silicone dressing, and i'm done. Takes me about 20 minutes to do all that.

Or if im' at work, i just run it through the car wash tunnel.

 

nice nice, anyone else?

 

holy shit 20 minutes for wash and dry and all of that?
You clean the whole car at once with just one dip of soap, workign from top to bottom?

 

Yea, only 20 minutes. It helps of course, that my car is never really dirty, it gets a bath every 2-3 days, if i'm bored, more than that. And i use about 2 tablespoons of soap i guess, not that much.

 

No what I mean is, you never wash the mitt off for each section?

 

Nope. First the car, then the rims. That's it. I wash the mitt after every use though.

 

for me, it usually takes a long time cause I want to take my time
but if i'm in a hurry, I'll almost do the same method as katana

 

come to MI, ur car will always be dirty

 

Soak car
Sponge car with dishwashing liquid
Rinse
Dry
Z1
Z2
Time permitting Z5

total time 2 hours (nonstop of course, but if youre a lazy ass like me, then you'd take a break after ever 30-40 mins )
I started a new Zaino cycle last Sunday.
Oh how I had forgotten the satisfaction in beading watter droplets on a super slick Zaino finish.
My car drys off on the freeway after the rain like PERFECTION, and I thought I was worried about water stains after the rain. Water stains no mas!

 

lets see....on a typical wash day


2 mits, detailing brushes, towels, chamois, 2 buckets..etc etc


-Meg's Pro Hi Tech wash (2x) (1st to get heavy set off, then 2nd for any that might be left on)
-Meg's Medal. Premium Paint Cleaner
-Meg's Pro Show Car Glaze
-Meg's Pro Wax
-Meg's Medal. Premium Paint Protection

All one right after another...

Then...
-Meg's Pro. Wheel Cleaner
-Meg's High Endurance Tire Gel

Then...
-Meg's Metal Restorer
-Meg's Trim Detailer

Then.....
Vaccum out the car
-Meg's Pro Vinyl and Rubber Conditioner/Cleaner

Clean the windows...

Then...
-Meg's Medal. Premium Leather Cleaner/Conditioner

Before I close the garage door, Meg's Final Inspection. After I close the door, final wipe with Meg's Ultimate Wipe Cloth

This is would be my typical wash...if I went with my other products as well, I would also use Meg's Pro Fine Cut Cleaner and Meg's Pro. Swirl Remover if needed. All applied with Meg's Cordless Buffer. I think that about covers it...

 

Things Needed:
1. Bucket, less than a teaspoon of carwash soap.
2. Lambskin mit, rinsed every time before being put back in bucket.
3. California Car Blade, and maybe 6 terry towels.
4. Lambskin mit (dirty and old), used ONLY for cleaning wheels/rims.


In the summer I park my car as much in the shade as possible. In the winter I wash my car inside the garage.

If car is not dirty (and freshly waxed) I will not use any detergent, and just rinse the car and run the lambskin mit to remove the dust, rinsing often.

If car is slightly dirty, I probably soak mit in bucket 4-6 times, rinsing inbetween dunks.

If car is VERY dirty, roadsalt etc, I will put double detergent (about 1 tablespoon per 5 gal.), and dunk mit 10+ times rinsing between dunks.

I start rinsing car top to bottom, and washing car w/ mit starting at the top, working to the bottom.

Then clean the wipers, putting them up so they can be properly cleaned (putting them back down so they won't WHAP against your hood if you forget, or raise the hood w/ them up!!)

Use my California blade starting from top to bottom, w/ terry towel in other hand.

Dry car, opening doors, hood, trunk, and gas access to dry all remaining water and to prevent "hard water stains". I also enjoy wiping the bottom edge of the doors to remove kicked up road debri and junk.

Lower windows 1"+ to clean residue buildup at top of glass.

Silicone up the tires with tire shine on a tire shine applicator (so stuff won't get sprayed on wheels and come loose on paint if overapplicated or driven shortly after application).
Move car 2' back or forward to reapply tire shine for even coverage.

With Chrome Polish (Blue Magic I think) clean exhaust to shine it up!! Cleaning the tips of my OEM pipes make them stand out-------

Double check car for remaining bugs/tar, use least aggressive measures, working the way up to 3M adhesive remover if need be.

Remove floor mats, beat them, brush them, vacuum interior.

And if there is time, Lexol leather as often as possible,(cleaner and conditioner) atleast every 3 weeks.

I also have a nose bra, so I wash it with at mit, rinse it, and remove it to dry before washing (or just remove the hood piece if the car is not excessively ditry).

And that's it!!

But if the windows have been smudged on the inside, I'll clean them with non-amonia glass cleaner for the tints, windex for the front windshield (AS1), clean dash and apply low gloss Armor All.

If I wax, I use One Grand polish and Wax with Microfiber buffing towels. Microfiber is the bomb for buffing out any type of wax and polish!!


Result, one CLEAN car!! Sorry, had to throw in the pic!

 

damn son. that shit is clean.


"so fresh and so clean clean"

 

Needed: Hose, Bucket, two wash mits, Eagle One WET Car wash and wheel cleaner brush.
1-- Risne Car from Top to Bottom
2-- With "car" mit, wash sections at a time
A. Roof, backwindow, top of trunk and rear spoiler, RINSE
B. Front winshield (letting wipers up so can clean them), hood, RINSE
C. Front of car, RINSE
D. Each side of car, starting at top and make way to the bottom, RINSE
E. Rear of car from top, to bottom, RINSE
Switch out mits
F. Wheels and wheel wells, using wheel brush to clean the inside of the wheels
G. Clean Exhausts
Dry car with California car blade first, then remove excess water by The Absorber.
Silicone dress the tires, clean excess water and dirt from doorjambs, trunk, gas door.
The End

 

Basic exterior wash (weekly) 30-40 min.

1-Spray Westleys bleach white on tires and inner wheel wells only and let sit for a min. Hose off.

2-Fill one bucket with Zaino car wash and wash all the wheels and tires with a rag. Spray off after each side is scrubbed. (Wash the wheels first so your paint isn't air drying and spotting while your rushing to do the wheels last.)

3-Wash all the inner fender wells of road debris.

4-Get another bucket and fill with Zaino car wash and put the mitt in the bucket. (at this time I also prepare my absorber which I really don't need to use much)

5-Spray the entire car down and proceed to wash the roof, hood, windshield, and front bumper very good.... Spray off and then wash the drivers side and rear glass, and bumper.....Spray again and then wash the passenger side of the car. Give it a final good spray. I like to divide it up into a few sections to help prevent it from spotting and I usually do a better job.

6-Crank high power leaf blower and carefully blow all the water off the car. If you go over it a few times you can completely eliminate the need to use an absorber.

7-Grab a fresh towel and dry door jabs, trunk, gas lid(No Lie), and under hood including intake. I made the mistake of never drying my intake tube on my last car and it spotted up permanently.


Expanded interior cleaning (1.5-2 weeks) 40-50 min.

1-Spray Stoners glass cleaner on all windows including windshield and wipe clean with wadded newspaper.

2-Vaccum all carpeted areas including floor mats, suck up loose dirt from console cup holder area.

3-Treat dash, door panels, etc with Lexol applied with a soft rag.

4-Treat all leather seating surfaces with Lexol leather cleaner.

5-Get the vent brush and remove all dust from tight areas.

I would normally do all that on a Friday so the car can be fairly ready for a nice Saturday Zaino session

-Repeat steps 4-7 of exterior cleaning even though I just did it a day earlier to ensure a totally clean surface.

-Apply 3 coats of Z-2 with Zaino applicator and then remove with a quality 100% cotton Fieldcrest towel. It has to be made in America or it is not 100% cotton and will cause more swirls

-I don't use the Z-5 unless the swirls are getting bad.

Thats about it.

 

It takes me 5 minutes maximum, just take it to your nearest Chevron and pay the premium washing price

 

 

i dont want to go throgh but it takes me 2 to 3 hrs

 

I dont think we're talking about full on detailing, just washing it. What some of you guys are saying is a full on detail!

 

oh, my fucking god...I just read the application shit on zainobros and im TOTALLY lost...they say to wash your car first w/ Dawn? then do the clay bar, then ZFX, then Z2 or Z5, then sit for a few hours, then wipe it off, then put on Z6, then the FOLLOWING day if you wish put on another coat of Z2 or Z5, sit for a few hours, wipe it off, put on Z6, etc etc....what teh fuck ever happened to washing the car with the Z7??

So basically the way you start out washing your car...drying it and getting rid of ALL water spots...then doing the process i just wrote up above? Why can't I just wash the car w/ the Z7 rather than the Dawn?? ...

ay yi yi lol...some1 help

oh....ALSO, what about washing the rims?? What do you use to polish the rims (ive got the stock rims but they're the chrome ones...what do i use)?

lastly, how often do you have to do this treatment? I hope only once every 3-5 months lol...

 

The Dawn step is to strip any wax off the car. Not something you want to do all the time.

 

Washing your car with Dawn =

 

Unless your going to Claybar

 

Claybar removes everything anyway, no need to put that harsh chemical on your paint surface.

 

where can i buy zaino...cause i need some by thursday can i buy it like adv auto parts?

 

If you can't find Westley's Bleche White, try Spray Nine. I believe it is from the same manufacturer.

It will also remove oil & road tar from your paint if needed in a jam.

 

Everyone pretty much summed up my regimen.

I wash the wheels first, with a horsehair brush. Then I do the Comptech exhaust If you do the body of the car first, it will start to spot and you'll have to rinse it down again.

2 buckets
1 - soapy water
1 - plain water
mesh screen in bottom of both the allow dirt to sink to bottom and not get picked up by wash mitt

I rinse the mitt about 15-20 times during a normal car wash. Sometimes if I'm washing the lower rocker panels, I will take the wash mitt off and put the hose end into the wash mitt to allow the dirt to rinse out.

Dry the car with the leaf blower and blot any spots up with an Absorber.