So over the weekend i purchased a bunch of things in regards to washing/waxing my 05TL. I picked up some microfiber towels, terry cloth towels, a sheepskin mit, Meguiars NXT Insane Shine (for the tires), and a Meguiars bundled set from circuit city which included Scratch X, the soft wash gel, Cleaner Wax, Quik Detailer and the Hot Rims - All Wheel Cleaner.

So with regards to washing, i know i should have 2 buckets and use the sheepskin mit, however, how do you actually "wash" the car with the mit? In other words what kind of motion is best to use while using the mit in order to wash the car?

 

Wash with straight lines, from front to back, following the flow of air. For side panels, with an up to down motion, but leave the lower half of your door and side skirts for last because they are the dirtiest. Don't use the terry cloth towels, they scratch. Use that for your interior detailing or something. I even managed to scratch the chrome around the window using a terry cloth towel.

 

The motion of the mitt should be washed along the flow of air, horizontally. Swirls will be much less noticable this way if any does occur. Start from the top down. Rinse the mitt after each panel. One way I really like to rinse off the car is to use the hose without an end, it just washes everything off.

 

Check here.........

 

You can also check Autopia for more info on other areas of detailing.

 

Thanks everyone for the helpful info. So i just have one concern, when aaronng mentioned about not using the terry cloth towels for anything b/c they scratch, does that go for the Quik Detailer as well? Because i think it says to apply that with a terry cloth towel and then switch to a dry side in order to take off the detailer. So should i use microfiber towels while using the Quik Detailer?

 

100% cotton, are ok, but MF's are better. Not only better absorption, but quality MFs are your best option for product removal. Do not replace a standard wash job with a quick detail. QD's have there limits.....and this is where a lot of people get in trouble with micro marring.

 

Oh no i'm aware of that exceldetail... i never apply the QD on w/o washing it. Now i may apply the QD like later on that night to make the shine still visible and again that's only if there isn't a lot of dust on the car. My main concern or question was when applying the QD what would be best to use for application and removing it... and from your response you stated the mircofiber would be best.

 

A quality Microfiber would be best....
Correct

 

If your terry cloth towel is of the made in China grade, don't use it for paint. The only terry towel that didn't scratch badly for me was a Sheridan egyption cotton towel. Now I stick to QUALITY microfibres. The potential of scratching is even less than the best terry towel.