Cleaning your vehicles windows will not only give your ride a classy look but will…
Washing and Drying
Correct Washing and Drying
can be the most overlooked step. However, in reality, is one of the most important steps. Many of the imperfections in your paint (scratches, swirl marks, water spots, etc.) are caused due to improper washing and drying techniques. Our goal is to teach you how to effectively remove contamination while minimizing the possibility of creating more imperfections in your paint.
Recommended Washing & Drying Products:
- 1 x Quality Wash Mitt
- 1 x Wash sponge (useful for wheels)
- Quality Car shampoo (ph balanced)
- 1 x Quality Waffle Weave Drying Towel
- 1 x Synthetic Chamois
- 2x Wash Buckets (2 Bucket Method)
- Water Supply and Hose pipe.
- Bug and Tar Degreaser
Why do I need these products you may ask? We strongly encourage using a wash mitt PLUS wash sponge for many reasons. The main reason is your lower panels, front and rear bumpers, wheels and wheel wells get significantly dirtier than the rest of your vehicle and you do not want to be using the same mitt that just removed large particles of tar to touch your roof/bonnet. Allocating the sponge just for those heavily contaminated areas is a smart move because you will not be using a contaminated wash mitt on your delicate paint. Using one mitt throughout is one major factor why people create swirls during the wash phase. Another reason we suggest using the sponge for heavy soiled areas is that if you use one wash mitt for the entire vehicle, the life span of the mitt will be that much shorter due to heavy build up in one mitt. A heavily contaminated mitt requires you to purchase mitts more frequently and creates more risk to your paint.
A quality lubricating shampoo is crucial when trying to safely remove contamination. Without proper lubrication you would be pushing dirt, pollen, tar, etc. across your paint and causing many imperfections in your clear coat. Properly lubricated shampoos will help lift contamination from the surface, creating a slick surface for easy contamination removal. A quality shampoo should also have the proper conditioners for your paint unlike dish soap. Dish washing liquid, such as Sunlight, will remove previous layers of wax and can dry out your paint, dry out and discolor plastic, vinyl and rubber trim, and is harmful to your clear coat.
Sunlight is great for dishes and doesn’t belong anywhere near your car . Shampoos with conditioners work well because they can clean your freshly sealed or waxed vehicle without removing this protection.
Investing in high-quality drying towels will not only save you time during the drying process while minimizing the possibility of adding swirls. Our towel of choice is a Microfiber Waffle Weave Drying Towel. This design has a small nap to pull contamination away from the surface as well as hold large amounts of water in its pockets. In some cases, you will only need
one of these towels to dry your entire vehicle assuming you follow our helpful tips and techniques (which will be explained in just a moment) during the drying process. It is the safest product to minimize the possibility of adding swirls to your clear coat. It’s also essential that your drying towel stays as clean as possible because dragging a dirty towel across the paint can add swirls and very fine scratches. Make sure you don’t use the same Waffle Weave to dry areas that were not cleaned during the washing process like door jambs. For this, you will use your old trusty chamois. Two 5/10 litre wash buckets are a must for any wash day. The reasoning will be described in further detail as we get into the how-to part of the tutorial, but one will be filled with water and suds and the second one with just water.
Water supply and the hose is pretty obvious but should not be overlooked. Flooding the surface of your vehicle is the best thing for minimizing the chance of adding imperfections to your paint so plenty of water will be necessary for pre-wash, rinse and final sheet drying. We strongly advise against using a High-pressure hose on your paintwork. Firstly it’s NOT necessary as proper washing techniques outweigh the benefit of “blasting” the dirt away. With anything regarding car care, always go with the LEAST aggressive method to limit damage. If you really have too, you can use it to blast dirt from your wheel wells and undercarriage.
Let us start by addressing some proper procedures to follow prior to actually washing the vehicle. First, find an area to work in with plenty of shade. With the sun beating on hot soapy water, it will dry before you can completely wash the entire car. this can cause water etching and spots on your vehicles paint. This will add more time in your routine removing them especially if you are just washing and drying for maintenance and not planning on doing a full routine. The paint and wheels should be cool to
the touch prior to washing. Next step, take a look at your attire, no jeans, no belts, no buttons, no rivets, no zippers, and no jewellery or other potentially hazardous objects. You may ask why, but the reasoning is pretty simple, they all will easily scratch your paint’s surface even with very minimal pressure. Also at this time ensure that all windows are completely up and doors, bonnet and boot are completely closed.
Prep Stage:
Make sure the buckets you going to use are completely clean, so rinse them off properly before each use. Fill one wash bucket about 3/4 full of water and the remaining 1/4 full of suds. Fill up the second wash bucket about 1/2 full of water.
Washing:
Rinse down an area of the vehicle that you plan on washing. Start from the top of the vehicle and work your way down. Also, work in sections such as front fenders and bonnet, or passenger side and half of the roof. Walk around your vehicle and pre-treat any areas that have a lot of contamination, such as bug splatter, tar, and other road grime that may be difficult to remove, with a paint-safe degreaser/bug tar remover. Allow the degreaser to sit on the contaminated surface for a few minutes (see manufacturers suggestion)
Dip your wash mitt into the clean water first and give it a good rinse. Now dip it in your soapy mix and start from the top, wash the roof, remember not to put the dirty mitt back in the soapy mix but to always rinse in the clean water first, that way you can be sure you not spreading the same dirt and grit to the other panels which naturally reduces swirl marks. Wash the top half of the car first, and only the top half of the panels all around. Once the entire top half is washed, use the separate wash sponge to do all the lower half of the car, remember this is where most of the heavy dirt and grit can be found.
Once the entire vehicle has been washed, rinse it thoroughly from top to bottom. Now remove the spray nozzle from the hose. Starting from the top of the vehicle sheet free flowing water from the hose off of the vehicle. You should begin to notice less water accumulation on the surface compared to just rinsing off the vehicle. When working down the sides of the vehicle, move the hose from left to right while getting lower and lower, this will ensure the water floods off of the vehicle and will cut your drying time
down considerably. This method takes a bit of practice but if you keep at it, it gets easier.
Drying:
After the vehicle has been sheeted off using the technique described above, take out your waffle weave. Open all doors and boot lid, to allow water to drip while you drying. This way you don’t end up getting the water on your paint AFTER drying it. Blot-dry any large pools of water with your drying towel. This will help get the towel damp which can increase its ability to absorb. Continue around the vehicle lightly wiping off any remaining water on your vehicle. Give the vehicle a final wipe down to ensure there is no water left on the vehicle. The beauty of the micro-fiber waffle weave is it leaves no water spots or streaking like a normal chamois. So if you use on your windows, you don’t have to come back to polish the outer glass again. Once you are done with the entire car, use the chamois to dry the door jams and wheels.
After Washing & Drying Your Vehicle:
Remember to keep your washing equipment clean always. So once you done with the wash and dry. Rinse out the wash sponge, wash mitt, and chamois so that the next wash it will be clean and ready for use. Depending on the condition of the waffle weave it may require cleaning after a few washes.