DIY: Car wash on a budget
10-31-2004, 10:45 AM
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DIY: Car wash on a budget
All I can say is most of you will shrek when you read this but I have had my car for 3 or 4 months housed outside and there are no swirls, scratchs, or buildup on this vehicle. When I'm done using this procedure the car looks the way it did in the showroom.
Keep in mind my rx-8 is leased (so I'm not gunho about what the car will look like 4 or 5 years down the road) and I have no way to clean it outside going to a "car wash" which would be pretty stupid. If anyone wants to see pics that is fine I'll post when I put on my winter tires and rims---which will be very soon.
I do the following to keep a showroom shine (It takes about 30 minutes but I move slow and I am very detailed). Keep in mind my car is housed in the street and I live in an apartment so this really is my only option. The good thing about this is I am the only tenant so no one ever has a chance to ding my car.
1. I clean it once twice a week (because I love to run my hands up and down her body).
2. First I drive to a republe 24-7 power wash (go to one that is maintained well). I like to go around 9 or 10 pm so I can take my time. Additonally, bucket washing at these places is a no-no.
3. Apply tire/engine degreaser (yellow-green liquid) option to all four rims. It works and after 3 months I can say it is safe for rx-8 OEM rims. DO NOT get this on the paint of the car! Will anything happen if you do? I would imagine since it is like acid.
4. Apply prewash (pink coral wash) option all over car to loosen dirt especially around wheel wells and base plates.
5. Switch to power soap option. Fill bucket with power soap ALONG WITH MOTHER'S CAR SOAP. I trust Mother's but I'm sure you can use your preference. Wash down car with soap gun make sure you hit every inch of the car. This is to ensure your not sponging dirt into your paint.
6. Using a soft sponge (I use a real sponge) LIGHTLY sponge every inch of vehicle top to bottom )be sure to rinse sponge frequently!). Save the bumpers and base boards for last since they more than likely will have more residue.
7. Power wash with straight water until all soap is off the car, switch to power wax, and then switch to final rinse.
8. With a soft cloth dry down vehicle making sure to use a different towel on baseboards. a softer towel for lights. I like to hit all drain paths too (inside door, under hood, inside gas cap, and rear truck door)
Use a paper towel to detail out front rims. This takes 30 seconds a rim. I do rear first then front. Finally, wipe inner and outer of both exhaust tips to remove carbon.
9. Open all four doors, slamm all four doors, wipe down any water that comes out from window seals.
10. Vacumn car (protect car by wrapping head of vacumn with hand or towel when hitting any of the "plastic" in the car). This mazda is nortorious for scuffing. If I am going to do instruments I use an air can. The dash (black around radio and doors) in the vehicle will scratch if you dry towel it. I highly discourage touching the cluster.
The key here is keep-up. I wash once, twice a week therefore nothing appearance wise every gets out of hand.
Keep in mind my rx-8 is leased (so I'm not gunho about what the car will look like 4 or 5 years down the road) and I have no way to clean it outside going to a "car wash" which would be pretty stupid. If anyone wants to see pics that is fine I'll post when I put on my winter tires and rims---which will be very soon.
I do the following to keep a showroom shine (It takes about 30 minutes but I move slow and I am very detailed). Keep in mind my car is housed in the street and I live in an apartment so this really is my only option. The good thing about this is I am the only tenant so no one ever has a chance to ding my car.
1. I clean it once twice a week (because I love to run my hands up and down her body).
2. First I drive to a republe 24-7 power wash (go to one that is maintained well). I like to go around 9 or 10 pm so I can take my time. Additonally, bucket washing at these places is a no-no.
3. Apply tire/engine degreaser (yellow-green liquid) option to all four rims. It works and after 3 months I can say it is safe for rx-8 OEM rims. DO NOT get this on the paint of the car! Will anything happen if you do? I would imagine since it is like acid.
4. Apply prewash (pink coral wash) option all over car to loosen dirt especially around wheel wells and base plates.
5. Switch to power soap option. Fill bucket with power soap ALONG WITH MOTHER'S CAR SOAP. I trust Mother's but I'm sure you can use your preference. Wash down car with soap gun make sure you hit every inch of the car. This is to ensure your not sponging dirt into your paint.
6. Using a soft sponge (I use a real sponge) LIGHTLY sponge every inch of vehicle top to bottom )be sure to rinse sponge frequently!). Save the bumpers and base boards for last since they more than likely will have more residue.
7. Power wash with straight water until all soap is off the car, switch to power wax, and then switch to final rinse.
8. With a soft cloth dry down vehicle making sure to use a different towel on baseboards. a softer towel for lights. I like to hit all drain paths too (inside door, under hood, inside gas cap, and rear truck door)
Use a paper towel to detail out front rims. This takes 30 seconds a rim. I do rear first then front. Finally, wipe inner and outer of both exhaust tips to remove carbon.
9. Open all four doors, slamm all four doors, wipe down any water that comes out from window seals.
10. Vacumn car (protect car by wrapping head of vacumn with hand or towel when hitting any of the "plastic" in the car). This mazda is nortorious for scuffing. If I am going to do instruments I use an air can. The dash (black around radio and doors) in the vehicle will scratch if you dry towel it. I highly discourage touching the cluster.
The key here is keep-up. I wash once, twice a week therefore nothing appearance wise every gets out of hand.
Last edited by EandGWZ; 11-07-2004 at 11:56 PM.
10-31-2004, 12:22 PM
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Nice post, EandGWZ! I something similar when I don't have time to hand wash my car at home, and I suspect many people do. Anyway, nice summary - all that's missing to make this a "DIY" is pictures! :D
BTW, in the future if you put a post in the wrong forum, there's no reason to delete it and redo it - just ask the forum mod, a supermod, or an admin via PM to move it for you.
BTW, in the future if you put a post in the wrong forum, there's no reason to delete it and redo it - just ask the forum mod, a supermod, or an admin via PM to move it for you.
10-31-2004, 01:05 PM
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I've never used a degreaser before, but if it is bad for the paint, I don't see why it would be any better for the wheels, considering the stock rims are also painted and clear coated.
10-31-2004, 02:59 PM
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Originally Posted by markd
I've never used a degreaser before, but if it is bad for the paint, I don't see why it would be any better for the wheels, considering the stock rims are also painted and clear coated.
I just stopped by the place that I do my car and the attendant (actually the owner who stops by now and again) said it was a superconcentrated detergent and NOT an acid. None the less he recommended not to use it on the car paint because 1. presoak detergent is safer and more effective and 2. rims such as ours are finished drastically different (in terms of temperature/durability) from the way paint on a car is finished.
Last edited by EandGWZ; 11-07-2004 at 11:57 PM.
11-19-2004, 11:54 PM
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Bumped for members looking for alternatives of keeping car clean during the winter.
BTW, I respect comments by members who have said they are concerned about the chemical aspects but this sure beats a "machine wash"
BTW, I respect comments by members who have said they are concerned about the chemical aspects but this sure beats a "machine wash"
02-24-2005, 11:43 AM
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Alternative Car Wash Method (Borderline OCD Route)
Hey, I'm also an apartment-dweller down here in SoCal but I use a slightly different method... I think I baby it a little more; I would never let those 24/7 wash brushes touch my 8. My way takes more investment upfront but I think it's better for the long-term. Plus my 8 is Black and I can accept nothing less than perfection. Here is my route:
Tools:
(Note, if I suggest a particular brand, I name the brand in the list. If I just say "Wheel Cleaner", pretty much any brand will do.)
1. Wash Mitt ($7)
http://www.autobarn.net/turemserwasm.html
2. California Water Blade ($20)
http://www.autobarn.net/orca14wabl.html
3. Meguiar's Soft Wash ($4)
http://www.meguiars.com/product_show...ne=CP&SrcCat=1
4. Wheel Cleaner ($6)
http://www.autobarn.net/noname1.html
5. Tire Dressing Gel ($6)
http://www.meguiars.com/store_meguia...G-75&store=meg
6. Tire Dressing Applicator ($1)
http://www.autobarn.net/cacotiwi.html
7. Wheel Brush ($7)
http://www.autobarn.net/blackmagicwheelbrush.html
8. Nevr-Dull Chrome Polish ($4)
http://www.autobarn.net/oil1035605.html
9. Meguiar's Quik-Detailer ($6)
http://www.autobarn.net/cha-3316.html
10. 3-6 Microfiber Towels ($7-14)
http://www.autobarn.net/mi16intotrpa.html
11. 3-4 Shop Towels ($2)
http://www.autobarn.net/acst-6b.html
12. 2-3 Terry Cloth Towels ($2)
http://www.autobarn.net/acct-3b.html
13. Bucket ($4)
http://www.autobarn.net/aclb-11.html
Total Invesment: $76.
(Yeah, it's kind of a lot but this is enough to give you damn-near detail-quality wash every week or two for at least a year or so. Plus you've probably already got some of this stuff...)
Long list, right? I got it all at Pep Boys, so you should be able to pick this all up in one stop.
OK, I like to go to a 24/7 wash at night as well b/c you can get away with a bucket wash.
1. Before you go, Make sure EVERYTHING is clean. Your towels and wash mitt should be washed and your bucket should be rinsed clean. Don't forget your quarters!
2. Go to the car wash.
3. Spray the wheels with wheel cleaner.
4. Pay the money and rinse the car from bottom to top, making sure to get the wheels. Try to do this quickly because you have limited hose time.
5. Use the remaining water time to fill the bucket as much as you can. Initially, you'll be spraying water all over the place b/c of the high water pressure, but once you get a little bit of water in the bucket, squeeze in some car wash liquid and then submerge the nozzle under the surface and you should be able to fill the bucket without looking like Mr. Bubble. If you have extra water time, try to rinse the car more, paying more attention to the underbody areas.
6. Scrub the wheels with the wheel brush. Do the back wheels first because they should be less dirty. Try to be quick but thorough. Get in the cracks.
7. Use the wash mitt and bucket and give the car a light scrubbing from top to bottom. Focus on the high smooth surfaces first (roof, hood, trunk lid). Once those have been cleaned thoroughly, you can turn your attention to the sides (doors) and then the dirtier crevices (fenders & wheel wells) that will likely really dirty up your wash mitt. Try to be thorough in this stage toward the end.
8. Pay more money and rinse the car from top to bottom. Make sure you get it all and get the wheels well also.
9. Make a first pass at drying the car with the California Blade. This can get a lot of the excess water off relatively quickly. Instead of trying to squeege the car like you do your windshield at the gas station, just use a bunch of short strokes and sort of brush the water off a little at a time. The 8 is far too curvy to try to squeege.
10. Take one (maybe two) microfiber towel and designate it as the "wet towel". Use the wet towel(s) to dry off the vehicle, again starting with high & smooth, then sides, and then limited crevice cleaning. You should hopefully be able to soak up the majority of the water with this pass and you might consider the car pretty much good to go.
11. Use one of the terry cloth towels to wipe down the lower parts of the car, like the underside of the front end and sides, as well as the door jambs. I also like to pop the trunk and hood and get those edges a little to reduce the amound of water that inevitably leaks out leaving annoying post-drying drips.
12. If you're like me and you want ZERO water spots, take another microfiber towel (now designated the "Quick-Detailer towel") and give the majority of the car (high & smooth surfaces, side surfaces) a once-over with the Quik-Detailer. It'll leave the car spotless.
13. Get ****. Do another touch-up dry. You missed something. Trust me. This time do it with the Quik-Detailer towel which should be more effective because of the quickly-evaporationg solvent still in the towel from step 12.
14. Wheel time. Hand-wipe the wheels with shop towels. Start with one towel, and try to get into as much dirt as possible. Start with the rear wheels first. Try to do everything you can with the first towel.
15. Take another shop towel and buff out the wheels.
16. Use the terry cloth you used in step 11 and dry the tires (mainly to minimize drippage) and also get inside the wheels (i.e. behind the 5-spoke portion) and try to soak up any water that might be puddled back there.
17. Use the gel applicator and apply tire dressing gel to the tires as best as you can. Be generous. Tire shine is everything.
18. Get in your car and gently roll the car forward so that your tires have rotated 180 degrees. (If you have the 6MT you can probably just take off your parking brake and push the car.)
19. Take the shop cloth you used in step 15 and clean out the parts of the wheels that you missed.
20. Take a fresh terry cloth and buff the wheels one last time, wiping out any drippage and making sure that no tire gel dripped onto the wheels.
21. Take the Quik-Detailer microfiber cloth and wipe off the water that dripped out when you moved your car in step 18.
22. Take the Nevr-Dull and wipe down the tailpipes. Get the insides and outsides for as far as the chrome extends. Then buff it out with the terry cloth from step 20.
23. Your car should be perfect now. But it isn't. Go over it again with a fresh microfiber towel and your quick-detailer and get rid of any flaws.
24. Go home and take your medication. When you get there wipe out the drips that leaked out on the trip home with the microfiber towel from step 23.
25. Nothing else is acceptable.
If you read through all of this and didn't think "this guy is a ******* maniac" then you love your 8 as much as I love mine. Or your 8 is Black.
The whole process takes about an hour. I love every minute of it.
So yeah, if you assume that the upfront stuff will give you 25 washes, you're talking about $3 + Car Wash Cost times 2. Maybe $7? And you'll have a car so thoroughly clean it makes the best $20 car wash in town look sloppy.
Tools:
(Note, if I suggest a particular brand, I name the brand in the list. If I just say "Wheel Cleaner", pretty much any brand will do.)
1. Wash Mitt ($7)
http://www.autobarn.net/turemserwasm.html
2. California Water Blade ($20)
http://www.autobarn.net/orca14wabl.html
3. Meguiar's Soft Wash ($4)
http://www.meguiars.com/product_show...ne=CP&SrcCat=1
4. Wheel Cleaner ($6)
http://www.autobarn.net/noname1.html
5. Tire Dressing Gel ($6)
http://www.meguiars.com/store_meguia...G-75&store=meg
6. Tire Dressing Applicator ($1)
http://www.autobarn.net/cacotiwi.html
7. Wheel Brush ($7)
http://www.autobarn.net/blackmagicwheelbrush.html
8. Nevr-Dull Chrome Polish ($4)
http://www.autobarn.net/oil1035605.html
9. Meguiar's Quik-Detailer ($6)
http://www.autobarn.net/cha-3316.html
10. 3-6 Microfiber Towels ($7-14)
http://www.autobarn.net/mi16intotrpa.html
11. 3-4 Shop Towels ($2)
http://www.autobarn.net/acst-6b.html
12. 2-3 Terry Cloth Towels ($2)
http://www.autobarn.net/acct-3b.html
13. Bucket ($4)
http://www.autobarn.net/aclb-11.html
Total Invesment: $76.
(Yeah, it's kind of a lot but this is enough to give you damn-near detail-quality wash every week or two for at least a year or so. Plus you've probably already got some of this stuff...)
Long list, right? I got it all at Pep Boys, so you should be able to pick this all up in one stop.
OK, I like to go to a 24/7 wash at night as well b/c you can get away with a bucket wash.
1. Before you go, Make sure EVERYTHING is clean. Your towels and wash mitt should be washed and your bucket should be rinsed clean. Don't forget your quarters!
2. Go to the car wash.
3. Spray the wheels with wheel cleaner.
4. Pay the money and rinse the car from bottom to top, making sure to get the wheels. Try to do this quickly because you have limited hose time.
5. Use the remaining water time to fill the bucket as much as you can. Initially, you'll be spraying water all over the place b/c of the high water pressure, but once you get a little bit of water in the bucket, squeeze in some car wash liquid and then submerge the nozzle under the surface and you should be able to fill the bucket without looking like Mr. Bubble. If you have extra water time, try to rinse the car more, paying more attention to the underbody areas.
6. Scrub the wheels with the wheel brush. Do the back wheels first because they should be less dirty. Try to be quick but thorough. Get in the cracks.
7. Use the wash mitt and bucket and give the car a light scrubbing from top to bottom. Focus on the high smooth surfaces first (roof, hood, trunk lid). Once those have been cleaned thoroughly, you can turn your attention to the sides (doors) and then the dirtier crevices (fenders & wheel wells) that will likely really dirty up your wash mitt. Try to be thorough in this stage toward the end.
8. Pay more money and rinse the car from top to bottom. Make sure you get it all and get the wheels well also.
9. Make a first pass at drying the car with the California Blade. This can get a lot of the excess water off relatively quickly. Instead of trying to squeege the car like you do your windshield at the gas station, just use a bunch of short strokes and sort of brush the water off a little at a time. The 8 is far too curvy to try to squeege.
10. Take one (maybe two) microfiber towel and designate it as the "wet towel". Use the wet towel(s) to dry off the vehicle, again starting with high & smooth, then sides, and then limited crevice cleaning. You should hopefully be able to soak up the majority of the water with this pass and you might consider the car pretty much good to go.
11. Use one of the terry cloth towels to wipe down the lower parts of the car, like the underside of the front end and sides, as well as the door jambs. I also like to pop the trunk and hood and get those edges a little to reduce the amound of water that inevitably leaks out leaving annoying post-drying drips.
12. If you're like me and you want ZERO water spots, take another microfiber towel (now designated the "Quick-Detailer towel") and give the majority of the car (high & smooth surfaces, side surfaces) a once-over with the Quik-Detailer. It'll leave the car spotless.
13. Get ****. Do another touch-up dry. You missed something. Trust me. This time do it with the Quik-Detailer towel which should be more effective because of the quickly-evaporationg solvent still in the towel from step 12.
14. Wheel time. Hand-wipe the wheels with shop towels. Start with one towel, and try to get into as much dirt as possible. Start with the rear wheels first. Try to do everything you can with the first towel.
15. Take another shop towel and buff out the wheels.
16. Use the terry cloth you used in step 11 and dry the tires (mainly to minimize drippage) and also get inside the wheels (i.e. behind the 5-spoke portion) and try to soak up any water that might be puddled back there.
17. Use the gel applicator and apply tire dressing gel to the tires as best as you can. Be generous. Tire shine is everything.
18. Get in your car and gently roll the car forward so that your tires have rotated 180 degrees. (If you have the 6MT you can probably just take off your parking brake and push the car.)
19. Take the shop cloth you used in step 15 and clean out the parts of the wheels that you missed.
20. Take a fresh terry cloth and buff the wheels one last time, wiping out any drippage and making sure that no tire gel dripped onto the wheels.
21. Take the Quik-Detailer microfiber cloth and wipe off the water that dripped out when you moved your car in step 18.
22. Take the Nevr-Dull and wipe down the tailpipes. Get the insides and outsides for as far as the chrome extends. Then buff it out with the terry cloth from step 20.
23. Your car should be perfect now. But it isn't. Go over it again with a fresh microfiber towel and your quick-detailer and get rid of any flaws.
24. Go home and take your medication. When you get there wipe out the drips that leaked out on the trip home with the microfiber towel from step 23.
25. Nothing else is acceptable.
If you read through all of this and didn't think "this guy is a ******* maniac" then you love your 8 as much as I love mine. Or your 8 is Black.
The whole process takes about an hour. I love every minute of it.
So yeah, if you assume that the upfront stuff will give you 25 washes, you're talking about $3 + Car Wash Cost times 2. Maybe $7? And you'll have a car so thoroughly clean it makes the best $20 car wash in town look sloppy.
Last edited by Apophis; 02-24-2005 at 12:02 PM.
02-26-2005, 04:29 PM
#8
USE A BUCKET! if they give you a hard time give the guy a few bucks to shut up forever...it doesn't take much
one guy let me use a bucket because he thought my car was 'awesome' another let me after I gave him a tour of the car :D
one guy let me use a bucket because he thought my car was 'awesome' another let me after I gave him a tour of the car :D
06-27-2005, 04:51 PM
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SIMPLE GREEN is the absolute Best for cleaning wheels just spray it on and wipe every spec of dust off...a second spray may be necessary for extremely dirty wheels...check out thread titled "Best Wheel Cleaning method" for deatiler car of your rims
09-23-2005, 09:26 AM
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Much as I'd love to wash my car twice a week, its lucky if I have the time to do it once a month, and thats usually at the local jet wash. Simply the best products I've ever come across are Meguiars.
1. Meguiars Mirror Glaze - Hi Tech Wash
2. Meguiars - Hi Tech NXT Yellow Wax
3. Meguairs - Tyre and Trim Dressing Gel
The wash works along side the Wax and so you only need to apply the Wax about once a quarter, I use the above when I have a few hours to spare to wash at home, and a quick 30 mins down the jet wash brings to back to Meguiars just waxed look.
The best thing about the wax is that it doesn't create dust - just sticks to the polishing off cloth. Wonderful stuff !
1. Meguiars Mirror Glaze - Hi Tech Wash
2. Meguiars - Hi Tech NXT Yellow Wax
3. Meguairs - Tyre and Trim Dressing Gel
The wash works along side the Wax and so you only need to apply the Wax about once a quarter, I use the above when I have a few hours to spare to wash at home, and a quick 30 mins down the jet wash brings to back to Meguiars just waxed look.
The best thing about the wax is that it doesn't create dust - just sticks to the polishing off cloth. Wonderful stuff !
04-17-2006, 02:29 PM
#11
SIMPLE GREEN on the wheels... not me! the Air Force has banned it's use on aircraft because it is corrosive to aluminum.... and my wheels are the stock aluminum ones... even if their clear coated that doesn't mean the finish is perfect or that dings don't occur and break through the clear coat, eventually leading to pitting... and I'm not sure the back of the wheels are clear coated. Not that your wheels are going to fall off or anything... but you might get some corrosion on the back (inside surface of the wheel, where it makes contact with the axle end. I'll stick with Meguiars wheel cleaner.
04-17-2006, 02:58 PM
#12
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Posts: n/a
Props to EandGWZ and Apophis for championing the bay-wash.
I live on a farm so I've got well water, no pavement, no cover and other factors that make washing the car at home a non-starter. I also live in the frozen and salted north so I *must* at least rinse once/week, but doing so when it is 20F, 10F or 0F is almost impossible.
I improvised a routine similar to EandGWZ and Apophis during my first winter of RX-8 ownership. Some of the bays actually heat their water to really warm or even hot temps, not just 2 degrees above freezing. It works and the car looks good. I'd never trust an automated machine wash - even the touchless ones gave terrible swirl marks to my previous cars due to the pressure and angle.
I live on a farm so I've got well water, no pavement, no cover and other factors that make washing the car at home a non-starter. I also live in the frozen and salted north so I *must* at least rinse once/week, but doing so when it is 20F, 10F or 0F is almost impossible.
I improvised a routine similar to EandGWZ and Apophis during my first winter of RX-8 ownership. Some of the bays actually heat their water to really warm or even hot temps, not just 2 degrees above freezing. It works and the car looks good. I'd never trust an automated machine wash - even the touchless ones gave terrible swirl marks to my previous cars due to the pressure and angle.
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