Detailing How to Guide Washing your PT

[Candyman]

Hello Everyone,

Welcome back to our Step by Step walk through of how to Detail your PT like a Pro! I know washing is a somewhat simple task, but I want to be thorough in explaining the detailing process from start to finish! Please note that I have broken down a couple of steps below this post including Engine Washing, and dressing, and check back often as I try to update, and add to my Guide all the time so their is new information being added from time to time.

First off make sure you are in a shaded area out of direct sunlight, and that your paint is cool to the touch. This is primarily to prevent water from drying, and forming hard water spots on the paint. If you plan to re-wax and/or detail your PT after the washing process, then I recommend using dishwashing liquid. This type of soap has a high PH level to strip all chemicals from the paint surface. If you are not intending on waxing, or detailing your PT, then you will want to use a good car wash soap to clean your Cruiser with. These soaps contain a low PH level that will not strip chemicals from the surface reducing the possibility of fading.

ONE QUICK WARNING: If you take your PT to a Full Service Hand Car Wash on a regular basis, these facilities usually use a high PH soap to keep costs down, and create a marketing ploy for detailing. If you are a regular customer, the idea is to strip the wax off your finish using high PH soap, and let the paint fade. After a few washes, they might talk to you about detailing, and might use a little Glaze to show you how much better your vehicle would look if you paid $100.00+ for the exact same process I describe in this series.

You want to start by cleaning your wheels to eliminate the possibility of getting brake dust, and other related contaminants on your paint. Start by spraying the wheels, tires, and inner fender wells with degreaser, like Simple Green. Add approximately two ounces of dishwashing liquid to a five gallon bucket of water. Dip a bristle brush into the soapy solution, and start by scrubbing down the inner wheel well to remove road dirt, and grime. Next move on to the tire. You can use the same brush, or a stiff tire brush for this. For the wheels, most large retail stores carry what looks like an over sized bottle brush designed to clean wheels. Meguiar's also makes one available at www.Meguiar's.com. Dip the brush into the soapy solution, and scrub the wheel thoroughly to remove all brake dust build-up from the entire wheel. Finish off with a rinse of cool clear water, and we are ready to move on.

Next in our washing process we are going to give the engine a good cleaning. Start by popping the hood. Take your garden hose, and rinse down your front fenders. Next lay an old bath towel over each fender to avoid getting chemical overspray, and grease/oil onto your paint. Now spray your engine down with a good foamy engine cleaner like the one manufactured by Gunk (available at most auto parts stores). Spray the engine down with the chemical, and allow it to react for a few minutes. While you are waiting, take your degreaser, and give the underside of your hood a quick spray. Use your soft bristle brush for any stubborn grease, or grime on the hood, engine, or anywhere where the chemical might need a little extra help. Now, hop in and start the engine before you rinse the engine down. This is an extra precaution to assure you get no water into any electronics that may effect the engine in any way. Rinse the underhood first, and then the engine. While the engine compartment is still wet, apply a light coat of water based dressing to the entire engine compartment. Next remove the towels from the fenders, and we are ready to move on.


Now its time to move on to your paint. Start by re-filling your bucket with fresh soapy suds. Next begin by pre-rinsing your paint to remove any loose dirt from the surface that may scratch the surface. It is best to use a good wash mitt as opposed to a brush to minimize scratches. I break a vehicle up into five sections: Top, Rear, Left side, Right side, and Front. I wash each section starting with the top first. By starting at the top, the suds will run down the body minimizing trips to the bucket resulting in less work. Continue washing the entire vehicle before you rinse. This sounds a little strange, but it is by far better for soap to dry on your paint, than hard water spots. After you have washed, and rinsed the entire vehicle, take your hose nozzle off, and run the hose over the paint starting at the top, and working down. The water will sheet off of your paint, making it easier to dry.

Now we are ready to dry. Start off by popping your hood again, and opening your doors, and rear hatch. One trick I use to blow water out of your mirrors, and related hard to reach areas is to use a small can of compressed air used for cleaning your computer keyboard which can be purchased at most retail stores (Wal-mart). After the mirrors are blown out, I take a Microfiber Drying Towel, and start by quickly wiping down the paint. On the first pass, I am just going over the bulk of the water quickly to avoid spotting. I then follow up with a second pass for all the final detail work, including the door jambs, rear hatch, and engine compartment, finishing up with the wheels.

Their are many products available for drying, and the choice simply comes down to personal preference. I use a Microfiber Drying Towel as it is ultra soft, and absorbs three times more than a chamois. You use a California Water Blade (a double edged squeegee) to lightly pull the water off your paint which will help reduce time by half. If you use a synthetic chamois, you want to use the rough side, and again work in one direction.

ONE LAST NOTE: If you have a water softener, then it is not necessary to dry your vehicle. Soft Water is referred to in the detailing industry as Spot Free Rinse, and will not leave water spots. The only exception is at coin operated car washes, as they often do not maintain their soft water filters, and can leave spots on occasion.

Now your PT is clean with all wax, and residue removed from the paint surface. In our next step, we will discuss how to check your paint for Parasitic Contaminants , and how to use a Clay Bar to remove them safely, and easily, without any harm to your paint surface.

I hope you enjoy my Tutorial's, and thank you very much for reading my Guide to Automotive Detailing! Till next time, take it easy, and we will see you a little further down the road!

For more great information on Professional Automotive Detailing, please check out:

Company & Forum Announcements - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online

Or check out our Meguiar's Inside man and Custom PT Owner Michael Stoops for the latest deals on all your Detailing Chemical questions, or needs and be sure to tell them the Candyman sent you!

Michael Stoops
Surface Care Specialist
Meguiar's Inc.
(800) 347-5700 xt 175
mstoops@meguiars.com

Candyman

[Candyman]

Engine Washing:

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I haven't been around in a bit. I have been working on getting my new system up on my website, and have been neglecting my Detailing Duties, but have no fear, the Candyman is here!

Lets start off with Steam Cleaners. First off, a true Steam Cleaner runs at 200 PSI at 400+ degrees, and produces just vapor, and are pretty rare these days. The machine you guys are talking about is a Hot High Pressure Washer, but the industry keeps refering them to a Steam Cleaner. As a couple of you guys have already pointed out, and I will attest to, a Steam pressure washer of 3000 PSI at 320 degrees with a zero tip on it has enough pressure to cut through a 2 x 4. I used to have 2 of them for cleaning under carriages, and yep, they are great under certain conditions like cleaning under carriages, or cleaning gum, and oil off of concrete, but it if you take that kind of pressure to your engine compartment, you stand a good chance at damaging electronics, etc in a heartbeat! That's not to say you can't use a Steam Cleaner, but if you do, I would not recommend going over 1000 PSI max pressure. If you have a machine with 2500, or more PSI, you can get pressure tips that have less restriction (produce less pressure) like 25 degree fan tips, 50 degree fan tips, or more which should reduce the pressure making it somewhat safer.


Here is my rundown on engines from a consumer standpoint.

Materials: Foamy Engine Cleaner like (Gunk) or some related brand from Walmart, Pep Boys, ect, a bottle of degreaser (Simple Green), a soft Bristle brush, water hose with spray nozzle, a couple of old bath towels, two paint brushes, Water Based Dressing. a can of Mag & Aluminum Polish, and a bottle of wax.

I recommend:

1. Gunk Foamy Engine Cleaner.

2. Simple Green

3. Meguiar's All Metal Polish:
Meguiar's Direct All Metal Polish

4. Meguiar's Hot Shine High Gloss Tire Spray mixed 50/50 with water
Meguiar's Direct Hot Shine High Gloss Tire Spray



A couple of notes:

I usually don't like working around a hot engine, and don't like to warm an engine up prior to cleaning, but have known guys who have done it. It is up to individual preference, but not necessary.

It is a good idea however to start the engine whenever you are hosing it down to ensure you do not get any water anywhere you do not want! As you rinse, if the engine bogs down, stop spraying, and let the water evaporate, and you will be fine!

I recommend using a spray nozzle on your hose to help control the flow of water, and always be sure to use as little water as possible when cleaning your engine. Try to avoid drowning your engine!

And lastly, before you begin, if you have any aftermarket electronics like an alarm, etc, be sure to cover over it with a ziplock bag to try to make sure not to get any water into the electronics.

Now, lets move onto the process.

1. Lightly spray down the engine bay with my hose to get rid of any large particles and loose dirt. Avoid directly hitting any of those key components with direct water pressure.

2. I like to either wet the front fenders, and grill down with water, or wet down a couple of bath towels and cover the fenders, and grill of the car to avoid any chemical splatter from potentially damaging, or staining your Paint.

3. Spray your Engine with your Foamy Engine Cleaner, and use a soft bristle brush to get extra dirty areas, and areas that are not scratch sensitive like the paint. After you have agitated the surface, and allowed the Chemical to react for a couple of minutes, Start your PT and spray down your engine compartment with water. Again, if you hear belts squeel it is normal, and will go away in a minute, or two. If you hear the engine bog down, simply stop spraying, and let it go back to normal before you finish rinsing, and after you are done, turn the car off, and its time to move onto the smaller details.

4. Once you have gotten all the bad areas with a Bristle brush its time to move to the smaller details you cant reach by hand. Grab a bottle of Degreaser (Simple Green works fine) and a Paint brush, and spray, and agitate all the tight areas good to break loose any grease, and grime from all the nook's, and crannies where dirt loves to hide. Then, restart your PT, and give it one final rinse to make sure you get everything nice, and clean!


5. Now its time to dry things off a bit. If you have an air compressor, this is an easy, and fast job of just blowing the water out. If you don't have a Compressor, you can also use a Leaf Blower, or those little cans of compressed air used for cleaning Computer Keyboards, or even small rags. The idea is to soak up as much water as possible..

6. Next I usually grab some Mag & Aluminum Polish, or Jeweler's Rouge, and do a quick polish over the AC Lines, and other polishable metal surfaces to give them a nice clean shine.

7. Finally I grab my other Paint Brush and apply a good Water Based Dressing diluted 50/50 with water on all the plastic and rubber components. Then I finish up by waxing the underside of the hood, strut tops, and all related painted surfaces to complete the job.


Quick Tip: To apply Dressing to your Engine Compartment, spray your dressing directly to your paint brush, and apply it to any plastic, or rubber components throughout your engine fro a nice new looking appearance.

If you follow this procedure, your engine will look excellent for as long as you own your car, and as an added bonus, if you ever have a leak, or related type of problem, it is way easier to find on a clean engine!

For more great information on Professional Automotive Detailing, please check out:

Company & Forum Announcements - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online

Or check out our Meguiar's Inside man and Custom PT Owner Michael Stoops for the latest deals on all your Detailing Chemical questions, or needs and be sure to tell them the Candyman sent you!

Michael Stoops
Surface Care Specialist
Meguiar's Inc.
(800) 347-5700 xt 175
mstoops@meguiars.com

Take it easy, and if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask away any time!

Candyman