washing car by hand question

[Jimbo]

I was washing my Cruiser ,yesterdayand was wondering what is
the proper way to wash a car by hand,so I thought I would tell you how I do it and you can tell me if I'm doing something wrong.
First I pull car in shade,spray the whole car down.Than with a bucket of car wash soap and water I take my sponge a whipe down the whole car dipping sponge often.Than I rinse the whole car and dry
with a drying towel and go over whole car with Gary's poly seal
spray.(which I love).Is this the right way?[:I]

[crazie.eddie]

Wet the whole car first, removing the loose dust/dirt. Soap a section at a time, but rinse the whole car, this will help avoid spotting. Change the water and soap mixture frequently, to avoid the last part having really dirty water. Use a separate sponge for the wheels. When drying, use a micro fiber towel.

Here's a car care link on Washing & Drying your car.

[Jimbo]

Thanks Ed, great site.

[quicksilverdon]

I've become a leaf-blower drying fan. Much quicker, and by blowing in the door seams, keeps those annoying dribbles from coming out later. I was skeptical when I read it on a forum, 'till I tried it.

[tpscruiser]

Dom,
I love the leaf blower too. By the time I'm done blowing off the PT, what's left on the PT isn't even enough to wring anything out of the towel!

[Mike-in-Orange]

I'm forced to wash my car in the sunshine 'cause I just don't have a nice shady tree nearby! So, I wet the whole car down and hit the lower parts with a bit harder spray to remove any build up. I'll soap down the top first using either a nice soft wool wash mit or a microfiber wrapped sponge, then rinse off the soap. I'll make sure the rest of the car stays wet in the process of course. Next I'll wash the hood and front fenders and rinse, then the "shady side" of the car, rinse, then the "sunny side" and rinse. When the body of the car is clean I'll spray the wheels down with a wheel cleaner and go over them with a wheel brush, then spray rinse.

I don't use the leaf blower because our water is so dang hard. I've tried it and I end up with horrid water spots. Instead I use a couple of waffle weave microfiber towels, the I go around the car with my shop vac and suck the water out of the window seals, door spears, headlights, tail lights, lug nuts, etc. It works great sucking the water out of the hood cowling and around the edge of the engine bay too.

Then it's into the garage, and ny water spots that do remain are easily dealt with using Ultimate Spray & Shine, and I'll usually go over the car with the Ultimate Poly Seal spray. I hit the wheels (painted, not chrome) with Ultimate Poly Seal and dress the tires & rubber trim (don't forget under the hood!) with Ultimate Dressing. I find that a regular application of Ultimate Poly Seal on the wheels makes removal of brake dust a breeze. The engine bay always gets a good wipe down, and I use Cape Cod fine metals polish on the BTG strut brace and my Stull billet beltline.

Of course the interior gets vacuumed and once a month I do the full leather treatment with Ultimate Leather Cleaner and Ultimate Leather Conditioner. Interior panels get Ultimate Dressing as needed.

Then I go have a beer and take the dog for a walk.

Then it's time to do the next car.

[Jimbo]

Once I'm done drying thr car, I go around with a leaf blower
to get all the water out that I missed. Never thought of a
shop vac.I've been thinking of running a fascet to the garage
that goes to the soft water line.Haven't gotton that done yet.
Thanks guys , I did find out I was doing somethings wrong,
which I will correct next time I wash my Cruiser. I don't think I will have to wait to long as it just started raining.

[Mike-in-Orange]

quote:Originally posted by Jimbo

Once I'm done drying thr car, I go around with a leaf blower
to get all the water out that I missed. Never thought of a
shop vac.I've been thinking of running a fascet to the garage
that goes to the soft water line.Haven't gotton that done yet.
Thanks guys , I did find out I was doing somethings wrong,
which I will correct next time I wash my Cruiser. I don't think I will have to wait to long as it just started raining.

The first time I tried the leaf blower trick I had the car looking great and the leaf blower just blew the hidden water all over the car, leaving all these trails of water spots all over it!! Shop vac did the trick for me, but others love the leaf blower thing, so ultimately it's up to what works best for you.