Car Washing 101

It was one of those few non-rainy June days that we had here in New Jersey and in typical weekend fashion it was time to get some gas. My wife and I pulled into the BP gas station to fill the belly of our BMW X5 with fuel. Our new found friend Ahmed, always seems to be there and always greets us with a genuine smile. “Fill, credit, Super?” he utters in his best english and we politely respond with a “Yes thank you.” It seems to be a little bit a mechanical, robotic routine  but it works and it is highly efficient.

Flanking the back areas of this gas station, is a mini-market, a quick change oil facility, an automated car wash with human help drying off the remaining water from the car wash process.At some point during the fill-up my wife turns to me and says, “What’s wrong?” For the moment I am totally focused on the crew wiping the nice black Mercedes with their blue towels.While still intranced, I responded to her with a grunt that could only be interperted as a totally disgusted reaction toward what I was seeing. I  focused back on my wife and told her that, ” They just brought up all the dirt from the bottom of the car, brought it up to the top and they buffed it into the finish!”  In my mind’s eye I could actually see the swirl marks and scratches now scarring the once pristine paint surface. Gratefully we were done filling as Ahmed popped his head into the car window, BP card a receipt in hand.I was relieved we were leaving.  I try not to look over at the car wash area whenever I frequent this station, It’s just too painful.

As you might have guessed  I, and a lot of other car enthusiasts for that matter, are not big fans of automated car washes. As I discuss with you the subtle details of proper car washing ,and drying for that matter, you will see the reasons for why we feel car wash places can be hazardous to your car’s paint. The art and science of washing, drying, waxing and in general keeping a car looking clean and showroom new in called “detailing.” It is all about paying attention to the little details that makes the difference in a vehicle’s appearance. We’re not just talking about its appearance today but how the vehicle will look in the years to come.

So how do we get started? Perhaps the best place to start is to discuss briefly “why” a car needs to be washed. The answer is only partially to make it look clean and shiny. Along with dirt and dust that clings to the car’s surfaces, there are things like industrial fallout and pollution particles. We’ve all heard of acid rain and it’s a common occurence. These droplets of water and other atmospheric particles are deposited on to the surface of the  car (paint, glass, rubber trim, etc.) during a rain storm. Add to that some of nature’s wonderful concoctions like bug guts and bird poop and a car’s finish can be damaged pretty quickly. Let me expand a little on bug splatter and bird droppings for a moment. These pollutants must, must, must be removed as soon as possible. This natural, chemical-full matter is highly acidic and will “etch” or burn itself into the paint. It will leave a blemish on the paint that resembles a whitish outline of the blob (ghost image) that was there and these do not readily come out. They often need to be polished out. Sometimes the “checking”  left behind is too deep and maybe a permanent mark on the paint. Make plans once a week to spend about an hour (or so) to wash the vehicle to get this acumulation of stuff off the paint. You will need a hose for water, a nozzle, two buckets, car wash soap, wash mitts, wheel cleaner, tire dressing, and some type of drying apparatus.

The first step to properly washing the car is for you to dress appropriately for the job at hand. Ideally you should wear a soft cotton top and sweat pants/shorts. Nothing with buttons, snaps, zippers, or studs. In addition, you should not be wearing any type of  jewelry. No watches, rings, bracelets, or body jewelry. I have found that when trying to wash difficult to reach places on my vehicles, I often have to stretch and lean and lay on some of the surfaces. If there is a primary mission right up there next to importance of a clean car, its one that has no detailer induced scratches. We want a soft tee shirt touching the surface when we lean or brush against the surface; soft sweat pants and not denim jeans with a belt buckle touching the fenders. Can you image the disaster a nice engagement diamond ring would do if, by accident, it scratched the hood. The marriage would be over before it got started!

The most common mistake I see that people make, beyond their clothing choices, is that they wash the car in the midday sun. I can not tell you how many times that I see this happen as I drive through neighborhoods  and all I can do is to shake my head. So pick a shady spot or wash early in the morning or early evening. Never when the sun is highest and hottest in the sky.  You won’t have to deal with the effects of quick drying water or soap suds. Maybe I am getting a little ahead of  myself but there is some thoughful prep work that must occur before the hose water even gets turned on.

The first thing I do before starting the actual wash is to wet down the pavement below and around the vehicle. This will minimize soap and other chemical stains to the blacktop (or whatever surface you are on). I begin with cleaning the wheels. You will need a good quality wheel cleaner and ideally a soft wheel brush or an old wash mitt. Follow the directions on the wheel cleaner’s bottle to the “T”. Some will require a “wet the wheel with water” approach prior to cleaner application. Please make sure that the car has not been driven for a while so that the wheels are cool to the touch. Cleaning chemicals and hot surfaces create problems that we do not need. Again follow the label on the product bottle.

Apply the wheel cleaner to the wheels and allow it to sit as long as directed on the label, typically 1-5 minutes. Wheel surfaces will often require agitation of the accumulated dirt and brake dust  in order for them to get clean. Usually a light water spray and a use of the specialized wheel brush or old wash mitt will help get them clean. In some instances, a second spray of wheel cleaner is necessary. Make sure that you  rinse the wheels really well. Once you are happy that the wheels are clean, you can move on to the next step…actually washing the car. Oh, and by the way, don’t feel bashful about spraying the rubber tire area with the wheel cleaner. Wheel cleaners are strong degreasers. This will help clean the grunge off the tire itself. However, if you do plan on cleaning the tires, I would hope that you have a tire dressing available to reapply moisture and shine to the rubber surface. What nicely washed car has dirty, undressed tires?  Not mine.

This is a good time to do a first water spraying of the entire vehicle. I want this done as soon as I have rinsed the wheels off to ensure that any wheel cleaner accidentally sprayed on  to the finish is NOT on the body paint for any length of time. Wet the entire vehicle from top to bottom and the undercarriage, too (wheel wells). My last pre-rinse will always be top to bottom so any dirt or grit is moved to the ground. Make sure that you don’t splash water off the driveway onto the paint. You can bet dirt specks will be raised up onto the finish an that’s a “no-no”!

While the vehicle is dripping wet, grab those two 5 gallon buckets. One will be the wash bucket and the other will be the rinse bucket. I mark mine with a permanent Sharpie marker with a big “W” and “R”. You are going to add your car wash soap to the wash bucket and follow the recommended capfuls per gallon on the label directions. The rinse bucket will be for water only. Never, ever, ever use dish washing detergent to wash a vehicle’s paint surface (okay there will be only one time you will use dish wash soap…which I will discuss in a future blog). Car wash soaps are pH balanced and formulated with oils and conditioners to pamper the paint.  These added oils are designed to also  micro-encapsulate any rogue dirt particles and minimize any accidental scratching that might occur. So foam up the wash bucket and dip in your wash mitt. Saturate it with lots of soapy suds.

Now before you bring a soapy mitt to the car’s surface, re-wet the surface with the hose. I want you to start washing from the highest point on the vehicle which is the roof area. Wash the roof and all surfaces with front to back, straight line motions. Avoid circular motions if at all possible. This is how swirl marks are created during car washing. A small dirt or sand particle attaches to the wash mitt and cuts a circle as you wash. The advantage of front to back washing motions is that if a dirt particle is caught, it leaves only a thin straight scratch that will not attract the sunlight like a circular swirl will.

Before you go back to the wash pail for more soapy water, quickly rinse out the mitt in the all water rinse bucket. This will allow any dirt that came off the paint to drop off. Once rinsed it’s time to go back to the soap bucket for more car soap suds. This is how the “two bucket car wash system” works. The sequence is always wash, rinse, more suds and wash another area. You will continue your wash from the top to bottom until all the surfaces are clean. Take your time. If the car’s surface begins to dry quickly, re-wet the car with the hose water. If the rinse bucket water looks dirty, spill it out and refill with clean water. Once the vehicle has been washed, take a moment to rinse and inspect the painted surfaces and glass to make sure that they are all clean and free of dirt. If you are happy that all looks good and clean, do the inside of all the door jam areas (don’t forget the inside trunk or hatchback jams as well). When this is clean, retire this mitt for today. Do not use it again until it’s been laundered. Now find that old wash mitt that you cleaned the wheels with and give it a good rinse in the rinse bucket. Now get it full of soapy water and take it to the inner wheel well painted areas, under the front and rear bumper areas and even the exhaust pipe tips. Again make sure to continue the rinse and wash sequence in the two bucket system. Do not allow this old wash mitt that is touching these dirty areas to get anywhere  near the paint finish.  Re-rinse the entire car with the hose. Discard the soapy water and rinse water. Give these buckets a really good rinse to ensure all dirt is gone.

One of my favorite products that I use is a foam gun. It was designed by  Gilmore and a search will reveal a few places on the internet where it can be purchased (www.autogeek.net is one such site). The foam gun is a device that you partially fill with car soap and add water to as well. It hooks up to the hose via its hand nozzle. When you squeeze the hose trigger out comes a foamy water mix, far superior to the sudsy water  found in the wash bucket. So my personal method is to incorporate all three. A sudsy mitt, foam gun to add even more suds during the wash and the rinse bucket to clean the mitt as described above. This foam gun is an awesome device and I wouldn’t think about washing any of my vehicles without it.

Here are some of my recommendations on products which are readily found at car parts stores and certainly at online websites. For car soap, stay with a brand that promises to be gentle on the finish, has conditioners (oils) to lubricate the paint and won’t strip previous car wax. Products from Meguairs, Turtle Wax, and Mothers are a few good examples. You will find more choices online. I mentioned Autogeek.net so to be fair here’s another excellent site, www.ProperAutoCare.com. These are two wonderful internet companies to work with and are passionate about cars and trucks. Wheel cleaners from P21S, Meguair’s and 3M, and the like, will do a good job. Just make sure it is a general all wheel cleaner. All wheel type cleaners tend to be gentler than say one made exclusively for chrome or billet aluminum wheels. If there is a choice between a neutral (ph7) and an acidic wheel cleaner (or high alkali cleaner for that matters) choose the more neutral cleaner. It is easier on the wheels…and on your skin.

It’s now time to dry your vehicle. I am a big fan of microfiber waffle weave drying towels. They are soft and absorb lots of water. They are becoming easier to find in the local car parts stores. Armor-All, Microtex, and Carrand’s Auto Spa line are just three examples of good, soft drying towels. Please make sure if these towels have sewn on tags that you surgically cut them off the towel before use. These tags can scratch the finish, and we’ve worked so hard for that to not happen. Follow the cleaning directions on the tag before discarding. Microfiber products are wonderful and well, that’s right, you guessed it..will have a future blog all to themselves. For now, wash them with delicated soap by themselves and air dry if possible (no heat). Whew! Drying the car is similar to the wash sequence. Start on top, then the windows and then the lower body. Do not use this towel waffle weave microfiber on the sheels. Use an old terry towel to dry the wheels, one that can be discarded if it gets really dirty. Residual brake dust can soil this waffle towel and make it unusable on the finish. Keep it pristine if possible. Most dirt will wash out. My most expensive microfiber towel is a 24×40 in.drying towel and it cost me over $30. So this stuff ain’t cheap.

The last thing to do before saying that you’re done, is to treat the tires. You most likely, on purpose or not, degreased them when you cleaned the wheels. A quick coat of tire spray or rubber-vinyl conditioner will do wonders. Try your best to be neat and not to get these coatings all over the clean paint or clean wheels. These are potential dust magnets so best to keep it limited to just the rubber tire surfaces. Yes there is the glass, and plastic and other rubber trim pieces that can and should be attended to, but hey I can’t tell you everything in one blog, now can I?

So next time you are watching a car rolling out of a car wash booth, pay attention to how many mistakes are being made, and wonder as to how clean the towels are that are drying the finish. Did you see the attendant wipe the lower rocker panel and then wipe the roof or trunk? Or worse yet, drop the towel on the ground and pick it up to re-use it! Watch and you’ll cringe too. They say the “devil is in the details”. I say that’s where the beauty is!

Again thank you for all of your well wishes and comments. I do appreciate each and every one. If you have a topic that you would like for me to discuss, please write in a comment. I’ll keep the next blog a surprise. Maybe we’ll talk about some of my favorite car care products, maybe a discussion on waxes and sealants. We’ll see.

Thanks for stoppin’ by!

Stay safe out there!

Uncle Vinny