Audi Tip 2

Proper Washing
To most people washing a car is a mundane task that’s performed only from necessity. Necessity being the neighborhood kids leaving a message like “WASH ME”, or a family portrait of stick men carved into the layers of neglect adorning the posterior of the vast majority of soccer-mom-mobiles on the road.

Washing a car to an enthusiast is a whole different world. Many hours have been spent by amateur and pro alike researching, debating, and attempting various technique and product to achieve a wash with maximum result from minimum effort. I myself have tried everything from dishwashing detergent (bad move) to the latest, greatest “soft bristle” brush (worse move) in search of a clean car. What I've found that works the best is a truly simple approach with tried and true techniques I've learned from pro's in the detailing industry, and my own experience from owning two black cars.

First things first, it is vitally important to use a detergent that is designed for washing a vehicle. The only time you would use a dishwashing detergent is to strip all of the wax from your cars finish. There are times when this is necessary, or even desirable. I'll expand on some of those in future segments, but for our purpose here, which is to get your car clean, while preserving as much of the paint protecting wax or polish as possible, we will stick with ONLY products specifically designed to clean your vehicles finish. I recommend Pinnacle Body Work Shampoo. You will see me refer to the Pinnacle line of products often, this is because I've used them extensively and have seen their benefits first hand. Pinnacle Body Work Shampoo actually contains Carnauba oils that work to lubricate the surface of the vehicle as you wash it. For washing I also recommend using a Natural Sea Sponge. Natural Sponges are made up of billions of fine filaments that draw dirt away from the surface being washed. Synthetic sponges are flat, and only serve to scrape the dirt and grime present against your clear coat leaving fine scratches and swirl marks in your finish.

When you're ready to begin move the car to a shaded area, if this is not possible plan on washing in the morning or evening when the car's finish will remain cool throughout the process. Start by washing the tires and wheels, you don't want to knock brake dust and road grime onto your clean finish. After the tires and wheels are clean spray the entire car with a medium spray, don't knock the paint off, just get the entire car wet, and loosen the dirt and grime from the finish. Start at the top and work your way down so that gravity can help you wash the grime away. With a fresh bucket of water and Body Wash Shampoo start your wash from the top down as well. Always wash in a back and forth motion, not a circular pattern, this will ensure that any fine scratches or marks that may be left behind are all in the same direction. A good rule of thumb is to only wash, apply wax, or buff, in the direction that the wind passes over the car. Circular motions cause circular swirls which catch light from every direction making them more noticeable. As you work your way around the car rinse often, and squeeze the sponge out after every section is washed.

When I wash it goes something like this:

• Wet the area to be washed
• Remove sponge from bucket andwash with a back and forth motion
• Ring out sponge to remove dirt and grime picked up into the filaments
• Drop sponge back into wash bucket
• Rinse the area you just washed and pre-rinse the next area to be washed.

It sounds tedious, but after you've got the flow down you can move around the vehicle in no time. After you've washed the entire car in this fashion remove any bug and road tar with a Safe Scrub Bug Removing Sponge. This honeycomb design sponge safely removes bug and tar remnants from your finish without the use of harsh chemicals, and won't mar your finish with scratches. When this is complete, finish by rinsing your entire car from the top down with a steady flow of water. I take the nozzle off and just let the water flow over the surface of the car. This minimizes water spots and ensures that you've removed all the detergent from your finish. It also makes the drying process easier.

Thanks and Happy Detailing….