My Washing/waxing regimen!

mrcoolguyface

**FEEL FREE TO REP ME IF YOU'D LIKE,PLEASE***

So I was asked a question about a detailing product that I use, and it brought this post up in my head. I'm going to go over a few how to's and things I have learned along the way, and some products that I have come to love, in reference to washing/waxing/detailing my cars.. I am by no means saying that these are the best ways, however they are tried and true and work best for me... So here goes nothing!

Lets start by a few of the most important things that I have learned in life.. if you value your car, and want it to look nice, for a long time.

-NEVER TAKE YOUR CAR TO A CAR WASH!
-Hand washing your car will always give you the best results, and who will
care for your car better than you will?

So When I set out to wash my car, I have the essentials, along with a few favorites with me. My current lineup of products is as follows

-Turtle Wax ICE Car Wash
- Turtle Wax ICE Liquid Clay Bar
- Meguiar's NXT Techwax 2.0
- Eagle One Wipe & Shine Quick Detailing Spray
- essentials: lots of Terry cloth towels and micro fiber towels, bucket, small detailing brush ( Small basting brushes from the supermarket are cheap and effective as well)

It is important to note that you should not wash/wax your car in direct sunlight, or high heat days if you can avoid it (sounds odd but cloudy / overcast days are best). Early AM in any available shadows, or PM at sundown / dusk is optimum as well.

1. I start by thoroughly spraying my car to release any heavy dirt and buildup, to reduce swirling when washing.

2. I fill a 2 gallon bucket about 3/4 way with water then use about 4 oz or whatever car wash I currently use

3. Wash car thoroughly, don't forget those hard to reach places under the front, sides and rear of the car. Around the exhaust body molding etc. wheel wells, splash guards and all the goodies. Ensure that you do not let any soap stay on the car too long, or dry. I generally do a quarter of the car at a time before I give it a quick spray with the hose.

4. I then wash my wheels and tires, yes I said it... I wash my tires lol. If my soapy water is too dirty from the car wash, Ill sometimes clean out the bucket and use a fresh batch, so as not to damage or add any dirt from the wash back onto the wheels. *TIP* if any sponge, towel, pad etc. touches the ground accidentally, it is now DEAD lol... do not pick it up, brush it off, and continue to wash, rub, buff, dry your car

5. Once the entire car is washed and rinsed, I use a little technique with the hose to make drying the car, a little easier. I take off any nozzle or tip that I am currently using, turn the water pressure down low so that the water is still a steady single stream, and doesn’t splash when it hits the car. Take the hose and keep it about 4 - 5 inches from the car and about a 25 - 30 degree angle and allow the water to create a sheet effect. What this does is actually pulls the bulk of the water drops left on the car right off, with the moving sheet of water. Something so simple, effective! Start from the top of the car down, and use gravity to your advantage. Make sure to not hit the car with the metal end of the hose for obvious reasons lol.

6. Terrycloth towel time! I'll generally go through two full sized towels when drying the car, Ill start with the glass, as it is the most visible surface for water stains, then I move to the body, ensuring that all crevices, holes, ports, etc are completely free of water. I then open each door, and dry around the entire door, then the entire frame where the door meets the body; I then move on to the hood (bonnet) and dry all areas where water has been, is laying. Then on to the trunk / hatch, same drill. Essentially you want to rid the entire car of as much water / moisture as possible. Dust and dirt stick better to damp / wet surfaces... something we are trying to avoid, and get the longevity out of our wash! And finally over to the wheels, all accessible surfaces of your tires / car should be dry!

7. If I am using the Liquid Clay bar I actually apply it after step 5... Using this stuff yields obvious results (link to my previous car after a full wash/clay/wax/detail - it was an almost 10 year old car (2002 Maxima GLE with 127K miles)... And the paint looks almost brand new!) Think of it as a super detergent/ paint restoring marvel! So I basically follow the instructions on the back of the product. I apply it with a wax pad (circular pad we all know so well) and make sure I cover the area I’m working on completely. I'll generally do two sections at a time so by the time I’m done section two (door), section one (rear fender) is dry and ready to rinse(no buffing with this product at all); move on to section 3 (front fender), then rinse 2 (door)... etc etc. Once the entire car has been coated and rinsed, you MUST WAX the car, as this stuff really strips all contaminants and any previous wax completely off of the paint. (Side note: as you are rinsing, don't be alarmed if you see any faint cloudy residue left behind by the liquid clay bar; this is normal and will be removed when you wax and buff). *Whichever way I choose, I always dry after rinsing the claybar off.

9. Waxing! My favorite part! LOL... Oddly enough this is the most time consuming and tedious of all steps on the exterior, and by this time I'm almost spent lol.. Make sure to shake the product well, to mix any separated parts equally. I also follow the instructions on the back of the product.. no direct sunlight etc etc, section at a time, don’t apply if the paint is hot etc. Make sure that you do not let any section sit dry for too long before buffing; this could result in damaged paint and a waste of time and effort! As tired as I might be I still make sure to wax all painted parts from the top to the bottom, mirrors and spoiler included. Once the entire car is

10. Interior.. Nothing too dramatic here; clean all parts, clear out all dust buildup (brush is key here for getting any dust out of tiny creva$$es), wash windows, install favorite Tree air freshener to top it all off~! !

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...leanMaxima.jpg