How to determine if u need wash or quick detail?

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My black truck sits in my driveway a lot. I use bikes in the summer. So, when it collects dirt/dust how do i know when it is too much dust/dirt for a quick detail or when it should be washed? I know a QD has lubricants in it and you are supposed to use a light wiping motion. I am just worried about too much dust/dirt being on the paint and then scratching it when doing a QD. So, how would I determine if I can do a QD? I have some poorboys spray and wipe . Should I use something like that instead or should I do a quick rinse , then use a QD? Thanks
 
That question is asked so often that I wrote an article explaining the proper and appropriate application of quick detail sprays, waterless washes, and spray waxes. :dblthumb2:

The Definitive How-To Guide for Spray Waxes, Quick Detail Sprays & Waterless Washes

Nick@Autogeek said:
Here is my definition of a spray wax, quick detail spray and a waterless wash.


Spray Wax: A product containing protective properties to protect and beautify the surface that it's designed to be applied to (ie: paint). A spray wax (sometimes referred to as a "spray sealant") is designed to be applied to paint that's squeaky clean and free of any dust, dirt, or contaminants. A quality spray wax will easily yield 3-4 months of stand-alone protection. A spray wax (spray sealant) is often used as a "booster" over an existing wax, sealant or coating.

Nick's Favorites:



Quick Detail Spray: Just as the name implies, a quick way to touch up your vehicle's finish. A quick detail spray often contains carnauba or polymers (some contain both!) to spruce up your vehicle's appearance. A quick detail spray is often used after a wash to boost the shine. Most quick detail sprays can also be used to remove light dust (don't worry, we'll get more into that later). While a quick detail spray can contain carnauba or polymers, they don't provide too much paint protection, like a spray wax does. Lubricants ensure you don't scratch the finish as you wipe away dust.

Nick's Favorites:



Waterless Wash: A waterless wash (often referred to as a "spray on car wash") contains an advanced blend of lubricants and cleaners designed to safely lift dirt and soil from your vehicle's finish without scratching. Spray on, wipe with a plush microfiber towel, buff, and the car is clean. Most waterless car wash products don't contain any protective properties and will not leave a shine that a true Auto Geek is satisfied with. Follow up with a spray wax so you can sleep at night.

Nick's Favorites:


To the average uneducated onlooker, yes, the Vette looks clean and "shiny". But if you're sitting here reading this article while at work OR while you should be getting ready for your night out with your significant other, you're far from uneducated. What you are, is an Auto Geek.

Max's Vette looks clean and shiny, but upon closer inspection you can see that it's far from clean.

Fresh water spots.



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Dirt and mysterious fibers.



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Insects.



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Now the question: "How dirty is too dirty for a quick detail spray?" begs to be answered. Light dust. That's your answer. A quick detail spray can be safely used to remove light dust. What is light dust? Light dust accumulates from the vehicle sitting inside or outside.

Don't confuse light dust for a film of dirt. That layer of light dust that can so easily be whisked away with a quick detail spray will turn into a film of dirt the next morning. Why? Dew. What is dew? Dew is moisture condensed from the atmosphere, especially at night, and deposited in the form of small drops upon any cool surface. (dictionary.reference.com).

By the next morning that harmless layer of light dust is now a film of dirt. What does that mean for you? You just need to change products, that's all. Once the layer of dust has transformed into a film of dirt, the correct product to use at this point is a waterless wash.

I performed an experiment on Max's Vette to demonstrate the difference between light dust and a film of dirt. I cleaned the vertical panels early in the morning and let them accumulate dust throughout the day, while the rear deck was beyond light dust, and had an actual film of dirt on the paint.

Swiping my finger on the rear deck.



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The translucent yellow lines running parallel with each other show the path of my swipe. As you can clearly see, the area where I swiped my finger is cleaner, but not clean. This is because there is a film of dirt on the paint. If I were to use a quick detail spray at this point on Max's Vette, I could potentially scratch the finish.

You should know: Scratching the boss's car isn't the best way to ensure a paycheck the following week.


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Swiping my finger on the rear quarter panel that was cleaned earlier that morning.



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Like before, the translucent yellow lines show the path of my swipe. As you can clearly see, the area where I swiped my finger is clean. Dew has not had a chance to form yet, meaning the light dust is still just light dust. It's not a film of dirt. I could safely use a quick detail spray at this point.



DSCN1929-w-lines.jpg
Click to expand...
 

Always wash... Rinseless oR Waterless

Never QD....




IMO QD is only for post wash wipe downs to get misc water spots and to give that extra shine. A waterless wash like Ultima is much safer and better.
 
I use the QD if the car is lightly dusty or after a wash to "spruce it up" a bit. Another time to use a QD is at a carshow and/or cruize night and you wanna kill some time or give it "a little extra".

I use waterless/rinseless if its been over a day of not touching the car, its been windy or ofcoarse driving in the rain and/or sitting in the rain.

Look at it like this, when in doubt, WASH IT;)

Sent from my SPH-M930 using Tapatalk 2
 
Klasse Act said:
Look at it like this, when in doubt, WASH IT;)
Click to expand...


That's how I feel, I will only QD or Quik Wax a car after it has been washed OR after it has been sitting in a garage after it has been washed and only has dust on it.
 
TroyScherer said:

Always wash... Rinseless oR Waterless

Never QD....




IMO QD is only for post wash wipe downs to get misc water spots and to give that extra shine. A waterless wash like Ultima is much safer and better.
Click to expand...

That's what I do.

Even then, I mostly wash if it's got alot of dust on it, the wash sweeps alot more dirt out of the cracks than a rinsless does.
 
TroyScherer said:

Always wash... Rinseless oR Waterless

Never QD....




IMO QD is only for post wash wipe downs to get misc water spots and to give that extra shine. A waterless wash like Ultima is much safer and better.
Click to expand...

KMdef9 said:
That's what I do.

Even then, I mostly wash if it's got alot of dust on it, the wash sweeps alot more dirt out of the cracks than a rinsless does.
Click to expand...

:iagree: never have used a QD besides after a wash. Unless there is a bird bomb involved then I soak it and a MF and let the MF sit on it and just lift it up after a minute (but I use ONR mainly for this at QD strength).
 
OK. Sorry I didn't see that link to all the types of techniques. Still learning here. Thanks for being patient
 
Polishing takes so much time and effort (for me) that I'd rather wait and leave the vehicle a little dirty a couple more days until I'm able to do a proper wash, than risk marring the paint with a QD.

The slight problem I see with a swipe test is that it's done on only a very small part of the car. It's fine if you're QD'ing that tiny part just swiped, but what if there's real dirt somewhere else. Is the swipe test done multiple times all over the panel, all over the car? I can't see myself doing that, but I could be wrong.
 
I kind of think that if you rinse the paint really well and then dry it you might be doing less damage than a QD over dust, while doing less work than an actual wash. but physics was never my best subject, lol.
 
Since I have been doing rinseless on my paint that has BFWD and wax, tiny lines and swirl marks are slowly rearing their ugly faces.
I'm going to switch to a full of water spray down and using the two bucket method to see if that helps.
 
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