Video Tutorial - How To Do a Maintenance Wash

Wills.WindowsAndWheels

Wills.WindowsAndWheels

New member
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Messages
1,682
Reaction score
0
Whats up everyone. Hope you're all having a good weekend so far.

This past week at the Windows and Wheels Detailing Shop we decided to get together and shoot a "How To" video of how we go about doing our maintenance washes...with a little extra. This was definitely a team effort. I did most of the talking/demonstrating while Daniela and Henry helped out giving me a hand with certain parts and of course our newest member Isaiah did all the filming. If you're just getting into detailing I'm sure this will help you shorten the learning curve - and even if you've been around the block a few times I think you'll still enjoy it :).

A few things I think you'll also like:

* Our super cool wash cart set up
* Some special eye candy in the back of the shop (you'll see towards the middle/end of the video)
* Foam Cannon usage (lets face it, no matter how many times you see it or use it - it's still cool)
* A full break down in the description of the video of all products used along with the dilution ratios and tools used

Add that in with my usual sarcastic humor and some great step by step instructions and I'm sure you'll all enjoy (hopefully) your overall viewing experience!

Feedback, questions, comments and suggestions are welcome as always (for the record I'm aware of a couple of editing glitches but we're working on that!)

As always thank you and hope you enjoy!

 
I can’t believe I watched a twenty-something minute video on car washing. I’m such an auto geek.
 
atgonzales said:
Nicely done
Click to expand...

Thank you :)

PaulMys said:
Very cool video as always, Will. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for checking it out!

ChrisT said:
I can’t believe I watched a twenty-something minute video on car washing. I’m such an auto geek.
Click to expand...

PaulMys said:
Lol. That's why we are on this forum! :dblthumb2:
Click to expand...

Lmao, amen to that. We were really debating on whether to go for a more consolidated video - or just lay it all out on the line and decided to stick with keeping it longer since I tried to put in as much info as possible. I looked around and discovered I had been watching a lot of 20-30 minute videos on very basic things as well (or what seemed basic to us) and as long as the person in the video kept it engaging - the time didnt matter too much to me!
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
Lmao, amen to that. We were really debating on whether to go for a more consolidated video - or just lay it all out on the line and decided to stick with keeping it longer since I tried to put in as much info as possible. I looked around and discovered I had been watching a lot of 20-30 minute videos on very basic things as well (or what seemed basic to us) and as long as the person in the video kept it engaging - the time didnt matter too much to me!
Click to expand...

Your presentation is well done. It only seemed like 15 minutes. ;)
 
Great work. I too love to watch videos on stuff I know in and out. Sometimes I pick up a trick or a better way to do an aspect of the job. And you are right, if the presentation is well done, time is almost irrelevant.

I do have a question for you. I noticed you use a gun without a wand on your power washer. Have you noticed any advantages to that setup? What about large trucks, doesn't it make it more diffifcult to hit the roof on them?
 
ChrisT said:
Your presentation is well done. It only seemed like 15 minutes. ;)
Click to expand...

Hahaha, well thats pretty good! Hopefully they were an enjoyable "15 minutes" :)

Calendyr said:
Great work. I too love to watch videos on stuff I know in and out. Sometimes I pick up a trick or a better way to do an aspect of the job. And you are right, if the presentation is well done, time is almost irrelevant.

I do have a question for you. I noticed you use a gun without a wand on your power washer. Have you noticed any advantages to that setup? What about large trucks, doesn't it make it more diffifcult to hit the roof on them?
Click to expand...

Thank you :). We've been using the shorter gun for quite a few years. I'd say the advantages are it has more power (which may not matter if you're running a big gas powered PW, but we only have a small 1900 PSI Electric, so a little extra boost is nice).
It's also easier to get into tight areas such as fender wells. Lastly, we have better control - while ive never accidentally swung around with a larger PW wand and hit a car, the paranoia has ALWAYS been there lol - with the shorter gun thats not a concern.

For something like an RV it definitely would be better to use a longer wand....but for the SUV's and larger trucks we've done - we have to either stand on a work platform or on running boards to wash the top anyway, so as long as we're up at eye level with the roof to wash its just as easy to rinse with the shorter gun. I'm pretty tall too so that also is a big help (6'3), but my sister and one of my employees are both around 5'8 and they're able to get the roofs of SUV's and Trucks just fine as well as long as they have a work platform.
 
I really like the idea of using the PW with no wand. Especially for wheels and wheel wells. I have been using the PW at work and getting door jambs too. No wand would make door jambs easier too. It is amazing how little to no “overspray/mist” gets into the passenger compartment. Granted the cars I’m cleaning have vinyl/rubber floors, so I’m a little less worried.
 
Good job Will, thanks for making and posting the video! I'm a hobbyist and I don't generally do traditional washes (no running water at my shop - so 100% rinseless for my maintenance washes) but it is always great to see the procedures that others use. One question comes to mind though...

In the video you foamed your car, then went right to gently rubbing your paint with your wash mitts to do the actual wash. I was always under the impression that when using a foam cannon or gun, you should foam the car, let it dwell, then rinse it off to remove all of the loose contaminants before proceeding to the 2BM wash steps. My assumption is that because you do production detailing your method is just more time saving, but I am curious as to your thoughts on this. For a weekend warrior just maintaining their own car (and not necessarily concerned with the time involved) would you advise to rinse after letting the pre-soak foam dwell time before moving on?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top