Anyone else ditches the 2 bucket method?

It’s a good point. I expect my pre-wash routine to address that. A snow foam that is normally alkaline or at least has pH buffers to address acids and dwell time to bring other chemicals into solution and a power wash to address salts.



I don’t think it takes more time or energy overall, but maybe I’m not fully understanding your process. I can’t see a savings if you are having to clean heavily soiled mitts later. Using several mitts would certainly make the wash go faster though.

I use 2 mitts and neither one of them are heavily soiled when the cars done, not even close. I use a foam cannon pre soak and rinse before a mitt ever touches the car.
 
But you also don't keep the same mitt all along.

But yeah I don't know, I just found the video and found it interesting. Do grit guard actually work well if they now sell that washboard thing?

I feel like the original grit guard really can't keep dirt or contaminates from traveling up the bucket. I don't rely on it for that. I use it to just brush the wash mitt against to help remove contaminates.


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I really kinda disagree with the grit guard idea from the point that none of my wash mitts sink to the bottom of my buckets anyway. I use both microfiber mitts and the little imitation wool square wash pads. They all float. I'm careful to keep them clean and I always am switching to a clean mitt. If the dirt sinks and the mitt floats, what's the need for a grit guard? Of course, I own one!!!!

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I thought the point of grit guards was to 1. scrape off dirty of your mitt onto it and 2. it prevents the dirt from mixing back with the water when you pull out the mitt.
 
For me the convenience factor has alot to do with it. Back in the days I would only use 1 mitt and constantly need the hose nozzle nearby because I’d need to rinse my mitt after every panel or so.. I figure I spend enough time and interest in detailing that I make sure to treat myself to certain things that help make it a better experience.

EXACTLY! It is the need to have that hose nearby to get the cruft cleaned that is time consuming and unnecessary if you have multiple mitts (or towels in my case) ready to go. You wouldn't think of NOT having a stack of pads ready to go for the next panels when you're polishing. The cleaning step would make polishing miserable. Decontaminating a dirty mitt takes time and can introduce contaminants, I don't think anyone is disputing that. Mitts are relatively cheap. Having a stack of them ready to go keeps the washing flow going without interruption and more importantly, makes it less likely to have the soap dry on the paint if it is a warm day.
 
I thought the point of grit guards was to 1. scrape off dirty of your mitt onto it and 2. it prevents the dirt from mixing back with the water when you pull out the mitt.

From my perspective, the value of the grit guard is to provide a baffle in your bucket to keep whatever sediment settles to the bottom and to keep that sediment from being agitated and mixed back into solution. In effect, it keeps all of the "dirty, murky" solution at the bottom of the bucket, even if agitation of the solution takes place above the grit guard.
 
I thought the point of grit guards was to 1. scrape off dirty of your mitt onto it and 2. it prevents the dirt from mixing back with the water when you pull out the mitt.
You are probably right, and when I use it that's what I use it for. To scrub off my mitt. I thought the idea was also to keep the dirt separated by keeping wash tools off the bottom.

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I rarely use the two bucket method but I ditched the wash bucket and not the rinse bucket. I love using the foam gun and the washboard in the rinse bucket. First I blast as much dirt as I can with my Worx Hydroshot, then I foam one panel at a time. I also foam the wash mitt and use multiple wash mitts. The foam gun does use a lot of soap in my opinion (6-8 oz of soap for 1 quart solution) but it is a lot of fun to use. I can wash two cars with a one quart soap solution.
 
Yes.

If I'm maintenance washing, it's with ONR.

If I'm doing any sort of machining, I use a more aggressive method traditional wash - if needed.
 
I rarely use the two bucket method but I ditched the wash bucket and not the rinse bucket. I love using the foam gun and the washboard in the rinse bucket. First I blast as much dirt as I can with my Worx Hydroshot, then I foam one panel at a time. I also foam the wash mitt and use multiple wash mitts. The foam gun does use a lot of soap in my opinion (6-8 oz of soap for 1 quart solution) but it is a lot of fun to use. I can wash two cars with a one quart soap solution.
Your method sounds like a really good way to go. I have have a foam gun that I like also, and I feel the same about the amount of soap it takes. I watched the video where the guy used the rinse bucket with the washboard, and he mixed up a maintenance wash in a spray bottle and sprayed the solution on his mitt, worked a panel, rinsed and scrubbed his mitt and sprayed his mitt. I thought that seemed really reasonable.

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I rarely use the two bucket method but I ditched the wash bucket and not the rinse bucket. I love using the foam gun and the washboard in the rinse bucket. First I blast as much dirt as I can with my Worx Hydroshot, then I foam one panel at a time. I also foam the wash mitt and use multiple wash mitts. The foam gun does use a lot of soap in my opinion (6-8 oz of soap for 1 quart solution) but it is a lot of fun to use. I can wash two cars with a one quart soap solution.

This.
 
Similar to others, I foam with foam gun or canon, then have a bucket of different wash media (MF towels, bone sponge, etc) to use for different areas of the car. Creates more laundry than 2 bucket method, but much easier to set up and perform.
 
Pressure Rinse, Foam, Pressure Rinse, 1 bucket wash, flood rinse, dry with Platinum Pluffle if using drying aid, otherwise Gyeon Silk Dryer. Cleanup is 2 wash mitts, 2 drying towels.
 
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