Anyone else ditches the 2 bucket method?

[Themikerobe]

Looks like many others wash how I do:
I use one wash bucket with a lot of towels and instead of rinsing my wash mitt/towels, I just put them in my laundry bucket and grab a fresh towel from my soap bucket. This way I don't reuse a dirty wash mitt that could scratch like you would with the two bucket method. You also don't have to buy grit guards which make you need more soap cause about a gallon of your soapy water is unusable underneath the grit guard. This the method I've always used.

And now that I have a foam gun, I use no buckets. I mix my Optimum Car Wash and set my foam gun so it uses the recommended 1oz of OCWC per gallon of water and I foam a clean towel and then foam and wash about a quarter of the vehicle at a time. This provides way more lubricity in my experience than a bucket of soapy water and saves me the inconvenience of having to make sure my wash towel stays wet/soapy enough so it's less likely to cause scratches and more convenient.
And I can't believe it but I've also been using about half as much soap as it took just to fill a bucket with two gallons of soapy water so it saves me and the environment some product. If I did a pre-soak with foam plus the wash, that would be the same amount of soap as a bucket wash but I don't pre-soak since a PH neutral soap apparently won't do anything in a soak that water wouldn't do.

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[Grifffx4]

lol that car was almost dripping more than the sarcasm in this video, ...almost

I like to use the GDWM with a regular hose foam gun. My 12 towels sitting in a bucket of wash and an empty bucket for the used mf towels. The grit guards in the empty bucket keep the towels off the bottom and out of the the draining dirty water (in theory) even though I don’t plan to use them on the paint again until I wash the towels, I don’t want them sitting in dirty water.

 

[Route246]

No.

Reason being is if I were to only use 1-2 mitts I’d have to constantly waste time bending down and repeatedly dunk my arm into a bucket of water and closely inspect the mitt to ensure it’s clean enough to use again.

Not to mention, with all that extra time I’m wasting I’d also be giving more time for soap to possibly dry on the panels, which is never a good thing.

On the other hand: If I have multiple mitts, I can grab 1, go over a panel with 1 side, flip the mitt and go over the panel once again to ensure it’s 100% clean and toss it into my empty bucket and grab the next mitt and continue washing the next panel and so on... Never stopping, never wasting time, never having soap dry on the vehicle, and never getting distracted.

Rinse all the mitts with the hose nozzle [which does a better job at getting them clean] as soon as I’m done with the wash and put the lid on my bucket and proceed to rinsing the soap off the vehicle. IMO It doesn’t get any easier.


I don’t wring the mitts out. I usually just leave them in the clean soapy water with a lid over the bucket. Washing a load with several microfiber items is more productive than washing only 1-2 mitts per load.

I don't like mitts for some reason, probably because I don't like something wrapped around my wrists or something.

But I do use these clever 8x8 1100 GSM rinseless wash towels the same way as you would use a mitt, with a bucket full of them ready to go, with known "cleanliness" and without wasting time as you stated. These just seem to feel better to me. AGO doesn't sell them (yet) so I get them somewhere else but they are so convenient. You can turn them inside-out and use all four surfaces before throwing them into the "dirty" bucket.

I use a boars hair brush for the lower parts to save my back in conjunction with these.

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[Audios S6]

I adamantly disagree with the idea of your wash bucket getting dirty.

Let me preface by saying this little test is absolutely not the way you should perform multiple washes.

I washed 3 relatively dirty cars using the same wash and rinse water. By the time I was done, there was about 2” of water left in the wash bucket. I let the buckets rest for a week so anything that was going to settle out had a chance to do so. Used 1 mitt for 90% and second mitt for rocker panels and other filthy work.

Results were crystal clear wash water and filthy rinse water. I did not take pictures of the wash mitt, but you will have to take my word that they were still reasonable clean and useable.

Pics of the water with Grit guards removed for clarity. Pics of empty buckets after swiping a finger though. Pic of the paper towel I used to wipe the bottom of the wash bucket; I did not rinse it out; just dumped the water and swiped the paper towel all over the bottom.

My take away was that if you are doing it right, you aren’t putting dirty water or dirty mitts back on the paint and the amount of grit that could be transferred back is insignificant compared to the amount in the mitt after a single swipe of the paint. The system works. But if you have another system that is getting you results, keep it up.

 

[Route246]

I adamantly disagree with the idea of your wash bucket getting dirty.

Let me preface by saying this little test is absolutely not the way you should perform multiple washes.

I washed 3 relatively dirty cars using the same wash and rinse water. By the time I was done, there was about 2” of water left in the wash bucket. I let the buckets rest for a week so anything that was going to settle out had a chance to do so. Used 1 mitt for 90% and second mitt for rocker panels and other filthy work.

Results were crystal clear wash water and filthy rinse water. I did not take pictures of the wash mitt, but you will have to take my word that they were still reasonable clean and useable.

Pics of the water with Grit guards removed for clarity. Pics of empty buckets after swiping a finger though. Pic of the paper towel I used to wipe the bottom of the wash bucket; I did not rinse it out; just dumped the water and swiped the paper towel all over the bottom.

My take away was that if you are doing it right, you aren’t putting dirty water or dirty mitts back on the paint and the amount of grit that could be transferred back is insignificant compared to the amount in the mitt after a single swipe of the paint. The system works. But if you have another system that is getting you results, keep it up.

Although my vehicles are usually pretty clean when I wash them I worry more about the things I cannot see like the acids, salts and other chemical contaminants that can be introduced into the bucket of soap. I try to have my soap/shampoo bucket as contaminant-free as possible. Just my thoughts. I have no scientific data to back this up, either.

 

[Eldorado2k]

I adamantly disagree with the idea of your wash bucket getting dirty.

Let me preface by saying this little test is absolutely not the way you should perform multiple washes.

I washed 3 relatively dirty cars using the same wash and rinse water. By the time I was done, there was about 2” of water left in the wash bucket. I let the buckets rest for a week so anything that was going to settle out had a chance to do so. Used 1 mitt for 90% and second mitt for rocker panels and other filthy work.

Results were crystal clear wash water and filthy rinse water. I did not take pictures of the wash mitt, but you will have to take my word that they were still reasonable clean and useable.

Pics of the water with Grit guards removed for clarity. Pics of empty buckets after swiping a finger though. Pic of the paper towel I used to wipe the bottom of the wash bucket; I did not rinse it out; just dumped the water and swiped the paper towel all over the bottom.

My take away was that if you are doing it right, you aren’t putting dirty water or dirty mitts back on the paint and the amount of grit that could be transferred back is insignificant compared to the amount in the mitt after a single swipe of the paint. The system works. But if you have another system that is getting you results, keep it up.

But it still takes time and energy. I’d rather put the effort it takes to get the mitts clean all at once when I’m done with them, instead of having to interrupt my flow.

 

[Eldorado2k]

@Route246. Sounds like you’ve got a good method that works.

 

[DaveT435]

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?

Between grit guards and a proper washing method yes the system works flawlessly for me. I have 4 cars I wash in a pretty regular basis.

 

[Route246]

@Route246. Sounds like you’ve got a good method that works.

I'm glad you posted your method here because it sounds similar to mine and since I value time the same way that you do, every few seconds you save is time available to do more during my limited window of opportunity. Two-bucket methods are fine but I found I was wasting a lot of time, effort and back pain. Now, I just toss and grab a fresh one and like you said, all of the cleanup is done in one batch after the paint work is complete.

 

[Finick]

But I do use these clever 8x8 1100 GSM rinseless wash towels

Those are super cool, lol. Do they hold onto debris if you happen to pick some up? That's my biggest annoyance using towels, especially the closed loop variety which hold on to eeeeverything.

 

[JMak97008]

So Scott was using a lightly dusted car as his example. What about my black 300c after a week of commuting in the rain with the attendant road film, dirt, bits of leaves? Sure, some of the dirt comes off along with the leaves with a power washer. If I have a foam gun attached to a hose.

So, if I rinse with the hose, then foam with the gun as I go along, I'm picking up things on my mitt as I move from top to bottom on the panel I'm washing. It I'd be doing that anyway with the 2 bucket method.

Hmm, so the real difference here is that I am using a bunch of wash mitts rather than water. I can buy that...

 

[gsmarquis]

Totally do both foam soak, rinse, two bucket.

 

[Audios S6]

Although my vehicles are usually pretty clean when I wash them I worry more about the things I cannot see like the acids, salts and other chemical contaminants that can be introduced into the bucket of soap. I try to have my soap/shampoo bucket as contaminant-free as possible. Just my thoughts. I have no scientific data to back this up, either.

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.

But it still takes time and energy. I’d rather put the effort it takes to get the mitts clean all at once when I’m done with them, instead of having to interrupt my flow.

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.

 

[Eldorado2k]

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.

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.

 

[joleyred]

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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[LBustillos]

First time post.

I use a electric pressure washer to soak car. (My gas power washer is just to strong.) I'm careful not to get to close with the spray. Then I spray my car with my foam cannon. Let soap sit until it starts breaking apart. While waiting I prepare my two bucket system. I use grit guards on the bottom of the buckets and I place a "painter's screen" in my "mitt wash bucket". I then spray the soap off of my car from the foam cannon. I then start the two bucket car wash system. At this time I have tremendously minimize any dirt that might still be on my car before I use my mitts. While washing the car with my mitts I always do a quick inspection of the mitt when it comes out of the mitt wash bucket. If it doesn't look perfect I hit with spray from the pressure washer before I place it in my "clean" soap bucket. Does this take longer than a "normal" wash? Of course but it saves me time from having to go back and polish and wax the car often.

 

[Route246]

Those are super cool, lol. Do they hold onto debris if you happen to pick some up? That's my biggest annoyance using towels, especially the closed loop variety which hold on to eeeeverything.

These are pretty thick and do not hold onto contaminates any more or less than those mitts. I really dislike the mitt wrapping the elastic around my wrist for some reason. If I'm working on the roof I think it is because it encourages the soapy water to run down my arm when I'm washing the roof above shoulder level. That's the unpleasant part of them. These towels avoid that and are much easier to deal with than mitts in my opinion.

 

[PaulMys]

These are pretty thick and do not hold onto contaminates any more or less than those mitts. I really dislike the mitt wrapping the elastic around my wrist for some reason. If I'm working on the roof I think it is because it encourages the soapy water to run down my arm when I'm washing the roof above shoulder level. That's the unpleasant part of them. These towels avoid that and are much easier to deal with than mitts in my opinion.

I smell what you're stepping in here........

 

[Eldorado2k]

These are pretty thick and do not hold onto contaminates any more or less than those mitts. I really dislike the mitt wrapping the elastic around my wrist for some reason. If I'm working on the roof I think it is because it encourages the soapy water to run down my arm when I'm washing the roof above shoulder level. That's the unpleasant part of them. These towels avoid that and are much easier to deal with than mitts in my opinion.

I never stick my hand in wash mitts. I cut the cuff off of them the 1st day and use them like wash pads.

 

[AKT]

How about this:

YouTube