The weather finally cooperated so I tackled the exterior of the wife's van yesterday. It was my first proper car wash in a long time. I got all the kinks out before doing my car next weekend. Here were my steps:
Engine detail (APC)
Wheels (iron X, fender brush, wheel woolie, detail brush, repeat iron x)
2 bucket wash
Dry with a QD spray as a drying aid
wipe down jams (were they ever filthy, 3 towels went in the garbage)
treat black plastic
Glass (invisible glass, rain x)
I didn't have time to do any paint correction as I intended to. I found some rust creeping in under some seals so we will probably be getting rid of it soon anyway. The hood is peppered with rusty rock chips too.
A few things I learned along the way:
1. Clean the underside of the hood before doing the rest of the engine bay :doh:
2. Make sure your tire spray isn't empty before starting, goes for all products really
3. Make sure all the sprayers actually spray before starting (my wheel cleaner didn't work)
4. Wear sunscreen. The winter sun isn't as strong as summer sun.
Here are the results. it's obviously not perfect, but it's the cleanest it's been since we bought it.
Graham
Engine detail (APC)
Wheels (iron X, fender brush, wheel woolie, detail brush, repeat iron x)
2 bucket wash
Dry with a QD spray as a drying aid
wipe down jams (were they ever filthy, 3 towels went in the garbage)
treat black plastic
Glass (invisible glass, rain x)
I didn't have time to do any paint correction as I intended to. I found some rust creeping in under some seals so we will probably be getting rid of it soon anyway. The hood is peppered with rusty rock chips too.
A few things I learned along the way:
1. Clean the underside of the hood before doing the rest of the engine bay :doh:
2. Make sure your tire spray isn't empty before starting, goes for all products really
3. Make sure all the sprayers actually spray before starting (my wheel cleaner didn't work)
4. Wear sunscreen. The winter sun isn't as strong as summer sun.
Here are the results. it's obviously not perfect, but it's the cleanest it's been since we bought it.
Graham
