How Long to 2BM Your Garage Queen

[swanicyouth]

I'm wondering how long it takes the super picky anal hobbyist detailer to do a full blown 2 BM wash on their pride and joy. I'm talking about the car with close to perfect paint you only drive on Sundays.

It takes me an embarrassingly long time to do this. My steps are:

1. Get out 3 5 gallon buckets, rinse them out and fill with water (1 bucket for wheels). Get out pressure washer and hook up. Add soap to 1 bucket and soak was mitt. Drive car up on 4 blocks of wood to gain access to the whole tire while cleaning and dressing them.

2. Clean wheel wells with Wheel Woolie & APC.

4. Clean tires with stiff brush & tire cleaner until I get white foam.

5. Clean each wheel face, lugs nut recess, barrels, rotor hats, and behind spokes using wheel cleaner, pressure washer, brushes, etc...Clean wheel tools and wheel bucket and put away.

5. Fill 2 gallon bucket with water and mix soap and water in MTM Hydro foamer.

6. Foam areas of vehicle I'm going to clean with a boars hair paint brush style brush. Clean wiper cowl, wiper arms, license plate, lights, grills, emblems, mirrors, window trim, etc.. With foam and brush. Use 2 gallon bucket from previous step to rinse out brush as I go along.

7. Foam whole vehicle and let dwell.

8. Clean convertible top and glass with large boars hair brush while foam dwells.

9. Wash panels using 2 mitts via 2BM. Rinse off all soap.

10. Rinse with DI water.

11. Blow dry car.

12. QD or spray wax car

13. Clean door sills with waterless wash

14. Dress tires

15. Clean all buckets and tools and put away.

This whole process takes about 2.5 hours. I'm just wondering how long it takes others and what you leaving out.

I know it could be done much faster for a lot of cars, but I'm mainly interested in those that try to take every precaution to wash a special to them car.

 

[theblob640]

Mine pretty much takes about 2-3 hours depending on whether I am waxing with paste wax or spray wax on my weekend car.

 

[stibuki]

Takes me just about the same time with a very similar process. Except I skip the boars hair brush on top since I have a hard top and my jams are usually clean enough so just a quick spritz with DG Clean and Shine does the trick! Add another 15-20 minutes if I spray wax.

 

[Rsurfer]

I'm wondering how long it takes the super picky anal hobbyist detailer to do a full blown 2 BM wash on their pride and joy. I'm talking about the car with close to perfect paint you only drive on Sundays.

It takes me an embarrassingly long time to do this. My steps are:

1. Get out 3 5 gallon buckets, rinse them out and fill with water (1 bucket for wheels). Get out pressure washer and hook up. Add soap to 1 bucket and soak was mitt. Drive car up on 4 blocks of wood to gain access to the whole tire while cleaning and dressing them.

2. Clean wheel wells with Wheel Woolie & APC.

4. Clean tires with stiff brush & tire cleaner until I get white foam.

5. Clean each wheel face, lugs nut recess, barrels, rotor hats, and behind spokes using wheel cleaner, pressure washer, brushes, etc...Clean wheel tools and wheel bucket and put away.

5. Fill 2 gallon bucket with water and mix soap and water in MTM Hydro foamer.

6. Foam areas of vehicle I'm going to clean with a boars hair paint brush style brush. Clean wiper cowl, wiper arms, license plate, lights, grills, emblems, mirrors, window trim, etc.. With foam and brush. Use 2 gallon bucket from previous step to rinse out brush as I go along.

7. Foam whole vehicle and let dwell.

8. Clean convertible top and glass with large boars hair brush while foam dwells.

9. Wash panels using 2 mitts via 2BM. Rinse off all soap.

10. Rinse with DI water.

11. Blow dry car.

12. QD or spray wax car

13. Clean door sills with waterless wash

14. Dress tires

15. Clean all buckets and tools and put away.

This whole process takes about 2.5 hours. I'm just wondering how long it takes others and what you leaving out.

I know it could be done much faster for a lot of cars, but I'm mainly interested in those that try to take every precaution to wash a special to them car.

Nothing wrong with your steps, but how often do you do these 15 steps?

 

[BlackHawk]

Even though my car is only around 80% swirl free, i treat it like a garage queen, so it takes me around 2 hours especially since now i have white rims on haha! Its a good thing theres products like 22ple, makes my wheel cleaning soooooo easy!

 

[XSSIVE]

My garage queen is now a year old and the only part that's been washed with a hose has been the wheels and wheel wells. The paint hasn't seen soap and water yet. Since it only goes out on nice days it just gets light dust so when I get home I waterless it and cover it back up. It's become a bit of a game now, how long can I go. Same for the wipers, how long can I go without ever turning them on haha.

If I were to wash it I'd probably be in the 2hr range I'd guess based on past cars.

 

[Flatlander]

Definitely 2-3 hours for me if I am going to apply LSP. A quick weekly takes me around an hour but the deep-clean monthly is around 3. I think you're right on.

 

[KillaCam]

You need to start going rinseless..

Just do the wheels and wheel wells traditionally and do the rest rinseless. If it is a garage queen it shouldn't get very dirty.

 

[rmagnus]

Full 2 bucket wash with pressure washer including setup and cleanup yea 2.5 hours is about right. I prefer ONRWW waterless with V07 follow up, 30 minutes plus wheels. Virtually no set up just dirty mf that go in the mf pile untill I have enough to run a washer load.

 

[hoyt66]

I can do mine in under 2 hours. Usually an hour and a half. I don't have foam or a pressure washer so that cuts down on my time. I do eventually want to get a foam gun though. It's kind of funny cuz the more I learn about detailing the longer it takes me to wash a car.

 

[sproketser]

Same thing here hoyt66 , lol it always take more time with all the stuff I learn in here . Sometimes I have to change my processes which were not good ! lol

 

[jayshut11]

It takes me 1.5 to 2 hours for my Porsche which is a part-time daily driver as well as a show car and canyon-carver on the weekends. :detailer:

 

[swanicyouth]

Nothing wrong with your steps, but how often do you do these 15 steps?

Every 2-3 weeks. Car stays in the garage and is driven a few times a week as long as there is no rain. I've been starting at 6am because I hate working in the heat.

 

[swanicyouth]

You need to start going rinseless..

Just do the wheels and wheel wells traditionally and do the rest rinseless. If it is a garage queen it shouldn't get very dirty.

I did that for a while and got some light scratches. I'm not saying that is what caused it, it could have been anything

 

[FUNX650]

I may be completely discombobulated...
But I consider this regimen a little much for: "Garage Queens".

I'll admit to pulling their tire/wheel assemblies, (every so often)...
for them to receive such a thorough detailing-session, though.



Bob

 

[KillaCam]

I did that for a while and got some light scratches. I'm not saying that is what caused it, it could have been anything

Yeah could have been anything. I haven't noticed any on my daily driver but it has some pretty hard clear. And don't you own a black BMW? That could be why. Stick with what works for you!

 

[custmsprty]

I'm wondering how long it takes the super picky anal hobbyist detailer to do a full blown 2 BM wash on their pride and joy. I'm talking about the car with close to perfect paint you only drive on Sundays.

It takes me an embarrassingly long time to do this. My steps are:

1. Get out 3 5 gallon buckets, rinse them out and fill with water (1 bucket for wheels). Get out pressure washer and hook up. Add soap to 1 bucket and soak was mitt. Drive car up on 4 blocks of wood to gain access to the whole tire while cleaning and dressing them.

2. Clean wheel wells with Wheel Woolie & APC.

4. Clean tires with stiff brush & tire cleaner until I get white foam.

5. Clean each wheel face, lugs nut recess, barrels, rotor hats, and behind spokes using wheel cleaner, pressure washer, brushes, etc...Clean wheel tools and wheel bucket and put away.

5. Fill 2 gallon bucket with water and mix soap and water in MTM Hydro foamer.

6. Foam areas of vehicle I'm going to clean with a boars hair paint brush style brush. Clean wiper cowl, wiper arms, license plate, lights, grills, emblems, mirrors, window trim, etc.. With foam and brush. Use 2 gallon bucket from previous step to rinse out brush as I go along.

7. Foam whole vehicle and let dwell.

8. Clean convertible top and glass with large boars hair brush while foam dwells.

9. Wash panels using 2 mitts via 2BM. Rinse off all soap.

10. Rinse with DI water.

11. Blow dry car.

12. QD or spray wax car

13. Clean door sills with waterless wash

14. Dress tires

15. Clean all buckets and tools and put away.

This whole process takes about 2.5 hours. I'm just wondering how long it takes others and what you leaving out.

I know it could be done much faster for a lot of cars, but I'm mainly interested in those that try to take every precaution to wash a special to them car.

I've only washed my GC once in 16 months since I bought it new last year. I wipe it down with waterless wash and Wolfgang WDPS. It's a garage queen so it shouldn't need washing that often.

 

[Herrmann22]

I read this post and I'm thinking what have I gotten myself into? The rain use to be my car wash, sadly. I have my work cut out for me! lol

Sent from my SGH-T989 using AG Online

 

[Rsurfer]

Every 2-3 weeks. Car stays in the garage and is driven a few times a week as long as there is no rain. I've been starting at 6am because I hate working in the heat.

Wow, that's what love does to you.:buffing:

 

[SR99]

Every 2-3 weeks. Car stays in the garage and is driven a few times a week as long as there is no rain. I've been starting at 6am because I hate working in the heat.

I'm not sure that a car driven a few times a week would be considered a garage queen. That's still a fair bit of weekly exposure to the elements, even if only atmospheric dust and dust/exhaust from driving in traffic.

Anyway, the way to trim a big list is to prioritize and put off the lower priority stuff. Have you ever timed how much of your regime is just for wheel-related stuff? Maybe you could break it up into wheels and then the rest later.

I often do the wheels separately (brake dust builds faster than atmospheric dust), and I use a 2 gallon pump sprayer filled with hot water, a trigger sprayer of wheel cleaner, and various brushes/sponges in a bucket of hot water (just to rinse them off). If you get a pump sprayer where you have good control of the velocity and spray pattern you can clean the wheels and tires without getting anything on the rest of the car.