How many mitts needed for a 1 bucket wash? Any better washing methods?

[vwite]

I use 14 mitts for my typical bucket wash. Double fisted.
This 3 gallon bucket is actually the bucket I toss my used mitts into. I use a 5 gallon bucket for the soap.

These 2 mitts are reserved for the rocker panels and underneath the front & rear bumper. I like that they’re 2 sided just in case I need to remove some caked on dirt or bugs down there.

Wow, your method seems pretty safe with 14 mitts, however if I'm stubborn in using the Incredimitt that would be $350 for 14 mitts.

After reviewing my first post, that got me thinking again on the part of "Even if the mitt is completely clean, it will have a lot of dirt in just one 1 ft swipe on that dirty door or fender so the second swipe or even the second feet of that first swipe would probably already be worse than the semi-clean mitt after dunking in bucket"

And also read this comment on YouTube by the user Harninder1:

"My personal method involves no grit guards, soap bucket and a 14L rinse bucket filled to the top. I agigate the dirt with my hands off the dirty mitt in the top 1/3 of the rinse bucket before going back to the soap.I've been contemplating buying grit guards and also thought of getting 6-7 mitts meaning no need to rinse mitta at all and zero contamination.Then I came to the realisation that you work on a car top to bottom if you have any sense, and the mitt gets dirty the second you do your first swipe on the paint.Nail in the coffin is that no matter whether you use 2 bucket method, grit guards or a pile of wash mitts, there is no getting away from the fact that your mitt is at it's dirtiest when it's coming off your paint and heading to your rinse bucket, not the other way around.Your final few passes with the wash mitt before you head to your wash bucket are a far bigger issue than the chosen mitt cleaning method."

Also, after watching the video they have on their Amazon listing on the grit guard called "DETAIL GUARDZ The Dirt Lock Car Wash Bucket Insert" and also a couple of youtube videos that test the grit guard with transparent buckets and colored "dirt" this grit guard actually seems pretty effective.

So I think I'm going with this option:

2 incredimitts - $50
2 "Detail Guardz" inserts - $40

I'l buy 2 incredimitts because I'll treat my car as if it was 2 cars, I'll prepare a rinse bucket and a wash buckets both with grit guard inserts and will wash half of the car with one incredimitt rinsing as much as needed depending on how dirty the car is after foam canon and rinse with pressure washer. At the end of first half I'll put away the first incredimitt, throw away dirt water/soap from buckets and rinse them, then refill with water/soap and repeat for the other half of the car but with the 2nd fresh incredimitt. I'll also add a little of ONR to each bucket and some members said it was a good idea.

Does this seems reasonable? I know probably using 14 mitts would be safer but at this point I might be overthinking too much and for the difference of $350 vs $90 the difference in scratches and swirls may not be noticeable (i.e. installing 95% of the scratches with the 14 mitts vs 100% with the 2 incredimitts and two grit guardz).

 

[Eldorado2k]

1st of all wait... Don’t buy anything yet.

 

[DetailZeus]

How dirty does your car get? I'm going to assume you wash it pretty frequently. How dirty the car is and how fresh the LSP is (and how well it sheds dirt) are important too.

I've used the towels in a bucket method Mike Phillips posted and it works great. I don't think you need super expensive towels, just edgeless because the towels get floppy with shampoo and it's not worth trying to keep them in a perfect square. However my tried and true method is a simple 2-bucket wash with the "Ultra Soft Microfiber Rinseless Wash Mitt" sold here which ironically is my favorite mitt for shampoo. I use a second one for rocker panels.

I know it's obvious but the big thing for me is I take plenty of time pressure rinsing the vehicle before I touch it. When I wash, my rinse bucket always ends up almost clean. I could probably get away with a single shampoo bucket if I wanted to. If the car is covered in bugs, bird bombs, sap, or whatever I spray those with prewash, bug wash, or APC and pay extra attention to rinsing those areas. Usually, I can get most everything off except tar which I deal with after.

 

[vwite]

1st of all wait... Don’t buy anything yet.

why is that? wasn't planning on ordering anything yet but still just curious

How dirty does your car get? I'm going to assume you wash it pretty frequently. How dirty the car is and how fresh the LSP is (and how well it sheds dirt) are important too.

I've used the towels in a bucket method Mike Phillips posted and it works great. I don't think you need super expensive towels, just edgeless because the towels get floppy with shampoo and it's not worth trying to keep them in a perfect square. However my tried and true method is a simple 2-bucket wash with the "Ultra Soft Microfiber Rinseless Wash Mitt" sold here which ironically is my favorite mitt for shampoo. I use a second one for rocker panels.

I know it's obvious but the big thing for me is I take plenty of time pressure rinsing the vehicle before I touch it. When I wash, my rinse bucket always ends up almost clean. I could probably get away with a single shampoo bucket if I wanted to. If the car is covered in bugs, bird bombs, sap, or whatever I spray those with prewash, bug wash, or APC and pay extra attention to rinsing those areas. Usually, I can get most everything off except tar which I deal with after.

Thanks! Yeah my car doesn't get really dirty, I wash it weekly whenever I can but other times about once a month. I apply a LSP after washing about once every 30-60 days. I also always try to remove as much grime as possible as I can with the foam cannon/pressure washer before I even touch the paint. What brand do you use for the bug wash spray to presoak and remove easier by just rinsing when possible?

 

[TTQ B4U]

I'm old school simple but it's works and I don't install any swirls or marks doing it this way. I'm not a foam canon guy. Fun but honestly, I've seen plenty of side by side tests and done so myself and have yet to find any that combined with safe enough soap for coatings that really do much. I've had customers use foam sprays that are very alkaline and do more harm to the LSP than good in cleaning. Stick to something simple. CarPro Reset is my go-to wash.

I use a single bucket method and use only high quality MF sponge mitts like the green and yellow ones someone showed earlier in the thread. No grit guards as IMO they are over rated. IMO if the grit one is picking up in their sponge is heavy enough to sink and stay at the bottom of a bucket of water being swished around like happens, then the damage is already been done. I dunk, wash from top down, use only the pressure of the sponge and perhaps a little more with a single swipe. To scrubbing and no back and forth and forth and forth motions. Makes me cringe when I see people scrubbing their paint finishes like that. Prior to re-dunking, I make sure I have a good hold of the sponge, I reset it on panel of the vehicle and then I spray it clean / rinse it with the hose. Nothing huge but enough to get it cleaned prior to putting it back into my clean soapy water.

Keep it simple and don't over think it. That's my easy advice. I see most swirls and marring coming from poor drying methods. I use only dampened towels with a drying aid to wipe off any water and with coated cars, I blow dry them first. 98%+ of the water comes off with a blower and my rag is just there to help ensure no spots are left, any missed areas are cleaned up and and to help get door jambs done at the end of the wash.

 

[Bill D]

I simply cannot wash marring free without incorporating a foam gun in my wash regimen. For years I was frustrated with micromarring until I started using a foam gun to its fullest potential. I don’t understand how anyone can wash with buckets, let alone only one bucket and not get marring but apparently they are so they are doing something I can’t replicate. I wish I could but I can’t.

I’m sticking to my foam gun for good. It’s the only solution I’ve found to my problem. All I can say is if someone is frustrated with wash-induced marring to give it a shot. Don’t just foam the car with it and rinse off the soap, incorporate using the foam gun as you wash with your multiple mitts. You might be pleasantly surprised with your results. It also helps to wash the car often, never letting it get too dirty.

 

[vwite]

I'm old school simple but it's works and I don't install any swirls or marks doing it this way. I'm not a foam canon guy. Fun but honestly, I've seen plenty of side by side tests and done so myself and have yet to find any that combined with safe enough soap for coatings that really do much. I've had customers use foam sprays that are very alkaline and do more harm to the LSP than good in cleaning. Stick to something simple. CarPro Reset is my go-to wash.

I use a single bucket method and use only high quality MF sponge mitts like the green and yellow ones someone showed earlier in the thread. No grit guards as IMO they are over rated. IMO if the grit one is picking up in their sponge is heavy enough to sink and stay at the bottom of a bucket of water being swished around like happens, then the damage is already been done. I dunk, wash from top down, use only the pressure of the sponge and perhaps a little more with a single swipe. To scrubbing and no back and forth and forth and forth motions. Makes me cringe when I see people scrubbing their paint finishes like that. Prior to re-dunking, I make sure I have a good hold of the sponge, I reset it on panel of the vehicle and then I spray it clean / rinse it with the hose. Nothing huge but enough to get it cleaned prior to putting it back into my clean soapy water.

Keep it simple and don't over think it. That's my easy advice. I see most swirls and marring coming from poor drying methods. I use only dampened towels with a drying aid to wipe off any water and with coated cars, I blow dry them first. 98%+ of the water comes off with a blower and my rag is just there to help ensure no spots are left, any missed areas are cleaned up and and to help get door jambs done at the end of the wash.

thanks for the tips, I agree more swirls are installed during the drying process since there is almost no lubrication and there could be missed spots that get your only towel dirty. I try to dry as much as possible with a leaf blower and the last details with the dry me crazy towel. I use ONR for almos everything (add it to wash/rinse buckets, as clay lube, quick detailer, to clean wheels, water spot removal, etc.) is it good enough to use ONR as drying aid?

I simply cannot wash marring free without incorporating a foam gun in my wash regimen. For years I was frustrated with micromarring until I started using a foam gun to its fullest potential. I don’t understand how anyone can wash with buckets, let alone only one bucket and not get marring but apparently they are so they are doing something I can’t replicate. I wish I could but I can’t.

I’m sticking to my foam gun for good. It’s the only solution I’ve found to my problem. All I can say is if someone is frustrated with wash-induced marring to give it a shot. Don’t just foam the car with it and rinse off the soap, incorporate using the foam gun as you wash with your multiple mitts. You might be pleasantly surprised with your results. It also helps to wash the car often, never letting it get too dirty.

I do both haha foam cannon and let it a few minutes while I prepare other stuff, then rinse and found it knocks out more dirt than when I used to just rinse with pressure washer, but after the rinse, I foam again before touching the paint with the towels/mitts for added lubrication

 

[DetailZeus]

Thanks! Yeah my car doesn't get really dirty, I wash it weekly whenever I can but other times about once a month. I apply a LSP after washing about once every 30-60 days. I also always try to remove as much grime as possible as I can with the foam cannon/pressure washer before I even touch the paint. What brand do you use for the bug wash spray to presoak and remove easier by just rinsing when possible?

Poorboy's bug squash is a good one, I've also used dilute Poorboy's APC in a pinch but I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think the chemistry in any of these is anything special, the solution is the dilution. I'd guess that anything sold here for the purpose should be OK, just avoid anything caustic or heavy traffic film removers as these can damage trims.

Also caveat, some have concerns about stripping or degrading the LSP with presoaks. In general, I'm using them when the car looks bad, think interstate road trip, not "I hit a fly on the way to the grocery store." In these cases the LSP is probably due for a spray wax/sealant refresh anyways in which case I'm not worried about stripping anything. That being said any LSP that's not a beauty wax should be fine to some extent.

Secondly, I'm *personally* not a fan of foaming and rinsing with regular shampoo. I find a purpose-built snowfoam works better, think Griots surface wash or Gyeon foam. Foamed shampoos work better as lubrication, like what Bill D describes above. You really need a foam gun for this rather than a foam cannon to get the flushing action.

Third, I'm not recommending a single wash mitt and bucket to scrub all over the car. Fresh clean mitts will always be better than one dunked repeatedly into a bucket. My point was contaminants that are gone can't scratch. If you have a bunch of flies floating in your rinse bucket or stuck in your mitt, then at some point you rubbed them over the car.

 

[vwite]

Wow, your method seems pretty safe with 14 mitts, however if I'm stubborn in using the Incredimitt that would be $350 for 14 mitts.

After reviewing my first post, that got me thinking again on the part of "Even if the mitt is completely clean, it will have a lot of dirt in just one 1 ft swipe on that dirty door or fender so the second swipe or even the second feet of that first swipe would probably already be worse than the semi-clean mitt after dunking in bucket"

And also read this comment on YouTube by the user Harninder1:



Also, after watching the video they have on their Amazon listing on the grit guard called "DETAIL GUARDZ The Dirt Lock Car Wash Bucket Insert" and also a couple of youtube videos that test the grit guard with transparent buckets and colored "dirt" this grit guard actually seems pretty effective.

So I think I'm going with this option:

2 incredimitts - $50
2 "Detail Guardz" inserts - $40

I'l buy 2 incredimitts because I'll treat my car as if it was 2 cars, I'll prepare a rinse bucket and a wash buckets both with grit guard inserts and will wash half of the car with one incredimitt rinsing as much as needed depending on how dirty the car is after foam canon and rinse with pressure washer. At the end of first half I'll put away the first incredimitt, throw away dirt water/soap from buckets and rinse them, then refill with water/soap and repeat for the other half of the car but with the 2nd fresh incredimitt. I'll also add a little of ONR to each bucket and some members said it was a good idea.

Does this seems reasonable? I know probably using 14 mitts would be safer but at this point I might be overthinking too much and for the difference of $350 vs $90 the difference in scratches and swirls may not be noticeable (i.e. installing 95% of the scratches with the 14 mitts vs 100% with the 2 incredimitts and two grit guardz).

Nah never mind, the grit guards won't be worth it considering extra time and effort on every single wash. I found a 15% code so each incredimitt would be $22. I'm gonna go ahead an save the money of the 2 grit guards and buy 8-10 incredimitts.

I think beyond the debate of “2 bucket” vs “multiple mitt” there are other factors that are more likely to have a bigger influence in avoiding scratches and swirls in your paint finish, such as

1. Proper technique, straight motions, right amount of pressure, etc.
2. Knocking off the “biggest” dirt with a foam cannon/pressure washer before touching the paint
3. After first rinse, foam again the car paint surface to have added lubrication before touching the paint with the mitt
4. Maybe add a few of drops of ONR to rinse and wash buckets? (I don’t really know about this one, some people swear by it but personally I almost never do it)
5. Having a properly maintained LSP
6. Drying methods (air dry if possible with a specialized tool or with leaf blower, plus using damp towels and drying aid for lubrication)

 

[Bill D]

Wash often, as in at least once a week, and dirt build up that you will have to deal with first will be at a minimum. I don't remember the last time I had to wash using a pressure washer.