Trying to shorten my wash routine - help

AutoApollo

AutoApollo

New member
Joined
Aug 29, 2015
Messages
209
Reaction score
0
Hey guys, I wash my car weekly and the routine goes like this.

Rinse car down
Wash wheels
Two bucket wash paint
Rinse down and dry off with wet mf towel
Mother's spray wax on paint.

Now I'm wondering if I can eliminate the last step and use a wash n wax shampoo. Any suggestions?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3010 using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
Coat the car, makes it so match faster to wash and dry. Plus your not rubbing spray wax over the car, which can pontential cause more unwanted marks.
 
Another option would be when you are drying off the car srpay your wax when you are drying. This way you still get the protection you want but save a step. I have done this would quick detailer and it works good.

AutoApollo said:
Hey guys, I wash my car weekly and the routine goes like this.

Rinse car down
Wash wheels
Two bucket wash paint
Rinse down and dry off with wet mf towel
Mother's spray wax on paint.

Now I'm wondering if I can eliminate the last step and use a wash n wax shampoo. Any suggestions?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3010 using Autogeekonline mobile app
Click to expand...
 
My druthers is NOT to have any wax or glossers in the soap bucket.

Use a high quality sealant and should be good for about 6 months before adding anything.
Also make sure you use good microfiber towels to manage and keep scratches down.

Tom
 
.


The secret to washing a car fast is to start by doing a great initial detail job to get the car clean and sealed. Then future washing and drying is fast and easy.


This is an older write-up I did for a Mercedes we sold a few years ago BUT I continue to wash our current Mercedes in the 30 minute time frame.


Wash and dry a car in less than 30 minutes!


The key for me and speed is to use a ceramic coating on the paint, plastic and glass and also the wheels. If you can remove the wheels and clean and coat the backs this will also help.


Ceramic paint coatings make washing and drying faster because the dirt releases easy and water leaves the surface easy. It's really that simple. The same thing holds true for car waxes and synthetic sealants it's just car waxes and synthetic sealants don't last as long.


I have to wash the wife's MB as it's ready for a bath. Next time I do I'll time myself. I always start with wheels and tires first and I keep the barrel of the wheels behind the spokes just as clean as the face of the wheels. The ONLY reason cleaning this area of the car doesn't take me long is because I religiously clean this area each time I wash the car thus it's fast and easy. If I were to let this hard to reach area go for a few washes the road grim and the brake dust would start to build-up and solidify and then cleaning this area (behind the spokes), would be slow and hard.

So fast washing is in part only possible by frequent washing. Frequent washing wears off waxes and sealants. So coatings are a part of the mix for washing fast.


Make sense?

It also helps to have GREAT car washing tools to make you effective and reduce time and work.



:)
 
I would use ONR with Wax. Cuts down on water and time cause you're washing and drying panel by panel. Then just spay it down with Meg's x-press spay wax to give it a little more protection and a deep shine. I would also get a California duster and just wipe down once a day at the end of the day. helps keep it cleaner and less to wash off later.
 
Having my vehicle coated was the most significant thing I could do to cut down my wash and dry time. Dry time especially. With a blaster(or good leaf blower) a coating will allow you to get 95% of the water off your car before grabbing a towel.

I would avoid a wash & wax. The protection these leave behind, if any, is minuet at best, and they usually just break down and leave behind a coating of blah after a few days. The quality and quantity of wax in those types of products is too low and small to offer anything of value in my eyes. I would do some good surface prep, install a coating or solid sealant, and go from there. This will save you elbow grease in the short and long run.
 
Mike Phillips said:
.

<snip>

Ceramic paint coatings make washing and drying faster because the dirt releases easy and water leaves the surface easy. It's really that simple. The same thing holds true for car waxes and synthetic sealants it's just car waxes and synthetic sealants don't last as long.

<snip>

So fast washing is in part only possible by frequent washing. Frequent washing wears off waxes and sealants. So coatings are a part of the mix for washing fast.


Make sense?

It also helps to have GREAT car washing tools to make you effective and reduce time and work.


:)
Click to expand...

I use ONR+Wax as a drying agent and topper after using a leaf blower to remove most of the water. I also use Optimum spray wax on the horizontal surfaces every time I wash which is almost weekly. Under this Optimum treatment is usually 476 or Fuzion, depending on the vehicle. If I use ONR+Wax and/or Optimum spray wax as drying agents to the already almost-dry paint the final drying step with MF towels includes wax and is slick-clean ready for the next wash. I believe this is probably a similar effect to coating which I have not graduated to and may never graduate to as I don't mind washing the vehicles weekly since it is a quick process now.
 
TMQ said:
My druthers is NOT to have any wax or glossers in the soap bucket.

Use a high quality sealant and should be good for about 6 months before adding anything.
Also make sure you use good microfiber towels to manage and keep scratches down.

Tom
Click to expand...

Do you top with a wax? I used the wolfgang 3.0 and was wondering if it was a good idea to apply a good wax after the sealer. I have had the sealer on now for about a month and it doesn't seem to bead water like it was.

when I do my maintenance washes weekly I usually wax once a month and apply megs spray wax or Griots best of show
 
Automoglow said:
Do you top with a wax? I used the wolfgang 3.0 and was wondering if it was a good idea to apply a good wax after the sealer. I have had the sealer on now for about a month and it doesn't seem to bead water like it was.

when I do my maintenance washes weekly I usually wax once a month and apply megs spray wax or Griots best of show
Click to expand...

No..I don't top the sealant on my car. I want the sealant to do the work.

As for my wife's car---I just wash and then once a month spray with Meg's Ultimate Quik Wax.
Been doing this for 2 years now and the car looks as new as it came from the factory!

Tom
 
I usually spray a APC on it and brush it down with a brush I've dipped in the RW solution. Then I take the mitt without ringing it and just glide it across, using the solution that wasn't rung out to wash way the APC on the grill. I do the same thing to my wheels but I just use the brush and dip it again and use the RW solution to wash away the ACP.
 
TMQ said:
No..I don't top the sealant on my car. I want the sealant to do the work.

As for my wife's car---I just wash and then once a month spray with Meg's Ultimate Quik Wax.
Been doing this for 2 years now and the car looks as new as it came from the factory!

Tom
Click to expand...

Thanks! I hope I didn't risk the longevity of the sealant applying the Griots wax.
 
PouncingPanzer said:
You guys that only use WW/RW systems, how do you clean your grills?
Click to expand...

I'm still trying to find a easier/faster way to clean our grilles. Both cars have honeycomb grilles and this area, sadly, is the one area that takes the longest. I take a microfiber glove (that has a bunch of tiny fingers) and stick the glove fingers in each of the holes in a twisting motion. Very tedious and I'll admit at times I skip the grille (sometimes its not even visibly dirty).

If you do a deep clean, meaning each hole and crevice washed, if you come back again with a QW spray (like Megs UQW) it'll provide some protection and make it stay cleaner the next time for washing which you can get a way with a good once over with the glove (instead of each hole).

For this reason I've decided to change from the stock grille (see my avatar) to the one below. :)

Much easier to clean!
s-l1600.jpg
 
Automoglow said:
Thanks! I hope I didn't risk the longevity of the sealant applying the Griots wax.
Click to expand...

Nahhh...you're ok.

It just that I'm lazy and hate doing the same job twice. Sealant protects and wax protects.

I just chose the sealant over wax and go around car once and be done for several months. With wax, probably need to reapply once every month. As for the sealant, only twice a year.

Tom
 
PouncingPanzer said:
You guys that only use WW/RW systems, how do you clean your grills?
Click to expand...

Some combination of detailing brushes, paint brushes, foam paint brushes, keep playing with different sizes until you find one or two that work for your grill.
 
if you really want to go fast fill up a bucket with car soap and wash the whole car and dry (no rinse - no hose) and top it off with Meguiars Fast Finish
 
The ONR with wax works great. I don't know how long it lasts by itself. It really only needs to last until the next wash, but I know it lasts longer than that. It's an Optimum polymer, that's not chopped liver.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top