Wash Bucket Setup

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chefwong

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Do you -care- what your bucket setup looks like....I mean we are here on a forum -yakking- about how to wash a car or how glossy or not a tire should be :laughing:


I have a 3rd place where we own and go sparingly . Needed a new wash setup so while ordering some supplies, I ordered some buckets.
I knew it was probably going to be -thin and cheap- although it had some nice vinyl wash, rinse, wheel stickers on it....
And indeed the buckets are -cheap-. They are thin, like the ones you get from a Drywall Bucket

Whereas my main buckets are commercial spec 90 mil thick , no fancy stickers.
The bucket doesn't flex with or without load, and you can easily see the -bucket wall thickness- is at least 6X as thick.
I have replaced the handles on the metal wire/handle on these buckets at least once . They have just cracked/broken from sheer use
New buckets -flex-, old buckets are nice and thick.
These buckets do have Gamma Seal *rings* on them, so I use that to differentiate between functions ....red is rinse, white is wash and black is wheels.
Buckets are all boring grey...

Did not want to pay the piper for these thick buckets from USP, but should I ever need buckets again, I'd should stay with function over fashion..
 
A bucket was a bucket when I started detailing, this orange mop bucket served me for a number of years..................



When I finally invested some money into detailing specific buckets, someone asked me what was wrong with my old buckets. :doh:



Well, first of all I was only using one, flimsy bucket that did not (could not) accommodate a grit guard. At the time, the particular supplier I was buying from offered two different packages, one with traditional grit guards, the other with the then new Dirt Lock grit guards. I couldn't decide which one to choose.............................so I ordered both! I went from one bucket to four.



The buckets in question are nicely solid and take 15 liters / 5 gallons.



Those Dirt Lock grit guards were junk, they just did not stay at the bottom of the bucket and would float to the top. These earlier versions had rubber/padded legs that pressed against the side of the bucket. It's telling they have since re-designed this aspect of the product. They didn't go to waste though, I ended up getting a Detail Guardz pad cleaner, which utilizes the grit guard.





Then I decided to get some dollies, these black ones were from an automotive chain store. It's about this time I discovered the joys of sitting down while cleaning wheels, and the bucket dollies played a big part of that.



And from there, I discovered the rabbit hole was getting deeper and deeper.

Buckanizer's......................decorated appropriately.







Then I went down the matching grit guard and gamma seal road...............







And then matching dollies.......................







I don't actually do a two-bucket wash. The red bucket is always for wheels. And because I apply soap from my foam cannon, I only use the blue bucket for rinsing my wash media. I also use my foam cannon to apply soap to my wheels, this foam cannon bucket holder is very handy..............





For towel laundering, I also have a similar bucket setup, which uses my old black dollies.



So, I eventually discovered there was more to a bucket than I first thought. All of the above was a pursuit in improved functionality........................and visual appeal. :D
 
Nope....do not care what my buckets look like. I'd used the same ones from Lowes for many years...bought 'wash' and 'rinse' stickers.....then stopped using the two bucket method. Recently, was offered some buckets for free...that had been used by a local florist shop for an elaborate arrangement...for a funeral, of all things. These are very thick, plain white buckets, and were essentially brand new. Once cleaned and rinsed thoroughly, they have replaced my Lowes buckets, which now serve as hampers for dirty microfibers and pads.

I know people like the 'branded' buckets...just could not see the additional expense for a plain bucket with someones name on it
 
I got a bunch of those 5 gallon pales from work, they work great as stated. I figure if I grab some stickers or a magic marker I can 'brand' any of them.... lol
 
For 5-gallon buckets, I have some from Clean Garage, which are gray and mint colored. No need for stickers or colored lids to tell which is which. They were either selling them discounted or for half the money going to a local animal shelter at Cars & Coffee events.

Since I mostly do rinseless, I'm using mostly 2-gallon buckets. I have some blue ones from Lowe's, some from Ace Hardware (with their logo) and plain white ones. I use Ace Hardware for my RW, Lowe's for used towels or soaking towels after I'm done, and white for wheels.
 
For me a bucket is a bucket. As long as it holds water I don't care. I use them for more than just washing the car too, I just clean them out when I'm done.

A couple of my bucket's were the kind you get at the farm and tractor-type stores that give you one for $1 when you spend more than $20. I got one from Lowe's which was free (don't remember how). My favorite wheel washing bucket is a small, 2-gallon, bucket which originally held ice-melt. When I used up the ice-melt, I kept the bucket since it was such a handy size.
 
I use mainly 3.5 gallon buckets. I personally never had issues with the floating dirtlocks but I have seen.


The new ones are definitely more secure and they perform better than GritGaurds.

Also their scrub wall is a product of the year contender for myself. So much more functional and thought out than the GritGaurd one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Here's my current setup. My wife made the labels with a Cricut, and the dollies have been a huge upgrade from hauling buckets around cars by hand. I have a grit guard with washboard in each bucket.

View attachment 76935
 
SwedishRider said:
Here's my current setup. My wife made the labels with a Cricut, and the dollies have been a huge upgrade from hauling buckets around cars by hand. I have a grit guard with washboard in each bucket.

View attachment 76935
Click to expand...

Nice one!

The dollies really improve the efficiency of your workflow, pushing the bucket effortlessly from location to location rather than lugging them around.
 
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