who hand washes their car?

[MacCool]

thanks...ill look into it.
just trying to find something that won't harm the finish.

All of them will harm the finish. The solvents necessary to dissolve the tar (or the bugs) won't affect the clear coat, but they will not play nice with the wax or other protectants you have put on car. Additionally, and probably more relevant, the rubbing and scrubbing needed to get the tar off will swirl and mar the clear coat and residue from the solvent will remain providing some dullness. After getting the tar (or bugs) off, you'll need to re-polish and then re-finish with wax or whatever. Ceramic coating or other types of polymer sealants might mitigate the rubbing damage by allowing you to scrub less, but you'll still have to re-finish.

 

[Thefunk]

Since I don't have space or equipment to do a professional wash, I use a hose, a bucket, car soap, a hand sponge/cloth. I use chem bros because of a YT video that's how I started. Burnt rubber streaks are a PIA to remove. But this tire shine foam spray is great! All I did was spray it on an leave it. I will edit this post later with the products I used.

 

[iztrumental]

Hand washed it yesterday before heading to a car meet.

 

[Loco38SUP]

2 bucket method:

- Bucket 1 for wheels, small mitt and Meguiars Gold Class soap with hot water. Time 1 hour
- Bucket 2 for car, large mitt and Meguiars Gold Class soap with hot water. Time 20 mins

Start with water hose and rinse thoroughly, wash wheels first then car. Finish up with Ego leaf blower, Griots ceramic detailer and edgeless detail towels.

-RJM

 

[thesilverbullet]

thanks for the feedback.
what do you use for tar?

wd-40

 

[mikecarpage]

2 bucket Hand wash at home for me. I picked up a pressure washer last year after having my Mercedes ceramic coated.

Rinse, Foam Bath - let sit for a few minutes, rinse down if I'm going touchless. I will use a wash mit to wash during the foam bath for heavier grime. For wheels I use an old wash mit with a little bit of soap after the body has been cleaned. Dry with a leaf blower for taillight & rear bumper water traps and then with towels. Windows Inside and out with a clean microfiber and some glass cleaner. Door jambs & hatch area dried. Tire shine optional

I haven't had it protected by a professional yet, maybe in a few months or so. I feel that it came from factory quite nice and even then it is garaged.


Products:
- Adams Car Wash Shampoo or Chemical Guys Honeydew Snow Foam Auto Wash
- CarPro Reload for after wash
- Portland 1750psi 1.3gpm corded electric pressure washer
- Harbor Frieght quick release pressure washer wand
- Tool Daily Pressure Wash Foam Cannon
- Microfibers, Waffle weaves, Adam's Ultra Plush Drying Towel
- Crafstman Leaf Blower

 

[jdm-rhd]

2 bucket Hand wash at home for me. I picked up a pressure washer last year after having my Mercedes ceramic coated.

Rinse, Foam Bath - let sit for a few minutes, rinse down if I'm going touchless. I will use a wash mit to wash during the foam bath for heavier grime. For wheels I use an old wash mit with a little bit of soap after the body has been cleaned. Dry with a leaf blower for taillight & rear bumper water traps and then with towels. Windows Inside and out with a clean microfiber and some glass cleaner. Door jambs & hatch area dried. Tire shine optional

I haven't had it protected by a professional yet, maybe in a few months or so. I feel that it came from factory quite nice and even then it is garaged.


Products:
- Adams Car Wash Shampoo or Chemical Guys Honeydew Snow Foam Auto Wash
- CarPro Reload for after wash
- Portland 1750psi 1.3gpm corded electric pressure washer
- Harbor Frieght quick release pressure washer wand
- Tool Daily Pressure Wash Foam Cannon
- Microfibers, Waffle weaves, Adam's Ultra Plush Drying Towel
- Crafstman Leaf Blower

thanks for the input.
using a leaf blower is genius...gonna try that next time.

 

[D2M]

Hand wash my cars every 2 weeks. They get trashed every weekend because of the back roads I like to drive. I make sure to take extra care leaning the wheels, calipers and wheel wells.

 

[JP's Z]

I learned hand washing a car from my dad longer ago than I care to admit which he learned from his dad. He never uses soaps, just water and a car wash sponge that he keeps clean. His cars have always been gorgeous, and he has a 2005 Honda and 2010 Chevy that still look factory new.

At the same time, I'm not opposed to newer products. I was looking at the various soaps and to be honest, I'm a little lost. The dealer allegedly put a ceramic coating on my Z, but of course I have no way to verify that other than just paying for it. Can someone explain how the various cleaners might benefit me? I currently use a local car wash as they recycle the water, but I still hand wash and wax my '07 Frontier twice a year between basic washes and it still looks like this 17 year later.

It's never been garaged, and the paint is finally coming off the top of the cab unfortunately. At 142K miles, I plan on holding onto this until at least 200K or maybe more since it has a 6-speed manual which isn't all that common in these.

 

[MacCool]

The concept behind the accepted detailing standard of thick foam layer after rinse is lubrication in order to prevent, or at least minimize, the micro-scratching and micro-marring that is inevitable if you scrub down the car. That clear coat damage, especially as it accumulates over time, prevents optimal light reflection and therefore the finish looks dull. That lubrication is more important than the detergent action since you're going to be using your wash mitt on the foam to scrub and then clean further with your followup machine polishing.

Car wash soaps need to have enough detergent to loosen dirt a little, but not so much as to strip wax. Dawn detergent, for example, is a great soap, but it will peel the wax finish right off your car. Scrubbing your car without lubricating soap will damage your car's finish more that a mechanical brush gas station car wash.

 

[D2M]

Some before / after pics from a typical weekend.. So satisfying to see it all clean again..

 

[RobotAZ]

Starting with a new car…

I wash my car with an old Meguiar’s two-part ceramic soap that has lasted 3 years or so. Also use the highest quality I can find microfiber with the tags cut off.

Then I use the Meguiar’s hybrid ceramic spray wax.

For up to 3-4 months I’ll just use the best touchless wash I can find, occasionally cleaning the rims with just a wet microfiber towel with distilled water that doesn’t leave spots.

Sometimes I’ll leave the car wet, bring it home, and quickly spray and wipe it down with Meguiar’s ceramic touch up spray.

About 2-3 times a year I’ll hand wash again, but basically never use the originally-applied Meguiar’s wax again. Just the touch up.

My cars are always traded with everyone saying best condition they see on trades. High resale. My wife’s 2016 Murano Platinum still looks very, very good using this strategy. I do use the Meguiar’s black plastic spray on her black trim now every 1-2 years. Looks new.

Back in the 90’s, when the brands were Turtle Wax, Mother’s, Nufinish was new, etc., Meguiar’s was considered professional stuff for car freaks. I’ve honestly never tried another brand since my GTI mechanic told me about Meguiar’s in 1990 or so. I’ve heard many brands are great, maybe even better, but any quality real or ceramic wax will make a car look good for 10 years, easily.

 

[Who.Am.Eye.2716]

@RobotAZ
Got pics of your Z? Im not sure if I have seen yours

 

[FSUZ33]

Anyone else old enough to remember when Westley's Bleche Wite was in a class of its own for cleaning tires? I still use it, but it's not what it used to be. Guessing they water it down to increase profit or it used to contain some crazy chemical/carcinogen they had to get rid of.

 

[RobotAZ]

@RobotAZ
Got pics of your Z? Im not sure if I have seen yours

Nothing worthy, but here’s the lineup.