Basic Wash & Wax Tips

For some people have a detail done is a regular occurrence, but for most it's a special event.  Once your vehicle has been detailed, it's essentially to keep up with regular wash and waxes to maintain the condition.  Frequent washing also limits bonded surface contaminants that require more effort to remove.  Below is some general guidance for washing and waxing.

• Always use the two bucket method for washing.  Using grit guards further reduces the risk of wash induced swirls.
• Dry your car with the sheeting method or a dedicated leaf blower.  Your neighbors may think you're crazy, but your car will look way better than theirs.
• After major drying apply a spray wax while removing the last few drops of water to add lubrication and achieve that 'just detailed look'.
• Decontaminate your vehicle on a regular basis with detailing clay or a clay alternative.
• Look for a pure wax or sealant rather than a cleaner wax.  They tend to last longer and are easier to apply and remove. Use the cleaner wax to deep clean and protect the paint in one step on a less frequent basis.

Detailing Workshop

We recently held a detailing workshop to teach enthusiasts about proper washing techniques and basic paint correction.  Students were able to try a variety of tools and equipment used by professional detailers, get a hands-on learning experience of removing defects from paint and received personalized instruction on improving their technique.  Thanks to Tipcke Services for hosting the event and providing the vehicle.

Photo courtesy of Tom Lau

Basic Wash Techniques

While many people are concerned with the swirls and scratches in their vehicle, little thought is put toward how they got there.  The majority of swirls are considered wash-induced, that is, the act of keeping your car looking good is actually causing damage.  This damage is a result of poor wash techniques, of which the following are most common:

• Using dirty water
• Using dirty wash media
• Lack of adequate lubrication on the paint
• Poor quality wash media or drying media
• Washing panels in the wrong order

Nobody is a perfect car washer and even if you were, by the time you got done washing, a speck of something has landed on the part of the car where you started and you are going to pick it up with your drying media.  For this reason, using forced air, blotting or a drying aid are strongly recommended.  

Employing best practices for washing your vehicle will reduce the potential for wash-induced defects.  The suggestions below are a great start to minimizing defects in your paint.

• Use multiple buckets and wash media
• Segregate the dirtiest portions of the car to separate wash media and bucket (wheels and lower panels)
• If you drop it, down-grade it or throw it away
• Wash top-down, from cleanest to dirtiest panels
• Frequently rinse your wash media to remove soiling that's been picked up