scuds03

Ok guys post it up..How do you wash your tC on a regular basis? I'm not talking wax and all the crazy detailing stuff, that is unless you do that every time. How often do you wash your baby? What is your normal routine?
Do anything different than normal because of the color of your car? Maybe we can learn some tricks from one another to keep our tC's shinnin!

What I do:

My tC is Silver which IMO is the easiest color in the universe to keep looking clean. I usually wash my tC once a week usually Thursday evening. Thursday cuz I like my car cleanest when I'm out and about on the weekend and during the evening so I can do my washing in the shade so the soap doesn't dry up before I'm done. I do a combo of a quick wash in my driveway and then a spray off at one of those $2.00 pressure wash places around the corner. Pretty much I hose my car off with the garden hose then go over it with a terry cloth rag using the Green Mr.clean soap meant to use with that Mr. clean spot free thing they sell. I don't use the spot free hose attachment because its a piece of ____. I go to the pressure wash car wash place and use their spot free rinse because it actually works. The Mr. clean soap is great because it is specially formulated to make the water flow off the car in sheets when you rinse which makes the spot free rinse at the $2.00 car wash work even better. So pretty much i go over the car with a rag and the soap at home to physically loosen up/ remove stuck on dust and road grime and then rinse it all off with the garden hose. If I stopped here I'd have lots of water spots from the hard tap water so I got to the $2.00 self serve car wash around the corner and do another rinse with the special spot free rinse which literally makes you not have to dry your car off by hand if used in conjunction with the Mr. clean soap. By the time I drive home the water has beaded off from the airflow driving.

After I do this my car is clean and spot free. Takes about 30 minutes. Once I get home I put some Maguires Endurance tire shine on my tires and I'm all done. Start to finish I usualy get my car clean in about 40-50 minutes with not too much effort.

How do you guys get it done??

_____

gp1817

wash..rinse and dry........here....i try to do it once a week but it rains so much here that i dont need too...unless i got a special paint work done i dont go crazy..i got silver also....so bascially i rinse the car first........the using soap starting from the roof top wash that first then i rinse it..then go to the sides........wash and rinse and etc....then i dry it my self so theres no water spots....i ususally wax once a month.....some people o know spend all day waxing there cars then it gets dirty the next day.....

ahatch133

^^how do u have a silver rs2?
(not to thread jack)

Yanki01

using ALL Meguiars products. wash it 2-3 times a month, try it every weekend but get caught up doing things. wait untill 7pm, still hot but less sun. do a hard rinse with garden hose, wash & rinse one section at a time (front end, sides, rear, ect..). leave the tires for the end of the wash & rinse. use simple green (1:10 ratio) for my rims, spray on one wheel, scrub, rinse and repeat. dry car using Meguiars soft touch microfiber chamois.

at least once every oil change (3-4 months), do a complete (using Dawn soap) wash, clay, liquid wax. i will also expirement with Meguiars new Ultimate Compound to get that water etching off of the paint.

SteveTC_RS_4-0

wash two times a day

xdejablu3x

yeah what i do it pretty much rinse, wash and dry....but thats trippin me out too. a silver RS2?!

toeveryhour

iTrader: (3)

i used to wash it every week, but that's because i always had stuff going on with meets, etc on a weekly basis. i waxed every three weeks because it sat out in the sun during the work days.

now i wash my car every two weeks.

mbaledge

First, I put on some music.
Then, I hook up my water de-ionizer to the hose and hook up my foam gun. I do an initial spray down of the car with a hard stream of water, and then turn on the foam and give it a good soapy pre-soak so the dirt starts to lift while I start on the wheels. Depending on how cruddy my wheels/rocker panels/tires are, I'll first spray them down with Chemical Guys Grime Reaper to loosen all the crap stuck to the car. I usually use a mist of it to clean the tires and I scrub them with Mother's tire brush. I clean the wheels with Chemical Guys Wheel Gel and a microfiber brush.
Now, on to the wash itself. I use a two bucket method (one clean, soapy water; one with no soap to rinse the mitts in) with grit gaurds in both buckets, with Chemical Guys Citrus Wash Daily, or if I'm going to wax then their regular Citrus wash(it's a little stronger and is great for removing old wax before applying new stuff), and a splash of DP 4 in 1 cleaner, which helps reduce the chance of water spots. I start at the top, spraying it with foam, then washing with a white/yellow Shmitt. I work in horizontal lines on horizontal body panels, and vertical lines on vertical panels. I never use circular, scrubbing motions, as this greatly enhances your risk for inducing swirls. I try to wash one panel at a time, rinsing my mitt after every one. When the car is clean, I do a final rinse with water straight from the hose, this helps the water sheet off of the vehicle so there is ultimately less water to be dried. I start the drying process with a leaf blower. The less contact you make with the paint, the lower your chances of swirling, right? ;) This also helps get water out of all the nooks and crannies between body panels which always leave those lovely snail trails on your freshly cleaned vehicle. After the leaf blower, I'll go over any spots that might have a drop or two left on them and the inner door jams and trunk rails with a Cobra WW drying towel and a QD spray. When the vehicle is totally dry, I'll dress the tires (and trim, if it is needed) with Chemical Guys Natural Shine dressing for a pleasant "new tire" look rather than a crazy shiny look.
After the paint is clean, I turn my attention to the inside. I'll mist all the plastic with Meguiars Interior Cleaner, and wipe with a yellow microfiber cloth that I got at Costco (these cloths, while very soft, will not touch my paint. They are great for interiors or wheels or tires, but they are a bit too coarse for paint and can leave swirls) which were like 15 bucks for 30 or so. I usually roll a lint brush over the suede on my seats/door panels, and then vacuum the carpet and floor mats. If my floor mats are especially crummy looking, I'll remove them from the rubber backing and go over them with a Bissell Little Green Carpet cleaner, which is a fantastic little machine. It also leaves the mats with the nice looking lines in them; like when you first picked your car up at the dealer. I'll go over the rubber part of the mat with a mist of CG's Grime reaper, and go over that with a yellow MF towel. After all that, I finally clean the glass with DP Crystal Vision Glass cleaner, using vertical strokes outside, and horizontal inside, so that if it does streak, I know what side it's on. That pretty much sums it up!! I'm a detailer of sorts, so it might seem a little over the top, but the end result is worth it. Every little bit that you can do do prevent swirls and scratches between polishing helps a ton!!

mbaledge

Oh, and I wash it once a week, also usually on thursday, usually in the morning. I have a car port on the side of my house, so I've got perfect shade all day, but I like to do it before it gets too hot. I also have a bottle of QD and a quality MF towel in my trunk at all times for emergency bird clean ups lol.

scuds03

Damn this guy doesnt mess around! haha. I forgot about music in my write up..its a must! How much is it costing you per wash you think using all that product? How long does it normally take you with that routine? I do circles when I wash so I think I'll take your advise and scrub in stright lines now. Luckily silver is a forgiving color when it comes to swirls. I've never thought about leaf blowing a car to dry it thats awesome.

scuds03

Only thing in my life I wash that often is my _______!

mbaledge

Yes, silver is quite forgiving. NBM... not so much. Because I buy most of my products in bulk, it doesn't cost me much per wash. I'd guess less than five bucks. Time can be a factor though, I've got it down to a science now, and it takes me about an hour to an hour in a half. Again, the end result is pretty well worth it Something to always consider is that it's easier to clean a clean car than a dirty car. And a well protected (waxed or sealed) is going to clean super easy, too.

scuds03

Really thats awesome. Where do you get your products at? Online?

Racersky

Wash my car at my work while on the clock. Nothing is better than washing your own car while your gettnig paid for it lol.

-Wash 2BM with Ardex Soapy Suds Car Soap
-Claybar both Bumpers and Sideskirts
-Then rinse car and dry with Absorber
-Dress Tires with Speedy Tire Shine
-Hand Wax with Flint Wax
-Clean All Windows with Sprayway (Sam's Club Special lol)
-Quick vac

-Wax off and then Wipe the tire shine off.

I'm not the type that likes my tire shiny but I like how my tires have a matte black look to it. Plus it doesn't sling lol

scuds03

For sure I hate wet greasy looking tires too. I'm also very sparse with the tire shine cuz A. it looks better and B. if I accidently put too much it ends up all over the sides of my car and is a bi**h to get off. Stuffs like cooking grease it just smears lol.

What do you guys use for your windows? I'm still trying to find a good window cleaner that doesnt leave a haze or streaks.

Murbyrne

soap and water

Racersky

Might sound a little ghetto but it works. Invisible Glass or Sprayway with black and white newspaper. No Streaks or haze.

scuds03

"Invisible Glass or Sprayway" Where can you buy these?

Yanki01

i use Stoners Invisible Glass which can be purchased at your local walmart or any autostore.

Racersky

Unless you want buy in quantities i buy mine at Sam's Club but then you can buy sprayway at Home Depot.....and Inivisble Glass.