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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums Regional Forums UK Hand washing can still cause damage???
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      02-20-2011, 09:06 AM   #1
SpawneyGet
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Hand washing can still cause damage???

We have been blessed in the UK (or at least in the Midlands) with mushrooming of cheap 3 quid hand wash joints everywhere, run by hard working East Europeans. I have been a great fan of them for my E61, preferring them over the machine washes in the petrol stations believing they cause less damage to the paint work.

However, a friend of mine told me I was wrong. He said that, because these guys use and re-use the soapy water, bits can collect in it and these bits on the sponges they use can cause micro scratches all over the body and advised me against them.

Is this true? And if so, are machine washes safer? Or must I go to more "professional" joints and spend more money?

My wife is one lazy so-and-so and will never wash the car for me.

Please advise!!!!!
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      02-20-2011, 01:21 PM   #2
Matt01
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Option 1 - change the wife... This is a bit extreme for me....

Option 2 - never use the £3 scratch washes, they use poor quality detergents, reuse the water and sponges again and again. I either use a good machine wash (IMO the car wash firm) or two buckets and a few hours of my time.

For professional detailers only on trusted recommendation and I think it would cost £100 for a decent clean and polish... 3 times that for any sort of detailing/wax/clay etc...

But it's what you want to achieve really, but a good standard clean car or a concourse finish year round....
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      02-20-2011, 04:16 PM   #3
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Your friend is correct but the real message is if you want to cause as little damage as possible to your cars finish then there is only one way.........wash it yourself. I'm afraid that apart from a decent detailer the only person who cares about your car is you.

I would never go near a car wash of any type or let the BMW dealer wash the car but as last poster said, it's up to you.

To ensure you do as little damage to the paint as possible I follow some simple guidelines given to me by a pro detailer

- thoroughly rinse car before wash
- wash from top down roof first wheels last
- use good quality wash mitt (lambs wool) or good quality sponge like the zymol sponges (yes they are different in use to a cheap sponge trust me)
- don't apply pressure, weight of mitt or sponge is enough
- always work in straight lines not circles, if you do introduce some faint swirls straight lines marks are less noticeable and easier to remove
- use ph neutral or similar car shampoo, zymol auto wash from halfords is as good as most
- use a grit guard in your bucket
- rinse car thoroughly after wash
- dry with deep pile micro fibre drying towels NOT a water blade or chamois
- use acid free cleaner on alloys. R222 or Sonax wheel cleaner are acid free
- buy decent wheel brush to get inside wheels

I buy most of my stuff from vertar.com and i4detailing.co.uk
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      02-20-2011, 06:23 PM   #4
SpawneyGet
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It seems that the cheap hand wash jobs can cause damages. Thanks for your advises.

So, either I do it myself if I want to save a few squids or change my wife...
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      05-11-2011, 09:36 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by northernmonkey View Post
Your friend is correct but the real message is if you want to cause as little damage as possible to your cars finish then there is only one way.........wash it yourself. I'm afraid that apart from a decent detailer the only person who cares about your car is you.

I would never go near a car wash of any type or let the BMW dealer wash the car but as last poster said, it's up to you.

To ensure you do as little damage to the paint as possible I follow some simple guidelines given to me by a pro detailer

- thoroughly rinse car before wash
- wash from top down roof first wheels last
- use good quality wash mitt (lambs wool) or good quality sponge like the zymol sponges (yes they are different in use to a cheap sponge trust me)
- don't apply pressure, weight of mitt or sponge is enough
- always work in straight lines not circles, if you do introduce some faint swirls straight lines marks are less noticeable and easier to remove
- use ph neutral or similar car shampoo, zymol auto wash from halfords is as good as most
- use a grit guard in your bucket
- rinse car thoroughly after wash
- dry with deep pile micro fibre drying towels NOT a water blade or chamois
- use acid free cleaner on alloys. R222 or Sonax wheel cleaner are acid free
- buy decent wheel brush to get inside wheels

I buy most of my stuff from vertar.com and i4detailing.co.uk
Hi Northern - I've seen a few of your cleaning posts and I don't know much about the whole thing to be honest. I'm intrigued that you say not to use a chamois - a water blade I can understand but isn't a soft, natural chamois the best thing? Unless you have an endless supply of MF towels don't they soon become too wet to work effectively?
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      05-11-2011, 08:40 PM   #6
Jon D
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xenon View Post
Hi Northern - I've seen a few of your cleaning posts and I don't know much about the whole thing to be honest. I'm intrigued that you say not to use a chamois - a water blade I can understand but isn't a soft, natural chamois the best thing? Unless you have an endless supply of MF towels don't they soon become too wet to work effectively?
Try one of these: http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...ave-towel.html
You'll be amazed at just how much water it can hold and it's easier to wring out than a chamois.
This is also very good but less easy to wring out because it's more bulky: http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acata...MasterPBDT0000
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