[Dialpex]

Hey guys,

I just got my car this weekend. And im already starting to plan my first wash.

I spoke to a couple of friends and they said that "Brushless Car Washes" were the way to go... But im really not sure about all of that and so i thought that doing it myself would be better and more trustworthy.

So i was just wondering what do you guys think and if you have any tips on what to do and what products to get in order to keep the car/wheels looking good. Sorry for the noob post. I just don't want to mess up my paint.

Thanks again everyone.
Dial

[P1]

As someone who details cars on the side as a hobby, I can tell you that any type of carwash is not the way to go. Whether it's brushless or not, carswashes often use very harsh soaps which will strip most if not all the protection on your paint and can eventually dry out your paint. Not a position you want to be in.

If you want some basic supplies to wash your car, buy a ShMITT (or another quality lambswool washing mitt), some good shampoo and a waffle weave microfiber towel to dry your car off with.

The invest in a good sealant or wax and protect that baby!

[Scarecrows25]

Originally Posted by Dialpex

Hey guys,

I just got my car this weekend. And im already starting to plan my first wash.

I spoke to a couple of friends and they said that "Brushless Car Washes" were the way to go... But im really not sure about all of that and so i thought that doing it myself would be better and more trustworthy.

So i was just wondering what do you guys think and if you have any tips on what to do and what products to get in order to keep the car/wheels looking good. Sorry for the noob post. I just don't want to mess up my paint.

Thanks again everyone.
Dial

Dial,

I think everyone on this board would agree that if you must use a car wash, go "brushless". If you go to one of the carwashes with the rotating brushes, there's no way you can be sure that the brushes and such that touch your car are not jammed with dirt which can put swirl marks on your car.

You're better off doing it yourself, if you have the time -- just read through the sticky posts in the Wash, Wax, Detailing forums for the tips and tricks.

[Dialpex]

Thanks for the input guys... Again I actually rather do it myself im just not sure on what to get and whatnot.

But that first post kinda gives me an idea.

I did read thru the detailing 101 stiky. The long one! and i learned A LOT from it. I plan on getting some zaino stuff in a near future but for now i want to get some quality stuff (shampoo, wheel cleaner, washing mitt, etc...) that will be enough for me to clean and care for my care.

Thanks again fellas.

[sinnet112]

Follow picus's new car prep found here -

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41760

And if you must, use at least a brushless car wash, but doing it by hand is what I'd recommend more. I just don't trust anyone/anything else besides me touching the paint on my car.

[normtrum]

Originally Posted by sinnet112

Follow picus's new car prep found here -

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41760

And if you must, use at least a brushless car wash, but doing it by hand is what I'd recommend more. I just don't trust anyone/anything else besides me touching the paint on my car.

Ya sinnet is right...picus has a great new car prep diy. It takes a while, but it's worth it.

[Dialpex]

I loved his prep car thread however a lot of the stuff is only offered online. Are there equivalents that i can just purchase at a local store or something? or if i really want to do that i gotta order the stuff.

Just wondering since i was planning for a wash this weekend.

[pander5]

A quick summary of stickied info is...

The most important thing is to keep your wash "tools" clean and the second most important thing is don't use any heavy friction passes - either with your wash mitt or your drying towels. Heavy pressure is unneccessary and invites minor scratching. Light pressure with a quality soap and mitt is more than adequate for removing the dirt from you paint's surface.

The Eurow Sheepskin mitts at Wally World work just fine. You may want to get two and dedicate one for the wheels, wheel wells etc and the other should be reserved for body paint ONLY. Use 2 buckets, one for your soapy solution and the other for a clean water rinse bucket. Meguiar's Gold Class car soap concentrate can be found at places like AutoZone, Pep Boys, Walmart etc. It's a decent wash soap and when I used it I cut the directions in half i.e. if it says use 2 capfuls per gallon use 1. You'll still get plenty of suds if that makes you happy.

Mix up a bucket of soapy water and a rinse bucket and do your wheels, wells and underbody areas first. Then dump your buckets and clean them out real good and mix up another soap bucket and rinse bucket. Using your other new wash mitt you can now do your body painted surfaces and glass. I like to work from the top (roof) down. Again, don't scrub with pressure. Only light pressure is necessary to remove the surface dirt and I don't go back and forth over the same spot or line. I do overlap about 30%-50% on each mitt "pass" and only with light pressure simply gliding across the surface. Don't do too large of an area especially if your in the sun. Half the hood with a good soapy mitt and then drop the mitt in the rinse bucket. Rinse that section off and go back to your mitt and rinse it good in the rinse bucket before soaping it up for the next section. Rinse the vehicle completely. Once you get your wax or sealnt on you can use the "drip method" where you remove the spray nozzle from the hose and then rinse again with a thin to moderate flow of water straight out of the hose. You're using the adhesion properties of water here to group together the water and it flows off the paint easier leaving less water to actually remove with a towel. It also works failry well on brand new, fresh paint so you might want to try it.

Get a decent waffle weave drying towel or two or three or four and blot dry your freshly cleaned baby. I have quite a few drying towels and I like to lay them on the hroizontal surfaces and let them absorb the water. Unfortunately I don't really know of any OTC locations for decent WW drying towels - maybe someone can chime in who can recommend something here. I then lay them on the vertical panels (side panels, nose, rear) and let them absorb again.

Keeping everthing as clean as you can and using very light pressure in all actions will reduce the chance of micromarring your new paint. If you have a quick detail spray product you can mist that on when your done and use microfiber towels to gloss it up. Again, no pressure, just enough to buff it in and remove any streaks.

That should last you until you get your Zaino package or whatever you decide to use for buff, polish and wax/sealant.

[Dialpex]

Thanks Pander, That was really good info on everything. I will get my stuff this week and hopefully do my first succesfull wash this weekend. Ill keep you guys posted on how everything went.

Im going to look for some good towels around here and hopefully i can find some.

Thanks again.
Dial

[pander5]

No prob, glad to help out a little. Have fun. The first one is always my favorite!

[Queenskid24]

I dont let anyone wash my car but myself, If youre not into detailing then id say go for a BRUSHLESS wash, definitely do NOT put your car into one of those pulleys or prepare to have MAJOR swirls and even some scratches.

[Dialpex]

Okay... for my first wash this is what i got:


Meguiar's Gold Class Car Soap
Meguiar's Tire Hot Shine
F21 Turtle Wax Interior/Leather Care
F21 Wheel Cleaner

2 Microfiber Wash Mitts (1 for top/glass and 1 for bottom of car)
2 Microfiber Application Pads (For wheels)
1 Microfiber Drying towel (9' feet)
1 Soft Brush for Wheels
1 Microfiber Mitt for interior detailing


Again.. I want to get the zaino products soon but i just wanted to get the car washed as i can't really wait for all the stuff to be shipped.
Some comments on the stuff please... Do i need anything else? Replace anything?!

[007e92]

same here preferred method of wash is self wash. but if its hard to do that, like if you live in an apt complex like me, going with the brushless wash is the next best thing; of course next to washing it at a friends house or something. i didnt bring my car to a car wash until like 6 months into getting my car .it was straight swirl paranoia. then one weekend i stayed with my cousin and he pretty much left me with no choice (no wash material at his house). then he said look at my car, no swirls. he has the same car, same color, but e90. ended up getting the car wash ,no swirls. whew.

[007e92]

Originally Posted by Dialpex

Okay... for my first wash this is what i got:


Meguiar's Gold Class Car Soap
Meguiar's Tire Hot Shine
F21 Turtle Wax Interior/Leather Care
F21 Wheel Cleaner

2 Microfiber Wash Mitts (1 for top/glass and 1 for bottom of car)
2 Microfiber Application Pads (For wheels)
1 Microfiber Drying towel (9' feet)
1 Soft Brush for Wheels
1 Microfiber Mitt for interior detailing


Again.. I want to get the zaino products soon but i just wanted to get the car washed as i can't really wait for all the stuff to be shipped.
Some comments on the stuff please... Do i need anything else? Replace anything?!

this list sounds pretty good imo. all i have is:

soap: pretty much anything i can get my hands on, turtle wax, meguiars, its all good
wheel cleaner: i use eagle one for the tough brake dust

1 microfiber wash mitt for paint
1 microfiber wash mitt for the wheels
1 wheel scrub / brush to get into tough spots
1 chami dry thing?- not sure what its called

then i just use a black towel for interior cleaning. (bmw has a kit for this too, its just some type of lotion thing with a clean car scent or something. lol

other stuff i use

the gel with applicator sponge tire wet
oem bmw leather kit (only like twice a month though)

i have yet to try zaino

[pander5]

I don't know anything about the F21 interior products so can't comment. I can say that I use to use Lexol pH balanced stuff for my leather before I found Zaino Z9 and Z10 and the Lexol was adequate for my purposes at the time. I used the Lexol Cleaner then the Conditioner after.

Also, what's a 9 foot MF drying towel look like? Never heard of that. Everything else seems fine and you'll find over time what you like and then what you don't use.

[Dialpex]

The 9' towel is literaly 9 (square foot) towel made out of microfiber. It feels really good. And it seems like it will make the drying process smooth - so i hope.

[Scarecrows25]

Originally Posted by Dialpex

The 9' towel is literaly 9 (square foot) towel made out of microfiber. It feels really good. And it seems like it will make the drying process smooth - so i hope.

I've been meaning to ask this question for a while -- did you find the MF towel in a local store?

[Dialpex]

Yes i did. I got mine from autozone. They had a few there and this one seemed to be the best one. But yeah you should be able to find that at your local store.