washing your cars???

[outback]

well well.. how often do you wash your car??

car wash? in your drive way?

when our cars get serviced by toyota they allways leave a nice wax/shine on it.. too bad i can never get that lol

we live in a costal town so i wash my car twice or so a month.. keep the salt off of it..

what about yall?

[Rusty Bucket]

Wash it weekly. Actually wash mine and my wifes Ascent weekly. Cant stand dirty cars!!

[DJKOR]

Twice weekly when I can (Thursday and Monday), otherwise I just wash it once weekly on a Thursday.

I do a majority of the washing at the self-service car wash around the corner ($4 worth of wash), then dry it there and take it home. I then vacuum it out at home, clean the windows, wipe down the insides of the door sills, boot sill, and engine bay.

On the weeks that I wax it, I wash it at the car wash as per normal then when I get home, I rinse it again with the hose quickly to get rid of dirt it picked up on the trip home, then dry and wax it.

[outback]

yeah the self service ones are actually really good..

my dads a bit crazy with washing his aurion sportivo too guess after dishing out 40k he would be lol! ..

Edited September 9, 2009 by outback

[1rocky]

Washed weekly and polished even it has been sitting in the garage :D :D :D :D only hand washed never in the auto car washes also like to clay the rolla :lol:

My toyota is never washed when it has a service. they know not to touch. :lol:

[DJKOR]

yeah the self service ones are actually really good..

So long as you don't touch your car with the foam brush. I only use the foam brush to dispense foam all over the car so I can use my microfibre mitt and to scrub the underside of the skirts and windows.

Washed weekly and polished even it has been sitting in the garage :D :D :D :D only hand washed never in the auto car washes also like to clay the rolla :lol:

My toyota is never washed when it has a service. they know not to touch. :lol:

I used to wax my car weekly but now I only do it weekly in winter and monthly in summer thanks to the rising Queensland temperatures.

When I take mine for a service, I always tell them not to wash it and they just say they don't wash it anyways due to water restrictions.

[Lawz]

well... when I get the chance or before some car cruise meet I was the car LOL. I polish it every 6 months or so.

Used to do car wash for quick clean then got sick of missing spots and making swirls. So on the front lawn in the shade/under a tree :)

[Andrew357]

Wash it every time I fill up.

There's a Shell/Coles/Self Serve washing place that's down the road that's good enough for me.

But I use the term wash loosely, CT18 car wash spray, dry then high pressure rinse + high pressure 'clearcoat' + low density water to finish. Costs me about $4-$5.

[DJKOR]

Wash it every time I fill up.

I'd be washing my car 3-4 times a week at that rate

But I use the term wash loosely, CT18 car wash spray, dry then high pressure rinse + high pressure 'clearcoat' + low density water to finish. Costs me about $4-$5.

On that topic, I thought I would add my procedure:

Insert $2 -> High pressure soap: use to quickly rinse car -> Foam brush: scrub windows then let foam dispense from brush to spots all over car. Then quickly scrub underside of front, rear and side skirts -> Low pressure 'clearcoat': spray well all over car

Once that 3 minutes is up, I then get my mitt and give the car a good lathering. This also works in the 'clearcoat' I find. Then once all that is done:

Insert $2 -> High pressure wax: rinse off all foamy soap -> High pressure rinse: to give the car a good rinse. In the final stages of the rinse, I stand back as far as possible and spray the water at the car but not directly. The result is a stream of mist which will help keep the car wet while I dry it so that it will dry evenly.

[Eargunk]

was looking forward to using my dad's high pressure water gun thingy we got him for fathers day, but we needed a drop saw more so we decided to return it. i try to wash it when it gets dirty but its about a month now (no grass on front lawn yet, still mud). Im still waiting for the browns plain's carwash to forget to lock up. FREE CAR WASH FOR ALL!, happens about once a month according to my friend that goes there often.

that gives me an idea....

Car wash meet?

still might not rock up if we do have em, still getting grave yard shifts

[ToyotaNuts]

On that topic, I thought I would add my procedure:

Insert $2 -> High pressure soap: use to quickly rinse car -> Foam brush: scrub windows then let foam dispense from brush to spots all over car. Then quickly scrub underside of front, rear and side skirts -> Low pressure 'clearcoat': spray well all over car

Once that 3 minutes is up, I then get my mitt and give the car a good lathering. This also works in the 'clearcoat' I find. Then once all that is done:

Insert $2 -> High pressure wax: rinse off all foamy soap -> High pressure rinse: to give the car a good rinse. In the final stages of the rinse, I stand back as far as possible and spray the water at the car but not directly. The result is a stream of mist which will help keep the car wet while I dry it so that it will dry evenly.

Wow Daryl, you've gotta have really fast hands and legs to do all that especially first stage. I imagine you have someone turning the dial for you while you're running around your car . $2 only give me 2.5 minutes here in Sydney :( , it means i have to be even quicker than you to make that 4 bucks worth . Last time i tried, unsuccessful! Probably i have to cop out a buck or two more.

I read someone in the detailing car section use 2 buckets wash method at self serve station but i can't get my head around where they've got the water from. Do you bring some water with you or you just use whatever they've got?

[Blind Kid Seeks]

$4.00

$2.00 High Pressure soap, to rinse and fill my bucket (which has Nu Finish car was liquid in it)

hand wash thoroughly in a deeeeep bucket of water.

$2.00 thorough rinse and chamois dry in shade if possible.

[lateralus]

i wash mine once a week. i use high pressure soap for 2 mins to dislodge excess crap from the paint, and then hand wash it using autoglym products. quickly spray autoglym wheeler cleaner and lather it up on the rims, then use high pressure rinse on the bodywork before rinsing off the rims.

depending on how much energy ive got, i either chamois the car straight away in the shade or use autoglym aquawax once a month, and a polish every 2 months with a good claying.

Edited September 11, 2009 by lateralus

[DJKOR]

Wow Daryl, you've gotta have really fast hands* and legs to do all that especially first stage. I imagine you have someone turning the dial for you while you're running around your car . $2 only give me 2.5 minutes here in Sydney :( , it means i have to be even quicker than you to make that 4 bucks worth . Last time i tried, unsuccessful! Probably i have to cop out a buck or two more.

I once washed cars for a car rental company. I can move fairly quick. Remember, for that first stage, I'm just using the hose to rinse and apply the clearcoat (which takes about 1 minute) then that gives me 2 minutes for the foam brush to dispense foam. Quite a lot of time IMO.

* That is another story.

[Guest]

i basically never wash my celica, cant be f*cked lol

[spillige]

i call my method the wog wash.. ive got it down to a fine art.. when im fealing lazy i just use the soap/water jet combo all over then hit it with the high pressure rinse. if im feeing adventures ill use high pressure water then foam brush and then high pressure rinse........ i finish with a drive away/burn out, air dry........ total cost $2, if i feel like splashing some cash i pay the indian guy to wash my wheels for a fiver

Edited September 12, 2009 by spillige

[Mecha-wombat]

geez no wonder you have to wash it twice a week LOL

I am a once a week guy in my driveway

usually some wash and wax in a bucket, microfibre noodle mitt, another bucket of clean water

Rinse with a gentle shower to remove loose dirt all over

wash one panel at a time with rinse in between starting from turret

rinse mitt in clean water between panels

once completed flood each panel with a sheet of water (this actually cuts down on water beading left on the surface and makes it easier to dry)

Dry down with microfibre cloth to remove most of the water spots

use a second cloth to complete drying car

clean windows and mirror with another microfibre cloth

once a quarter I will polish the car and wax over the polish for that super deep lustre

vacuum carpets and seat and wipe down interior plastics of car with ANOTHER microfibre cloth dampened with some water

Just washing takes me all of 20 mins including drying with the interior add another 20 mins and polish and wax adds at least another 2-4 hrs

and I do this for both my Corolla and the 380 GT

I have over a dozen microfibre cloths just for the car and they are a mixture of styles for different applications

The best money I have spent on a car is those cloths

Edited September 12, 2009 by Mecha-wombat

[Wulfkind]

geez no wonder you have to wash it twice a week LOL

I am a once a week guy in my driveway

usually some wash and wax in a bucket, microfibre noodle mitt, another bucket of clean water

Rinse with a gentle shower to remove loose dirt all over

wash one panel at a time with rinse in between starting from turret

rinse mitt in clean water between panels

once completed flood each panel with a sheet of water (this actually cuts down on water beading left on the surface and makes it easier to dry)

Dry down with microfibre cloth to remove most of the water spots

use a second cloth to complete drying car

clean windows and mirror with another microfibre cloth

once a quarter I will polish the car and wax over the polish for that super deep lustre

vacuum carpets and seat and wipe down interior plastics of car with ANOTHER microfibre cloth dampened with some water

Just washing takes me all of 20 mins including drying with the interior add another 20 mins and polish and wax adds at least another 2-4 hrs

and I do this for both my Corolla and the 380 GT

I have over a dozen microfibre cloths just for the car and they are a mixture of styles for different applications

The best money I have spent on a car is those cloths

Used to wash mine monthly but with the new job (I thought concrete plants were dirty!) I've been allocated a parking spot under a tree that likes to drop a lot of pollen... So recently I've been washing it weekly...

Never polish it, too afraid I'll stuff it up... But I plan to learn soon enough as the missus is getting me a kit from http://www.zainobros.com.au/ for my upcoming birthday... Looking forward to that... mmm.. does the swirl remover/hider work?

No matter what I've tried (buffing etc) it has not removed my swirls...

Thinking about doing a full respray on the Aurion soon, will probably go a non-factory colour.

[danman81]

Twice weekly when I can (Thursday and Monday), otherwise I just wash it once weekly on a Thursday.

I do a majority of the washing at the self-service car wash around the corner ($4 worth of wash), then dry it there and take it home. I then vacuum it out at home, clean the windows, wipe down the insides of the door sills, boot sill, and engine bay.

On the weeks that I wax it, I wash it at the car wash as per normal then when I get home, I rinse it again with the hose quickly to get rid of dirt it picked up on the trip home, then dry and wax it.

sorry dude but i see you have a nice car and take pride in it, but thesse self service car washes are not good for your paint work, especally if you have a coating of wax, the shampoo has a bleaching agent in it to really remove everything from your paint work so it looks good and you go back to there car wash, if your waxing your car , hand wash it yourself and let the build up of coatings of wax stay and keeeping your car looking goood

[Ronnyboy]

When I take mine for a service, I always tell them not to wash it

Same here....

EDIT - Just realised this thread was from a year ago LOL.. "danman81" - Welcome aboard... :)

Edited November 17, 2010 by Ronnyboy

[Silver-Aurion]

Twice weekly when I can (Thursday and Monday), otherwise I just wash it once weekly on a Thursday.

I do a majority of the washing at the self-service car wash around the corner ($4 worth of wash), then dry it there and take it home. I then vacuum it out at home, clean the windows, wipe down the insides of the door sills, boot sill, and engine bay.

On the weeks that I wax it, I wash it at the car wash as per normal then when I get home, I rinse it again with the hose quickly to get rid of dirt it picked up on the trip home, then dry and wax it.

sorry dude but i see you have a nice car and take pride in it, but thesse self service car washes are not good for your paint work, especally if you have a coating of wax, the shampoo has a bleaching agent in it to really remove everything from your paint work so it looks good and you go back to there car wash, if your waxing your car , hand wash it yourself and let the build up of coatings of wax stay and keeeping your car looking goood

I'm pretty sure he does not use the brush and stuff there. I think he actually takes his own chemicals and bucket and uses the water hose to wash it off. Something like that.

[johnnieboi]

I normally wash my car weekly on Friday nights. Bring my own bucket and shampoo and dry there. Sometimes i vaccuum there but its too expensive for only a short amount of time so rather vaccuum at home. Gonna get into detailing soon, just a few more items i need to get and i'll be set for summer. woot

[Buff Hamster]

I now wash my car at home with a high pressure spray. Cheaper in the long run.

[stevo1210]

I used to wash mine every week, then it became a fortnight, and now a month. I wash mine by hand under the car port so I don't get water marks as the sun dries out the water. I wax my car once every 6 months as per the packaging of Nu-Finish car polish says. :)

The thing I hate most about EVERY time that I wash my car is that it rains the next day... all that effort for nothing. O.o

[Andrew357]

Wow, my wash procedure has changed.

I wash minimum, once a week (usually twice) and have been waxing the car on average once a fortnight. Take it down to the local self-serve at night using all my own gear besides the spray.