Merlin

How To Wash Your Truck - Detailing 101


Drying Towels

Waffle Weave


Dry-Me-Crazy (My personal favorite)



Microfiber waffle weave drying towels are very soft, safe and effective. The waffle weave act like little pockets and absorb tons of water and when used properly used are extremely gentle on your vehicles surface. It generally takes only two towels to dry vehicle to ensure a spot and streak free finish. The first towel picks up the majority of water and the second towel picks up any residual moisture ensuring a streak free finish. Another benefit is that you just wash them with my other microfiber detailing towels so that each time you go to wash your car your microfiber drying towel is clean and fresh with no chance of dirt from the last car wash. Keep in mind that just like other products, there is a difference in quality when it comes to microfiber drying towels, they are not all the same so be sure to use only high quality.

Now that we’ve discussed the tools for the job, lets just give you a rundown of how to wash your car in a manner that gets it clean and reduces the chances of your putting swirls into the paint.

• Always wash your car in the shade! This will keep your car wash shampoo solution from drying on the car before it is rinsed off. If at all possible, it is best to wash your car on a relatively calm day as even a slight breeze can put particles of dirt in the air. These dust particles are attracted to the wash/rinse water on your vehicle and act like sandpaper when rubbed between the drying towel and vehicle surface. The breeze will also tend to dry your car for you and this can cause streaks and water spots.
  
  
• Use two buckets with a Grit Guard® Insert in each bucket. One is for your shampoo solution and the other is clean rinse water for your wash mitt.
  
  
• Fill a 5-gallon bucket 2/3 full with cool water. Add recommended amount of shampoo to the water. Using a stiff jet of water, fill the bucket to fully activate suds. Fill the second bucket with clean, water for rinsing your wash mitt.
  
  
• Thoroughly rinse the vehicle’s surface to remove the loose dirt and grime before you begin your car wash procedure.
  
  
• Only use high quality car shampoos and wash mitts.
  
  
• When washing your vehicle remember to always go from high to low, never the opposite. Generally the dirtiest parts of your vehicle are those parts closest to the ground. Wheel wells, rocker panels and bumpers tend to have the largest accumulation of grime and you don’t want to bring that junk back onto the paint surface and risk scratching it.
  
  
• Load up your wash mitt with your car wash solution and wring it out over the wash surface. This acts like a “pre-soak” and helps loosen surface gunk. It also adds more sudsy water to the surface more lubricity to help safely wash the grime away without scratching.
  
  
• Keep your wash areas small and rinse your wash mitt frequently in the second clear rinse water bucket.
  
  
• Wash in straight, overlapping lines as opposed to circles and remember to be gentle with the wash mitt on the first pass. This first pass will pick up the majority of the dirt, and loosens the remaining dirt for pick up on the second pass.
  
  
• Rinse your vehicle by opening up your hose to the open flow setting or by removing the nozzle Let the water run or sheet over the surface instead of spraying. This helps in two ways. First, generally when water has “sheeted” off of a surface it tends to leave less residual droplets behind. This means less to drying time. Second, since there is less water to pick up, there is less chance of you leaving water behind to “spot” the vehicle.
  
  
• When you dry your car, use only high quality microfiber drying towels and wring out often. Gently dry the surface without much pressure. You don’t need to rub the surface…you’re just picking up the bulk of the water! Once you have picked up the bulk of the water, and the first towel is saturated, use the second towel to lightly pick up any remaining streaks or droplets.
  
  
• Lastly, if your wax or sealant is still in good shape, go over the vehicle with a quick detail spray and a plush Microfiber Buffing Towel to restore a radiance and slickness to the paint. This last step will give your vehicle that “just detailed” look by enhancing gloss and will also remove any missed drips, water spots or streaks that showed up when you weren't looking.

Keep in mind the above is a maintenance wash, not a detail prep wash (MUCH more in-depth) this will help keep your vehicle clean and virtually scratch free between details. Feel free to ask any questions!

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Merlin

WhiteShadow

Merlin, can you add another post on the 'quick detail spray' process, and what you do for a more detailed wash and wax?

Muskiehunter51

copy/paste

https://www.qwksilver.com/files/Deta...ash_method.pdf

WhiteShadow

LOL.