i just completely enjoy the whole process of washing a car. i feel like its just an old fashioned piece of Americana in a way. I just imagine the ideal they show in movies, when a guy gets his first real car, one that he purchased himself and washing that car on the first day of spring etc. etc. etc.
it was REAL hard to keep my 99 sentra nice. just because it was old, and it had a few flaws in the paint when i got it at 16. it was a nice car, and i worked with what i got, but i never started with a pristine car and was able to kep it up. i was always just trying to play catch up with myself i guess, but i still know how to detail the hell out of a car.
Dry Products:
-armorall sponge:
_I love this damn thing. its all microfiber braids on one side, and the entire other side is a soft mesh to scrub bugs off.
-wash clothes:
_I use these to clean my wheels/rims. they have always seemed to work better for me. I dont like to use sprays, they get on your brakes and make then feel weird for awhile and i dont like that.
-3.5 square foot leather chamois
_Ive tried everything else. tried the sham wow, ive tried microfiber, ive treid the big soft towels that they make now. nothing is as soft and "outside particle" free than leather. Leather is the only thing that has dried my whole car thus far.
Soap:
right now i use turtle wax. i tend to use anything when it comes to soap, as long as its not cheap stuff. its usually a decent "wash/wax" combo from one of the name brands like armor all or turtle wax etc. etc.
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When i was my car i sray the entire car down a few times to move as much of the loose dirt as i can. I put the hose on the most pressurized setting, such as "jet" or "flat" depending on where on the car im spraying. I pay attention to detail sometimes with this step because i like to get as much of the dirt off with the hose as possible.
i always wash the roof first with as much suds as possible. I rinse off each section after I soap it down. then i just work my way around the car. Hood and trunk/hatch is next. Then every side panel.
the reason i wash it in the order that i do is to eliminate the possibility for soap to run over an already cleaned area. if you wash the side of your car before the roof, when you rinse the roof all the dirty soap is going to run down your sides.
once the entire car has been soaped down and scrubbed and cleaned ill usually wet the car down a few times on shower setting. paying attention to getting soap out of all the internals and cracks.
then i dry it down using the same order as i do when i wash (roof, hood, trunk sides etc)
for all the door jambs and painted areas that expose when you open doors, i use a wet, soapy microfiber towel to clean them, and then i just wipe it off with another dry microfiber towel.
i use a light soap/water mix and a cotton rag to clean the inside of my car (dash, doors) all plastic and leather/vinyl as well.
ill usually spray some febreeze on all floormats and seats, then vacuum them right after that.
and i think thats it? i dont usually wash windows on the inside unless they are streaked.
once the whole car seems dry, i make sure the entire wheel surface is pretty dry and i spray it with good ol fashioned tire foam. i dont like anything else, the foam is the only thing that really works for me.
if it comes out in liquid form, or if you apply some kind of goof, it always seemed to fly off the tire when you went to drive and youd end up with all these oily/greasy spots on the sides of your car from it spraying off at high speeds.
sooo thats about it i guess. i probably missed some stuff, but im usually outside for at least an hour and a half. its just always something ive taken my time with and put "passion" into i guess?