Advice on how to do a basic wash of an ITS?

[Last_ICE]

I would love to get some solid advice and links on how to do a decent basic wash & wax of a modern car, including products and any gear I should have. I live in San Francisco, and my garage isn't large enough to wash inside, so will have to do in driveway, or head to a self-service spot a couple of miles away.

I don't mind buying specialized gear, even beyond brushes and towels (e.g., pressure sprayer), if it's necessary.

Not looking to do a professional-level detailing; just want to be able to spend a bit of time, every few weeks, doing an 80/20 job that keeps the car looking nice.

 

[JC-RH]

Easy/inexpensive setup:
2 five-gallon buckets with grit guards
Small bucket for wheel brush/mit
2 Microfiber wash mits
Car wash shampoo of choice
Microfiber drying cloths OR Absorber (if Absorber, I recommend blotting dry)

advanced/expensive setup:
Same as above AND
Pressure washer
Foam cannon
Leaf blower

 

[Brittania]

I would love to get some solid advice and links on how to do a decent basic wash & wax of a modern car, including products and any gear I should have. I live in San Francisco, and my garage isn't large enough to wash inside, so will have to do in driveway, or head to a self-service spot a couple of miles away.

I don't mind buying specialized gear, even beyond brushes and towels (e.g., pressure sprayer), if it's necessary.

Not looking to do a professional-level detailing; just want to be able to spend a bit of time, every few weeks, doing an 80/20 job that keeps the car looking nice.

If you are not really into detailing, I would start by having it professionally paint corrected and ceramic coated. I'm sure your area is full of top notch places to get it done. This will help you start from a near perfect baseline and make all of your future washes so much easier. I had frontal ppf and ceramic done on my car and it takes me about 20 minutes to make my car look perfect. The non ppf'd areas of the car clean up 99% as easy as the areas with ppf. I use a pressure washer with a foam cannon and all I have to do is rinse, soak it with the foam cannon, gently wipe with about 5 microfibers, rinse again, and then blow dry it with a battery operated leaf blower and touch up a few spots with a drying towel.

For washing equipment I'd recommend
-1800 psi 1.2 gpm Electric pressure washer ~ $100.
- decent foam cannon from Amazon ~$50
- 20 pack of decent microfibers ~$30
- large drying towel ~$20
- gallon of decent car shampoo/soap ~ $40
- bucket

There's a youtuber called "IMJOSHV" that has good videos as far as product recommendations and washing methods.

 

[egxflash]

Easy/inexpensive setup:
2 five-gallon buckets with grit guards
Small bucket for wheel brush/mit
2 Microfiber wash mits
Car wash shampoo of choice
Microfiber drying cloths OR Absorber (if Absorber, I recommend blotting dry)

advanced/expensive setup:
Same as above AND
Pressure washer
Foam cannon
Leaf blower

This is good but I'd caution against the use of the absorber as you risk dragging whatever particulate there is across the paint and causing scratches or at the last, swirls.

I'd go with plush drying towels (can even get them from walmart).

 

[optronix]

You're probably going to get a lot of feedback here that may only confuse you more, but this is the best I've seen as far as covering down on the basics:



^Follow Larry's channel, he's fantastic.

Also https://www.esotericdetail.com/ to take it to the next level if you're seeking additional education on all things detailing.

 

[SocalDE5]

I have washed all my cars with basic stuff I have found in auto parts places like auto zone, checkered & chief auto.....

I have just amazon'd products in recent years and I try different products.

If i dont have time and need it done better than I can do.... I hire a professional here n there.

Dont over think washing a car. Just use caution with what you use to dry or apply products.

I applaud the vast knowledge and self learned technique of many who do it better than I can. I just find myself keeping it simple.

 

[RCX]

I clean my car in my drive way also. Have to wait for a shady time of day or cloud cover.

Here is what I use for quick wash:

Pressure washer, foam canon, dedicated wheel bucket with dedicated mitt and woolies, wash bucket with 4 chenille microfiber sponges. Good car wash foam like Mr Pink. Large drying microfiber towel or 2.

Here is what I do:

-Fill both buckets, add a LITTLE bit of soap the each, put the 4 chenille sponges in the water.

-Spray the wheels, foam the wheels, clean with mitt and woolies, spray off.

-Foam the car, let it sit for few minutes, rinse.

-Foam the car, take one wet sponge and do the roof, front and back glass, set it aside keeping it clean.

-Take another sponge and do hood and side windows and top half of trunk area. Put this one in bag to be cleaned.

-Then the lower front half of car with one sponge and back lower half with the other.

-Rinse the whole car and then dry. During drying if I see something I missed I use the 1st sponge I set aside (cleanest of the bunch) to touch it up.

If I have a few extra minutes I'll take a spray bottle of diluted ONR and clean door sills and doors and trunk sill (? I guess that is what it is called ?). Spray and wipe with clean mf cloth.

Takes ~30-40 minutes.

Car has full front PPF and rest ceramic.

 

[koatic]

In my experience, I didn’t want to pay the 1500 for full ceramic so I did it myself.
it took two whole days for the prep, Decon, corrections, clay and then the actual ceramic. I used Adam’s advanced.
now that time was not wasted as weekly washes are literally a breeze.
Hard rinse. foam canon. Quick over with microfiber, rinse and then leaf blower. Any excess beaded water comes right off the ceramic with quick once over with leaf blower. (On low setting) not trying to sand blast it.
So for me took a long time to properly ceramic it but weekly washes take like 15 minutes. 30 if I detail wheels.

 

[optronix]

Ceramic is just an evolution of wax that last longer. No one should ever pay the ludicrous 4-figure sums I've seen tossed around for ceramic coating.

As for prep, sure some cars may need clay/polish from the factory but mine didn't- and trust that unless you're standing next to them, a "detailer" isn't going to clay and polish your car if they don't have to, yet they'll still charge you the same.

I basically followed the steps in the above video, used a "prep" spray that is basically isopropyl alcohol, and applied about half of a $180 bottle of AMMO Reflex Pro (old formula) in ~30 minutes, and I could shave in the reflection of my doors.

 

[creaturemachine]

Another vote for DIY Ceramic. It's no harder to apply than wax, just takes a little longer.

 

[koatic]

yup that right there sure is purdy!!!