I must admit, I've resorted to drive through in my old age, but the local place seems to do a good job with no noticeable swirl marks...at least not on white.
Curious how many of you hand wash?
pajohn
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Two cars before this Touareg were Mercedes, so I've been hand-washing for years. Use a cleaner in the spring to get off the winter road film, followed by glaze. Then a good wax job in the fall to try and stave off that winter film as long as possible.
//greg//
//greg//
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My black Treg with beautiful paint job = Hand Wash
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I've followed the "100% cotton" rule for many years. Recently though I keep reading about how great microfiber is. I approached microfiber with caution, found some called AutoSpa or something like that, oversized and very plush. Very absorbant when drying the car. It does seem to work very well, cannot find any swirling etc. from using it. Thoughts? Microfiber is 100% synthetic, which flies in the face of the 100% cotton rule. Also microfiber needs to be washed separately from anything else because it picks up cotton fibers etc.
I would agree. You will also have to spend a lot of money to duplicate any number of cotton towels with the (obviously more expensive) microfiber towels. I can use as many or as few of the 100% cotton toweling. So for example, I normally use 8 (2x face towel size) to wash, dry and polish a normal car. If one hits the ground, I don't even mess with it. Shoot off the dirt with a hose and send it to the wash, right then and there and use a fresh/new one, up to 80 each. I have also taken to using 2 BIG bath towels to dry. It takes 2 full sized bath towels and all of 3 mins and its almost bata bing, bata boom. Truly the less you rub the better, long and short term. These bath towels make short work of drying.
Now I really like the leaf blowers for that "NO TOUCH". BUT, really you won't even see the silicon particles that it CAN suck in from a swirl and of course it shoots it at 150 mph + PLUS at your finish.Plus if you are not ultra careful you can fry yourself.
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Hand wash once a week on average. I rather enjoy it and have been obtaining all the washing/detailing products to do it right...
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hand wash once a month when it's not winter. wax before and after winter, and one more in the middle of summer.
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Normal day to day wash: Foam/soap + HP, Hand wash with wash pudel with two buckets [one with clean water] +HP, Mothers micro fiber for excess water , CG - Speed Wipe Quick Detailer.
After winter with stronger solutions than Normal day to day wash: Foam/soap + HP, Hand wash with wash pudel +HP, Mothers micro fiber for excess water, clay if needed, hand wash again with milder solution, gloss and glaze, paint sealer x2, wax.
Before winter: Normal wash and if the paint is clean -> a layer of wax
After winter with stronger solutions than Normal day to day wash: Foam/soap + HP, Hand wash with wash pudel +HP, Mothers micro fiber for excess water, clay if needed, hand wash again with milder solution, gloss and glaze, paint sealer x2, wax.
Before winter: Normal wash and if the paint is clean -> a layer of wax
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Twice a year - if I remember - with a large brush and a bit of shampoo, but I keep the lights and registration plates clean, sometimes weekly.
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White is an easier color to not swirl up to badly. First of all, never ever take your car to a drive-through. They use the same brush that cleans your brake dust (metallic) and it washes up on your paint. This is how you swirl it up.
At the very least, find a self-wash bay in your area. Those are great and I usually use the high-pressure soap for the whole car, and rinse it with the self-drying rinse. No touch, just spray and no need to dry.
Second option is to find a wash, or rather a detailing place as those are usually a bit more careful on how they wash your car. You can get away with a basic wash for $15 and they are much better compared to those drive-through hand washes.
At the very least, find a self-wash bay in your area. Those are great and I usually use the high-pressure soap for the whole car, and rinse it with the self-drying rinse. No touch, just spray and no need to dry.
Second option is to find a wash, or rather a detailing place as those are usually a bit more careful on how they wash your car. You can get away with a basic wash for $15 and they are much better compared to those drive-through hand washes.
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