A Great Guide to Washing your Car!!
#1
A Great Guide to Washing your Car!!
Heres a step by step process of how to take care of your car! Ive found these steps and products to work really well.
I got this writeup from another forum that i visit frequently.
The Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine is a great product! And yes you dont have to rinse the car or anything!
I got this writeup from another forum that i visit frequently.
The Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine is a great product! And yes you dont have to rinse the car or anything!
Products you will need:
2 gallon capacity bucket
1 wash pad, I like to use chenille covered foam pads
4-5 16" x 16" microfiber towels
2-3 terry cloth or cotton towels
Wheel brush(s)
Tire protectant
Glass Cleaner
Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine: http://www.ecocarcare.net/no-rinse-wash-shine.php
Optimum Car Wax: http://www.ecocarcare.net/car-wax.php
Steps:
1. Using a capful or approximately one half ounce of Optimum No Rinse (ONR), add it to one gallon of water in the bucket.
2. Clean your wheels, tires and fenderwells using the ONR mixture and your brushes, wipe dry with the terry cloth towels.
3. Dress the wheels and fenderwells with your tire dressing-and don't forget the fenderwells! Dirty fenderwells detract from an otherwise clean and shiny car!
The reason to do the wheels and fenderwells first is so when you apply the tire dressing, any overspray will be washed off the car during the washing step.
4. Empty out your bucket and refill with clean water, adding one half to one full ounce of ONR (less if relatively clean, more if really dirty).
5. Using a chenille covered foam pad or a wash mitt, wash one section of the car at a time and dry immediately using two microfiber towels, one for the first drying pass and making sure you leave a little moisture behind, use the other towel for a second drying pass. If you get the panel completely dry with the first towel, then don't go over it with the second towel because rubbing even a soft microfiber towel on dry paint can leave streaks.
Once you get the process down (it may take a couple washes to really nail it) you should be able to wash the body of your car in 20 minutes or less unless it is really filthy.
6. After washing open your doors, gas cap door and trunk or hatch and wipe down all the jambs.
7. Using Optimum Car Wax (OCW), spray onto a section at a time. Don't soak the panel, just a mist should do. Spread the wax over the panel, flip the towel and wipe to a haze free shine. If you can use a detail spray, you can use OCW, it is that easy. Depending on your area, wash habits, etc, you can expect 3-5 months durability. Honestly though, it is so easy to use you will probably use it every few washes. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to do the whole car. In fact, you can also apply it as you dry each section when washing with ONR to save even more time, or apply while washing and apply a second coat for even better protection with very little additional time spent.
8. Clean your glass inside and out.
Stand back and admire your shiny car! Take pics and post them on OT!
There are several vendors who carry Optimum products, the one I would recommend first is www.exceldetail.com because he is an OT member and I believe we should support each other, plus he ships very fast, has excellent customer service, is an all around nice guy and he also carries a fine selection of microfiber towels, the rest of the Optimum product line as well as Clearkote, Poorboys, 4 Star, Propel buffing pads, etc.
Another excellent vendor is www.pakshak.com or the www.ecocarcare.net site, autogeek, etc.
2 gallon capacity bucket
1 wash pad, I like to use chenille covered foam pads
4-5 16" x 16" microfiber towels
2-3 terry cloth or cotton towels
Wheel brush(s)
Tire protectant
Glass Cleaner
Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine: http://www.ecocarcare.net/no-rinse-wash-shine.php
Optimum Car Wax: http://www.ecocarcare.net/car-wax.php
Steps:
1. Using a capful or approximately one half ounce of Optimum No Rinse (ONR), add it to one gallon of water in the bucket.
2. Clean your wheels, tires and fenderwells using the ONR mixture and your brushes, wipe dry with the terry cloth towels.
3. Dress the wheels and fenderwells with your tire dressing-and don't forget the fenderwells! Dirty fenderwells detract from an otherwise clean and shiny car!
The reason to do the wheels and fenderwells first is so when you apply the tire dressing, any overspray will be washed off the car during the washing step.
4. Empty out your bucket and refill with clean water, adding one half to one full ounce of ONR (less if relatively clean, more if really dirty).
5. Using a chenille covered foam pad or a wash mitt, wash one section of the car at a time and dry immediately using two microfiber towels, one for the first drying pass and making sure you leave a little moisture behind, use the other towel for a second drying pass. If you get the panel completely dry with the first towel, then don't go over it with the second towel because rubbing even a soft microfiber towel on dry paint can leave streaks.
Once you get the process down (it may take a couple washes to really nail it) you should be able to wash the body of your car in 20 minutes or less unless it is really filthy.
6. After washing open your doors, gas cap door and trunk or hatch and wipe down all the jambs.
7. Using Optimum Car Wax (OCW), spray onto a section at a time. Don't soak the panel, just a mist should do. Spread the wax over the panel, flip the towel and wipe to a haze free shine. If you can use a detail spray, you can use OCW, it is that easy. Depending on your area, wash habits, etc, you can expect 3-5 months durability. Honestly though, it is so easy to use you will probably use it every few washes. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to do the whole car. In fact, you can also apply it as you dry each section when washing with ONR to save even more time, or apply while washing and apply a second coat for even better protection with very little additional time spent.
8. Clean your glass inside and out.
Stand back and admire your shiny car! Take pics and post them on OT!
There are several vendors who carry Optimum products, the one I would recommend first is www.exceldetail.com because he is an OT member and I believe we should support each other, plus he ships very fast, has excellent customer service, is an all around nice guy and he also carries a fine selection of microfiber towels, the rest of the Optimum product line as well as Clearkote, Poorboys, 4 Star, Propel buffing pads, etc.
Another excellent vendor is www.pakshak.com or the www.ecocarcare.net site, autogeek, etc.
Last edited by krazzyguju; 06-13-2007 at 05:44 PM.
#3
Originally Posted by max2k1
I've not heard of this product before -- good to know
Post some pics of the results .... how does this compare to say something like Zaino ??
But the process sounds a lot easier than Zaino
Post some pics of the results .... how does this compare to say something like Zaino ??
But the process sounds a lot easier than Zaino
#5
Originally Posted by Lucky_One
damn those cars are CLEAN....but that couldnt be just from one coat of wax, is it? i live in philly, it often rains here, how would u compare it to meguiars or mothers, 1-10, 10 highest.
Ive never used Maguiars or Zainos so i cant comment.
#6
its better to have an additional 5 gallon bucket with a grit guard in it to drop your mitts into while drying. this will allow the grit to settle out and not get into the wash solution. I use ONR for 90% of my washes since I live in an apartment with a garage that doesn't have water access.
#7
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#9
just finished my first major detailing of my new car.. optimum is a great product! only complaint is that the spray wax is definitely hard with any breeze will make it flow onto random parts of the car and the heat on the car bc it dries extremely fast! once i got the hang of it, i was able to apply the wax easier
so, definitely do this in a garage or in the shade w/ no wind, which is probably a "duh" for many of you..
so, definitely do this in a garage or in the shade w/ no wind, which is probably a "duh" for many of you..
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