Car wash product

[JaseNZ 53]

Anybody recommend a good car wash product, I am sicking of washing my car only to find bloody water spots all over it once it is dry.

[JiB 0]

Wash it in the cool/shade. And use a decent microfibre/chamois to dry.

Hope that helps

[JaseNZ 53]

Thanks for that been meaning to buy a decent chamois for a while now.

[deane30 30]

I use a detailing spray on mine after I've washed it to get rid of all the water spots etc (if I'm not waxing). At the moment I'm using the Meguires one which works well and smells like cinnamon

[Forrest 35]

^^ I heard chamois are more likely to scratch the paint IIRC.

Dean, that Meguiars Quick Detailer smells amazing, I use it to clean my road bike

Edited January 3, 2010 by Forrest

[Mark 178]

Don't use a chamois... they just leave streaks. Buy a big pack of microfibre cloths. And +1 to what Jib said about washing and drying it in the shade.

Also, once you've finished washing, take the spray nozzle off the hose and douse the car with water again, the water will sheet off better meaning there's less water to wipe off the car.

As for car wash products to use: I use Kitten gentle car wash, comes in a red bottle. It's cheap and doesn't damage your wax finish.

Use a lambs wool mitt if you can... and the two bucket method. One for the car wash solution and one for rinsing the mitt after each panel. This stops you scraping grit from one part of the car all over the other parts which is the main cause of swirl marks in the clearcoat.

Oh and wax, wax, wax! Saves a lot of effort down the line when next washing the car!

Edited January 3, 2010 by _Mark_

[deane30 30]

Whoops - I meant Monther's Quick Detailer not Meg's. I'm sure they both work as well and smell as good as each other

[Forrest 35]

Also, slight hijack on topic but is there any truth to washing the soap off the car without a nozzle, just letting it flow out of the end on a low pressure, my Dad said to do it because if you use the spray nozzle/jet it blasts all the polish off the paint you have just added with the car wash?

Mark should know this since he is the car wash expert

[318Touring 40]

I use bath towels to dry my car. Instead of moving the towel when drying, I put it on the wet area and 'pat' the towel so it'll pick up water. No scratching, streaking. With big towels and two people you can get through the whole car very quickly, and more important, safely. Also open the doors etc. to aid moving the water along.

Also don't wash where the area has direct sunlight. Adjust the nozzle to wide-spray not concentrated, you'll be blasting just one area while with wide-spray you can cover wider areas.

I use Meguiars NXT car wash, with Meguiars SwirlX, ScratchX or Ultimate Compund and seal it with Meguiars NXT Wax.

My son was helping out, and he became pretty good on vertical panels.

Edited January 3, 2010 by 318Touring

[kerry 10]

^+1 meguiars really are the best product on the market imo if you watch the videos on there website its quite a good information bomb

[Mark 178]

Also, slight hijack on topic but is there any truth to washing the soap off the car without a nozzle, just letting it flow out of the end on a low pressure, my Dad said to do it because if you use the spray nozzle/jet it blasts all the polish off the paint you have just added with the car wash?

Mark should know this since he is the car wash expert

Rinsing the car without the nozzle is definitely a good idea, but only because of what I said above which is that it helps the water sheet off the car leaving less water to dry off the car. 

There isn't polish in any car wash I've heard of. Polish by nature is a compound which gently smooths off the surface of the clearcoat to rid the clearcoat of imperfections. It's like very fine liquid sandpaper. Polish isn't something that stays on the car, you're supposed to buff it off.

If your old man means blasting off the "wax" with the high pressure nozzle then: 1) Car Wash and Wax combos are useless IMO. and 2) Wax does gradually break down, but usually over a few months, I certainly wouldn't waterblast a freshly waxed car!

[greenday-rulz21 5]

Don't agree with a few points.

Firstly I only use a chamois to dry the car. A synthetic one though. Armorall is the only one I use as all others just don't have the same feel and leave streak marks. My armorall chamois gets 99% of the water off the surface leaves no streak marks and no water spots. Only thing I would ever use to dry a car. All the towels and microfibre cloths I have used put bits off fluff all over the car and leave streak marks and don't actually get all the water.

Theres really only point to rinsing the car with out the nozzle and letting the water sheet off if you have a pretty superb coat of polish on the car. Before I polished mine it would just sit and now after I can rinse the roof and it will dry itself in 2 minutes.

My 2 cents

And also when washing if you've done the top of the car and rinsed it, continue to rinse it when ever you was off another spot. So none of the water anywhere on the car has a chance to dry. Thats how you get some pretty stubborn spots.

[Apex 693]

I do actually think cheap products leave more water marks, I avoid products that promote that they are a wash and wax, for some reason they leave more water marks. I aim for the softest high sud stuff I can get, them blast it off with a water blaster.

I no longer have a car with a decent paint job so Im less fussy these days but find the Meguires Drying towel is magic, can dry the whole car in 5 mins without a wring out, they are expensive though, I have one in the kitchen also, they rule at drying dishes.

Get fussy and finnish up with a Mothers drying towel and quick detailer.

[Forrest 35]

Yeah Mark I mean't wax sorry. Interesting points made. I also use Mothers California Gold Car Wash and find it not as harsh on my paint being a 25 year old paint job. I find the cheaper brands are alot harsher.

Edited January 3, 2010 by Forrest

[Braeden320 0]

The microfibre cloths from supercheap work really well and I've never had a problem with them putting fluff on the car.

Also I always leave the car in the shade before I wash it and leave it in the shade to wash/dry.Makes a huge difference espcially on a hot hot day.

I only ever use Mothers products, With the exception of tyre shine gel which is always meguiers.

Mothers How To - Good Helpfull Website

[318Touring 40]

All the towels and microfibre cloths I have used put bits off fluff all over the car and leave streak marks and don't actually get all the water.

If the towels were dragged to dry the car, yes there would be streaking etc. However if it's used exactly like what my son was doing (secure the towel so it won't fall then 'pat', don't drag, the wet areas) :-)

I've used BMW's Wash and Wax product before, and I think it was great, although I'd still wax the car afterwards.

[Wom 0]

yea I use microfibre clothes to dry it and never had streaks or fluff left on the car

my cleaning kit is:

lambs wool mitt

Meguires nxt gen car wash

bunch of microfibre clothes (I think they are Mothers and Kenco brands) ... usually only need 2, maybe 3 of them to dry the car

Meguires window cleaner ... and I use a special microfibre cloth to clean the window (Kenco one's came in a pack of 3 ... 2 for the car body and 1 for the window)

just using that stuff I get comments from my mates like "looks like you've given it it's daily polish" or "move your showroom condition car out of the drive so I can get my car out"

and that's without waxing / polishing

when I feel really enthusiastic I'll go over the car with a Meguires quick detailer (usually once a month)

every 6 months will give it a wax and polish using the Meguires 3 step crystal pack (scratch remover, wax, polish)

as others have mentioned, wash it when it's cool to touch (ie not baking in the sun) and try to wash it in the shade or on cloudy days

also dry it asap!