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Old 07-26-2010, 11:21 AM   #1
SkiWrex
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Default Yoar cleaning rituals

Just wondering if anybody has their own little quirks about washing and detailing their cars. (Favorite car wash, favorite day and time to wash car, choice of music while cleaning..etc.) To me, cleaning my car isn't really work, It's kind of a pastime, so I try to make the most of it.


When I lived in Phoenix, the big car meets were always on Saturday nights, so I'd always wash my car right before and my neighbor would laugh at how religious I was about it. I don't live in AZ anymore but I still like to wash my car on Saturday afternoons, I also like to take down a six pack of beer while I detail the inside and listen to a little underground Hip Hop.
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Old 07-27-2010, 12:15 PM   #2
AwkWarD
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Every Saturday Morning right before Cars and Coffee so I can be pimpin all weekend (weather permitting).

It nice and cool and shady outside when I start and by the time I finish its nice and sunny.

I rock out to some local hip hop station as well and chill with my dog

When saturday rolls around its a morning in paradise
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Old 07-27-2010, 02:17 PM   #3
smay
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Back when I had my e36 M3, I was pretty crazy about the drying of the car... I would always use a clean leaf blower. I got a few crazy looks from my neighbors...
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Old 07-27-2010, 02:44 PM   #4
mbinnj90
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I like to clean the car every Saturday morning when its still cool outside. It's so relaxing for me to just wash all the crap off of it as I listen to some Beatles. I have found with my last car and on the ambulance that I work on, the best soap to use is just a little bit of dawn dish detergent. It gets rid of all the grease and dirt on the rims and body very nicely.
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Old 07-27-2010, 02:55 PM   #5
Fail Wagon
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mbinnj90 View Post
I like to clean the car every Saturday morning when its still cool outside. It's so relaxing for me to just wash all the crap off of it as I listen to some Beatles. I have found with my last car and on the ambulance that I work on, the best soap to use is just a little bit of dawn dish detergent. It gets rid of all the grease and dirt on the rims and body very nicely.
and it also strips all the wax off your car
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Old 07-27-2010, 03:32 PM   #6
e-diggity
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since i dont have neighbors that live directly right next to me i like to wash my car completely nude. I jam out to A State of Trance with Armin Van Buuren while drinking tasty micro brews. since i dont have a real paint job, i detail the inside of my car like none other and vaccum out every grain of dirt. i always pay heavy attention to the engine bay and clean it every time like im about to go into a car show.
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Old 07-28-2010, 04:00 AM   #7
stwang314
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Originally Posted by Fail Wagon View Post
and it also strips all the wax off your car
this is true
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Old 07-28-2010, 11:56 AM   #8
Myrdoc
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I always wash my car at home since I almost got into a fight with the dickhead owner of a local car wash. I tried drinking to make the work seem lighter once while washing my car on a Friday afternoon, but I ended up getting way too drunk and my car still looked dirty afterwords.
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Old 07-28-2010, 12:15 PM   #9
CBR954
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Originally Posted by stwang314 View Post
this is true
Very true. It is a good practice if you plan on waxing it after the wash.
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Old 07-28-2010, 01:13 PM   #10
Amnizu
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Originally Posted by CBR954 View Post
Very true. It is a good practice if you plan on waxing it after the wash.
Debatable. Dawn is not formualted to be safe on things like exterior plastics and rubber trim pieces. You are better off using a heavy detergant that is designed to be safe for these parts of your car (Meguiars APC, Chemical Guys citrus wash and clear) instead of a dish washing soap to strip wax.
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Old 07-28-2010, 05:23 PM   #11
Slava.
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Wash my car every Saturday with ONR and do a full wash once a month. ONR for rinse less as I usually use DP Max Wax or Pinnacle SSII for wax and it lasts ~ 3 weeks. Menz Power Lock as sealant once every 2-3 month. Do an interior wipe down once a week and full interior detail once a month. Sometime if it rains during the week I'll swing by a car wash and just spray the car down to get loose dirt off. It's a bit much but I love the way it looks when it's clean and shines.
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Old 07-28-2010, 06:46 PM   #12
NCORWRX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e-diggity View Post
since i dont have neighbors that live directly right next to me i like to wash my car completely nude. I jam out to A State of Trance with Armin Van Buuren while drinking tasty micro brews. since i dont have a real paint job, i detail the inside of my car like none other and vaccum out every grain of dirt. i always pay heavy attention to the engine bay and clean it every time like im about to go into a car show.
You must be on e, diggity.
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Old 07-29-2010, 02:51 PM   #13
e-diggity
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oontz oontz oontz!
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Old 09-02-2010, 11:18 AM   #14
xXSTi-lynXx
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a six-er of sunshine wheat beer, a 1/2 pack of cigarettes and some stevie ray vaughan playing very loudly

I am not a spokesman for groits garage car care products! BUT I will rave about the quality of their products
groits makes the highest quality products for car care to date. The company products are made to satisfy the needs of a true car collector (think : classic ferrari's , rolls royce etc etc ). Most would laugh at the fact that Im using these products on a subaru, but hands down they are the best!!!



step 1- throughly clean paint with full strength car wash soap (I use groits) to remove old wax, tar, bugs etc etc dry using a CLEAN chomis/ absorber/ shamwow

step 2- claybar entire car top to bottom to remove imbedded paint contaniments .
(groits garage claybar and speed shine) _

step 3- wash entire car again using reg diluted car wash soap, dry with absorber/ chaomis
(while letting the car dry , I usually raise the car and remove the wheels and clean them using full strength DISH SOAP and a power washer)
***if wheels are painted use full strength car wash instead of dish soap*****

step 4- spot polish flawed paint areas by hand using foam pad and a fine grit car polish
(groits garage machine polish 3, use machine polish 2 for deeper scratches)

Buff with a CLEAN 100% cotton baby diper or microfiber towel

step 5. - hand wax entire car using a CLEAN foam pad, and buff out with a CLEAN unsmoothed chaomis / or microfiber towel.
(i use gorits garage best of show wax)


___engine compartment tips ____
- clean plastics/metals/painted surfaces with dishwashing soap and water
-If STi use a old toothbrush for intake manifold (gets the grit off the crinkle paint)
-lightly dress hoses /plastics with petrol. jelly for a shine that lasts for months

now your car should look like pure sex

Last edited by xXSTi-lynXx; 09-02-2010 at 03:18 PM.
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Old 09-02-2010, 12:09 PM   #15
vms150
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Its a subaru. It's okay to let it get dirty. I wash mine once a month maybe when I have the time and no rain is predicted for the next week or some. The only time I try to keep up with it is getting the salt off in the winter.
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Old 09-02-2010, 12:28 PM   #16
NCORWRX
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While still parked in the garage I usually do a full interior wipe down first, using some type of low shine interior cleaner. Roll the windows down to prevent any over spray. When I am done with the wipe down I roll the windows up and hit them with a warm damp rag and a dry rag (usually all it takes).

Second I wash/dry/wax as needed. Every 3rd or 4th wash I spray down the engine bay.

Third vacuum and wipe down the door sills. (Don't forget to check behind / fold down the back seats... )

Final, spot check, wipe rims, spot armor all (or whatev) the black bits.

All while listening to anything that bumps....
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Old 09-02-2010, 01:35 PM   #17
haberkorn
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Only ritual/habit I have is washing the car once a week, detailing interior once every 2 weeks and removing the wheels to clean them once a month.
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Old 09-02-2010, 03:20 PM   #18
xXSTi-lynXx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vms150 View Post
Its a subaru. It's okay to let it get dirty. I wash mine once a month maybe when I have the time and no rain is predicted for the next week or some. The only time I try to keep up with it is getting the salt off in the winter.
your in the wrong thread
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Old 09-02-2010, 03:31 PM   #19
razrielle
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Usually just get up early saturday, turn on the police scanner, and wash it
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Old 09-02-2010, 05:38 PM   #20
xXSTi-lynXx
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Originally Posted by razrielle View Post
Usually just get up early saturday, turn on the police scanner, and wash it
where do you live?? your PD hasn't switched over to digital yet?

My PD switched to digital, so my bearcat trunking scanner is now a overpriced paper weight
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Old 09-02-2010, 05:45 PM   #21
Airplay355
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+1 to nude and ASOT haaha! just kidding, not nude.
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Old 09-02-2010, 07:02 PM   #22
subarulz!
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Every 12th friday evening, I run the car through a local touchless car wash. If I'm lucky, it won't rain for 15 minutes so I get to at least see the car clean once.
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Old 09-06-2010, 10:22 PM   #23
shotz86
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I live in a condo where it is against policy to wash your car in the driveway :-( I have to resort to driving to a local car wash where i can have the privilege of powerwashing my car for $3 for every 5 minutes. Condo's suck.
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Old 09-07-2010, 05:06 PM   #24
Kean
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I live in a condo where it is against policy to wash your car in the driveway :-( I have to resort to driving to a local car wash where i can have the privilege of powerwashing my car for $3 for every 5 minutes. Condo's suck.
In your situation, you might want to look into a rinseless product like Optimum No Rinse (ONR). Basically, you use 1oz to every 2 gallons of water to make a wash solution. You would then wash the car using your wash media and the ONR solution similar to how you would normally. I would say the main difference is that you will not be rinsing the car down prior to or after your done. Instead, you will wipe each panel dry after you have cleaned it with the ONR. ….one panel/section at a time is typical. If you’re assoc. still will not allow you to wash the car on the property in this manner, you can always fill a bucket (or two) with water and drive to a shady area where you would be able.

If I were (personally) going to go this route, I would buy two 5 gallon utility buckets, two Grit Guards, 2 Gamma Seal lids, several (a dozen or more) good quality microfiber towels, one or more good quality wash media and 1 gallon of ONR. I would fill each bucket with 4 gallons of water, mix two ounces of ONR into one of them and then seal both with the lids for transport. ….the second bucket of water I would use to rinse the wash media as I am washing the car with the ONR solution (not necessary but something I would prefer to do).

Shopping somewhere like USPlastic.com, you can source the buckets or about $4-$5 each, the screw top Gamma Seal lids for $7-$8 ea (or the cheaper snap-on ones for about $2 each), the Grit Guards for about $8 each (not necessary but an added precaution) and typically $40-$45 for a gallon of ONR from most detailing vendors. 128 ounces of ONR will make 64 gallons of wash solution. Personally, I typically use 4 gallons of water for one car so I can usually get 64 car washes from one gallon of product.

This is just another option since it appears you are not exactly thrilled with having to spend the $3 for every 5 minutes at a service wash. In my case, ONR has a cost of 35 cents per ounce or 70 cents a wash (not including the cost of the water and the initial price of the tools). It’s certainly worth looking into if you’re interested.
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