“What IS” — Proper Washing
(*This article is in-progress and will continue to be updated)
When seeking to preserve your investment, either after an intensive session of restorative detailing — or its original finish; it is imperative to practice proper washing procedures so as to not instill additional defects into the finite amount of paint or clearcoat that is on a vehicle. (With many vehicles having maybe 4-6mils of material before entirely removing the paint, there is a very finite amount of material from the jump. Even more so if the car has been excessively or poorly paint-corrected in the past.)
No longer are the days of washing with a red shop rag gathered from the workbench or a white terry towel along with a single bucket and some Dawn. Poor washing methods, which generally comes down to method or wash media (towel, sponge, mitt, pad, etc.), account for the majority of paint defects in a vehicle’s finish. With this post; I’m not looking to get you to buy the most expensive stuff imaginable. Many things that are at a price are very worthwhile, but are ultimately unneeded and have workarounds. I’m going to present proper washing methods, as well as 2 ‘supplies lists’ at the end. The first being the things that I would find to be in the “necessary” category and stuff that you probably shouldn’t go without; and the second list being more in the “no holds barred” category of the things that are nice to have and sometimes more ergonomic. (…P.S. Dawn is actually a good strip wash to remove waxes/sealants, it just leaves a film behind so be sure to wipe the car down with isopropyl alcohol prior to reapplication of your desired paint protection. Just add a few ounces into your wash bucket and/or foam cannon. Just use 2 buckets. Please.)
To get things started; the main things that you’ll need are as follows. 2 or 3 5 gallon buckets, Grit Guards (preferably), pH-neutral soap, clean & soft wash media (mitt, pad, multiple towels. It’s personal preference as to which as long as it’s a clean and quality item.), wheel & tire cleaner(s), wheel & tire brushes. 2 buckets minimum, although 3 is preferable. 5 gallon minimum for Wash & Rinse buckets, 6 is nice although not usually available locally. Grit Guards at the bottom of each bucket help to keep your wash media off of the bottom of the bucket while the dirt and large particulates fall to and stay at the bottom. Having a dedicated Rinse bucket does additional work to separate the dirt that comes off of each panel from contaminating the clean, soapy water.
From there, you’ll want to rinse the majority of the dirt & debris off the paint and vehicle, and then following this thorough rinse; it is time for wheels. The main reason for doing wheels initally is to not spray excess dirt and brake dust onto the vehicle. That being said, soap will have to be rinsed off after soap from the fenders drips onto it; but that’s preferred to kicking large particulates onto freshly-washed paint. Personally, I like to spray the wheel wells and tires with an APC (all purpose cleaner (properly diluted for level of soiling)) for the wheel wells and tires, a dedicated tire cleaner is also nice for removing mild brake dust and keeping tires dressed. Depending on how filty the wheels are; any of the following could work (in order of strongest/harshest, to most mild. ALWAYS start with mildest.)