washing / detailing time

[REDXIIIDave]

Check out Junkman's videos. Adam's products FTW. Do it right, or don't do it at all.

[BigCarrot]

I really need to wash my car... but everytime I look outside there's a swarm of mosquitos!

Whole damn town is sold out of mosquito repelant too! It's an epidemic I tell you!

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by Black On Black On Black

Hahahaha! Not even! I spend probably 40 min on my rims and tires alone though. I think the fastest i have ever gone was and hour and a half (no rims). My normal wash is a exterior detail. I meant like no wax or interior lol. But yeah 3-4 hours (most times 4).

Hey, whatever works.

Originally Posted by Black On Black On Black

Don't you worry about dust blowing on to the car????

The ground is all wet after you wash. No dust is going to kick up. Think about it.

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by BigCarrot

I really need to wash my car... but everytime I look outside there's a swarm of mosquitos!

Whole damn town is sold out of mosquito repelant too! It's an epidemic I tell you!

It's funny when I hear people here in TX complain about mosquitos. I always tell them our mosquitos in Michigan are the size of your dogs. Get bit by one, you have to sit down for a while to recuperate.

[Camaro2LTRSMMissouri]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

It's funny when I hear people here in TX complain about mosquitos. I always tell them our mosquitos in Michigan are the size of your dogs. Get bit by one, you have to sit down for a while to recuperate.

Hey in Minnesota they are the size of a 747 and have landing gear. The FAA had to put in an approach center so the real ones don't collide with the mosquitos.

[Camaro2LTRSMMissouri]

Back on the washing/waxing - the best thing I ever purchase were those buckets with grates. I bought two of them. One for the soap and the other to rinse the mit off before putting it in the soap bucket.

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by Camaro2LTRSMMissouri

Hey in Minnesota they are the size of a 747 and have landing gear. The FAA had to put in an approach center so the real ones don't collide with the mosquitos.

...as if I needed another reason NOT to go to Minnesota

[Camaro2LTRSMMissouri]

But the fishing is outstanding!

[rd-camaro]

Originally Posted by REDXIIIDave

Check out Junkman's videos. Adam's products FTW. Do it right, or don't do it at all.

+128737612934712937123

[TCAT]

It takes me 4-5 hours total to wash the car, clean the rims, dry the car, clay bar it, wax it, then apply tire conditioner and interior conditioner on the plastic.

I wash the body of the car first with a dedicated sponge/micro glove, then I grab a different glove to clean the rims (since I don't want to dirty the "better" clean glove I use on the body of the car since time are dirty). While I finishe one or two rims, I grab the hose real quick and wet down the whole car again so water spots don't dry and develop. Then, I finish the other rims quickly. I then use my leaf blower to ALMOST dry the whole car and rims. After the leaf blower, only one to two small microfiber cloths needed to be used to dry the whole car and rims. It saves tons of time and the leaf blower eliminates run off near the grill, emblems, taillights, etc. and that's a huge plus. Once everything is dry, then I'll clay bar it completely, followed by waxing the car with a synthetic wax. Then, I move on to the interior and tires. For both, I tend to like using a leather cleaner (meguirs, adams or whoever you like) for the interior and it conditions without the crappy residue or potential harm that something like Armor All would (I wouldn't use this). The leather cleaner also works great on the tires to keep them conditioned and not brown and cracking. It leans a clean shine without the gunky, dust attractive tire dressing wet look spray or foam that a lot of companies supply. Adams tire cleaner and conditioner is also great, but if I don't have that, leather cleaner works great on the tire sidewall.

Also, I always try to start this process when the suns starts to go down and not in direct sunlight or high heat. This reduces the chances of water spots, and let's the wax set nicely (in high heat or direct sunlight, wax seems to really haze and look horrible). After washing, you can always move the car into the garage to clay bar, and wax, do interior, and tires. Another important note is to NEVER use dish soap to wash the car, as it strips any wax or protectant currently on the vehicle). Use a dedicated car wash soap that isn't harsh.

That's my advice, lol. Take it for what it's worth.

[SS_Los]

Thanks Tcat and everyone else for your input. The leaf blower technique seems to be effective.

[TCAT]

Absolutely! The lead blower cuts down on the dry time ad the amount of time spent touching the paint and may spare you some potential damage. The leaf blower doesn't blow hot air unfortunately, so the water doesn't dry and expect water to still be on the car. However, it will clear a lot of water so you can dry it faster. A company does sell a hot air blower that people use for their car and supposedly it works great, but it's $300 or so I believe. My leaf blower cost $70 bucks and works good enough haha.

[BaldCamaroStud]

Originally Posted by BigCarrot

I really need to wash my car... but everytime I look outside there's a swarm of mosquitos!

Whole damn town is sold out of mosquito repelant too! It's an epidemic I tell you!

They are horrific! When I washed my wife's car I was out at 6am, and they were bad then! Try Bass Pro Shops, they had a very little bit left last night.

[The Shadoww]

This leaf blower thing seems to be the real deal, at fist i though you guys were just yanking our chains, but after watching The Junkman tell me to use one and all you guys swearing by it, i'll have to try it. I already have one so it's not like i have to go out of my way to do it! I'll just make sure no one is home when i do it so i don't look like such a crazy. :P I was supposed to wash it today but with all the new tips i'm getting i think ill have to try it out tomorrow morning!