When I first got my Mercedes. I washed it a lot. I wondered is there such a thing as too much washing. And I looked into it by asking on some forums where car nuts, and those who love washing cars reside.
It turns out there such a thing as washing your car too much or improperly. Basically what happens on most modern cars is you leave swirls if not washed and dryed properly, you may also damage seals.
Here are some tips I've learned along the way:
Car Wash Don'ts
- No automatic car washes
- They damage electronics
- They damage exterior
- Don't use high intensity sprays at seals
- Don't wash your engine with a hose and 100% not with a power washer
- There are too many electronics
- You can use a damp microfiber
- Compressed air
- Vacuum
- Don't use dish soap, dollar store car wash etc
- Don't use terry cloths to dry your car
- Don't dry your car in circles
Car Wash Methods
Two Bucket Method
- Use the two bucket method
- One bucket with a dirt trap at the bottom warm filled with warm water
- One bucket same as above but with appropriate mixture of quality car soap
- Rinse car with water
- Use a previously washed or unused hand mit
- Step 1: Dip mitt into the soap rub on car
- Step 2: Dip mitt into water bucket to rinse off mitt and repeat step one as needed
- Spray down car with water
- Optionally Apply detailer or quick wax type spray
- Dry with clean microfiber cloths in straight motions
Foam Cannon Method
- Use a very wide spray low intensity tip with a pressure washer to rinse car
- Add soap as directed often about 1/10 into the bottom of foam cannon
- Attach foam cannon and spray foam on car
- Rinse with a wide low intensity tip
- Optionally Apply detailer or quick wax type spray
- Dry with clean microfiber cloths in straight motions
