How do you just wash your car and not polish and wax it?

2803 Views 21 Replies 11 Participants Last post by jw, Mar 10, 2002

bmw325

Discussion Starter · Mar 8, 2002

Sometimes I see people make comments like "I wash my car once a week but wax once a month".

If I were to just wash my car, I'd have a lot of water spots on it. The water spots mean that I have to use some paint cleanser (like P21s cleanser) to get them out. If I use the cleanser, then I need to apply a new coat of wax-- so its like a whole vicious cycle.

What do you guys do when you "just" wash your car?

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Guest84

· #3 · Mar 8, 2002

Ditto Alee's schedule here too. I've actually only waxed it twice since I took delivery Sept. 14th. Its due now, but still beads up water.

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Guest84

· #12 · Mar 8, 2002

Robg, these are my rules to washing(which also avoid water spots)

Never wash in sunlight, find a shaded area.

Use a two-bucket method, 2nd bucket is to rinse the wash mitt.

Don't use TOO much car shampoo, and use hot water to fill the bucket to about 2/3 mark, then swirl the water by hand to make sure the shampoo has time to break up, then give it a shot of cold water from the hose to "Foam" the water up, you should end up with a nice "head" of foam.

Do the finish first, the bumpers and wheels last, try to use a different wash mitt for the finish and the bumpers/wheels (I use 3 as mentioned in another thread)

Turn the wash mitt over after each wipe.

Use linear motions when washing, not circular.

Rinse with a straight hose, let the water "sheet" off the finish, rather than spraying it when rinsing.

Wipe dry ASAP, I actually wipe it dry before beginning on my wheels. I like the CWB and Syn. Chamois.

Use a good detail spray and cotton towels to 'finish', should only take ya about 10 min. and the detail spray I use takes out any water spots.

Water spots are more apparent on finishes that are not or have not been waxed in a while.

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Guest84

· #18 · Mar 8, 2002

Robg:"ACtually, I go back and forth between being extremely obsessive about my car and almost not giving a rats ass."

Time is a big factor with me...as summer progresses, I too will probably be paying less attention to it. In a couple of years I figure if I can just do one big detail job on it each year, with a couple waxes, that'll be good enough for me.

The "hot water- let- the- soap- break- down-then add cold" was suggested by a Griots tech person, so I have no idea if it works or not, I just do it anyway, easy to do.

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