Thought

The gloss coat finishes on our cars though resilient aren't invulnerable. When originally applied they form a beautiful gloss finish as pretty as a smile on a young child's face, as well as a protective shield to the paint and metal surface below.

Originally the finish is flawless, like that of a baby's behind. But after some time it will look like mine. Waawwh.. know that can be nasty. Sorry.....I just can't help myself.

It's not only the sun & smog that hurts the finish, it's that damn dirt. But more than just the dirt it's the process of removing it that can cause the most damage. Think about it, if the dirt isn't corrosive than all it's doing is just sitting there.......right. When we try to scrape and chisel it off..... that's when the damage to the finish is being done. And that is what we do every time we wash our car without thinking.

If you use brute force to remove the dirt, your slowly removing the finish one scratch at time. The trick is to baby the dirt so it gives in and decides to leave the finish of your car.

The Actual Process

To begin, start circling your car and apply a shower of water to your vehicle starting at the top to the front and rear to the sides and wheels. This should take you approximately one minute, let it alone and proceed to fill the pail with detergent and water. Upon filling the pail return to the car and shower it again changing to stream to loosen mud on side panels of car. Again approximately one minute to circle the car.

What your trying to accomplish is to soften and loosen the dirt's adhesion to the cars finish. As the dirt absorbs moisture it begins to swell and loosen it's hold on the finish. If you were to start immediately to sponge or wash the car you would be picking up dirt and literally rubbing it into the surface finish of your car, creating scratches.

Start at the top of your car, apply wash liquid with what was absorbed by the brush or sponge rubbing gently in a forward and backward strokes in line with the length of the car, whenever possible. Decide and create your own coverage pattern as you go along. upon completion, rinse but not to thoroughly, why, the tougher dirt may still remain and the longer it absorbs wash liquid the better are it's chances at being removed more easily when the touch up stage of washing is completed, that's why if there appears to be some dirt remaining just continue washing the remainder of the car until you get to the touch up phase.

After completing the top proceed to the windshield front and hood, then to the rear windshield and rear panel. Then go to the side windows to side panels, front to rear repeat for other side of car. Save the lower side panels and the curved edges that face down for the last sections to clean. They are generally the dirtiest areas and will contaminate you wash water quickly.

As you complete each section remember to rinse briefly. As you start each section remember to dip and acquire fresh cleaning liquid and apply liberally. before each dip into the bucket, check the brush for dirt. If you see dirt on the brush, rinse it briefly with the hose before you dip it back into the bucket. This will keep wash water cleaner and stronger and keep you from returning dirt to your car where it has a chance to scratch the finish.

Once all areas have been washed thoroughly rinse your car.

Depending on the size of your vehicle the above mention wash process should of taken you approximately 10 minutes.

Touch Up

You will notice your car beginning to dry on the sides, your may notice that in some areas there is a certain dullness to the finish, this is dirt that had more time to get attached to your car. The amount of areas that need to be touched up is relative to how long before the last time you washed your car and just how much dirt and what kind was deposited on the car.

This is the time to pickup the wash rag and go over these areas. Apply only enough pressure to the rag as needed, to get the area clean. Be aware that some areas may be tar or a stain of some type and that excessive pressure can only do more harm than good, and that a specialized cleaner may be necessary. Follow the same start and finish sequence and rinse again. Just wash the duller areas, not the whole car. Here also remember, if the rag has dirt on it, rinse the rag before returning it to the wash bucket.When you have completed the touch up sequence rinse the car thoroughly. Normally the touch up phase should have taken you about 3 minutes.

Besides initial preparation the total time to wash your car should have taken 14 minutes, more if your car was really dirty or had some road deposits where a specialized cleaner would have been necessary.

Okay, so you just completed the final rinse, now you have to decide: A. whether to let it dry by itself, ignoring the water spots that will form, B. possibly get in your car and proceed to drive to the nearest roadway and accelerate to the highest speed allowed by law to blow the water away from the surface of your car or C. click on the link below.

Drying Your Vehicle
Faster than A or B

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By the way, my name is Nick, you can email me by clicking this => Mail