How do you wash and wax your car?

[bogend]

Not sure if you've just got mixed up but you should polish the car before waxing. The polishing bit gives it the shine and the wax helps to protect the shine.

[ARMAN]

i didnt know it eather that you need 2 products - autopliture(dont know if its the right name) and then wax it. I heard Turtle wax is very good. As Bogend said polisher gives the shine and wax covers it and protect it.
There are also coloured polishers made by Sonax that can fully cover the cratches but you have to be careful or you'll mess up the rest of the car :) not sure if you can use them on metalic paint thou.

I wash my car by hand in the box by the gas station it works on coins, so 2 minutes just a quick prewash then washing by hand all the dirt, then 4 minutes of splashing all away and then fixing what I have left :) gotta get some wax and polisher thou :? i even got something like this where you just buy a polishing cover on it and polishing you go :) as I heard you cant get very good results with hand polishing but thats what I have always done sofar 8)

[ARMAN]

what is more enjoyable than cleaning/washing/waxing your car on sunny weekend afternoon for a car nut? i mean except driving it wich is more preferred ofcourse 8)
the only problem that in public car washes thers a line of other carnuts so you have to wait patiently :lol: :?

[sameerrao]

You can say you have done a gone job at car washing and waxing when you car looks significantly better afterward but critically it doesnt look so clean that you dont want to drive it now. :lol:

I am still learning the car wash process and getting better each time.

My technique
1. Park the car where it is not in direct sun - to prevent excessively fast water evaporation
2. Hose down the car from the top to bottom to take out all the dirt. In the case of the Ferrari, I reduce the water flow to a mist like force. Dont want a fire hose on an Italian machine with lots of open panels/slots :)
3. Use a microfiber wash mitt and soap (Meguire's Gold wash formula) down the car - do all the horizontal surfaces first - truck, roof, hood. Then go for the sides of the car which tends to be dirtier and lastly the bumpers and door sills which are the dirtiest bits. Frequently wash the mitt to get rid of the dirt to avoid scratching the paint
4. Rinse the car to remove the soap. Sometimes repeat the soap process if the car is really filthy
5. The last rinse should be with a mist like force to let the water droplets evaporate naturally
6. Take a damp microfiber cloth (it is best to start with a damp cloth to avoid scratching the car) and dry the car. My drying technique is basicaly laying the cloth flat on the paint and dabbing it down to absorb the water and then moving to the next spot. Do not use a rubbing motion. This approach is slower but prevents scratches
7. Use a different cloth for the upper sections of the car and lower section of the car. Frequently check for dirt particles and remove from the cloth
8. Once the car is dry, apply a polish with the appropriate sponge applicator - let it dry to a haze and then rub with a new microfiber cloth
9. Apply the wax (I like Carnauba wax) and repeat step 8.
10. Clean the wheels with a separate cloth.

I think overall I use something like 6 microfiber cloths per car every wash (once a month per car). I am not a fan of the chamois cloth myself. I'd rather buy a set of microfiber cloths than re-use the same chamois piece over and over again.

Basically this is what I have learnt so far from my own mistakes.

[TopGearNL]

I like a dirty car :mrgreen:

Noo, go to a Carwash where you can do it yourself, first a nice bath of foam and then spray it off with water.

I like to use Turtlewax, gives good results. There are better but I like it..