Silly car washing question

[Feanorcurufinwe]

it's been years since I had a car that seemed worth washing, but now I do again.... what kind of soap do I use?

[trotsky]

1. Plain old liquid dishwashing soap.

Dawn or similar brand. At least that's what the dealer told me when I bought my first Saturn.

Plus if you wash it on your lawn, the soap is good for the grass.

[jmowreader]

5. Your dealer didn't have a car detailing business on the side, did he?

Never, ever use dish soap on a car that's been waxed, unless you want to strip the wax.

Dish soap contains chemicals that dissolve lipids, and wax is a lipid.

Most any car wash soap is fine.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

8. Don't use dishwashing liquid. It'll strip your wax off.

Hours of elbow grease down the driveway.
Use something made for cars and don't use high pressure water.
If you rarely wax your car, dishwashing liquid is fine.

[trotsky]

16. Ah, now it makes sense why the Saturn dealer recommended it.

You don't need to wax the Saturn's dent-resistant side panels. Thus no worries about dishwashing soap!

[redqueen]

2. When I cared... I used Maguire's

I think that's how it's spelled, anyway.

Now, it's self cleaning. When it rains, it's clean! ;)

[Syncronaut Seven]

3. I like to use baby shampoo

If you use detergent (dish or liquid laundry) use only a teaspoon or so. If your car has been waxed detergent will remove the wax.

[radwriter0555]

4. There are a number of good basic car washing liquids out there...

and they're very affordable.

I wash my cars every week cause I don't think the car washers do a good job. I have issues with the streaks they leave along the tops of the windows, and I'd rather not pay $20 a week for 2 cars.

Buy the standard auto wash liquid detergent. Fill the bucket with water before adding the soap or the bubbles fly everywhere.

It helps to have a car washing sponge with a scrubby bit on it for tree sap and bird poop.

Micro-fibre towels are GREAT on the glass.

I wax my black miata every few weeks to hieghten the gloss, but the (silver) Scion doesn't seem to need it.

Wipe dry with thick towels and polish down with thinner ones.

I tend to do it early morning or at dusk, not in the hot sun... It's good exercise and you get to meet your neighbors! I can do both in under an hour.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

9. I have a miata too.

A green 2000 LS.
I'm particular about my car too.

[Dude_CalmDown]

6. Most cheap-o car washes will do fine

As has already been said, don't use dish soap if your car is waxed - too harsh and will strip the wax.

Tricks to a good car wash:

-Don't wash in direct sunlight

-Don't use more soap than is recommended - it won't get your car any cleaner but it can wear down the wax

-Extra soft sponge that never touches the ground

-Wash the wheels/tires/under hood with a different bucket (and obviously diff sponges) so you don't get bits of stones and dirt in the water that you are going to be using on your paint

-Fill the bucket of water/soap to the top so that you can squeeze off all the dirt that ends up on the sponge and allow it enough time to sink to the bottom of the bucket (or place a plastic grid 2 inches from the bottom of the bucket that allows the dirt to sink past the lowest point that the sponge can reach)

-Rinse thoroughly before washing - the more dirt that comes off a car before a sponge touches it, the less dirt that will be scratched into the paint as you push the sponge across it

-Rinse well after washing

-Squeegee or use the California Car Blade to wipe off water after final rinse

-Use ultra soft towels to dry

The car wash solution is such a small part of a great car wash. The best thing to do is clean the car, then put on a great wax like McGuire’s (not the lazy spray as you dry stuff). Once the car is waxed properly just maintain it with very light car washes using as little soap as you can get away with.

[radwriter0555]

10. Oddly I get a great deal of satisfaction from washing my car, especially

the miata... she looks so nice all clean and so shiny. I know I do a better job and pay attention to the inside of the doors, the trunk edge and so on. And I only spend about 1/2 a week on it.

I can't stand driving a dirty car. It's like (I) spent hard earned money on a nice little car, and then let it get all dirty and nasty? I think it's a sign of self-respect.

Like shoes. Wearing nasty, dirty all broken down shoes means you don't pay attention to things.

[Dude_CalmDown]

15. I'm pretty pathetic myself when it comes to babying my car

I only wish I cared so much about perfection in everything else I do.

[radwriter0555]

11. Oddly I get a great deal of satisfaction from washing my car, especially

the miata... she looks so nice all clean and so shiny. I know I do a better job and pay attention to the inside of the doors, the trunk edge and so on. And I only spend about 1/2 a week on it.

I can't stand driving a dirty car. It's like (I) spent hard earned money on a nice little car, and then let it get all dirty and nasty? I think it's a sign of self-respect.

Like shoes. Wearing nasty, dirty all broken down shoes means you don't pay attention to things.

[BlueJazz]

7. One word of advice (My body shop Friend is here)

Drinking my drink and eatin' my food..Anyway:

He wants to tell you that when you wash your car ALWAYS rinse it well, first, before you wash it. A lot of folks just start with the soap and start rubbing..Bad, Bad idea.

The outer sand and grit acts like sandpaper on your finish unless rinsed first. You can see the fine scratch marks on even new cars when the owners have failed to rinse the auto first.

(He says that he sometimes has a hard time matching the finish on even new cars because the #$%$# owners wash their car like their sanding a old piece of furniture.)

Makes sense to me!

[IronLionZion]

12. go to a do it yourself car wash

you can usually do the job for about $2.50 and find one that recycles the water.

[Bombero1956]

14. I agree with Dude to a point

I wash the car following those instructions but rewash the car a second time. I ensures that you've not missed anywhere on the car.

[Kathleen04]

13. I use..

one of those Mr. Clean car sprayer things. You wet the car, then spray it with the soap spray and then rinse with this mist sprayer. Something about the mist is supposed to make it so you don't have to dry the whole car.