Hand Car wash

[jamos316]

Probably a real newbie question but I need advice in how best I can hand wash my new Fabia estate. 

I live in a apartment with the nearest car park 2 minute walk away with no nearby access to a hose or electricity. 

I have watched many YouTube videos showing different methods to hand wash cars but all methods seem to start off with a pressure wash to remove initial dirt which I can't do. 

Even when I've watch videos on the 'waterless' wash it still starts off with pressure wash... Not sure how you can say it's waterless in that case. 

 

I would love some advice. 

Please note I'm not super into cars so I won't be buying lots of detailers and such. But there should be still away to get a nice shine on a car with only spending 30mon-1hr on cleaning. 

 

James 

[Zlin]

Hi, there are a couple of rechargeable low-pressure power washers out there - more aimed at washing down muddy mountain bikes; but they work fine for rinsing off the worst of accumulated dirt on the lower half of a car. Some come with a length of hose and one end of that is submerged into a bucket of water, so you don't need to have a running supply of water where you're using it. (They're not cheap, but they are handy.) I try my best to use one 'good sponge' to wash from the roof down to the bottom of the doors and another sponge to do the sills and wheels - not perfect but it's my attempt at trying to prevent scratching the paintwork. Anyway, enough of me rambling - enjoy your new Fabia estate 

[jamos316]

4 minutes ago, Zlin said:

Hi, there are a couple of rechargeable low-pressure power washers out there - more aimed at washing down muddy mountain bikes; but they work fine for rinsing off the worst of accumulated dirt on the lower half of a car. Some come with a length of hose and one end of that is submerged into a bucket of water, so you don't need to have a running supply of water where you're using it. (They're not cheap, but they are handy.) I try my best to use one 'good sponge' to wash from the roof down to the bottom of the doors and another sponge to do the sills and wheels - not perfect but it's my attempt at trying to prevent scratching the paintwork. Anyway, enough of me rambling - enjoy your new Fabia estate 

 

Thanks for reply. 

 

So are you saying that I have to pressure wash? I can get a few buckets of water from the house to the car park but I don't really want to go back and forth. I was hoping that i could cope with a bucket of water to do a pre Rinse. 

 

I think I maybe over thinking this a little. As I said searching youtube brings up multiple videos showing multiple ways to wash and of course everybody has got strong opinions.

[Zlin]

Hiya, no - you don't have to pressure-wash at all. And yes - you can use a bucket of water as a pre-rinse  Absolutely no problem doing that at all.

[Gizmo]

The reason why people power wash (or at least a hose) is to remove as much dirt before touching the car, dirt that is dragged across the car will cause micro scratches / swirls.

 

Something like the Works HydroShot could be ideal in your case you can usually get them on eBay and Amazon relatively cheaply.

 

Failing that I know some people take a bucket, water and shampoo down to their local jet wash and pay for the cheapest brushless wash, before using your own products on the car.

 

I would even consider using a (recommended) 'Eastern European hand car wash' before dragging dirt over the paint myself, assuming you have them in Sweden?

[pinkpanther]

On 05/05/2019 at 18:22, jamos316 said:

Probably a real newbie question but I need advice in how best I can hand wash my new Fabia estate. 

I live in a apartment with the nearest car park 2 minute walk away with no nearby access to a hose or electricity. 

I have watched many YouTube videos showing different methods to hand wash cars but all methods seem to start off with a pressure wash to remove initial dirt which I can't do. 

Even when I've watch videos on the 'waterless' wash it still starts off with pressure wash... Not sure how you can say it's waterless in that case. 

 

I would love some advice. 

Please note I'm not super into cars so I won't be buying lots of detailers and such. But there should be still away to get a nice shine on a car with only spending 30mon-1hr on cleaning. 

 

James 

Maybe something inexpensive like this: Wash-matik / eBay might allow a pre-wash rinse, followed up by either a traditional bucket and sponge / wash mitt clean and/or a waterless wash product.

 

I've used this Spray on shine / Amazon to good effect, although admittedly only when the car is relatively clean.

[VWD]

On 05/05/2019 at 21:13, Zlin said:

Hiya, no - you don't have to pressure-wash at all. And yes - you can use a bucket of water as a pre-rinse  Absolutely no problem doing that at all.

Sometimes a pressure wash can cause problems, and not only moving dirt to scratch. I have a lower pressure presure washer ( if that makes sense) and one day after washing mine, I turned it on to daughter's car. Great on body as it removed a lot of muck from it, but not so great on numberplate as it played havoc with the numbers/letters.

IMHO- pressure washers are best kept for removing   underbody muck and salt deposits, and a low pressure one for a final rinse, as the fine particles stop runs which dry into streaks. I've tried a prewash with a pressure washer ,and it still leaves a dirt film that only a sponge etc will remove. I find that IMO car wash on wash1 ( costs just less than £3) gives a low cost effective wash.

I've also got a high pressure Karcher, which comes with a warning on using it on car paintwork. Something not highlighted .

[Ash007ks]

re wash - ( found some Demon Shine Snow foam kicking around) Snow foam with lance, Usually use Chemical guys or Dodo Juice snow foam and let soak for 15 minutes, the car was heavily soiled as i made the dealer promise not to wash my car and it had been delivered from Scotland.

 

2 Bucket Method - I was shown this a few years ago whilst at a show and swear by the method. The soap i used was called Iron X , gets rid of the fallout and iron particles to leave the paint smooth. For those that have never used this method, both buckets contain grit guards , one bucket contains your soap and the other contains just clean water make sure to use lambswool mit. Every panel you clean you then dip the mat in the clean water and squeeze. This gets rid of grit and grime to prevent scratches.

 

Clay bar- I usually add this in if I'm not happy with how the panels feel afterwards. Bilt hamber or Megiuars are two that ive used.

 

Polishing - I used an Orbital buffer with varying speeds and Mezerna 400 swirl remover with polish and an Orange Pad. This got rid of the bigger swirls and smaller scratches. 

 

Wax/Sealant- Best stuff ive used in a long time is called FUSSO ( mostly used by the jap show cars owners) The particular ones i used are by Soft 99 and called King of Gloss (Sealant). It has great hydrophobic properties that give nice beading when it rains and generally keeps the car's maintenance washes down within a 3 month period. Ive also found Sonus has really great waxes as well but haven't used it on this occasion.

 

Windows- The water is quite hard where i live so i generally get water marks if I'm not quick enough with the drying towel whilst the car is wet. I use general window cleaner by Astonish to get the grime off and then finish it with Autoglym Glass polish. 

 

Engine bay- I use a foaming spray by a company called Gunk. Foaming spray ive found to be the best for this type of stuff because even when you over shoot your still taking grease off something else. I leave it to soak for 5-10 minutes depending on the grime levels.

 

Tyres- Enduro gel by Megiuars, ive found nothing that lasts anywhere near as long as what this stuff does. Even works great added to outer plastic trims.

 

Alloys-  Auto finesse iron out is my go to for this. Ive tried a few others one being devils breath from Chemical guys ( AVOID ) dreadful product that leaves you putting in more elbow grease than what is required. I then seal these as above.

 

Interior- Carpets/seats I use 1000/1 soap detergent and brush it into the carpets and seats. I leat it sit slightly before further agitation. I then use a wet vac and extract the Nastiness. 

 

Dash- Ive just tested Turtle wax interior shine with air freshener. I have to say for £4.99 its a great product but i have nearly used 3/4 of the car on one go to bring the dash back to life. Tiny scratches on the plastic carbon trim i removed the majority with Autoglym Metal polish. This was a trick i was shown in the motorbike world to clean plastic lenses and screens. A small smidge added to a cloth and buff and then clean off with the cockpit shine.

 

 

Thats my method. 

 

If you don't have access to a pressure washer at home. Go down to a local supermarket with some cleaning products and use their pressure washer and then clean it with your products. Ive seen this a few times. just take sure you move out of the bay once you have finished with the pressure washer as they get a bit upset if not. relatively cheap as well. £2-4 for 10 minutes.

Edited 27 May, 2019 by Ash007ks

[Guest]

I used a method similar to this whilst based in Gibraltar whilst doing my weekly shop in Spain. Fortunately there was a public toilet near the coin operated car wash where I could fill my Wash and Rinse buckets, I just had to remember to bring my specially adapted plastic bottle to fill from the sink;

 

 

 

For filling my buckets I used a method similar to this (go to 50 secs) ;