After reading the title of this article you may be wondering as to why we thought about discussing such a juvenile topic? You’d be surprised to know that even as of the date of publishing this article, many vehicle owners still do not wash or clean their vehicles as per the recommended ‘vehicle washing methods’ and use unconventional methods that are not recommended by professional detailers. Through this article, we aim to assist vehicle owners by informing them about the ‘best industry practices’ that will help them avert paint damage, swirl marks and scratches caused by a seemingly harmless ‘car wash’.

Prep

To start your vehicle wash, you’d require 2 WaveX Wash Buckets, 2 WaveX Grit Guards, 1 WaveX Washing Sponge, a couple of the WaveX 40 x 40 cm 350 gsm Microfiber Towels, a WaveX Foam Cannon (in case of foam wash), WaveX Wonder Wash Shampoo (for bucket wash), WaveX Foam Wash Shampoo or Coloured Foam Shampoos (for foam cannons), a WaveX Tyre and Wheel Cleaner Concentrate, a wash mitt, a tyre and wheel cleaning brush and a pressure washer or an average hose pipe connected to a tap with a good water flow.

Execution

Before you actually begin, you need to thoroughly rinse your vehicle using a pressure washer or an average hose pipe. The reason why this is done is because it ensures that any pre existing dust or dirt becomes loose. The recommended method for doing this is an a ‘downward direction’ starting from the top of the vehicle (exterior roof) to the bottom (wheels). This ensures that you seamlessly get the job done and that the loose dust and dirt seeps down to the ground from the vehicle’s top to the bottom.

We bet you didn’t know this but the first step is cleaning the vehicle’s tyres and not its body and for that, you’d require the WaveX Tyre and Wheel Cleaning Concentrate. To use this product, dilute it in a 1:15 ratio with water in either a washing bucket or container and stir the solution till it foams. Dip a tyre cleaning brush into the solution and apply it to the vehicle’s tyres, wheels and its crevices (using a detailing brush). Once you’ve thoroughly scrubbed the entire surface, rinse the tyre using a pressure washer. This tyre cleaning solution can also be used in a foam cannon in the exact same ratio as mentioned above.

Upon thoroughly cleaning your vehicle’s tyres, take the WaveX Wash buckets and fill both of them with water. Place the WaveX Grit Guards inside the buckets and in one of the buckets, add 40- 50 ml of the WaveX Wonder Wash Shampoo and stir the shampoo solution till it foams. Dip a good quality wash mitt into the shampoo solution and apply it to your vehicle’s exterior surfaces. Before dipping it back into the shampoo solution, you must first dip it into the second bucket filled with water. This prevents cross contamination and reduces the chance of unwanted swirl marks or scratches. An important point to remember before cleaning your vehicle’s body is to first park your vehicle in a shaded area that is away from the direct rays of the sun. Doing so ensures that the shampoo solution you are applying doesn’t dry up quickly and mar your vehicle’s paint. 

Similar to the aforementioned method, first begin from the top i.e. the roof and then gradually make your way downwards. Use a detailing brush for exteriors areas/ surfaces that are hard to reach.

If you are not a fan of the traditional ‘hands on washing approach’ of the wash bucket method then you can opt for the ‘Foam Cannon/ Pressure Washing’ method. For this, you’d require a pressure washer that exceeds 200 bar pressure capacity and the WaveX Foam Cannon. You need to dilute either the WaveX Foam Wash Shampoo or the WaveX Coloured Foam Shampoos in a 1:9 ratio and spray it onto your vehicle’s exterior surfaces and allow it to slowly seep down the vehicle’s surface. This allows it to take down any dust or dirt particles in its path moreover, it loosens rigid dirt and grime enabling the pressure washer/ hose pipe to completely clean your car or bike.

Using the foam cannon ensures that you get a ‘touchless washing experience’ as this is one method that doesn’t require a hands on conventional approach.

Once you’ve washed your car or bike, you need to immediately dry it. We’ve seen a lot of vehicle owners who simply leave their vehicles to naturally dry. This is another wrong practice as it leaves your vehicle’s surfaces with unwanted hard water spots and worse- corrosion/ rusting on metal components. Use a premium quality microfiber cloth like the WaveX 350 gsm Microfiber Cloth. For quickly and effectively drying your vehicle, you can take the assistance of a rinse aid such as the WaveX Hybrid X. For using a rinse aid, you need to spray it directly onto to the wet surface of your vehicle and wipe it using a microfiber cloth. Rinse aids consist of water repellant properties. This is the reason why most professional detailers prefer drying vehicles using this auto detailing product furthermore, using rinse aids ensures that your drying towels don’t become overly wet.

We hope that from now on you will incorporate the steps explained above and clean/ maintain your vehicle like a pro.