How do you clean your FR? (or any other car for that matter)

[sunny2k2000]

Two bucket method...

Some interesting opinions guys!

Am a wrong in saying that the two bucket method is as my orginal post?
Can someone confirm this?

My orginal post I also mentioned interior products.
Any recommended products peeps...


KR

Sunny

 

[robdf2]

Some interesting opinions guys!

Am a wrong in saying that the two bucket method is as my orginal post?
Can someone confirm this?

My orginal post I also mentioned interior products.
Any recommended products peeps...


KR

Sunny

your 2 bucket method is correct , 1 bucket of cold or warm plain water , rinse in here before putting your cleaning cloth / mit in the soapy stuff.

interior i use apc , does the job great.

 

[n_d_fox]

+1

2 bucket method is 1 shampoo, 1 rinse water for the wash mitt.

i use megs APC for the interior. AG Fast Glass for the windows (obviously) and if really needed CG's Fabric Cleaner.

My weekly regime is

Rinse with karcher including arches and wheels.
Clean wheels using Megs wheel brightener, EZ detail wheel brush. small detail brush, hard brush for tyres and MF mitt for finishing off.
SnowFoam car with ValetPro PH Neutral foam mixed with a blob of CG's Maxi Suds II - this is left to dwell while i fill the wash buckets - approx 5-10 minutes.
Pressure rinse.
Wash with 2bm using DoDo Juice BTBM (although i have been trying a sample of SN shampoo recently) - using lambs wool mitts, 1 for the top portion of the car and a 2nd for the bottom 1/4 of the sides and bumpers.
Pressure Rinse
Open hose rinse - this sheets the water off much better.
Dry with DoDo Juice SN drying towel

Then, once every 3 months i will apply a layer of wax - this has been DoDo Juice RubbishBoys Juiced Edition but last week i tried a layer of DoDo Juice Purple Haze Pro from a panel pot... this is very very nice stuff... On the weeks that i am not applying a wax i use DoDo Juice Red Mist to finish the car off after the drying stage. This also adds a layer of sealant onto the car. Anything over 3-4 payers of RM is a waste in reality but i love the stuff so dont care !

Once every 6 months or so i will add in a claying stage after the cleaning and after a snowfoam and rinse / dry will machine polish the car using a Megs G220 and whichever compound and pad combination is required. This is then followed with CG's M-Seal and then a wax.

 

[retrogrrl]

For a ‘normal’ wash, I spray the wheels with a weak mix bilberry wheel cleaner, leave for a few mins then brush & rinse. Snow foam with a Nilfisk pressure washer (bargain price in Argos) Valet Pro PH neutral snow foam & a squirt of Chemical Guys Maxi Suds. Leave to dwell while I fill the buckets (2BM) using Chemical Guys Bodywash & Wax. Rinse with the Nilfisk then wash with a lambswool washmitt, I rinse each section after I’ve washed then go over it again if I think it needs it. Rinse thoroughly & dry with a Poorboys Waffle Weave drying towel. Spray with Dodo Juice Red Mist & buff. Glass is AG Fast Glass.
Every 3 months or so, I’ll do a full clean & finish with Poorboys Polish with Sealant applied with a foam applicator & buffed with a microfibre towel then waxed with Collinite 476s using a microfibre pad & buffed with a sonus microfibre towel. After 24 hours I’ll give it a coat of Red Mist & buff.
Interior I use Poorboys Trim Restorer for the dash etc & AG Interior Shampoo if I need to clean the interior.
I clay twice a year, once in the spring & again just before winter when I’ll get a good few layers of wax on for protection.
I bought a DAS-6 Megs kit but I’ve yet to use it, a little bit scared tbh lol. There's loads of products I want to try but I've got so many to use up first

 

[steffers]

This is what i understood the 2 bucket method as.

One you fill with warm water and whatever cleaning product you use, the other is just warm water.You then have two mitts, one for the top half of the car, the other for the bottom.

This is because the bottom half tends to get dirtier, and after a while you will notice the bottom half mitt die quicker. The idea then is to dip your mitt into soapy bucket, wash a section, then rinse it in the other bucket.

At the moment I rinse the car, use the 2 bucket method to clean it, dry off with megs towels, then give it a wax. Every three months the process expands to a clay, paint sealant and a polish.

However i have a shopping list that includes:

Pressure washer
Snow foam lance and foam
Bilberry wheel cleaner
A new Clay
A new polish
A Glaze
A Sealant
A new wax
A couple of brushes for those hard to get areas

 

[wjohnson]

For a ‘normal’ wash, I spray the wheels with a weak mix bilberry wheel cleaner, leave for a few mins then brush & rinse. Snow foam with a Nilfisk pressure washer (bargain price in Argos) Valet Pro PH neutral snow foam & a squirt of Chemical Guys Maxi Suds. Leave to dwell while I fill the buckets (2BM) using Chemical Guys Bodywash & Wax. Rinse with the Nilfisk then wash with a lambswool washmitt, I rinse each section after I’ve washed then go over it again if I think it needs it. Rinse thoroughly & dry with a Poorboys Waffle Weave drying towel. Spray with Dodo Juice Red Mist & buff. Glass is AG Fast Glass.
Every 3 months or so, I’ll do a full clean & finish with Poorboys Polish with Sealant applied with a foam applicator & buffed with a microfibre towel then waxed with Collinite 476s using a microfibre pad & buffed with a sonus microfibre towel. After 24 hours I’ll give it a coat of Red Mist & buff.
Interior I use Poorboys Trim Restorer for the dash etc & AG Interior Shampoo if I need to clean the interior.
I clay twice a year, once in the spring & again just before winter when I’ll get a good few layers of wax on for protection.
I bought a DAS-6 Megs kit but I’ve yet to use it, a little bit scared tbh lol. There's loads of products I want to try but I've got so many to use up first

How do you find the redmist? I love the stuff but it requires the right atmosphering conditions and you have to work fast with it. If you get it wrong you get a pretty awful oily look finish.

 

[robdf2]

This is what i understood the 2 bucket method as.

One you fill with warm water and whatever cleaning product you use, the other is just warm water.You then have two mitts, one for the top half of the car, the other for the bottom.

This is because the bottom half tends to get dirtier, and after a while you will notice the bottom half mitt die quicker. The idea then is to dip your mitt into soapy bucket, wash a section, then rinse it in the other bucket.

At the moment I rinse the car, use the 2 bucket method to clean it, dry off with megs towels, then give it a wax. Every three months the process expands to a clay, paint sealant and a polish.

However i have a shopping list that includes:

Pressure washer
Snow foam lance and foam
Bilberry wheel cleaner
A new Clay
A new polish
A Glaze
A Sealant
A new wax
A couple of brushes for those hard to get areas

Normal 2 bucket method is just 1 mit , but you use a grit guard to capture all the dirt to stop it being mixed with your water.
nothing wrong with using 2 mits but normal version is just the use of 1.

 

[steffers]

Normal 2 bucket method is just 1 mit , but you use a grit guard to capture all the dirt to stop it being mixed with your water.
nothing wrong with using 2 mits but normal version is just the use of 1.

Well thats £15 i could have saved on a mitt = 5 pints down the pub

 

[robdf2]

Well thats £15 i could have saved on a mitt = 5 pints down the pub

at least you have a spare incase you drop one or the other falls to bits

 

[Dan1720v]

I use the 2 bucket method, pressure washing first to get the majority of the **** off. then megs towel, then clay, srp, egp, and uds. all ag stuff. then once a month, i'll clay and PC it.

 

[retrogrrl]

How do you find the redmist? I love the stuff but it requires the right atmosphering conditions and you have to work fast with it. If you get it wrong you get a pretty awful oily look finish.

I love it, I haven't used it before I waxed (after polishing) though I've heard it's good to do so. No problems with it looking oily yet.

 

[n_d_fox]

How do you find the redmist? I love the stuff but it requires the right atmosphering conditions and you have to work fast with it. If you get it wrong you get a pretty awful oily look finish.

Original Red Mist is a bit difficult to use but once you get the hang of it you'll be fine. If it is too windy you can spray the RM onto the MF cloth and apply it that way as well. DoDo Juice also developed a Tropical version of RM which doesnt evaporate as quickly... it was designed for hotter countries but they sell it over here too. It gives you more work time with the product but gives the same results.

They have also recently altered the spay head for RM. The new ones arent as bad in windy conditions and dont clog up as easily.

HTH, Nige

 

[n_d_fox]

Well thats £15 i could have saved on a mitt = 5 pints down the pub

I use 2 buckets with grit guards and 2 mitts as well... one for the upper body panels and the 2nd fot the front and rear bumpers and the bottom 1/4 of the sides. You do find that the mitt used on the lower section and bumpers gets wrecked quicker though.

 

[steffers]

I use 2 buckets with grit guards and 2 mitts as well... one for the upper body panels and the 2nd fot the front and rear bumpers and the bottom 1/4 of the sides. You do find that the mitt used on the lower section and bumpers gets wrecked quicker though.

I was under the impression that 2 mitts was good, it makes sense as the lower panels pick up more dirt. thanks

 

[n_d_fox]

I was under the impression that 2 mitts was good, it makes sense as the lower panels pick up more dirt. thanks

IMO you cant have too many...lol

I current have 3, one MF mitt for the wheels, 2 lambs wool for the bodywork as mentioned above. 1 of which i being binned now because i have just took delivery of a DoDo Juice SN wash mitt aka the short hair wookie

 

[Mashburn]

I use 2 mitts. Lambswool for body work and microfibre for wheels/arches.

 

[robdf2]

I was under the impression that 2 mitts was good, it makes sense as the lower panels pick up more dirt. thanks

you are supposed to prep the car before washing , ie use apc on stuborn areas or snow foam then wash off , that will remove most of the main contaminents , so when you start using your mit you are not grinding dirt into your paint work

 

[steffers]

you are supposed to prep the car before washing , ie use apc on stuborn areas or snow foam then wash off , that will remove most of the main contaminents , so when you start using your mit you are not grinding dirt into your paint work

yeh of course you prep, which is something i already do (waiting to purchase a pressure washer and snowfoam lance), but surely you will find, even with prep, that the lower panels will still have more dirt/contaminents than upper panels.

 

[steffers]

IMO you cant have too many...lol

I current have 3, one MF mitt for the wheels, 2 lambs wool for the bodywork as mentioned above. 1 of which i being binned now because i have just took delivery of a DoDo Juice SN wash mitt aka the short hair wookie

Totally jealous of the wookies fist would love one but other products are taking higher priority at the moment.

 

[robdf2]

yeh of course you prep, which is something i already do (waiting to purchase a pressure washer and snowfoam lance), but surely you will find, even with prep, that the lower panels will still have more dirt/contaminents than upper panels.

not if the prep is done correctly , if you dilute the apc and snow foam correctly it will only leave light soiling on your car which be be just like washing the roof.