Joshman3382

Finally got around to washing the car again. I used a hybrid of the suggestions in this thread. Here is what I did:

Two bucket washed in the AM when it was still cool with shampoo and an ounce of rinseless

Didn't wash the wheels first which prevented higher paint surface temps.

Washed shady sides first and misted with detail spray

Washed sunny side last

After washing the entire car rewashed the car again only rinsing the pad after each side of car

Pulled car into garage and dried with Great Whites and waterless wash towels.

Wheels were washed with waterless wash because they weren't that dirty.

This seemed to work. I still had to wash fast which is something I don't like to do because I have to have less attention to detail. Hopefully the water hose filter will be released soon to help with the hard water as well. After all this I spent two days in the garage with the flex, PC with 4 inch pads, and the two step polishes. All I can say is WOW. After everything was corrected I then used liquid paint sealant, brilliant glaze, and Americana. It looks better than the first day we drove it home! Now comes the hard part of keeping it this way!

I want one!!!!

Thanks all.

Lots of good information and new processes to try. I will make another attempt this weekend and report back with the results. Guess its time to buy another gallon of the detail spray!

Well that's bad news. I thought they worked great too. 

I hang mine in the garage using a hanger that has spring clips on it.

Have you thought about venturing into the world of rinseless washes? If your cars are garaged, rinseless sounds like the perfect solution. You could wash in your garage, or do a panel at a time in the driveway and this would help stop your issue of the water/soap drying on the paint

I have done a few Rinseless washes and it works great as long as the car isn't too dirty which is fine for the Z06, but not so much for the DD. Sometimes I want to do a two bucket wash just because I enjoy it or because the car is too dirty for Rinseless. 

 

When I do a regular 2 bucket wash in the warmer weather, I use this tip from Chris05GTO.  

 

• do the regular wash, and leave the shampoo on the car
• when you finish the car, clean the wash mitt on the Grit Guard again and reload it with shampoo
• rewash the car with the reloaded mitt.  You may need to refoam the mitt to complete the car
• You can do this quickly as the car is already clean, you are really just reactivating the soap
• "Pool" rinse the car, and dry as usual  

 

This sounds like a great Idea. I will give it a try as well. 

I store mine in plastic containers as well. Dave has a good point though if you live in a high humility area. 

I am not in the southwest but am in central Florida.

 

Here is what works for me:

- never wash in the sun

- car needs to have been in the shade for hours ahead of time so it isn't hot

- when the paint is warm be sure to keep rinsing to keep it wet

- use the new rinse less product in the shade in the garage, water restrictions are making this a great new product

Thanks Dave.

Both cars are garaged so they are always cool to the touch before a wash. The problem is that unless I wash at night there isn't anyway to avoid some sun exposure because of the position of my driveway. I think that is half of my problem. The other half being that it is so dry out here. I can wash my car and the driveway will be completely dry in less than an hour. 

You must have very hard water or wash very slow or both. Always wash the shady side of the car first before even putting water on the sunny side.

I do have hard water, but I wouldn't say I'm slow. The car shampoo will dry on my finish in less than five minutes. I'll try breaking up the wash like you said doing the shady side first and see if that helps. 

Is anybody in the Southwest able to wash the entire car before rinsing and NOT have the Car Wash Shampoo dry and have some water spots as well? Here is the process I'm using: 

1. Rinse the entire car clearing the large debris and anything that can be removed with a good rinse.

2. Foam the entire car with a Gilmore foam gun.

3. Using a two bucket wash, wash the upper two thirds with one mitt and the bottom third with another mitt.(Once I finish the entire car, the first panel I washed is now dry and I also have some hard water spots) 

4. Thoroughly rinse the car and pull into the garage.

5. Dry with Great White/Master Blaster. 

I find that I am trying to go as fast as I can in the wash process so the shampoo will not dry and I end up missing some spots that I have to go back over with Waterless Wash only to find out the shampoo has dried anyway. I also have hard water where I live so I end up getting water spots as well.

I have tried to wash in the morning and in the evening with the same result. I am thinking about going back to my old method of washing one panel at a time and keeping the car wet until ready to dry. Any suggestions? Also both of my cars are Black so I know that doesn't help ether. 

Nicely done Chris!

You should get good microfiber towels. Don't go cheap with the towels or you will damage your paint even further.

Found a use for the extra PVC I have left over from putting in sprinklers.

I just bought a flex last week. Now I wish I would have waited.

Don't add too much or it will make it runny.

Looks awesome!!! How do you pull into your driveway without scraping the front end?

I like that the blues are borderless, but I already have quite a few of anther boderless towel. The silvers filled a gap for me. 

. 

I ordered a few as well, I was hoping they might stay around so I could order more though. I agree with you all that its not looking good for them to come back. Too bad because I really liked these towels. Maybe someone from the Adam's team can chime in to let us know for sure.   

Does anyone know if the Silver Supreme towels will come back? I know it was a test run to see if they would stick around, but after seeing them on sale for two for five dollars I'm thinking we won't see them anymore. I think it is a great towel that fills the gap with a nap that is longer than a waffle weave but shorter than a single or double soft.

It seems that many of the southern states are having water restrictions. Here in the Tampa area we are only allowed to use water outdoors one day a week (irrigation of lawns and car washing). Don't have to worry about keeping the water off the street but if we wash our cars or water the lawn on a day that isn't our designated day we can face some pretty severe fines.

 

These water restrictions are severely hindering my therapy time on weekends (since my "water" day is thursday).

 

Trying to be patient and wait for Adams to come out with a "no-rinse" type of product, as I don't want to divert my $ to another company that has this. The southern warm states are really needing this type of product!!

While I wait... I either risk getting a fine or pre-empting my normal schedule to wash the cars on thursday night with all the mosquitos!

Albuquerque doesn't have watering day restrictions. I looked on the Water Authority web page and sent an email asking for clarification. Apparently I can use as much water as I want as long as it doesn't leave my property. I can use water in the heat of the day. I'm not sure how mobile detailers are getting away with this.

 

Something like this would work, or you could even adapt it to make a diverter that will redirect water into your lawn of course.

I think my driveway is too steep for this, otherwise this would be awesome.

Ok, so you need something to divert the water to the landscaping then before it reaches the street.

 

 

These are used to hold down a pool cover. You might be able to fill them with water and lay them across the driveway and divert the water to the lawn!! Drain them after each use, they are super compact when empty!!

These might work. I just have to make sure I don't have any leakage that will make it to the street. I found out that there is a number my neighbors can call to report waste water, so I suspect I'm being watched pretty close. I'm not sure about draining it to the landscape though. The wife might have something to say about that if the flowers and plants die.

I live in Albuquerque NM, because its a desert, we are always in a drought according to the water authority. I don't agree with their logic, but as long as I contain the water it isn't considered wasting it and I won't be in violation. Washing on the lawn isn't an option because of the landscaping between the driveway and the yard.

I'm not sure if this is the right forum. Sorry if its in the wrong spot.

So I was washing the car this last weekend and was given a warning by the water authority for wasting water. According to them any water that has left private property and is running into a public area is considered wasting water. I was told that as long as I contained all water on my property I couldn't be sited.

My question is: Do any of you have to contain your wash water? If so, how do you do it? Are you using a car wash mat?

Thanks

Just checking to see if there is an ETA on these. I have seen them out of stock for quite some time now.