Anyway to not have the Car Shampoo dry on every Wash?

[Joshman3382]

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. 

Edited March 11, 2014 by Joshman3382

[DaveVY]

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

[camaro2ssblack]

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.

[Joshman3382]

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. 

Edited March 11, 2014 by Joshman3382

[DaveVY]

You might also think about using one of those pop-up tents -- just be sure you don't have any breeze that might blow it into the car.

 

I have seriously considered one of the pop-ups but am now happy with the rinse less product.

[2quikta]

I thought one of the sells with the shampoo was that if it dries it doesn't leave spots? I remember in one of the vids Adam even says to let it dry, don't rinse it off until done as the soap is ph balanced or something.

[camaro2ssblack]

I thought one of the sells with the shampoo was that if it dries it doesn't leave spots? I remember in one of the vids Adam even says to let it dry, don't rinse it off until done as the soap is ph balanced or something.

It's the hard water you have to worry about.

[Gen9Rolla]

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

[mc2hill]

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  

[Feets31]

If my soap starts to fade before I am done I hit with more soap foam.  You might try a little more soap int he bucket. 

[Joshman3382]

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. 

[Timmy8784]

As long as you have a good amount of suds when you are washing, it's ok.

 

Even with hard water, the shampoo is ph balanced and neutralizes the hard water so it's safe to let the soap dry on the car.

 

If you have the right amount of soap, it should leave almost a filmy dry spot, this is safe. Once you are finished washing the whole car, rinse it completely, shoot it with a thin coat of detail spray and dry away!

 

I'm in Phoenix btw

[Hot_Wheel]

Wouldn't a water softener help in this situation?  I've had shampoo dry on the car with no spotting, as we have softer water in the SF Bay Area.

[redneck08sierra]

 

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  

 

I 2nd this approach.  Living in north Texas, shade is hard to come and i can't let my truck cool down b/c it doesn't fit in the garage.  I am at the mercy of the weather.  After i washed the first time and the shampoo has probably dried to the paint, I'll rinse off this layer b/c there is some residual dirt still there.  I usually have some soap left in the foam gun, I'll refoam the car, get a new mitt and wash the truck quickly just to get the dried shampoo off.  This may take a few minutes to do.  Once done, pool rinse and dry as quickly as I can as I don't want the water to dry as it can etch the paint.  I do spray the truck down in detail spray before i dry which helps

[Beemer]

I usually re-foam the car half-way thru the wash process.

 

Also - I've been know to get up before dawn to wash the car.  Wife thinks I'm nuts.

[redneck08sierra]

Also - I've been know to get up before dawn to wash the car.  Wife thinks I'm nuts.

i see nothing wrong with that!  women just don't get it and your neighbors probably don't either, ha!

[Beemer]

i see nothing wrong with that!  women just don't get it and your neighbors probably don't either, ha!

 

Wife is still sleeping and the neighbors all left hours ago for hunting/fishing. I'm a bit of an oddball 'round here.

[Ricky Bobby]

I would use 1 oz. of Rinseless in the soap bucket/foam gun as a water softener as I think your problem is extremely hard water.

[Chewy]

Black cars are EVIL!!  They need washed more often to look good and then they make it difficult to do so.  I used to have the SAME problem.  I solved it by selling my black G8 and buying a silver one.  lol  

 

The ideas above are pretty sound.  I just make sure I keep the car wet, but with black, it HAS to be out of the sun and cool or you're fighting an uphill battle.  

 

Perhaps you can look into a hard water filter designed for car cleaning.  You can find them at Amazon, and Costco used to sell them too. 

 

Chris

[scootertrash19]

Joshua, I also have the same issues, I think it is mostly due to hard water, Adams is working on a filter system, hope it is out soon. I think adding more soap & waterless wash helps. I will also try what was previously mentioned about re-foaming half way thru.

[jbjones85]

I have a black SUV and have found the only way for me is to do it in 5 "steps"  roof/hood, drivers side, pass side, rear, front. otherwise I it dries out before I am done.

[Adam]

Great input here friends!  Joshua, be sure to wash the cool sides of the car first, in the shade.  Also, before you rinse the soap, start the car, and get it ready to pull in the garage to dry.  Then, after you rinse the shady sides first, mist the car with Detail Spray.

 

Detail Spray keeps spots from happening!

 

Keep us posted on your progress!

[Chris@Adams]

DS is your best friend to keep down on water spots!

[Joshman3382]

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!

[DaytonaJae]

When I must wash in the sun, I put 1 oz. of Rinseless Wash concentrate in with the Car Shampoo mixture in my soap bucket.

 

I have seen that it softens the hard water a bit and allows the dried on soap mixture to rinse off cleaner.  If there are still spots that have dried on which do not rinse off, follow up with either Detail Spray or Waterless Wash or "Rinseless-Wash-Diluted-to-Waterless-Wash-in-a-spray-bottle" and a waffle weave towel.

[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!