Detailed Washing

The purpose washing of the vehicle is to remove the majority of dirt, and prepare for the application of the polish and wax.

Below are a number of steps to washing your vehicle, not all of the need to be followed, it will all depend on time constraints, and how dirty the vehicle is.

1 Rinse either with a hosepipe, or pressure washer

2 You can rinse the vehicle some form of foaming product, such as Super Snow Foam, applied using either a Foam Lance on a pressure washer, or a foaming device for a hosepipe. This clings to the car, and helps to loosen any dirt which is "stuck" to the bodywork. If you peform this step, it is ideal time to prepare your two buckets described in the next step, allowing the foam to loosen dirt.

3 Next is the "real" wash. It is recommened that you use the two bucket method. This involves using one bucket of water with your choice of shampoo, and another with cold water in order to rinse your wash mitt. The cold water bucket is to rinse the mitt after you have wiped over a panel of the car. This bucket is to remove dirt, and deposits, caught in the mitt, before the next "wipe", as any dirt particules caought in the mitt could lead to scratches in the bodywork.

4 Once the car has been shampoo'd it can be rinsed again to remove any remaining foam and bubbles.

Drying Using either chamois, or drying towel, the excess water can be removed. most detailers advise against the use of blades to remove water as they can easily trap dirt, and cause quick damage to the bodywork.

Hints 1. Start at the top, so dirt is not coming down clean bodywork

2. Don't use a sponge, sponges tend to have flat surfaces, they can trap dirt on their surface, so when you wipe them over the bodywork any trapped grit or dirt could marr, and scratch your bodywork.