I start the wash with 2 buckets. One has a mixture of a polymer soap, the other is clean water. Both buckets have grit guards. I wash 2 MINIs almost every wash, so the soap bucket has about 2 1/2 gallons of soap in it. The rinse has 4-5 gallons. I spray the cleanest MINI down with water, soaking all surfaces. Then I use a HIGH QUALITY wash mitt, starting with the roof/glass. Then the bonnet, sides from front to back, then the boot. This order is from least to most dirty, most of the time. I rinse each section as I go, so wash roof, rinse roof, wash bonnet, rinse bonnet... I then spray with Hydro, every wash, and blot/wipe dry. Then I do the same with the next MINI, changing water/soap if their more than dusty. I use up/down strokes on vertical surfaces, front to back on horizontal surfaces, both washing and drying. Then I wash wheels, wipe down door jambs, hatch, bonnet, leaky bits. Takes me less than an hour to do a Cooper, and a Clubman. Mark
2 gallons in the soapy bucket, 3-4 gallons in the rinse bucket, maybe 1/2 gallon to pre-soak, then a gallon to rinse. Looks like I use about 6-7 gallons a week to wash 2 MINIs. I spill more beer a day Mark
I will post some pics after bath time later today. Oh, can you post a link to the beer thread please:arf: Mark
One of the things I read on a post was to use different wash mitts for different parts of the car. Currently using a nice wool Detailers Paradise for 'horizontal surfaces', a fairly new MF one for vertical ones and a chenille one for the wheels and wheel arches/skirts to keep the brake dust and heavy duty schmutz away from the other areas. Use them in that order. Over the top? perhaps.......
I use 2 mitts. My Black lambs wool, for paint, glass. Then an old MF one for wheels, wheel wells. Mark
I do about the same... nice to have diff sponges and buckets. Also the best thing I started doing is using my little 1hp elec air compressor/tank to blow all the water out of the grilles, marker lights, arches, scoop, fogs, and lug holes.
A day late, but here are pics from washing yesterday. Last wash was a week ago, motored through rain a couple of days. Wash buckets are standing-by Spraying off loose crud, nozzle is set at stun, not bore holes in sheet metal Washing with lambs wool mitt When rinsing the nozzle is set so water flows gently, so it sheets off. I rinse each section as I finish washing it Product placement:arf: I mist on very little Hydro Blot drying with waffle weave towel Then wipe with Monster Fluffy Done Takes me about 20 minutes to do a wash on 1 MINI Mark
Taken out of context with the rest of the images I thought the image above was rock in an ice covered pond... Yeah...I need more coffee
Finally got the stuff to wash my MINI the way the good detailers do it. Pressure washer, foam cannon, Meguiar's Hyper-Wash and a Belgian waffle MF drying towel. OctaneGuy at Show Car Detailing showed some of us West Coast MINI types the correct way to do it awhile back. Does it ever work slick and it's fun, too. I could actually see the dirt running out of the seams as the suds flowed off. The only time I touched the paint was with the drying towel. About 10 more washes and I'll have covered the cost of the equipment, LOL!
I keep telling you all, that it can be bought at your local Tack Shop and it comes with it own dispenser. :yesnod: Jim