Over the years we’ve seen many mistakes in detailers washing and drying methods. Here are some of the common mistakes and solutions on how to better your process.
- Using Dawn (or another dish detergent) as their automotive shampoo. Washing with Dawn will strip off any protection you may have on your paint, so using a detergent on a regular basis leaves you with no protection from you coat(s) of sealant and/or wax. Using a dish detergent on a regular basis can also dry out your trim, which can accelerate fading and cracking. Solution: Use a quality automotive shampoo that has gentle cleaners the help maximize the durability of your sealant or wax, such as Poorboy’s World Super Slick & Suds shampoo.
- Using a bath towel to dry your paint. Big mistake! Most bath towels are cotton or terry cloth, which can easily add swirls and other imperfections in your paint. The washing and drying process is where a majority swirls and other imperfections stem from. Here’s a side by side comparison of a neglected side of a van and one that’s been properly polished.
Using improper drying towels can easily cause these imperfections that take away from the finish of your vehicle and take hours to properly correct. Solution: Invest in quality paint safe drying towels. The best ones we’ve found are our Microfiber Waffle Weave Towels. Our towels are very absorbent, tagless, silk edging and a textured waffle pattern that helps pull contamination away from the surface. - Washing with a traditional sponge or a kitchen sponge. Traditional wash sponges push dirt and other contamination around on the surface, which can easily create swirls and other imperfections in your paint (as shown in the picture above). Solution: Use a paint safe wash alternative, such as a sheepskin wash mitt. The sheepskin fibers do an excellent job releasing contamination from the surface without pushing it around on your paint, minimizing adding imperfections.
- Washing in direct sunlight. Washing in direct sunlight can cause water spotting on your paint, which ultimately take away from the finish of your vehicle. As water evaporates, it often leaves behind calcium and other minerals behind. Solution: Wash in the shade, as the sun is rising or just as the sun is setting. If washing in the shade is not an option, rinse as frequently as possible and work in small sections. Ideally, to minimize adding water spots to your finish, invest in a water de-ionizer such as the CRSpotless system.
- Using a water blade to dry your paint. Nothing screams adding imperfections more than unnecessary friction on your paint. While it may seem like your saving time by drying your vehicle with a water blade, you’ll pay for it in the end as you’ll need to spend hours polishing away the marring, swirls and scratches created from using a water blade after each wash. Solution: Utilize the sheeting method prior to drying your paint and dry with a quality, paint safe waffle weave drying towel.
- Not utilizing the sheeting method prior to drying your paint. One of the least favorite parts of the auto detailing process for many detailers is drying their paint. One thing you can do to save time and minimize adding imperfections to you paint is to utilize the sheeting method. After you have rinsed off your vehicle for the final time, remove your spray nozzle from your hose. Use free flowing water to flood the surface of the vehicle from the top down. The flooding creates a “sheeting” effect that will self dry the vehicle. Start from the top of the vehicle and move left to right with the hose. On the way back, right to left, lower the hose to the point where the water is falling and proceed to “catch” the falling water from your initial pass. Continue this method until you reach the bottom of the car. If you have a fresh coat of sealant or wax, this should leave you with 80% or more of the water removed from your vehicle without ever putting a towel to it.
- Washing your wheels & tires with the same mitt as your paint. Your wheels and tires are often the most contaminated parts of your vehicle. To minimize adding imperfections to your paint, you want to avoid using the same mitt on your wheels and tires as you would your paint. Solution: We recommend using at least 2 quality wash mitts when you wash your vehicle.
- Wearing clothing and jewelry that can damage your paint. This is one of the easiest ways to damage your paint. Think about it, as you lean over your vehicle to clean the roof of your vehicle, your belt, rivet, jewelry, watches and more can easily damage your paint. Before going into any detail, you should be aware of the types of clothes and jewelry you have on. We recommend wearing clothes with elastic waste bands and avoid wearing jewelry.
- Using 1 wash bucket. Using 1 bucket to wash your vehicle can often lead to adding swirls, scratches and other imperfections to your paint. As you clean off an area and dunk your mitt into the bucket to rinse off and get more suds, you’re putting the dirt and grime you just removed from your paint right into your bucket of shampoo. When you put the mitt back onto the paint, chances are you’re mitt will still be contaminated and you’ll be adding swirls and other imperfections to your finish. Solution: Use a 2 bucket wash system. Fill 1 bucket with clean water and utilize this as your rinse bucket. The second bucket filled with suds. After cleaning a panel, before you dunk your mitts back into the suds, rinse it off in your rinse bucket to release contamination and help prevent from putting it back onto the paint. Ideally, add a Grit Guard bucket insert to the bottom of your rinse bucket to glide your mitt across and help trap dirt and contamination on the bottom.
- Using pressure to remove contamination. This is possibly the biggest mistake I see detailers make. DO NOT USE pressure to remove dirt and contamination! This is one of the easiest ways to add swirl marks and fine scratches in your paint. You should use minimal pressure with your wash mitt and just glide the mitt across the paint. The automotive shampoo you are using should be doing the cleaning work. If contamination still remains on your paint after a gentle glide, consider treating it with a pre-wash degreaser or utilizing a clay bar to remove it after your wash.
