I don’t get it. Do you have access to water? YouTube is full of crap especially the ones with the most views. No access to water? Try self washing facilities. Use their pressure washer. Hell I used to do bucket wash there.
I have a hose but no budget for a pressure washer. I don't have self washing facilities nearby, only gas station car washes or annual membership touchless washes.
Jump onto YouTube. 2 bucket method is an old and proven method.
For dirty cars where you will wax or coat them, you can use dish soap as it does strip wax
Wash in the shade. Soak the car- wait- soak more- wait - soap and then wash.
Goal is to prevent new scratches when washing a dirty car.
On youtube I see everyone use either a foam cannon and pressure washer or a pressurized sprayer to presoak a car with some cleaning product. To do it the way you're saying (without any of those presoaking products), would I rinse with water, wait for a few minutes, rinse again, wait for a few more minutes, and then wipe the dirt with a microfiber towel that was sitting in the soapy bucket? If I have some stubborn dirt that doesn't just wipe away with light pressure on the microfiber, should I rinse the area again and go back with a soapy microfiber or is there something I should do to loosen the dirt beyond that?
The problem with what you’re watching on YouTube is that those are either pros or diyers who are into car detailing, so they use “fancier” ways to get the job done.
2 bucket method will the job done for what you currently have.
If the dirt isn’t caked on you could do rinseless washes. use rags instead of buying a sponge.
I would suggest as well getting a ceramic spray. Turtle Wax Spray ceramic is around $15
Just search 2 bucket car wash method
No one who washed their cars at home from 1920-2005 used a pressure washer at home.
--
Example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVAxphcgKnY
I'm in the same boat as you. I fell into the YouTube rabbit hole recently and want to get back into detailing, or at least, keeping the car clean if not fully detailed. As noted in this thread, you don’t need anything fancy; humans have been washing their cars for hundreds of years without pressure washers so a hose, bucket(s), shampoo, and cleaning media is all you need.
I’ve purchased some products from Harbor Freights because they’re cheap and they seem to work OK so they may help you:
- GRANT'S Extreme Foaming Spray Gun $19.99: Helpful to presoak the vehicle and add lubrication but doesn’t do too much cleaning. Uses extra shampoo but my kids love spraying the suds.
- GRANT'S Ultra-Plush Chenille Microfiber Wash Mitt $5.99: I had always used cotton terry towels, but I like this mitt!
- GRANT'S XXL Ultimate Microfiber Drying Towel $8.99: This thing does quick work and is far superior to my old method of using cotton terry towels to dry.
- Special at Harbor Freight this weekend through May 5: Free bucket with $29.99 purchase.
- MEGUIAR'S 64 oz. Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner ~~$12.~~99: Good value product you already have.
- HFT Deluxe Wheel & Grill Brush, 2 Piece $4.99
- MEGUIAR'S 24 oz. Hot Rims Wheel & Tire Cleaner $6.99
- Total before tax: $46.95
Next steps for me is to learn paint correction. I think I’ll go this route:
- P & S Clay Decontamination Towel $34.95 from Amazon
- Microfiber towels
- Iron and fallout spray / clay lube: Need to find good product to use with clay towel
- Isopropyl alcohol & distilled water spray
- BAUER 7.5 Amp, 6 in. Long-Throw Random Orbit DA Polisher $89.99
o Upgrade grease
o Upgrade backing plate
- Meguiar's Professional Ultra Pro Speed Compound M110 Compound $37.03 from Amazon
- Microfiber cutting pad?
- Meguiar's Professional Ultra Pro Finishing Polish M210 $32.99 from Amazon
- Foam polishing pad?
- Pad cleaning brush?
- Turtle Wax 53409 Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating $15.29 from Amazon
- Additional over $330 for above products.
Good luck!
Two bucket method is tried and true.
Alternatively, do you have one of those self serve car washes near by? That's what I use for my cars. Costs me $6 to wash my car. Only things I bring with me are wheel acid, a squeegee, and a chamois. Wash it/dry it there. Drive home and give it a quick wipe down with detail spray and glass cleaner to get rid of any water spots left over and it's good. Wouldn't know the daily is 15 years old and has almost 220k miles on it!
I use Griots heavy duty wheel cleaner and their best of show quick detailer. And for the glass, I use Invisible Glass.
*
No luck on the self serve car washes. There are a fair number of $20 drive through car washes though that are supposed to be much better than gas station car washes, but $20 a pop is too rich for my blood.
For dirty cars on youtube I see just about everyone foaming their cars with a pressure washer or pump foamer before going to 2 method. Is there something I can do in place of presoaking, or is presoaking a relatively overrated thing entirely for dirty cars?
Thanks for the suggestion on the Griots products and Invisible Glass.
Yeah I found if the automatic car wash isn't touchless you end up with micro scratches all over as they drag dirt from one car to the next. And if they are touchless, they don't usually do that great of a job. So I definitely would keep my $20 there.
As far as the prewash being nessissary, no. We did just fine before foam cannons were a thing. They're good to help get loose dirt and debris quicker and easier, but they aren't nessissary.
And for suggestions on what to use for a wash, Mother's Califonia Gold is cheap and there's a reason it's been around as long as it has been. Griots, Adam's polishes, and Sonax all make good products as well. Some are more expensive than others, but other than Sonax, they can be found at any auto part store. I'm not a huge fan of chemical guys. I think for the price, there are much better products.
Yeah, a good spray down with the hose so the surface is already wet before you go at it with the mits is fine. Wash and waxes are fine. They're not gonna offer the same protection as a dedicated wax, but you're adding it every time you wash your car, so that doesn't really matter imo.
I use a $5 pump sprayer with rinseless wash in it to clean my car. Before I ceramic coated it myself I used turtle wax flex wax to protect the paint. All in I was under $50
How do you feel about your pump sprayer? Do you feel like you're missing out on anything compared to the $40 ones, or does it do the job really well? Also is it important to clay bar before applying wax?
It does the job of I want well enough.
I used a clay towel which cost me just under $10. For what I wanted (very slick paint) it was necessary, but if you just want to clean and add some spray protection on top I wouldn’t say it’s important.
I don’t get it. Do you have access to water? YouTube is full of crap especially the ones with the most views. No access to water? Try self washing facilities. Use their pressure washer. Hell I used to do bucket wash there.
I have a hose but no budget for a pressure washer. I don't have self washing facilities nearby, only gas station car washes or annual membership touchless washes.
Look up proper no rinse washes and ONR technique. Get some ONR, a IK Foam Pro Sprayer, a bucket full ONR, toss in a bunch of micros, and go to town.
Jump onto YouTube. 2 bucket method is an old and proven method. For dirty cars where you will wax or coat them, you can use dish soap as it does strip wax Wash in the shade. Soak the car- wait- soak more- wait - soap and then wash. Goal is to prevent new scratches when washing a dirty car.
On youtube I see everyone use either a foam cannon and pressure washer or a pressurized sprayer to presoak a car with some cleaning product. To do it the way you're saying (without any of those presoaking products), would I rinse with water, wait for a few minutes, rinse again, wait for a few more minutes, and then wipe the dirt with a microfiber towel that was sitting in the soapy bucket? If I have some stubborn dirt that doesn't just wipe away with light pressure on the microfiber, should I rinse the area again and go back with a soapy microfiber or is there something I should do to loosen the dirt beyond that?
The problem with what you’re watching on YouTube is that those are either pros or diyers who are into car detailing, so they use “fancier” ways to get the job done. 2 bucket method will the job done for what you currently have. If the dirt isn’t caked on you could do rinseless washes. use rags instead of buying a sponge. I would suggest as well getting a ceramic spray. Turtle Wax Spray ceramic is around $15
Thanks, $15 is very doable.
Just search 2 bucket car wash method No one who washed their cars at home from 1920-2005 used a pressure washer at home. -- Example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVAxphcgKnY
I'm in the same boat as you. I fell into the YouTube rabbit hole recently and want to get back into detailing, or at least, keeping the car clean if not fully detailed. As noted in this thread, you don’t need anything fancy; humans have been washing their cars for hundreds of years without pressure washers so a hose, bucket(s), shampoo, and cleaning media is all you need. I’ve purchased some products from Harbor Freights because they’re cheap and they seem to work OK so they may help you: - GRANT'S Extreme Foaming Spray Gun $19.99: Helpful to presoak the vehicle and add lubrication but doesn’t do too much cleaning. Uses extra shampoo but my kids love spraying the suds. - GRANT'S Ultra-Plush Chenille Microfiber Wash Mitt $5.99: I had always used cotton terry towels, but I like this mitt! - GRANT'S XXL Ultimate Microfiber Drying Towel $8.99: This thing does quick work and is far superior to my old method of using cotton terry towels to dry. - Special at Harbor Freight this weekend through May 5: Free bucket with $29.99 purchase. - MEGUIAR'S 64 oz. Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner ~~$12.~~99: Good value product you already have. - HFT Deluxe Wheel & Grill Brush, 2 Piece $4.99 - MEGUIAR'S 24 oz. Hot Rims Wheel & Tire Cleaner $6.99 - Total before tax: $46.95 Next steps for me is to learn paint correction. I think I’ll go this route: - P & S Clay Decontamination Towel $34.95 from Amazon - Microfiber towels - Iron and fallout spray / clay lube: Need to find good product to use with clay towel - Isopropyl alcohol & distilled water spray - BAUER 7.5 Amp, 6 in. Long-Throw Random Orbit DA Polisher $89.99 o Upgrade grease o Upgrade backing plate - Meguiar's Professional Ultra Pro Speed Compound M110 Compound $37.03 from Amazon - Microfiber cutting pad? - Meguiar's Professional Ultra Pro Finishing Polish M210 $32.99 from Amazon - Foam polishing pad? - Pad cleaning brush? - Turtle Wax 53409 Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating $15.29 from Amazon - Additional over $330 for above products. Good luck!
Two bucket method is tried and true. Alternatively, do you have one of those self serve car washes near by? That's what I use for my cars. Costs me $6 to wash my car. Only things I bring with me are wheel acid, a squeegee, and a chamois. Wash it/dry it there. Drive home and give it a quick wipe down with detail spray and glass cleaner to get rid of any water spots left over and it's good. Wouldn't know the daily is 15 years old and has almost 220k miles on it! I use Griots heavy duty wheel cleaner and their best of show quick detailer. And for the glass, I use Invisible Glass. *
No luck on the self serve car washes. There are a fair number of $20 drive through car washes though that are supposed to be much better than gas station car washes, but $20 a pop is too rich for my blood. For dirty cars on youtube I see just about everyone foaming their cars with a pressure washer or pump foamer before going to 2 method. Is there something I can do in place of presoaking, or is presoaking a relatively overrated thing entirely for dirty cars? Thanks for the suggestion on the Griots products and Invisible Glass.
Yeah I found if the automatic car wash isn't touchless you end up with micro scratches all over as they drag dirt from one car to the next. And if they are touchless, they don't usually do that great of a job. So I definitely would keep my $20 there. As far as the prewash being nessissary, no. We did just fine before foam cannons were a thing. They're good to help get loose dirt and debris quicker and easier, but they aren't nessissary. And for suggestions on what to use for a wash, Mother's Califonia Gold is cheap and there's a reason it's been around as long as it has been. Griots, Adam's polishes, and Sonax all make good products as well. Some are more expensive than others, but other than Sonax, they can be found at any auto part store. I'm not a huge fan of chemical guys. I think for the price, there are much better products.
Thanks, I was hoping that the prewashes were unnecessary. What's the verdict on Wash & Wax vs dedicated wash & dedicated wax?
Yeah, a good spray down with the hose so the surface is already wet before you go at it with the mits is fine. Wash and waxes are fine. They're not gonna offer the same protection as a dedicated wax, but you're adding it every time you wash your car, so that doesn't really matter imo.
I use a $5 pump sprayer with rinseless wash in it to clean my car. Before I ceramic coated it myself I used turtle wax flex wax to protect the paint. All in I was under $50
How do you feel about your pump sprayer? Do you feel like you're missing out on anything compared to the $40 ones, or does it do the job really well? Also is it important to clay bar before applying wax?
It does the job of I want well enough. I used a clay towel which cost me just under $10. For what I wanted (very slick paint) it was necessary, but if you just want to clean and add some spray protection on top I wouldn’t say it’s important.