Evolvd
Well-known member
Oh man, this subject can be long and expensive or short and cheap.
I have a dedicated wash setup in my garage and probably more money in chemicals and wash tools than people most spend on a years worth of gas tank fill-ups lol.
So, cheap and easy method…find a touchless car wash and buy a monthly pass. Easy peasy.
But, if you’re a detail oriented person and like putting your hands to work I’m a firm believer in the pressure washer, deionizer, leaf blower, and ceramic coat. It all starts with the chemicals you use. No matter how you apply them, if you have crap chems you’ll have a crap experience.
That being said, I don’t buy any products from chain stores or auto stores. Yes, there is some good stuff you can find amongst all the over-hyped trash (cough… Chemical Guys). If you’re budgeting I’d stick to Griots Garage and a few of the high-range Turtle Wax stuff. If you don’t mind splitting a little more then it’s time to shop online or at dedicated detail shops.
Equipment is next in the line of essential tools. Let’s just be honest, hose water pressure just sucks. Yes it can fill buckets fast but otherwise the hose is only good for feeding your pressure washer. You don’t have to go expensive to find a decent one. Ryobi has a dedicated auto PW that is so popular it sells out fast at Home Depot. CarsWithKeav on YouTube is a big fan of that model. Pair it with a quality 50 foot Uberfex hose and the appropriate orifice tips and you’ll be well on your way.
Next up is foam cannon. You don’t need to spend 80-100 on a cannon. The Amazon Raincovo is well reviewed and can be found for $30-40. Again, orifice size matters so do some research to find out which one you need with the pressure washer you’re pairing it with. Again CarsWithKeav has done all the research here.
Towels. Unless your car is ceramic coated, towel drying will always be faster than leaf blowing. And I’m a huge user of Ego blowers. But an uncoated surface does not let the water bead up and slide off the paint and just drags along the surface. This is where you can cause water spots to appear as the blower evaporates the water before its friction bond is broken with the paint. Ceramic spray sealants can help prevent this as well but that’s a whole other discussion on spray sealants vs toppers vs coatings. If you don’t intend to add a good hydrophobic protection layer on your paint then I’d suggest a large microfiber towel in the 1000-1500 GSM range. (GSM is grams per square meter, or how much water it can hold).
Two Bucket method. Do you need to do this? The answer is maybe. It depends on how often you wash, and how dirty the car is. Since you live in a very dusty environment I would always recommend the two bucket method if you want to reduce the likelihood of scratching your paint. Wash one panel at a time with clean soapy water and then rinse your microfiber wash pad:mitt in the rinse bucket. Wring it out and then dunk back into the suds…rinse and repeat until done. If you go with a pressure washer then you could easily go to a single bucket if your foam spray removes the majority of the dirt and grime.
There’s so much more to cover here that fingers would go numb typing it. If you have specific questions let me know I can give you honest answers or point you to the right YouTuber who can explain it better than me.
Here’s my wash bay setup. I’ve been doing this a little while lol.
I have a dedicated wash setup in my garage and probably more money in chemicals and wash tools than people most spend on a years worth of gas tank fill-ups lol.
So, cheap and easy method…find a touchless car wash and buy a monthly pass. Easy peasy.
But, if you’re a detail oriented person and like putting your hands to work I’m a firm believer in the pressure washer, deionizer, leaf blower, and ceramic coat. It all starts with the chemicals you use. No matter how you apply them, if you have crap chems you’ll have a crap experience.
That being said, I don’t buy any products from chain stores or auto stores. Yes, there is some good stuff you can find amongst all the over-hyped trash (cough… Chemical Guys). If you’re budgeting I’d stick to Griots Garage and a few of the high-range Turtle Wax stuff. If you don’t mind splitting a little more then it’s time to shop online or at dedicated detail shops.
Equipment is next in the line of essential tools. Let’s just be honest, hose water pressure just sucks. Yes it can fill buckets fast but otherwise the hose is only good for feeding your pressure washer. You don’t have to go expensive to find a decent one. Ryobi has a dedicated auto PW that is so popular it sells out fast at Home Depot. CarsWithKeav on YouTube is a big fan of that model. Pair it with a quality 50 foot Uberfex hose and the appropriate orifice tips and you’ll be well on your way.
Next up is foam cannon. You don’t need to spend 80-100 on a cannon. The Amazon Raincovo is well reviewed and can be found for $30-40. Again, orifice size matters so do some research to find out which one you need with the pressure washer you’re pairing it with. Again CarsWithKeav has done all the research here.
Towels. Unless your car is ceramic coated, towel drying will always be faster than leaf blowing. And I’m a huge user of Ego blowers. But an uncoated surface does not let the water bead up and slide off the paint and just drags along the surface. This is where you can cause water spots to appear as the blower evaporates the water before its friction bond is broken with the paint. Ceramic spray sealants can help prevent this as well but that’s a whole other discussion on spray sealants vs toppers vs coatings. If you don’t intend to add a good hydrophobic protection layer on your paint then I’d suggest a large microfiber towel in the 1000-1500 GSM range. (GSM is grams per square meter, or how much water it can hold).
Two Bucket method. Do you need to do this? The answer is maybe. It depends on how often you wash, and how dirty the car is. Since you live in a very dusty environment I would always recommend the two bucket method if you want to reduce the likelihood of scratching your paint. Wash one panel at a time with clean soapy water and then rinse your microfiber wash pad:mitt in the rinse bucket. Wring it out and then dunk back into the suds…rinse and repeat until done. If you go with a pressure washer then you could easily go to a single bucket if your foam spray removes the majority of the dirt and grime.
There’s so much more to cover here that fingers would go numb typing it. If you have specific questions let me know I can give you honest answers or point you to the right YouTuber who can explain it better than me.
Here’s my wash bay setup. I’ve been doing this a little while lol.
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