all of the above is fine....

the only reason why us loony cleaners go to such extremes in washing and cleaning the cars is to avoid the dreaded swirl marks, hazing and general bodywork marks that come from 'normal' cleaning.

If you lot are happy with that , then fine

 

Think you`d be suprised to be honest-if someone came up to me somewhere looking in the shine for any really really fine swirls an said "here ya are look found one" i`d be like what a loser.

Can understand extremes for showcars an trust me i look after mine but think u gotta draw the line somewhere an say ur avin a laugh aint ya on a car for everyday use.

By the way what marks or hazing with normal washing ???

 

all come from sponges, dirty water, chamois etc

 

Microfibre sponge is a deep pile sponge if ya like so theres less chance,bucket wise no grit guard as likes already been mentioned unless your wiping the bottom of the bucket pointless,chamois gets rinsed regular when leathering off,even with a drying towell if theres grit/muck been blown on the car an ya dont spot it ya gonna mark it.

As for using snowfoam i`d wash the car well before it got into the state where dirt/debris on the paintwork became that much of a problem that required its use,not convinced alot of the time that it isnt stripping more wax off than a regular wash either so is actually creating more work still.

 

I'm just in the middle of a bit of a car cleaning extravaganza myself just washed it (2 bucket method of course ) Dried it with a microfibre, Clayed it, washed it again (2 bucket method) and dried it again, also cleaned the wheels and fitted some mudflaps finally which i've had sitting around for the last 4 months. Now i'm just waitimg for it to cool down so i can apply a couple of coats of collanite wax. Pictures will go up later if it's light enough to take some.

 

I've just shamelessly nicked this pic from Clark's thread about his WR1. I think it proves a point, suds bucket on the right, rinse on the left.



Bob, very happy with his two buckets

 

I dunno mate, with the money I invested and spent on the car, I like to treat it properly, and that includes washing it right tbh, im not saying your method aint right, becaus eits your car, you can do what you want, but using a good method to wash is a good habit to pick up in my view.

 

why would I make it up

 

Each to there own I guess. Shelling out a few quid for a second bucket is, in my opinion, the single biggest thing most people could do to improve their car care routines... the second is swapping the sponge for a wash mitt. Granted larger bits of grit and sand will drop to the bottom of the bucket, but what about all the fine silt that is suspended in the water, turning it brown (see the above piccie). You really want to be transferring that back onto your paint and rubbing it around? Whereas a year or two back most folk thought swirls were normal, these days it seems to me that a lot of folk now judge other people's car's by the condition of the paint as much as the wheels they have or the power they output, etc. In addition, resale values are already being affected by paint condition now, and this trend is set to continue. So, a few quid on getting the basics right seems very worthwhile to me.

 

Quick picture of my days work, the lights not the best and the picture doesn't show off my mudflaps either, but it's took me all day to clean the beast and to be honest the picture doesn't do it justice, plus it's now covered in dust due to me driving it there to take this pic

 

Can understand that on a high value motor but on something like a scooby really wont affect the value much(its more about mileage than anything)-from the appearance may make it easier to sell however even without going to extremes with the washing think its easy to make cars look great,neither me nor any of me mates use/used any special method of washing though all use good car shampoo,good quality polish/wax.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...y/d7c7cc9d.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../Phot-0029.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...0/S7000414.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...0sx/11_lee.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...0supra/ls7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...i/626ae214.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0034.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0031.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0016.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...0101RS0020.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/5cc761ee.jpg

Would it be that noticeable,i dont think so really,did the runabout the other day with some liquid wax(£15.99)-its looked after anyway but this does have swirls in however to the eye or if you came to buy it would the appearance of the paint put ya off(other than it being on a micra )

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0065.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0064.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0062.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0061.jpg

I just cant warrant being that ott can understand clay/polish/sealant glaze/wax , but gritguards/2bucket/snowfoam,im just trying to be objective as to be honest think a few ppl believe them to be necessities-in my opinion its not the case.

 

Hmm, I don't know, I just got well over 4k for my six year old 1.6S Leon with over 90k on the clock, purely because of the condition of the bodywork (and tasteful mods!). This was around £1000 over the best book price, so happy days! I accept that foaming isn't essential provided proper care is taken, but the two bucket method is just plain common sense... and only costs a fiver!

 

Think you needed to add on a old Scooby 99p for a 2nd bucket And have you ever used a foam gun???

 

Mate trust me if i thought it were worth it i`d do it but as polished bliss has admitted above its not really necessary(dont take this too literally-there will be steps polished bliss would recommend instead) so why would i try foam i havent got a problem that`d cause me to need it,if youre happy with the system youre using why change(goes for anyone using it or not imo)if someone could give me definate pics of the terrible condition your car gets in through not using snowfoam/2bucket method thats visible without a halogen lamp or being really close up under direct light and im not talking cars that are took through car washes every wk-cars that are washed by hand-then who knows could be reason enough to change.

This kind of finish below is perfectly adequate for me without the aggro

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0017.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0068.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1today0015.jpg

just makes me laugh when ppl go on about it like your cars going to look terrible if ya dont use said methods,my point is its just not the case-theyre definately not essential pieces of kit.

Respect polished bliss always and thanks for not getting into a petty arguement over it(as i were probably expecting it) i just think sometimes detailing the professional way on something like a ferrarri/porsche/lambo is beyond what some ppl are prepared to put time aside for or be bothered with or just literally have the cash to fund when in actual fact very simular results can be got quite cheaply/easily.

 

If a cars in good shape then basic washing might be enough to keep it that way, I inherited a bit of a run down example which after using some good products brought it back upto scratch.

My point is, if you've always looked after the bodywork and paint then its likely to look good regardless, IMO.

I spend about 2-4 hours on cleaning it up, thats on the bodywork, not the inside or underneath/arches etc. More than some, not as long as others, I also have a black/mica...which show every defect possible if its in **** state, my old silver bug, I could get away with washing it less because it looked good regardless, some colours are more forgiving than others, black is one example of a dog, but looks a million dollars when all polished and buffed.

I do this more out of looking after the car and something to do that I enjoy, its all geared towards when or if I get rid of the car, I know that a well kept immaculate example would impress me if I came to buy something.

 

Getting to the stage now though where no matter what condition ya scoobys in youre gonna have a job shifting it when its time to sell due to petrol prices/car tax an the fact theres usually around 1500 at any one time for sale on pistonheads,but accept your point.

 

Your not wrong there mate tbh

 

No worries Dave, good discussions are always worth having, and valuable points have been raised from both sides of the fence. Your contributions to the section are always interesting and impartial, and thus much appreciated.