What's the general concensus on the benefits of washing the car with brush or sponge?
With the dreadful, soft paint finish on modern cars it's important to use the most gentle method. I would prefere to use a brush as it's less likely to rub any dirt into the surface as a sponge could. However, finding a really soft bristle brush is not easy. I'm sure some on the market are a little too stiff and might promote swirl marks. At the moment I tend to use a combination of both, depending on which part of the car it's used on.
Any recommendations for a good, soft wash brush?
JohnD

 

use a soft sponge,well rinsed in clean water,brush on subaru paintwork is just going to scratch!
martin

 

3rd option, use a towel to wash the car with.

 

arent most towels too harsh as well ?
martin

 

Terry towels are the best, from costco of all places.

Dipster

 

For Subaru paint or just in general!

They should be ok, mine are still very soft after about 9 months and 20 ish washes.

 

Another vote for terry towels from costco

PJA

 

i have to say i have not tried towels but could be worth a try,the paint on the sti seems to be much worse than on p1-it has been back for several touch ups and a respray of the fog covers under warrranty
martin

 

Try them, i've found it to be the best way so far and it's easier to get the dirt off than with a sponge. It's also best to use another towel to dry the car with too.

 

Sponges are fine!! They're just made of soft rubber with bubbles in. Your enemy is dust and grit. Just use plenty of clean water, don't rub hard, and leave the wheelarches, wheels and undersides of the trim till last! I always rinse each sponged part of the car with the hosepipe before the shampoo dries, too. Finish off with a proper chamois.

 

On a previous car, I used a brush for a while, but even with the soft bristles, the temptation is there to apply more force than necessary. After a few weeks I noticed swirl marks and lines, so the brush was only used for the wheels after that. On the Subaru I use a new sponge every wash, they are around 99p from places like halfords, even cheaper from pound shops and the like (3 for £1).

 

Using a brush or sponge can trap grit and scratch the paint.
Best option is a lambswool mitt.
7 or 8 quid from halfords.
If you really want to look after your paint, use 2 buckets, one with wash solution, the other with just water...
Wash the car ,then rinse the mitt in clean water, put mitt into wash solution etc.

*****

 

I use sponge to clean, terry cloth to wax.

 

1: Cellulose sponge to do from the roof to half way down the doors.
2: Sponge number 2 can be polyurtethane foam use this in the bottoms of the doors.
3: Sponge number 3 to be used only for sills and wheels.

LOTS OF WATER

 

I use micro fibre cloths, and lots of water... comes up a treat, takes all the little tar spots off every time you wash it!!

 

Use a terry towel wash cloth to wash the car & then put it in the washing machine afterwards with the big bath towel (washed without conditioner) used for drying the car !

That way the towels will be clean & grit free before the next use

NEVER USE A SPONGE OR CHAMOIS on the car ! The sponge holds dirt & grit & gets left in the bottom of the dirty bucket & the chamois is dirty too & usually get hung over the side of the dirty bucket !

Use clean dirty free cloths etc then you wont get the spiders web little scratches on the paintwork !

Decent cloths can be machine washed every time they are used & therefore are clean each time they are used !

 

here is what i do.....rightly or wrongly

1. Jetwash with clean water to remove any loose grit and road film

2. Jetwash with Meguires foam bath, to lubricate paint

3. Wash by hand with Clean sponge, Meguires foam bath

4. Jetwash rinse to remove foam

5. Dry with Clean drying towel

6. Wax

 

Sponge then a chamois leather...

 

2nd vote for lambswool mitt.

And let the car shampoo do the work for you. Don't put pressure on the paintwork scrubbing the dirt off as you wash, this will cause damage also.

Use a quality wax or sealant on the paint and the dirt will wash off much easier too.

 

Here's what I do :

1) Drive to local hand wash place.
2) Sit in car while 4 albanian imigrants wash the car.
3) Drive through the air drying machine.
4) Sit in car while another 4 albanian imigrants dry the car properly, polish windows and dress tyres.
5) Pay them £6.
6) Drive home.

I used to spend a good 4 hours cleaning my Impreza when I had one only for it to get dirty again straight afterwards. I even used to use wax wizard products and get upset everytime I looked at the car in direct sunlight and saw swirl marks in the paint.

I know have much better things to worry about and spend my time on.

 

Soft Terry Towels (small ones from Costco) for my car and a sponge for the wheels.

Tried drying with a towel but it just wasn't absorbant enough for me so had to resort back to the good ol' Chamois.

 

Try a microfibre cloth for drying. They work really well.

 

I just use a couple of towels, does the job 4 me

 

I use the flash carwash kit, no drying necessary with any leathers or towels, thx to the de-ionising filter jobby Comes up better than using a chamois to be honest, and saves on a good hour of drying. Washing/Shampoo with a sponge is fine as long as u rinse off the grit b4hand. Instead of using the flash rinser, I use my own pressure washer for that. Its obviously so much more effective at removing under arch/body crap.

 

An hour of drying?

I can dry a car in five minutes with a small microfibre towel. By the time you wait for a car to air dry I can have it waxed as well.

 

Wax wizzard has recently been found out about where he got his products from...
So called mc2 cleaner formulated by himself and priced at around £25 for 5l, can infact be bought from a janitor website for £5.49 plus vat for 5l.
Its been chemically assayed to be proven its the same stuff too.
For more info see TT forums.

*****

 

I personally prefer to use the breath of 18 year old female Brazilian virgins to gently expel all dirt and muck from my car, saves any messing around with sponges, brushes, towels and other implements that may scratch and leave horrible marks on my car.

Dave

 

Who's up for a group buy on this?
(18 year old Brazilian virgins?? in your dreams mate!)
JohnD

 

Well bully for you If you do it properly with a chamois yeh it takes a while Thats why I bought the flash carwash. I dont see the point of waxing at this time of year anyway, and when I do wax, its only 2 or 3 times a year.