Exterior Hand Washing

[Tonyrodz]

Guys who detail--what's your opinion? Anything he missed or got wrong? I noticed he didn't wash inside the door jambs or the trunk area, he just toweled them down. Also the hydrophobic spray is pretty cool. Never heard of that before.

 

[Bigkevschopshop]

I always wash out the jams etc when doing a full set wash, Maintence wash with low dirt content, sometimes Ill do the quick detail spray in the jams.

Aerospace 303 is my go to for interior trim etc and exterior to keep it protected.

Trick for black plastics to restore without using greasy chemicals etc. Heat gun or hair drier. Will bring back the black real nice, then hit it with 303 and it is protected well and will last.

I will be reviewing a new Graphine From 303 soon for you guys. Supposed to be the latest and greatest.

I was using megiuars ceramic spray for a while and it did ok, just didnt last too long. Super hydrophobic stuff, the graphine is supposed to be the next level on durability etc.

 

[briarpatch]

New member here...at least as far as owning a Yukon....but not new to detailing. There are lots of good trim protectants out there....some short term...some longer term. Trim on the new Yukon has been protected with CQuartz Dlux, as have the wheels. I just used 303 Graphene on it....mostly as a test. Vehicle got a full decon, both mechanical and chemical, which it needed. Had to do some correction in places....some nice dealer installed swirls and some water spots. 303 Graphene is a little oily and stinky, but came off easy enough. Gloss is nice, but slickness just not there. Nice part about 303 Graphene is that it has no cure time, so I was able to top it right away with Ethos Defy.....slickness issue solved. Gonna put some pics in the gallery so I can embed them in posts.

 

[Tonyrodz]

New member here...at least as far as owning a Yukon....but not new to detailing. There are lots of good trim protectants out there....some short term...some longer term. Trim on the new Yukon has been protected with CQuartz Dlux, as have the wheels. I just used 303 Graphene on it....mostly as a test. Vehicle for a full decon, both mechanical and chemical, which it needed. Had to do some correction in places....some nice dealer installed swirls and some water spots. 303 Graphene is a little oily and stinky, but came off easy enough. Gloss is nice, but slickness just not there. Nice part about 303 Graphene is that it has no cure time, so I was able to top it right away with Ethos Defy.....slickness issue solved. Gonna put some pics in the gallery so I can embed them in posts.

You can add any pics to any posts, just hit "Upload a File", and you can pick from any photo that's on your pc or phone.

 

[briarpatch]

You can add any pics to any posts, just hit "Upload a File", and you can pick from any photo that's on your pc or phone.

thank you....here it is

 

[Jason in DLH]

I didn’t watch the video yet, but I will as I find detailing videos very entertaining (much like people in the 90’s found “Friends” entertaining).

Here’s my process (making sure I hit fender liners in initial steps):

1.If the vehicle isn’t too dirty I’ll power wash (I’ve heard you can do harm if it’s nasty dirty in which case a light spray of the hose would be first, then to step 2).
2.spray it down with soap canon, let sit short while.
3.Powerwash
4.Soap canon
5.Depending on how dirty I’ll go two ways here:
A) place a bunch of large microfiber towels in bucket of soapy water. When one gets dirty simply toss it away for laundry later,
or,
B)Use a Chenille wash mitt from Chemical Guys (best mitt I’ve ever had). For both methods always going in gentle straight lines and always removing mitt or towel at end of line. I do top half first and the bottom half last. Rinsing mitt off in clean bucket of water with a grit guard when needed.
6.Powerwash
7.(good to note here that I wash in confines of garage where humidity will reach 90% while washing)

Dry with leaf blower. I tried this once outside in the shade during summer and my blower isn’t powerful enough which allowed for some water spots. And not to mention all the bugs!
8.Pat dry with large, super absorbent microfiber towel
9.Do tires with dedicated brush and fender liners with dedicated microfiber sponge(which have been initially cleaned in first steps and saturating in soap from step 4)
10.Do wheels with dedicated wash mitt(which have been initially cleaned in first steps and saturating in soap from step 4)
11.Gently spray them with hose with a shower wand
12.Dry wheels/tires with leaf blower and pat dry with microfiber
11.My jambs are pretty clean so I’ll come back and use something like Meguiars Waterless Wash and Wax here.

Good to note that I found a great swivel adapter for the powerwasher to make it easier as well as to get the undercarriage in first steps.

12.Sit back and appreciate the job well done.

 

[briarpatch]

I didn’t watch the video yet, but I will as I find detailing videos very entertaining (much like people in the 90’s found “Friends” entertaining).

Here’s my process (making sure I hit fender liners in initial steps):

1.If the vehicle isn’t too dirty I’ll power wash (I’ve heard you can do harm if it’s nasty dirty in which case a light spray of the hose would be first, then to step 2).
2.spray it down with soap canon, let sit short while.
3.Powerwash
4.Soap canon
5.Depending on how dirty I’ll go two ways here:
A) place a bunch of large microfiber towels in bucket of soapy water. When one gets dirty simply toss it away for laundry later,
or,
B)Use a Chenille wash mitt from Chemical Guys (best mitt I’ve ever had). For both methods always going in gentle straight lines and always removing mitt or towel at end of line. I do top half first and the bottom half last. Rinsing mitt off in clean bucket of water with a grit guard when needed.
6.Powerwash
7.(good to note here that I wash in confines of garage where humidity will reach 90% while washing)

Dry with leaf blower. I tried this once outside in the shade during summer and my blower isn’t powerful enough which allowed for some water spots. And not to mention all the bugs!
8.Pat dry with large, super absorbent microfiber towel
9.Do tires with dedicated brush and fender liners with dedicated microfiber sponge(which have been initially cleaned in first steps and saturating in soap from step 4)
10.Do wheels with dedicated wash mitt(which have been initially cleaned in first steps and saturating in soap from step 4)
11.Gently spray them with hose with a shower wand
12.Dry wheels/tires with leaf blower and pat dry with microfiber
11.My jambs are pretty clean so I’ll come back and use something like Meguiars Waterless Wash and Wax here.

Good to note that I found a great swivel adapter for the powerwasher to make it easier as well as to get the undercarriage in first steps.

12.Sit back and appreciate the job well done.

Interesting process. What pressure washer do you use? What is the PSI and GPM of the unit? I use a SunJoe SPX3000 electric pressure washer.....rated at 2300 PSI and 1.76 GPM....both way way overstated. That being said, it has more than enough power to wash a vehicle. As far as sequence of events....I always wash the wheels, tires and wells first, even before I pre-rinse the vehicle. Doing them last, you run the risk of splattering dirt and brake dust onto your freshly washed car. I let go of the 'two bucket' method years ago...instead I use multiple wash mitts much the same way you use multiple microfiber towels. I end up with a lot more laundry to do, but I think it's worth it to mitigate any wash induced swirls on the vehicle.

For your wheels....do you use any type of brushes....like to get in and around the lug nuts....or behind the spokes to the barrels? The SpeedMaster ones, and those similar flexible ones, have a tendency to get crap all over you if you're not careful. I'm guessing your wheels are coated since you did not mention you needed more than soap and water to clean them.

 

[Jason in DLH]

Yeah...I used to wash the wheels/tires/liners first for that reason, but decided to do it last being very careful not to splash up as I don’t want all the dirt and salt flowing down on the wheels after they are clean. I do, however scrub the liners and tires before final rinse and leave wheels for last (Not sure if I messed the order up in initial response).

I just use a wash mitt for the wheels as they are large and can easily get my hand back in the inner barrel (on my wife’s Yukon). For my 17” I don’t even bother with the inner barrel until I rotate the tires.

 

[Jason in DLH]

Good video. Would be nice to have that air compressor spray system with all the different solutions.

One thing I forgot to mention is I always make sure I’m wearing soft clothing with obviously no zippers but also no draw stings or stitched on patches, etc.

I think I’ll be revising my wash mitt method and simply do it how he washes.

 

[Jason in DLH]

Briarpatch...
I use 1600 psi Greenworks electric at 1.2 gal/min. I wonder if your higher pressure SunJoe would be better? I like the Greenworks with no negative thoughts about it.

Seriously though...this little swivel makes the pressure washer way easier to use and highly recommend it...