Washing Strategies

[hayaku]

Originally Posted by Steved

Hey that sounds pretty modest to me, you must have taken the 'blue' pill

I tend to do the following:

- firstly wash the wheels ( I usually remove the wheels and use a good non-caustic wheel cleaner to remove brake dust, then I wash them, then I use a tar remover to clean remove tar and rubber marks inside and out, then I wax the wheels using wheel wax)
- soak the X5 with clean water for 5 minutes to loosen surface dirt
- then wash the car using a good car wash solution like Zymol's Auto Wash
- start at the front of the X5 removing bugs and road grime, then wash the roof and then the rear and finally the sides
- once it's washed I rinse with a liquid wax called 'ultra wax' diluted in water and sprayed on
- then dry with 2-3 clean cotton towels
- once dry, I tend to clay bar the rear of the X5 (including the rear window) which picks up tar very easily, I don't clay the whole car unless I can feel that it needs it
- then I use Zaino Z-2 and polish the bodywork
- I use a good quality chrome polish on the tailpipes
- then I apply wax (usually Zymol Titanium) and finish off with a microfibre towel
- the final touch is to use a liquid tyre detailer on the matt black portions of the bumper and wheel arches

I use a combination of bucket and hose, never use a chamois, use either a sheepskin mit or sponge (depending on which are of the car), polish/wax every 1-2 weeks, wash every week... oh and I've got four other cars to do as well...

It usually takes me between 1-2 hours depending on whether I can get the kids the help

you polish every 1-2 weeks? got any clearcoat left? polish is not the same as wax... polish means to rub down the swirls, cuts, scratches in the clearcoat to remove them (like fine sanding).

My routine is pretty standard and inline with what professional detailers use. I use a porter cable random orbit polisher for most things and a full porter cable polisher for the hard spots that i don't have the time for. My first detail on the M5 took 20 hours of polish by machine to remove every last imperfection... can't be done by hand alone...

I left the gory details on how to wash and what to use out. Chemicals and technique can become sort of religion and i rather not go there. Lets just say I don't use zaino nor terry cloth because it doesn't meet my requirements...

[Snorider156]

wow...that pdf is great!!!!

[IFlyX5]

Hayaku - That's one beautiful black M5!
What do you usually use to polish out the swirls and spiderwebs?

[hayaku]

Originally Posted by IFlyX5

Hayaku - That's one beautiful black M5!
What do you usually use to polish out the swirls and spiderwebs?

thanks... it took a hella long time to do...

i used 1z (einszitt) polishes with a porter cable random orbit polisher and various pads (about 5 different pads)... step process... agressive to almost pure wax polish. I also use a halogen lamp 12-18 inches away from the paint to search for imperfections to buff out.

i went to crevier to pick up some parts one day and parked in their lot. I hadn't wash the car for about 6 days and you know how dirty black cars get in 30 mins after they were just cleaned. anyhow, when i came back out to my car, there were 3 sales people and about 6 different customers standing around my car asking each other if it was for sale and why my car looked better then the just freshly waxed and delivered black z4 and 3 series parked 5 feet away from it... i just about dropped to the floor laughing... they said: "man thats a clean shiny car, looks better then those new cars". I replied "nah.. thats really dirty, seriously.. it needs a wash badly"

once the paint is that clear, you can tell if people leaned on it, their jackets/whatever brushes against it, etc... black is the best teacher as every flaw is shown out in the open and very obvious.

[Steved]

Originally Posted by hayaku

you polish every 1-2 weeks? got any clearcoat left? polish is not the same as wax... polish means to rub down the swirls, cuts, scratches in the clearcoat to remove them (like fine sanding).

My routine is pretty standard and inline with what professional detailers use. I use a porter cable random orbit polisher for most things and a full porter cable polisher for the hard spots that i don't have the time for. My first detail on the M5 took 20 hours of polish by machine to remove every last imperfection... can't be done by hand alone...

I left the gory details on how to wash and what to use out. Chemicals and technique can become sort of religion and i rather not go there. Lets just say I don't use zaino nor terry cloth because it doesn't meet my requirements...

I use polish to achieve a clean base before waxing but I'm not interested in polishing to achieve perfection (life really is too short). Also as you know not all polishes are the same, I only use low abrasive polishes and even then only very lightly.

What interests me and probably most people is attaining a shiny car that looks at least as good as new, is easy to clean and doesn't degenerate (i.e. look old and tired) over time.

People often ask questions such as how do I stop my wheels getting stained by brake dust? or how do I get rid of bug marks on my paintwork? For me it all comes down to regular preventative maintenance. And particularly for a car such as the X5 I like to keep it in a waxed condition that means I can wash it in 15 minutes if I have to.

[chefwong]

Just some more tidbit I didn't see mentioned but like Hayaku mentioned, it's all subjective

The key to keeping your car great after polishing is a high quality car wash / clean wash mitts & drying towels/technique. It's the *lubricity* of a good car wash for me. While ALOT of griots stuff is overpriced, their car wash is really a good value for the gallon. It used to be $30 a gallon but due to their vendor material pricing going up, it's up to $40 a gallon. It's not the suds that count but the lubricity. I've been known to use the lead blower to dry the car to avoid any micro marring.


Besides keeping the car clean, a waxed car get's us out of speeding tickets. Don't belive me - Click HERE for the proof

[LeMansX5]

I want to Zaino my X5 soon and want to know what is the routine for that.
Do you just use Zaino Z-2 and Zaino clay bar in hayaku's instructions or any other Zaino products from Zaino store I need to Zaino the X5.

[chefwong]

I would do the following for Zaino -

Dawn Wash
Don't dry car - leave it wet and then clay the car with the water still on
Regular Car Wash
Polish
Z2 Pro with ZFX
Z6
Z2 Pro
Use whatever remaining Z2P/ZFX solution that is left on the wheels.

LeMan's ....where you at. There is a Brooklyn Zaino dealer in BayRidge. No shipping charges + same prices as the website.

[LeMansX5]

Thanks. I am in CT / Westchester, NY area. Do you have their address contact info? I will pick it up on my next trip to that area.