Washing Strategies

[The Big Easy]

Hi there Guys and Gals

Quick question, how do ya all care for the exterior of the X5? Wash with hose vs bucket, sponge or chamois, shampoo or conditioner , polish how often ?

Cheers,

[hayaku]

how insane do you wanna get? or better question, how much work are you willing to do?

[The Big Easy]

Come on, divuldge your secrets!

[PersonaNonGrata]

Originally Posted by The Big Easy

Come on, divuldge your secrets!

You'd better be prepared! Hayaku is an insane detailer. Wax on, wax off. He has forgotten more than I'll ever know about detailing. I'm a basic rinse, wash, rinse, synthetic chamois, maybe clay bar once in a while, wax with an random orbital polisher. He goes beyond and into paint rejevunation and swirl removal.

Ask and you shall learn. The world of car detailing is a Pandora's Box of insanity. Check out this treatise. It's by a guy who has won many a first place in concours competition with his Boxster S. It's geared towards winning competitions and Boxsters in particular but you can see just how crazy people can get. There are some good links at the end too.

Concours 101

[The Big Easy]

Cheers Kevin, good reference but insanely detailed! A good read though.

[x5Monkey®]

Guys, I moved this thread over to the main x5 Forum, merely because I thought it might get some more action over there and might be helpful, at a later date, when someone does a search of the main board for detailing info.
Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

[SANguru]

of course we hate you! you un-evil moderator!!

Originally Posted by x5Monkey®

Guys, I moved this thread over to the main x5 Forum, merely because I thought it might get some more action over there and might be helpful, at a later date, when someone does a search of the main board for detailing info.
Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

[hayaku]

Do you want to take the blue pill or the red pill?

here's the short version and there's no secret to it at all:

First time/baseline
- wash the car with dawn dishwashing soap to remove all waxes
- sandwich bag test the car and clay it.. clay everything!
- wash with car shampoo and sheet the water off
- dry with microfiber
- polish out swirls, scratches
- seal it/wax it
- quick detail it
+++ depending on how perfect you want it, you can take 4 to 24 hours worth of work.

Maintenance
- wash car with car shampoo and sheet the water off
- dry with microfiber
- inspect for swirls/scratches/imperfections and address if neccessary
- top with wax if neccessary
- quick detail it if neccessary
+++ this takes me about 1 hour to wash the car, and 30 mins of inspection and topping off the wax, etc.

You will also need quality tools and chemicals to do this right.

now the next question is: are you willing to put in the effort...

[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

[iceman72]

Wow, there needs to be a set of college classes for washing the correct way. The pdf file is INSAIN! That guy talks about prepping weeks and weeks before and still working on the day of the contest. Now thats HARDCORE!

I wish I had the time and I wish it would last. My luck, when ever I get a nice wash and wax it rains.