What to wash with?

[Ty Webb]

Any suggestions on sponges, etc. to wash the car with?

[jjs]

Originally Posted by Ty Webb

Any suggestions on sponges, etc. to wash the car with?

Have you used 'SEARCH'?? There have been many, many threads on detailing products, techniques, etc.

[jeffp]

In addition to a "search", take a look at www.autopia.com , has lots of good (IMO) info. Bought some stuff them, very pleased.

[joey]

I bought a few of these and they work great for washing the car.
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/mft-app-2.html

[Rambit]

Originally Posted by joey

I bought a few of these and they work great for washing the car.
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/mft-app-2.html

What material is that? A few years ago I went on the McGuires web site. There's a lot of recommendations there including what type of cloths to use. I've always owned black vehicles that show every scratch. It seams to me they recommended a deep pile such as that to trap dirt particles inside so they won't scratch. I definately wouldn't be using a sponge though. I used to use diapers because I figured if they're soft enough for a baby's ass, they should be OK for a paint surface.
I'm pretty anal when it comes to washing my trucks. It used to take me 3 hours to wash & dry them. I now use the Mr. Clean system. My son bought it for me and I was very leary about it especially on a black truck till I tried it. It now takes me 45 minutes and the glass, chrome Weston side steps, rims and paint have no watermarks at all. Waterspots are caused by the mineral deposits in the water that are left behind. The secret to this is using filtered water that goes through a Pur filter. The whole kit costs about $30 CDN and I swear by it. They say you can get about 10 washes per soap & filter for that. I can only get 3-4 because it being a truck of course. The only odd thing is that if it rains the water doesn't bead the first little while. I don't know if it's because of the polymyre(?sp) soap, but when rincing with filtered water, it's supposed to sheet off instead of bead up. They sell refills of both and together cost about $20 CDN. You might think that sounds a little expensive but where I live a touchless car wash (Ultra) costs $12 and during the winter I'm there 2-3 times a week.

Just my opinion. Opinions are like AS*HOLES, everybody's got one!

Rambit

[rmedina]

Originally Posted by Rambit

What material is that? A few years ago I went on the McGuires web site. There's a lot of recommendations there including what type of cloths to use. I've always owned black vehicles that show every scratch. It seams to me they recommended a deep pile such as that to trap dirt particles inside so they won't scratch. I definately wouldn't be using a sponge though. I used to use diapers because I figured if they're soft enough for a baby's ass, they should be OK for a paint surface.
I'm pretty anal when it comes to washing my trucks. It used to take me 3 hours to wash & dry them. I now use the Mr. Clean system. My son bought it for me and I was very leary about it especially on a black truck till I tried it. It now takes me 45 minutes and the glass, chrome Weston side steps, rims and paint have no watermarks at all. Waterspots are caused by the mineral deposits in the water that are left behind. The secret to this is using filtered water that goes through a Pur filter. The whole kit costs about $30 CDN and I swear by it. They say you can get about 10 washes per soap & filter for that. I can only get 3-4 because it being a truck of course. The only odd thing is that if it rains the water doesn't bead the first little while. I don't know if it's because of the polymyre(?sp) soap, but when rincing with filtered water, it's supposed to sheet off instead of bead up. They sell refills of both and together cost about $20 CDN. You might think that sounds a little expensive but where I live a touchless car wash (Ultra) costs $12 and during the winter I'm there 2-3 times a week.

Just my opinion. Opinions are like AS*HOLES, everybody's got one!

Rambit

I'm with you.. I have yet to dry my car by hand. This system really works. It takes me about 30mins to wash my car.

Rmedina

[C-Man]

Go to WalMart and pick out the softest sheepskin mitt they have.

[joey]

[quote=Rambit]What material is that? QUOTE]

It is microfiber wrapped around foam rubber.
What is microfiber? The article below explains it good.
I use two buckets, one for soap, and one for rinsing the sponge.
I rinse the sponge often to ensure dirt in the sponge is not being ground into the paint. If the sponge and towels are void of dirt, then the paint shouldn't get scratched.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-microfiber.html

WHAT IS MICROFIBER?
Microfiber is the terminology used to describe ultra-fine manufactured fibers and the name given to the technology of developing these fibers. Fibers made using microfiber technology, produce fibers which weigh less than 0.1 denier. The fabrics made from these extra-fine fibers provide a superior hand, a gentle drape and incredible softness.

Comparatively, microfibers are two times finer than silk, three times finer than cotton, eight times finer than wool, and one hundred times finer than a human hair. Currently, there are four types of synthetic microfibers being produced. These include acrylic, nylon, polyester and rayon. In this article, I will be discussing the most common blend of microfiber material used in automotive detailing applications, nylon and polyester.

Automotive toweling microfiber is created by combining two Dupont fiber inventions: polyester and polyamide (nylon). The polyamide is used as the core of the hybrid fiber (generally 20 to 30% of the content) and the polyester is the outer skin (70 to 80%). Each fiber has specific qualities that, when properly blended, can be used to weave functionally specific fabrics. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm specifically referring to toweling and other automotive detailing products.

The superior cleaning and water absorbing ability offered by many microfiber fabrics happened quite by accident. Microfiber yarn development in the 1980s and early 1990s was specifically intended to stimulate competition for natural yarn materials, like cotton and silk. One of the early adopters of microfiber yarn was Olsson Cleaning Technology, Sweden, who discovered that splitting the fibers made the fibers “grab” and improved the performance of cleaning towels. By 1994, the semiconductor industry was introduced to microfiber cleaning cloths, which could be used to wipe down the clean rooms used to produce memory, computer processors and other microchips. The benefit was huge because it was no longer necessary to use cleaning chemicals and the microfiber was nearly lint-free.

The best way to understand microfiber engineered for cleaning is to look at a cross section of the fiber itself. As you can see in the diagram below, the fiber is sliced into wedges (polyester) and attached to spokes (polyamide). Changing the fiber design allows cloth to be woven that scrubs, polishes or absorbs (e.g., functionally specific fabric). This was not previously possible. In the design pictured, the polyester wedges have the ability to scrape away microscopic bits of dirt while the polyamide spokes create a wicking action that pulls liquid into the fiber. Many microfiber yarn manufactures claim their microfiber yarn will absorb seven to eight times its weight in water, nearly double the capability of cotton.



This highly magnified cross section view of a microfiber thread shows why microfiber towels are thirsty and clean so well. A recent study suggests that microfiber towels are potentially effective in removing bacteria from smooth surfaces. This is one of many patterns that yarn makers can cut into polyester/polyamide fibers.

The cross section diagram above is a standard microfiber thread. It's approximately ten microns in diameter. To contrast, the average human hair is about 250 microns in diameter. If that isn't descriptive enough, imagine a cloth with 90,000 to 200,000 fiber strands in a square inch of fabric. This stuff is tiny. To the human eye this thread would be all but unnoticeable. When woven into cloth it has a soft feel, like cashmere or silk. The microreplication design in the fiber shown creates a capillary action with quick, strong absorbency. This is what enables good automotive microfiber towels to clean and polish at the same time.

[II kings 9:20]

Originally Posted by Ty Webb

Any suggestions on sponges, etc. to wash the car with?

Steer clear of sponges unless you like swirls, I agree with microfiber or 100%USA Cotton bath towels (Cannon or Fieldcrest). I was tempted by the Mr. Clean system but I just got a big microfiber drying towel so I'll stick with it. May still get Mr. Clean as I am on well water which makes acid rain look like distilled water.

Make SURE you clay before applying any wax/polish, search clay for details.

Speaking of minerals, if you don't buy the premixed antifreeze, make sure you mix with distilled water to cut down on corrosion or make sure the mechanic does, best to bring your own like the oil.

[O Stress]

ok all... if you want to maintain the paint to look custom shop perfect everyday... here is what i use on all my vehichles... Dri wash'n gaurd (waterless car wash & protective glaze ) and wypall's from the auto body paint store to apply.... i take my cars and rinse the dirt off, no soap whatsoever, the chemicals in it will kill your paint in time... let dry, spray on the dri wash and gaurd like you were polishing a table at home, and use the wypall's to apply like wax... just keep rotating the single wypall, and keep polishing to a perfect luster... the wypall's are the softest cloth there is, and the more you use it, the softer it gets.... one wypall will do the whole car..also everytime you use the dri wash and gaurd, it's putting on another layer of protection........i swear by this stuff, but it is 40.00 dollars a bottle, it will give you a showcar shine everytime.......