The 7 Deadly Sins of Car Wash

The seven deadly sins of car washing!

At every trade fair, at every classic car meeting and also on the phone, we are constantly confronted with the everyday washing routine of our customers. Often it is only a matter of a brief assistance, an instruction or a quick assessment of a "best practice": What should be done, what should be avoided at all costs? Which materials do I really need and how does a professional reconditioner work nowadays? Often, however, a real exchange about washing philosophies develops from this.

That is why we have put together for you the 7 deadly sins of hand washing. A pompous title, which is mainly meant to emphasize the explosiveness of wrongly applied washing techniques...and after all you clicked, so we did everything right!

As always, this is of course our view of things. However, it has always proved its worth so far:

1. They use dishwashers instead of car shampoo
   We would be lying if we said that the attempt to use household products for car care would be rare. And even if there are examples of where this can work, dishwashing detergent belongs on the car paint as little as a tyre belongs in the oven. Dishwashing detergent is extremely grease-dissolving, which is logical, since it is intended to remove food residues from burnt-in crockery. However, this property is counterproductive for cleaning car paintwork. The strong surfactants wash off wax seals (which are largely made of fat), for example. In addition, rinsing agents create absolutely no lubricating film on the paint surface. This is extremely important to prevent wipe scratches. What remains is a degreased and "dull" feeling lacquer
   
   
2. They use (some) bucket for everything
   You may remember this from your youth. Saturday is car wash day. Of course, there were no washing buckets back then in the form they are available on the market today. Instead they used some kind of bucket, if necessary the old paint bucket from 10 years ago. And of course, one did not know the two bucket laundry, where one bucket is used for the shampoo-water-mixture and for cleaning and a second bucket with clear water only for wringing out. But this method is clever: because this way you prevent heavy soiling in the washing bucket. If there are too many dirt particles in the wash bucket, you can pick them up again when wringing them out and scratch the paint. The two-bucket method reduces this danger. In addition, modern wash bucket systems also have an accurately fitting dirt sieve (also known as "Grit Guard"), through which dirt in the bucket does not get back into the washing glove. With such a bucket (or better with two) you do your best to carry out your car wash as gently as possible.
   
   
3. You use a natural sponge instead of microfibre
   The washing equipment is as important as the shampoo you use. Natural sponges have always been known to be very soft and with many channels. Although these sponges clean with very good performance, they have one big disadvantage compared to modern washing equipment such as microfibre gloves: much more dirt collects in the channels, which is literally "squeezed out" when pressed against them. This dirt collects between sponge and paint surface and is pulled over the surface during cleaning. This increases the risk of wipe scratches many times over. Significantly less dirt accumulates in a microfibre washing glove. It is the best alternative for a car wash that is gentle on paint.
   
   
4. You wash in circular movements
   Circular movements during washing increase the risk of wipe scratches, as dirt particles are worked "inwards". This results in the typical circular, fine line scratches, which reflect unattractively in the sun. Work from one side to the other, if desired also in cloister (left to right, front to back). This reduces the danger of dirt particles getting wedged in.
   
   
5. They use a Glitzi sponge
   There it is, the infamous two-sided kitchen sponge. You should only know it from the kitchen, because for the varnish this kind of sponge is pure poison. I know this only too well, because my mother had the idea to clean tar from my first car: With the rough side of the Glitzi Sponge. The result? Well, let's just put it this way: You barely saved it with one polish. At this point, you can only say: No matter how stubborn the dirt is, the Glitzi Sponge does not belong in your care range! For dirt that does not want to come off the paint, we recommend the gentle paint cleaning clay or a polish.
   
   
6. They use a "leather" instead of microfiber drying cloth
   Admitted: In the past, only the classic car leather was used to dry the car. However, these leathers become hard over time and dirt really settles in, so that inevitably comes the point where the leather produces more streaks and scratches than it dries. But an alternative is quickly found: Apart from technical devices like the "blowers" of the Australian company BigBoi ("inverted" vacuum cleaners with which one literally blows the water off the car), it is mainly microfibre drying cloths that are excellent for drying the paint. Due to the special microfibre structure
   
   
7. You use a silicone slider
   Silicone sliders look practical right away, you know the principle from the shower. You simply push the water off the paint through a relatively smooth silicone layer. The disadvantage of such sliders is that the surface is extremely rigid and dirt that is still on the surface is pulled over the paint and can cause scratches. Especially with solid-colour paints, this form of paint drying is extremely alarming, as these paints are much more susceptible to wipe scratches. An alternative to the silicone slider are the BigBoi blowers (quasi inverted vacuum cleaners with which you blow water from the car) and the microfibre drying cloth. The latter has a specially developed microfibre weaving technique as its basis, which not only absorbs water in an extreme way, but also acts gently on the paint surface. 

Take these tips to heart and you are ready for an effective, thorough and gentle car wash!