How to Hand Wash Your Automobile

Washing your own car may not seem like a difficult task, but washing your car incorrectly can lead to unsightly swirl marks, scratches, and other paint defects and blemishes. The key to avoiding these problems is learning how to wash your car the right way.

Many automobiles owners take their cars through the typical drive through car wash on a normal basis. These washes state that there are touch less, scratch free and so on in order to get business from those that are picky about their cars and those who notice paint defects. But most of those detail oriented owners come back from the car wash unhappy. Upon visual inspection of their car's exterior, they spot swirl marks, light hazing, and even scratches that were not apparent on their car before going to the car wash.

Most car wash facilities want your business and will make false statements to get it. After going through a car wash, ask yourself if it really wash touch less. This implies that nothing touched your vehicle at all, beside water. This is usually not the case. Though some car washing facilities may actually be touch less, dirt and debris from other cars are picked up from the high power pressure washers and blasted at your car, which causes damage to your cars finish.

Therefore, the only safe, effective way to wash your car without damaging the finish is by hand at your home. However, this too can damage the finish if you do not follow some basics that will be covered in the paragraphs below that outline how to properly hand wash your car and avoid damaging its beautiful finish.

For starters, you will need to assemble a basic set of tools and products for cleaning your car. You will need two buckets, about 2 to 3 gallon sizes are the most manageable and easiest to use. You will need several drying towels that are made out of 100% cotton or large micro fiber waffle weave towels. The micro fiber towels dry the car quicker and are safer, but also cost several times as much as good quality 100% cotton towels. So the purchasing of towels will be a personal choice. You will need a couple of smaller towels for wiper down the car with the washing solution. I prefer towels over lamb's wool, as they are much easier to clean and also release dirt easier. The dirt that is trapped by either applicator will damage your finish if it does not release when you dip the towel into the water solution. Finally, in terms of tools, you will need a wheel cleaning brushed with flagged ends. The flagged ends are split ends that make them softer much like a paint brush you use for painting trim in your house. I'll assume that you have a garden hose and a spray attachment that you can vary the pressure on.

In terms of products, you will need a gentle car wash liquid; do not use dish soap, or shampoo, or other products that are not specifically designed for automobiles. The gentle car wash liquid will not strip away wax or other finishes that have been applied to your car. You would not use dish soap to wash your hair, you would use a product designed for hair, and likewise, you should only use a product on your car that is specifically designed for your car. You will also need a good wheel cleaner. This product should also be gentle and for this, I prefer to use Simple Green, a gentle yet effective cleaner on many surfaces.

Now that you have assembled everything that you need, it is time to start the process of hand washing your car. Always wash from top to bottom as this assures you will not drag the heavier layers of dirt that are on the lower half of your vehicles up to the cleaner top half of your vehicle. Fill both buckets with water, and add the correct amount of car washing soap to one bucket. Thoroughly spray down your car from top to bottom with a strong stream of water. Attempt to remove any excess dirt by spraying directly with water. Also spray water into well wheels and other tight areas. Once thoroughly sprayed, dip you towel in the soapy bucket and begin washing in a vertical motion from top to bottom. Rinse your towel frequently in the bucket with water only and then dip in the soapy water and continue washing. When you get to the side panels like the doors and front fenders, it is crucial that you only wash in a vertical, up and down motion. This will hide any possible swirl marks on your finish. As you wash, spray down the area that you have washed with water and check to see if you missed any spots. If you did, wash that area again and spray off.

Once your vehicle is completely washed in the manner described above, it is time to wash the wheels. Begin by spraying Simple Green or the wheel cleaner that you have purchased on the wheels. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes. During this time you may begin drying the tope portion of your vehicle and your windows. Again, dry only in a vertical manner and use several towels to avoid water spotting. After a few minutes have passed, clean your wheels gently with the wheel brush. Then spray off the dirt and grime. Follow up with a soapy towel to get any spots where the brush cannot reach. No proceed to drying the rest of your car in the manner described above. When completely dry, leave your vehicle outside to air dry the rest of the way and do not roll your windows down for several hours or the water in the channels will be placed on the outside of your windows resulting in water spots.

If you follow the procedure above, you should have a clean, spot free, swirl mark free car for years to come. A hand washed car will always look better than a machine washed car and your paint will look fresh for much longer by using this gentle hand washing technique.